Vung Tau Travel

Vung Tau Weather Overview

Vung Tau City has the tropical monsoon climate with 2 distinctive seasons: the monsoon season from May to October and the dry season from November to April. The average temperature is 27oC with the hottest month experiencing a recorded maximum of 28.6oC and the coldest month experiences a recorded minimum of  24.8oC.

The dry season starts at the middle of December and ends in April. The rainy season in Vung Tau lasts from the middle of May to the end of November. The most wet month is September. During these months, Vung Tau suffers from a lot of sudden, big rainfalls, which may ruin your plan for outdoor activities.

The rainfall often goes with the typical extreme weather events of Southeast Vietnam including thunderstorm, lighting, and whirlwind. Under the influence of the worldwide climate change, the average temperature of the rainy season in Vung Tau is getting higher and higher. According to the annual weather report, the temperature in Vung Tau in 2018 is 0.6 to 1.2oC  higher than the previous year.

Check the below table for the general idea of Vung Tau weather throughout the year:

Best time to go to Vung Tau

From December to March is the greatest time to visit Vung Tau. During these months, the temperature is more pleasant and there is a little rain. In addition, the sky is clear as well as the sea is pretty calm. Therefore, it’s ideal for many outdoor activities and sightseeing. Especially in February, after the Tet Festival is the time of Bong Gon Flower season. The white flowers blossom along the roads, which makes Vung Tau looks romantic as in the picture. Vietnamese young people favor visiting Vung Tau at this time to take the beautiful picture. 

Another good period of time to visit Vung Tau is from March to June. This time is in the dry season, so the temperature is pretty high. However, the sea looks much more beautiful under the sunlight. From May to June the wind is strong, which brings you the wonderful chances of kitesurfing. Take it into consideration that this time is the high season of Vung Tau. During the weekends or special occasions, the number of tourists coming to Vung Tau increases significantly which often leads to overloading and the rise of tariff for hotel accommodations and tourism services and so you should plan and book much ahead. One important note is that remember to check the weather forecast to avoid tropical storms when visiting Vung Tau.

Vung Tau Seasonal Weather Guide

Vung Tau in November - April

The dry season lasts from November to April. During this season, the average temperatures generally range around 20-22 degrees Celsius and precipitation is minimal. The coldest month is January. In this season, there is totally about 6-7 hours of sunshine. Hoarfrost is common and fog and mist perpetually cover the dark sky. This season is quite gloomy.

Vung Tau in May - October

The rainy season ranges from April to October. During this season, average temperatures range from 25 to 34 degrees Celsius and heavy rainfall occurs. August is the rainiest month, recording an average of 300mm rainfall. The duration of sunlight is higher, with the area receiving good sunlight for 6 - 7 hours a day. The bright skies a welcome treat.

Vung Tau Current Weather & 7-day Forecast

VŨNG TÀU WEATHER

Vung Tau is the closest beach destination from Ho Chi Minh City, easily accessible via a two-hour, air-conditioned bus ride. This makes it a perfect escape from the city’s hustle and bustle. Check out our advice on how to best enjoy this southern coastal town.

Soak up the sun at Vung Tau’s beaches

Vung Tau has four known beaches—Front Beach, Back Beach, Pineapple Beach, and Paradise Beach. Front Beach (Bãi Trước) is the most popular, which for many others is enough reason to stay away. In addition to the crowds, the water is rather polluted and doesn’t offer the best beach setup. However, you can still enjoy some fresh seafood at the many stalls and restaurants that have set up shop—they serve some of the most delicious seafood in the south of Vietnam.

For a better beach experience, head to any of the other three. Back Beach (Bãi Sau) is much less dirty, and perfect for surfing. As the beach gets some wonderful wind swells, kitesurfing shops have appeared over the years, offering rentals and classes for all levels.

Pineapple Beach has calmer waters and fantastic sunset views, while Paradise Beach belongs to a resort park with a rather exclusive crowd. Here you have to pay an entrance fee which grants access to luxuries such as showers, and a fancy strip with high-end dining options.

