The top recommended thing to do here is visit Vinpearl island, a large water park with an aquarium and amusement park just a cable car ride away. There is also a laser show at night time (around 7pm) all of which is included in the 500,000VD entrance fee.
You can also visit an aquarium in NHA Trang, the National Oceanographic Aquarium.
There is also another monkey place here if you missed monkey mountain in Da Nang. You can catch a bus (no1 or no1 local) 20km north of NHA Trang and a ferry (120,000VD return trip) to get there, and it closes at 5pm.
Also, if we have time, we will visit one or two waterfalls
- Yang Bay waterfalls - 40km west
- Ba Ho waterfalls - 20km north, near Ba Ho village, a guide can show you the way for a small fee
- Fairy Spring waterfalls - 20km southwest, swimming opportunity, 10,000Vd admission charge plus 3000VD per motorbike. To get there, go 10km west of Nha Trang to Diên Khánh, go through the old citadel (Thành Cổ Diên Khánh) to Diên Phước village (5km), turn left 4km to Suoi Tien village, then right 1km to the stream
There is also the Thap Ba hot springs and mud baths just 4km northwest of NHA Trang, it is 50,000VD for the hot pools and waterfall, and another 100,000 for a mud bath.
There a small nightlife scene in NHA Trang with many of the cafes hosting live music, though a small entrance fee (around 30,000VD) is added to your bill at some clubs.
Ha Long Bay is a gorgeous, pituresque bay with huge limestone cliffs jagging out the sea. There is plenty to do here in the bay. We plan to:
- take a 1 night cruise on a traditional dragon boat
- do a bit of kayaking around the bay and into the caves (some of which are lit, others you may need a torch) and even find some hidden beaches.
- put our diving skills to use and so a bit of scuba diving
- see the big bridge... It's a bridge, that's big..
- spend some time relaxing on the beautiful beach with a beer for 30p
- plenty of water sport activities, including renting speedboats
Everyone raves about "the loop" in Thakhek, a 4 day trip on a motorbike, around southern Laos, which sounds amazing... but we had 2 days. So we are just visiting the few mentioned caves and pools.
Day 1: First up the Konglor Cave (pictured above). This is a 7.5km cave which you can journey through on a boat for 110,000 kip, and rent a torch for 5000k (or bring your own). There is also an entrance fee to the park of 2000kip (+3000 for a motorbike). The ride to the park entrance takes 3 to 4 hours from Thakhek, depending on how you ride. It is a 180km journey along route 13.
Day 2 we ride along route 12 and check a few caves and pools along the way. The first stop is Tha Falang, 15km from Thakhek. This is a river swimming spot and many blogs mention the friendly children willing to be your guide. Wikitravel tells of two caves that can be visited, one with an impressive staircase (pictured above);
It is not signed in English so you will need to have clear instructions when to turn off to the north down a sandy track second after the bridge before the road bends around to the right between two cliffs. Immediately south after the bridge there is a shady spot to park and you can follow the river to Tham Xiengliab, a small cave with the river flowing through it. Again a guide or pack of children will probably appear to guide you. Bring a torch if you want to go inside. Its about another 4-5 km to the commercialised Aen Cave which is lit with a rainbow of neon strip lamps and has an amazing network of staircases. It has a river running out of the mouth and a big pool at the back: it is worth a look for the stair cases alone.
And finally, the Buddha cave, or Tham Nong Pa Fa which is also along route 12. SpotOnLaos tells us how to get there;
Buddha Cave or Tham Pa Fa in Thakhek, Laos is located on National Route 12, near Ban Nakhang Xang. The Buddha Cave is about 14 km away from Thakhek in Khammuan Province. The cave with its many Buddha images was discovered on June 2004 by a local villager by the name of Mr. Boun Nong. Mr. Nong found the cave by following a group of bats entering the cave. With his curiosity and the intention of collecting bats, he decided to climb up the 15 meters to the cave’s entrance. Unexpectedly, he discovered the cave and the 229 Buddha Statues therein. Subsequently, the cave became a sacred place for local and neighboring peoples.
The entrance fee is 2,000 Kip ($0.25) and 2,000 ($0.25) kip for renting a Lao skirt for women before going inside.
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