7 things to do in Vung Tau

Just about 100 kilometers away from Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau is a frequent destination not only for its 20 kilometers long coast line but also the diverse activities visitors can do there. In this article, we have listed 7 popular activities for you to do in Vung Tau.

1. Enjoying a view of Vung Tau from the lighthouse

On the lighthouse, you can have an easy views of the whole Vung Tau city, the mountains and the sea. Moreover, the spectacular view of nature here is perfect for photographers to produce the most unique pictures of both land and sea. The road leads to the lighthouse is also worth admiring for its beautiful scenery of the sea. The lighthouse is situated in the center of Vung Tau city so it should not be very hard to reach.

Overview of Vung Tau from the lighthouse

2. Sharing quality time with your family at Ho May Park

For a cheap cost of about $14 USD for adults and $7 for children of 1 meters to 1.5 meters in height, you can have a wonderful time with your family, especially with your little ones as there are a variety of activities for family members. There are a camping place, water park, sand playground, paintball gun shooting, artificial mountain climbing, …

Since Ho May Park is situated on the top of a mountain and is reached by cable car, you can also enjoy the stunning view of Vung Tau from the park. 

3. Camping at Zenna Pool Camp

Spending time at a campsites by the sea is a newly emerged activity among young people. It is a perfect opportunity for young people to get away from the hustle bustle life of Ho Chi Minh City nearby and reconnect with Mother Nature. For only approximately $4 USD, you can spend a night in this beautiful campsite near Vung Tau. You can bring your own tent or hire everything at the camp. However, there is a small fee for bringing food from outside to the camping site.

4. Visiting Christ the King Monument

The giant statue of Jesus in can be considered as a mini version of the Statue of Christ in  the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. The statue is situated on top of Small mountain. In order to admire the statue, visitors must walk on a 800-step staircase. A few cautions should be noted are: the Statue is closed on rainy days for safety reason, visitors with sleeveless tops, shorts, mini skirts or animals are not allowed.

5. Exploring a different cultural experience at Robert Taylor museum of worldwide arms

This museum belongs to Robert Taylor - a British national who has come to Vung Tau since 1989 and has a Vietnamese wife. You can find this private collection of weapon at No. 98, Tran Hung Dao St., which was a lease offered by the local authority. There are over 2000 items from country such as United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, Japan and the Netherlands. Explanations from Robert Taylor himself are often available for interested visitors.

6. Relaxing at Front Beach (Bai Truoc) and Back Beach (Bai Sau)

Accommodated by many food stalls, hotels and other services, Back Beach is more popular among travelers to Vung Tau. However, if you prefer a tranquil experience, Front Beach is the place to go. A few attractions near Front Beach are Christ the King Monument and Ho May Park. However, the beach in Back Beach is more beautiful and also safer than Front Beach. From Back Beach, you can walk on a stone path to reach Hon Ba Temple at low tide.

7. Eating Vung Tau’s iconic food

Besides the obvious option of seafood, Vietnamese mini pancake, stingray hot pot, salted egg yolk cake,.. are a few must-try names for visitors to Vung Tau.

• Vietnamese mini pancake (Banh Khot): This dish is made from a mixture rice flour, corn starch, turmeric powder and coconut milk. It is fried on a specially shaped cast iron pan to give it both a crispy and fluffy texture.
• Stingray hotpot (Lau Ca duoi): The broth has a sweet and sour taste to it like and is made even more mouthwatering with the addition of aromatic herbs. A chilling night in Vung Tau would be best spend by a hot pot of stingray, bean sprout, pineapple, herbs and fish sauce.
• Salted egg yolk cake (Banh bong lang trung muoi): Although there are many bakeries that sell this in Vung Tau, you can try the famous Salted egg yolk cake at  the place that makes this type of cake famous called "The Bottom of the Electric Pole" (Goc Cot Dien) at 17B, Nguyen Truong To St., Vung Tau City.
• Seafood: For seafood, there are many options to choose from street food stalls to fancy restaurants everywhere in Vung Tau. There are three common places that tourists visit for good seafood in Vung Tau are Xom Luoi Market, Seafood Night Market and Thanh Phat Seafood Storehouse.