Get closer to Vung Tau’s giant Jesus statue

Giving its best Rio de Janeiro impression, Vung Tau boasts a giant 105-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ. Standing atop Núi Nhỏ mountain (generally representing Vung Tau in most travel guides), this statue overlooks the city from a clear vantage point—it is especially beautiful at sunrise. It’s not an easy hike to the top—there are exactly 847 steps to conquer, but in the end you will be rewarded with sweeping views of the coast. Head a little higher inside the statue itself and you can take a look at the city from behind Jesus Christ’s shoulder. To get inside however, you need to be dressed appropriately, so make sure to pack a wrap which you can tie around your waist to keep cool during the hike up.

Hike to Vung Tau’s photogenic lighthouse

On the other side of Núi Nhỏ mountain is Vung Tau’s lighthouse. Said to be the oldest lighthouse in Vietnam, it was built by the French in 1862 as a lookout point for incoming trade ships. To get there, hike up the opposite side of where you’d climb to Jesus. Luckily, if you plan on visiting after the statue, you can descend and travel back up by car or motorbike if you’re not up for the walk again. The lighthouse is extremely photogenic and worth heading to for the perfect Instagram shot. It is open 24/7, so if you’re looking for a night adventure, this is it! Local tip: On the slope near the lighthouse is a yogurt spot called Cô Tiên. Make sure you grab a cup, as it’s only VND $7,000 (USD $0.30), and extremely refreshing.

Go wild at Hồ Mây Culture and Ecotourism Park

Thanks to the influx of tourists to Vung Tau, an eco-tourism park has sprung up in recent years. Hồ Mây Culture & Ecotourism Park is a great place for a day of fun. Perched atop a hill (a consistent theme in Vung Tau), you can reach this place by cable car. The entrance fee is approximately VND $400,000 (USD $20.00), which includes the cable car trip and unlimited rides in the park, of which there are plenty! Bumper cars, rollercoasters, go karts, water games, even paintball and archery, this is ideal for a group of friends looking to let their inner child out.

Cable Car Station 1, 1A Tran Phu, Vung Tau, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Vietnam, +84 643 856 078

Indulge in Vung Tau’s seafood and markets

One of the biggest reasons people visit Vung Tau is to indulge in the town’s delicious seafood. Bánh khọt, a little round seaside pancake and one of Vung Tau’s specialties, is known to cause mass pilgrimages over here from Ho Chi Minh City. It can be found in various markets throughout the city, but for those looking for a little more ambience head over to Bánh Khọt Gốc Vú Sữa, known to serve the best version of these little treats.

Vung Tau has many markets to explore, offering a wide range of local delicacies and handicrafts. Chợ Hải Sản is the biggest one, closest to the city center. Here you can find endless varieties of seafood freshly caught that day and cooked up on the spot.Trần Phú fish market is a particularly fantastic experience—a little out of the city, making it more local. The other option is Xóm Lưới market. If it’s hard for you to tolerate the overwhelming smell of seafood, it’s best to wear a mask as you wander through the maze of stalls.

From stingray hotpot and other seafood delights to homemade pizza and Ukrainian borsch, Vietnam’s seaside town of Vung Tau has some fantastic restaurants for all tastes.

#1 - Stingray hotpot – Lau ca duoi

Stingray hot pot is an outstandingly delicious folk food in Vung Tau. Once you try it, you will never forget it because of it’s distinctive taste and of course, ingredient. The secret of a good stingray hotpot is to have the freshest ingredients possible. That is why eating this dish while at a seaside city always bring out the best of this dish. Apart from the stingray, this dish is a hot pot (literally) of sour baby bamboo soup. Fun fact – the stingray has a cartilage skeleton, so instead of having to worry about getting your throat impaled with bones, you can just chew away.

This dish is also carries a great balance of nutrition. When you order lau ca duoi in the restaurant, the server will place on your table the hot pot with stingray, some pickled bamboo, slices of chillies, vermicelli, rice cracker and a plate of herbs. Each of these elements play an important role in terms of making the flavor of the dish subtle yet delicious. Take a mouthful of all together to see what I mean!

