Today, the Vietnamese resort of Phan Thiet (or Phan Thiet), which will be discussed in this article, is gaining more and more popularity.
General information
Phan Thiet Resort in Vietnam is a city with a population of about 335 thousand people, located in the south of the country on the coast of the South China Sea, 213 km from Ho Chi Minh City. This resort attracts tourists with its unique microclimate and sea coast. The coastal landscape is also interesting, which is represented by sandy beaches and dunes, as well as flat areas located along rivers. The main river of the city — Sa Tu-divides Phan Thiet into two districts, connected by the Chan Hung Dao Bridge.
The mainstay of the city’s economy is the extraction and processing of fish. The budget also receives funds from the tourism industry — Phan Thiet and neighboring Mui Ne are well-known and popular Vietnamese resorts.
Phan Thiet Resort Area: infrastructure, entertainment
Despite the fact that Phan Thiet historically appeared as a settlement in the XIX century, it became a resort only recently, about 25 years ago. And this event is connected with the total solar eclipse that occurred on December 24, 1995. It was then that thousands of Vietnamese residents, as well as foreigners, came to admire the eclipse… and at the same time chose the city itself, or rather, its beaches with fine sand.
At the same time, the first hotel was built, which became a haven for fans of kitesurfing and windsurfing, and a stream of tourists poured into the new resort.
Beach infrastructure
Interestingly, on the longest beach of the resort — Tien Tan-from the tourist infrastructure there are only hotels. The main mass of people come to rest in the neighboring village of Mui Ne, where you can find cheap boarding houses and five-star hotels, shops, cafes and restaurants.
The main difference between the beaches of Phan Thiet and the resort of Hoi An and the “Russian” Nha Trang is calmer weather. Therefore, when heavy rains are raging in Nha Trang, only waves rise in Phan Thiet, which plays into the hands of windsurfers.
The beach is quite landscaped – vacationers can rent kites or boards, use sun beds. A fairly popular sport is golf, and at night, vacationers will be warmly welcomed by night bars (mostly located right by the sea, on the beach).
Shopping
Shopping in this resort, as in the whole of Vietnam, is characterized by a rich assortment and more than low prices. The best souvenirs brought home from Vietnam can be called local products made of natural silk, as well as flip-flops. Tourists often buy products made of crocodile and snakeskin, the price of which in Vietnam is 2-3 times lower than in Russia. There are several large supermarkets in this resort town: the most famous are COOP Mart and Lotte Plaza .
The busiest place for shopping is the main street of Phan Thiet-Nguyen Dinh Hieu, stretching along the sea coast. Here you can find cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, stalls with exotic fruits, pharmacies that sell herbal preparations and medicinal ointments.
Especially popular is the ointment “Cobratox”, which helps with a variety of diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
What else can I bring from Vietnam? High-quality coffee, tea, alcoholic beverages, sunscreen sprays and creams, children’s clothing.
Attractions
If you are visiting Phan Thiet, you should also see the following natural, historical and architectural attractions.
Water Tower
One of the main attractions of the city is the water tower, built in 1934. For almost 50 years, it served as a reservoir for collecting and storing water. The height of this structure is equal to the height of a seven-story building, and the tower looks more like a fortress. Now it is not used for its original purpose, but only serves as a tourist attraction. The tower is located in a small park in the city center. Map coordinates: 10°55 ‘43.6″ N 108°05’60.0″ E.
Cham Towers
Among the historical sights worth noting are the Cham Towers. This is an old architectural complex consisting of three buildings of the 7th century. It is interesting that two towers are solid, i.e. they do not have a hollow space inside, but the third structure can be studied from the inside. The Cham Towers were once part of numerous structures that symbolized the power of the Cham Empire dating back to the early Middle Ages.
Once it was a large complex consisting of dozens of temples. Only 3 of them have survived to our time: dedicated to the god Shiva, Princess Poshan and the bull of Shiva. Their restoration was carried out two decades ago. To this day, local residents conduct religious rituals on the territory of the attraction.
- Cost of visit: VND15, 000.
- Where to find: Ba Nai Hill 7 km northeast of Phan Thiet, Vietnam.
Ke Ga Lighthouse
Another architectural landmark is the 35-meter-high Ke Ga Lighthouse, located on a separate small island. It was built by the French military in 1899. The light of the lighthouse lamp was visible at a distance of 40 km!
It is better to combine the trip with a visit to Mount Taku, as the attraction is located 30 km south of Phan Thiet on an island. You can get to the lighthouse from land on any fishing boat.
Red Creek
Among the natural beauties, you should definitely see the “fairy stream”. Locals call this small pond “magic river” or “red stream”. It owes its color to red sandstone. It is very quiet and peaceful here, and if you walk along the riverbed against the current, you can see a small waterfall, from which the “fairy stream” begins. It is most convenient to walk in this place barefoot.
- Cost of visit: 15 thousand VND.
- Where to find: X745+2C Thành phố Phan ThếT, Bình ThuậN Province, Vietnam.
White Dunes
For romantics in the vicinity of Phan Thiet, Vietnam (photo) , there is also a special attraction – these are the white dunes and the Lotus Lake. It is a whole conglomeration of three large lakes (“female”, “male” and “mango”) and many small ponds framed by blooming lotuses. Usually people come here at sunset.
Mount Taku
A rare tourist denies himself the pleasure of climbing the 700-meter-high Taku Mountain, which is a natural observation platform. It is here that you can enjoy the best views of both the popular Vietnamese resort Phan Thiet and its surroundings, and the 49-meter statue of the reclining Buddha. This statue, by the way, is the largest in the country. Taka can be reached on foot or by funicular.
