What to Visit in Vung Tau, Vietnam and how to Arrive ? – Page 2

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Vung Tau – Orientation – Maps

Map 1 – Distance from Saigon

Map 2 – Beaches of Vung Tau

Map 3 – Peaks of Mountains in the city of Vung Tau

Map 4 – Where to stay in Vung Tau

See the chapter : Where to Stay

Map 5 – Interactive Map

  1. Points in Red : Transport
  2. Points in Blue : Tourist Attractions
  3. Points in Green :  Beaches
  4. Points in Gray : Some Restaurants

Recommended – If you are short in time

If you have only 1 day in Vung Tau, I recommend you to give priority to these 2 :

  1. The statue of Jesus Christ including the sunset spot at the bottom of the mountain, on the beach.
  2. Worldwide Arms Museum

If you have several days, visit all the places mentioned on this page.

What to Visit in Vung Tau ?

The Beach Promenade

Look at the following Map :

You can walk on the beach road, from the pier (boats to Saigon) and till the place called “Flagpole Park”. It is 6 Km. The view is very nice.

It is a long walk, so you should stop to drink a coffee on the way (+ eat an ice-cream).

On the promenade, you will cross some temples. Just look at their facade.

The temple : Tran Hung Dao

The temple : Tu Quang

Some parts of promenade are beaches where you can swim. There are often strong winds.

While you walk on the beach promenade, don’t forget to stop at the spot where people watch the Sunset– Cap Saint-Jacques + not far from the beach promenade : The fish market.

The 3 Peaks of Mountains

Let’s look again on Map 3 :

There are 3 peaks of mountains in the center of Vung Tau (but there are just 2 mountains. The one in the south has 2 peaks. This mountain is called “the small mountain” and the one in the north “the big mountain”). The view is nice at the peaks (the sea) + you can see the other mountains.

The attractions on the mountains :

Peak number 1 (the southernmost peak)

  1. The statue of Jesus Christ – Tượng đài Chúa Kitô
  2. Sunset spot – Cap Saint-Jacques (at the bottom of the mountain)

Peak number 2

  1. The Lighthouse – Hải Đăng Vũng Tàu

Peak number 3

  1. Amusement Park Ho May (by cable car)
  2. Monastery – Big Buddha – Chon Khong
  3. Cao Dai Temple of Vung Tau (at the bottom of the mountain)

The statue of Jesus Christ – “Tuong Dai Chua Kito”

It is a statue very similar to the famous statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (“Cristo Redentor “on Corcovado mountain). Also the size of the statue is very similar. In Vung Tau, the statue is 36 meters high (including the platform). The outstretched arms are 18.3 meters wide.

The entrance to the compound is free.
First you need to climb some steps.

During the climb of the stairs, you will cross some religious texts. Stories from the bible.

You can buy water and ice cream on the way up.

It is possible to climb into the statue itself (free). The only problem is that there is very little space upstairs. Only 3 people can stand on each side.

Also the stairs to the statue are very narrow. You will have to leave your bag downstairs, there is not enough space to move with backpacks inside the statue.

The view from the statue is very nice. There are winds and it is a little bit frightening.

In the photo : the arms of Jesus

View over the beach “Bai Dua”

View over the other peaks of mountains (the lighthouse and the Ho May amusement park)

View over the persons who are climbing the stairs

There is a huge canon, near the platform of the statue

The last entry is at 16:30, so don’t arrive later, it is not a place to watch the sunset.

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

The entrance is from the beach road in front of the sunset spot – Cap Saint-Jacques. 

Sunset spot – Cap Saint-Jacques

It is a hill located near the sea. At sunset time people are gathering here and watching the scenery.

There are also mobile coffee vendors, with the famous plastic stools.

Very close, there is a tiny island called “Mieu Hon Ba”. Apparently at some hours of the day or on certain seasons, there is the low tide, and it possible to walk to that island.

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

It is located in front of the entrance to the Jesus Christ statue, on the other side of the beach road.

The Lighthouse – Hai Dang

The lighthouse was built in 1862 by the French. It used to give directions and signaling to the passing ships. Nowadays, the tower is probably not operational but the light is still turning at night and it is seen from the city.

There is a nice view

Apparently, there is also a small museum about the lighthouse but the opening hours are not stated.

Like always, there are a few dogs in places like that

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

There is a small road to the lighthouse. The road starts from the beach road.

I have used the service of Grab (a motorbike taxi), in order to arrive to the top. There is a climbing, so I gave a nice tip to the driver. On the way down, I walked. The walk takes less than 30 minutes.