Sharing food is a huge part of Vietnamese culture, and eating hotpot is the perfect example. Even a small hot pot requires at least 2 – 3 people to finish, so this will be a great opportunity for a large group of friends or family to gather and enjoy good company. So make a trip out of it to Vung Tau! One last thing, don’t forget to dip the stingray in the fish sauce and chew it slowly to really enjoy the taste.

The best lau ca duoi in Vung Tau

Among all of the lau ca duoi shops on Truong Cong Dinh street, Hoang Minh stands out. A large amount of stingray is served with sour soup at this place and it will be sure to please your taste buds. Not only is the quality and quantity of food satisfactory at this place but the  fast service and friendly owner makes people want to come back here every time they go to Vung Tau. What you should keep in your mind is in the evening, the shop is always full so it is better to go in the afternoon after some sunbathing in the beach.

More information

• Name of place: Lau ca duoi Hoang Minh
• Address: 40 Truong Cong Dinh, Ward 3, Vung Tau City 
• Business hours: 9AM – 10:30PM
• Price: 180.000/portion

#2 - Banh khot Vung Tau – Vietnamese mini pancake

It’s not an exaggeration when somebody travel to Vung Tau with the sole intention of eating Banh Khot. This dish is absolutely legendary and no better version can be found outside of this city… If you ever tasted banh xeo in Saigon and fell in love with it, wait till you try the Banh Khot in Vung Tau.

The little round pancake is made from mixed flour, curry powder, and then filled with seafood such as shrimp and squid, and then finally topped with green onion and shrimp powder.

To eat the dish in the proper way, you have to start by putting papaya and some chilli into the bowl of fish sauce and mix it up. Then, grab a nice big piece of lettuce and put on it some herbs to your liking. Next, you dip the banh khot in the fish sauce and then place it over the herbs on the lettuce and top it with some papaya. Finally, wrap it all up, dip it again into the fish sauce and enjoy!

Even though the crispy banh khot is heavily fried, the actual taste is still light when you mix it with the greens, so you won’t get sick of it. Legend is that you will want to eat at least 10. No less, but maybe more.

The best banh khot in Vung Tau

There are countless places that sell banh khot in Vung Tau but Banh Khot Goc Vu Sua is the most popular one, and for good reason! No matter day or night, this place is always full of hungry locals and tourists waiting for their food. You can order a glass of sugar cane juice (nuoc mia) and small talk with your friends to kill the time.

More information

• Name of place: Banh Khot Goc Vu Sua
• Address: 14 Nguyen Truong To, Ward 12, Vung Tau City
• Business hours: 
  • Monday – Tuesday: 7AM – 2PM
  • Sunday: 7AM – 8PM
• Price: 50,000 VND/7-8 pieces

#3 - Banh bong lan trung muoi – Sponge cake with salted egg yolk

Who can deny sweet treats? Especially when what you’re eating is extra creamy with cheese? How does the addition of a duck egg yolk to make it salty sound? Over 40 years ago, a small shop on Nguyen Truong To street introduced this special sponge cake to their customers and it quickly became the most popular snack in Vung Tau because of the unique taste. The original version of banh bong lan trung muoi just included the ingredients of sponge cake and salty egg yolk. Nowadays, to please the customers and give you more choices, cheese and rousong are added as topping. Every bite you take is a combination of sweetness, saltiness and greasiness. This cake is a perfect Vung Tau gift for yourself or your family and friends.

The best sponge cake in Vung Tau

Banh Bong Lan Trung Muoi Goc Cot Dien is the where the sponge cake was born, so where better to eat it? You can watch as it is being made as well, because you may fall so in love that you’ll want to make it at home.Plus, the shop has different toppings for the sponge cake and the coconut waffle is worth a go!

More information

• Name of place: Banh Bong Lan Trung Muoi Goc Cot Dien
• Address: 17 Nguyen Truong To, Ward 2, Vung Tau City
• Business hours: 6AM – 10PM
• Price: Banh Bong Lan Trung Muoi:  25.000 VND/box
• Banh Bong Lan Trung Muoi Pho mai (with cheese): 30.000 VND/Box

#4 - Banh uot chong dia – Steamed thin rice pancake

What makes the steamed thin rice pancake here special is the portion of each dish. No, it’s not huge, it’s actually super small that you have to eat at least 20 dishes to be full. Banh uot chong dia is a relatively new dish in Vung Tau but it soon became a phenomenon among tourists and the local youth.