Fish Sauce Factory
An industrial landmark is the Fish Sauce Factory. However, only those who can easily tolerate the stagnant fishy spirit, which is saturated with everything here, will be able to visit it. Despite the peculiar smell and far from ideal sanitary conditions, foreigners visit this place in droves. Perhaps out of curiosity, because the quality of the fish sauce produced here is considered very high.
Fishing Harbor
Lovers of the sea atmosphere are usually in a hurry to see the Fishing Harbor with a length of 5 km. Here you can slowly wander along the coast, looking at a variety of boats, rafts and even large motor ships used to transport the catch. In addition, people come to the Fishing Harbor to meet the dawn, and at the same time buy the freshest fish.
Dragon Fruit Plantations
Also interesting are the plantations of pitahaya, an exotic plant that produces very tasty fruits called “dragon fruit”. By the way, this fruit is one of those that you should definitely try if you come to Vietnam.
There are plantations along the road on the way to Mount Taku (route QL1), so it would be reasonable to combine a visit to these two attractions.
Beaches in and around the city
Tien Tan Beach
The main attraction of this resort is, of course, the beaches of Phan Thiet. The largest of them is Tien Tan Beach. It is sparsely populated and located southwest of Phan Thiet city. The beach is relatively well-groomed — hotel employees clean up near their territory. But at high tides, the sea still brings garbage, so Tian Tan can not be called perfectly clean.
All the tourist infrastructure here is concentrated on the territory of hotels. It will be difficult to find a restaurant outside of them.
Ham Tien
Another beach, Ham Tien, is located to the east, is not crowded and can not boast of a developed infrastructure. The beach is not very actively cared for, be prepared to see garbage on the shore. But from here you can walk to the Red Stream and the big market. There are quite a lot of budget housing in the beach area.
Puhai Beach
The third beach, Pukhai, is located west of the Central One and is a calm and quiet place for a comfortable expensive holiday. Here you will not find cheap guesthouses and simple eateries. Near the hotels, the beach is cleaned, so the rest at the sea will be pleasant.
Tourists who come to Vietnam are usually interested in what kind of sea Phan Thiet has, what kind of sand, what is the water temperature and wave height, etc.
So, features of beaches in Phan Thiet:
- the sand here is very fine, almost like flour;
- snow-white it also can not be called, rather, it is light golden (in the photo of the beaches of Phan Thiet, this can be seen);
- the beaches are not the cleanest, when the weather is windy, the waves carry garbage to the shore.
- well-maintained beach areas are located near expensive hotels;
- the water in the sea is warm, warms up to +26C-+28C;
- conditions on the coast are favorable for practicing a variety of water sports;
- despite the positioning of these beaches as ideal for families, it is problematic to swim here with children due to large waves, not too clear sea waters and sand blown by the wind and trying to get into all the pores;
- the most optimal time for swimming is in the morning, since quite high waves rise by lunchtime;
- the web contains information about sand fleas on the beach.
Weather and climate
A unique feature of this resort is its microclimate, because the rainy season, characteristic of this region, is practically absent. Therefore, if in August and February in the central regions of the country tropical downpours are raging along with typhoons, in Phan Thiet things are much more optimistic.
The air temperature in Phan Thiet resort rarely reaches extreme values, ranging from +20 °C at night to +35 °C during the day. Humidity is usually 79-81%. The sea in Phan Thiet is always warm – the water temperature throughout the year is in the range of +25…+30 °C.
When is the best time to go on vacation in Phan Thiet? The high season for recreation is considered to be the period from November to March inclusive. But in April and May, the air temperature reaches maximum levels, which, combined with high humidity, is quite difficult to tolerate, especially if there are problems with the heart or blood vessels. Only in August and October there are short-term rains, and not every day, but a couple of times a week.
How to get there from Ho Chi Minh City
To get to Phan Thiet, you must first fly to Ho Chi Minh City or Nha Trang, since this Vietnamese resort does not have its own airport.
The easiest way is to fly to Ho Chi Minh City, and from here you can get to Phan Thiet in several ways.
By tourist bus
The journey time is about 6 hours. The ticket price is$ 8-10 per person.
There is no direct service from Ho Chi Minh City Airport to Phan Thet today. First you need to get to the city center, in district 1. This can be done by bus number 152, motorcycle taxi or regular taxi and already here at the tour desk you can buy a ticket for a special tourist bus that goes to Mui Ne and passes through Phan Thiet. One of them is located at the address that you can see in the photo.
However, keep in mind that buses mostly leave before lunchtime or very late in the evening.
By regular bus
First you need to get from the airport to the Meing Dong Bus Terminal. To do this, take the same bus number 152 to Ben Tan Market (it will take 20-25 minutes), and then change to the bus number 26, which goes directly to the bus terminal. From here, buses leave every half hour throughout the day to Phan Thiet Bus Station.
The ticket price starts from$10.
By taxi
Travel time is 4-4. 5 hours. You will have to pay$90-120 for the trip. This method of getting to Phan Thiet will be beneficial for those traveling in a small company.
By train
The train departs Phan Thiet from Ho Chi Minh City Railway Station twice a day-at 6-40 am and 13-10 pm. Адрес: 1 Nguyen Thong , 9 Ward, 3 District, Ho Chi Minh City.
The journey takes 4 hours and 45 minutes.
The price of travel on a soft place is$ 18, on a hard place – $16. Discounts are available for children under 9 years of age. You can book tickets online at the Vietnam Railway website (vietnam-railway.com) or purchase a travel document at the station ticket office.