Unlike the usual dish banh uot, instead of cutting the steamed thin rice pancake into small pieces the banh uot chong dia only have a piece of steamed thin rice pancake on the plate. Customers can order a dish of pork and/or chicken, pickles and sour mango to wrap with the banh uot. For the sauces, you will have to choose either the sweet fish sauce or mam nem (fermented anchovy dipping sauce) to dip the banh uot in. Vietnamese dishes are quite interactive, aren’t they? Well this one can get a lot more fun as you can hold a competition to see who can eat the most and so has the taller stack of empty dishes.

The best Banh Uot Chong Dia in Vung Tau

Banh uot chong dia 47 is the only spot that has banh trang chong dia in Vung Tau. It’s clearly better than all the other non-existent places. 

More information

• Name of place: Banh uot chong dia 47
• Address: 77 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Ward 8, Vung Tau City
• Business hours: 4PM – 10PM
• Price:
  • Steamed thin rice pancake: 1.000 VND/plate
  • Grill pork/chicken: 20.000 VND/Portion
  • Pickle/Mango: 2.000 VND/Portion

#5 - Fresh seafood

You shouldn’t leave Vung Tau without trying any of the fresh seafood available in this city. You can easily find many kinds of seafood such as crab, snails, shrimp, blood clam, amberjack fish and so on. The fish and other kinds of seafood come directly from the sea everyday in the afternoon so it is absolutely fresh. And if you think the seasnails in Saigon (link to seasnail in saigon) are delicious and diverse, wait till you come to Vung Tau.

Some kind of dishes I highly recommend for you to try: boiled crab/shrimp, grilled octopus/squid/shrimp seasoned with dried satay chilli and grilled oyster with or without cheese. Last but not least, the BBQ amberjack fish seasoned with dried satay chillies or green onion and oil is the best of best. You will find the combination of grease, salty and spice add to the delicious flavor while the aroma also plays a big role you will not want to stop eating even though you already full.

Where to get the best seafood in Vung Tau

Basically, you can find seafood in every corner of Vung Tau. From big restaurants to a small food stalls by the seaside at night. The first and foremost concern of tourists when finding seafood is the price. Because Vung Tau is a tourist city, scams and frauds sometimes do happen so to avoid these unfortunate events, I suggest you go to these following places:

+ Xom Luoi Market

Do you  love going to the wet market and picking food by yourself? Xom Luoi market is where seafood from the fishing boats are delivered every afternoon. It is literally fresh off the boat. From here it will be distributed to other markets in Vung Tau and nearby cities or provinces. This is where you can get cheap fresh seafood and have it prepared at the cooking stalls. After that, you can bring it back to your room to eat or go have a picnic at the central park in Bai Truoc area.

More information

• Address: Nguyen Cong Tru Street, Ward 2, Vung Tau City
• Business hours:  5AM – 6PM

+ Ganh Hao Seafood Restaurant

If you want your food to be cooked in more diverse ways, going to seafood restaurants would be the better option. Ganh Hao is the most prestigious restaurant in Vung Tau. The food here is a bit pricey compared to other eateries, but the quality is on the top of the list.

More information

• Name of place:  Ganh Hao Restautant
• Address: 03 Tran Phu, Ward 5, Vung Tau City
• Business hours: 10AM – 9:30PM
• Price range: 300.000 – 1.650.000 VND

There are a large number of affordable guesthouses and hotels in Vung Tau. Despite the cheap price, hotels in Vung Tau usually offer good service and accommodation with standard facilities. There’re also many options for luxury travelers when visiting Vung Tau. Our picks for the best spots to stay in Vung Tau will help you narrow down the list of your options and spend less time finding a perfect deal.

Thang Muoi Hai Hotel 

Address: 151 Thuy Van, Vung Tau, Vietnam

Located in front of Bai Sau beach, the hotel features nearly quality rooms with standard facilities such as cable TV, air-conditioners and minibars. The hotel location is very convenient, which just takes a few minutes waking to the beach. Price is around 10$.

Palace Hotel 

Address: 1 Nguyen Trai, Vung Tau, Vietnam

This is a four-star hotel located in the heart of Vung Tau. The hotel features 94 rooms and offers a variety of accommodations that are suitable for all kind of travelers. There’s also a casino in the hotel. The price is around 60$.

Valley Mountain Hotel 

Address: 102/6 Tran Phu, Vung Tau,Vietnam

Located at Bai Dau Beach, the hotel faces the ocean and leans on the mountain; therefore, allowing customers to experience the beauty of Vung Tau. The hotel is not too big but designed with high standard facilities. The staff is friendly and helpful. Price is around 40$.

Grand hotel 

Address: 02 Nguyen Du Street, Vung Tau, Vietnam

The hotel is designed in vintage style with the elegance of French architecture. The excellent services and facilities will make you feel comfortable. The price is around 70$.

By Plane

Tan Son Nhat International Airport (IATA: SGN ICAO: VVTS) located in Ho Chi Minh City, provides the closest air link to Vũng Tàu. The nation's largest airport, the airport has two terminals : an old functional Domestic terminal and a shiny, pleasant International terminal located just 200 metres away. Both terminals have limited food and services offerings. To get to the City centre, passengers can take either a bus or a taxi.

Direct transfer to Vung Tau

A number of chartered bus companies offer direct transfer from Tan Son Nhat Airport to Vũng Tàu. This is very useful for Vũng Tàu locals. However, tickets must be booked in advance.

You can check below some options to get to Vung Tau by road from Ho Chi Minh city.

By Road

Public Bus

Most local visitors prefer to travel by public bus with regular, air-conditioned vehicles because this is the cheapest way to get to Vung Tau. Phuong Trang, Hoa Mai, Nam Phuong are popular transportation brands in Vung Tau.

Seats are reserved by telephone only. If you are in Vung Tau, they pick you up from your hotel or house. If you are departing Ho Chi Minh City you will need to leave from the company's bus station. The bus services have improved significantly since the completion of the free-way cut travel time down to a little over one and a half hours. Price for one ticket is around VND 120.000/ one way ticket. A bus leaves about every 20 minutes.
Note: Make sure you are on buses which travel directly to Vung Tau. It may be unpleasant experience to find ourselves stuck on a bus which stops at every place possible on the way.

Private Bus

If you want to save time, Vung Tau private bus should be a better option. This is the fast and most convenient way of transfer because there is no stop on the way.

The vehicles are really limousine buses - only about 6 or 8 passengers - and have large, comfortable chairs. Many resorts and hotels based in Vung Tau will be able to arrange a booking for you.

Taxi

Some tourists travel from Saigon to Vung Tau by taxi. Make sure to leave Saigon in the early morning hours. By getting out of down-town Saigon before the traffic jams, you will take hours off your trip. A good run should get you to Vung Tau between 1.5 to 2 hours. They will arrange a fixed price deal. Most taxi brands are now highly competitive, with good service.

By Hydrofoil

If you want to avoid the traffic, noise on the way to Vung Tau, taking the hydrofoil is the best choice. The smooth, fast ride, sea breeze takes passengers from down-town Ho Chi Minh City along the beautiful and very interesting Saigon River. The whole trip is full of memorable photo experience. Most tourists prefer to step outside the cabin to catch the breeze and enjoy the views along the river.

The trip takes only one hour and 30 minutes by hydrofoil between HCMC and Vung Tau. It costs about for one way trip about 200,000 dongs (the price may be higher now); the trip only takes one hour and 15 minutes. There are about 6 hydrofoils each day. Drinks (including beer) and cold snack food can be purchased on board.
Vina Express and Greenlines are two companies that operate Hydrofoil. The hydrofoils have seating for about 120 people--during my trip, maybe 1/4 of the seats were full.