Ho May Amusement Park  (by cable car)

You usually arrive to the park with the cable car.

The ride with the cable car is very short.

The view upstairs is nice.

And there is a café, beside the upper station of the cable car. They don’t have a big coffee machine for Cappuccinos, only Vietnamese coffee.

The amusement park is old and can hardly compete with the modern theme parks existing around the globe.

It is oriented to children but also adults can find some interesting stuff.

The park is open every day but it is on week-ends that there are a lot of visitors. I visited on a Monday morning and I was almost alone. The advantage on the week days is that you don’t have to wait in the queues. The disadvantage is that you don’t see children enjoying life.

The entry price including the cable car is 400,000 Dong on a week day (price at the time of writing). It is a little bit more expensive on the week end.

You can consult the park website for details.

What is there to do in the park ?

After you “land” with the cable car, a cool train takes you to the main area

If you are an adult, you can enjoy the 3D (or 7D) cinema

It is a short movie

The most interesting facility is that of a sledge car

There is an automatic photo, that is taken, so smile when you see the sign

Cart cars

When you are visiting on a Monday morning, you are competing against yourself with the racing car.

Different shows (at specific times)

You need to imagine the show in the following picture. I visited on a Monday morning and there were no shows and no one to watch the shows

Farm animals

You need to walk 800 meters and then you arrive to an area with animals

It is possible to ride a horse

There are several restaurants in the park, especially fast food

A small water Park

For children

There is a white Buddha

And near the Buddha, there is a cave with Buddhist statues

There is also a zip line

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps (the bottom station of the cable car is near the boat to Saigon) or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

Note :

  • Except the cable car, there is also a road that leads to the park.

Chon Khong Monastery – Big Buddha

You see this golden Buddha from the city center, so you will feel an urge to arrive here.

The view from upstairs is nice. The Buddha is nice. It is a Buddhist temple of course.

Like in all religious sites, it is required to be dressed modestly

And like in many Buddhist temples, there are dogs living here

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

The Monastery is located on the same mountain of the Ho May Amusement Park, but at a lower altitude. You arrive to it via another road.

My Grab driver didn’t take the correct road and I finally climbed by foot till the  Monastery (around 30 minutes). The little road that leads to the Monastery starts from the main road  : Lê Lợi, in the north part of the town center.

See the following Map :

Cao Dai Temple of Vung Tau

The temples of the Cao Dai religion have a distinctive look. They are particularly present in the south of Vietnam. There is also one Cao Dai temple in the city of Vung Tau.

You can read about the Caodaism in Wikipedia.

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

It is on the way to Chon Khong Monastery, mentioned before. On the main road “Lê Lợi”.

The 3 Museums

There are 3 nice museums to visit in Vung Tau. They are located quite close to each other, in the city center, not far from the pier (boat) to Saigon.

  1. Worldwide Arms Museum
  2. The White Palace – Bach Dinh – Museum
  3. Vung Tau Provincial Museum – Ba Ria

Worldwide Arms Museum

This is a must visit in Vung Tau. I visited the museum on the last day and I was surprised by what I saw. I didn’t expect to see such a collection in a moderately touristic city in Vietnam. If this museum was located in Europe, it would have been very popular.
The museum contains an amazing collection of military uniforms and arms from the last centuries. A lot of exhibits.

I was lucky to meet the owner while I visited the place. His name is Robert Taylor and he is English. It is a private museum.

Entrance fee : 70,000 Dong (at the time of writing).

Don’t leave it to the last day, come and visit the museum.

Here in the picture : Napoleon. There are some paintings.

Amazing collections of guns. Some of them are really weird.

The first part of the exhibit contains uniforms and arms from about 200 years ago

The second part, is from the last century

In such museums, you alway feel like you need much more time to read everything

There is also a café in the museum

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

The White Palace – Bach Dinh – Museum

This palace is located on a hill. There are a few steps to climb

It was built by the French in the late 19th century. It was used as a resort for governors and it is also the place where the French colonial government imprisoned Vietnamese King Thanh Thai (Nguyen dynasty) from 1907 to 1916.

The antique furniture in the palace is very nice.

I especially liked the gramophone

Here in the picture : The Vietnamese King Thanh Thai.

There is a nice view over the sea.

There are nice gardens around.

And people like to relax here

The entry price is cheap. 15,000 Dong (at the time of writing).

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

Vung Tau Provincial Museum – Ba Ria

It is a museum about the region of Ba Rai which includes the city of Vung Tau.

The entry hall

The museum has exhibits regarding different aspects of the region, like :

Nature

Especially, marine life

Traditional professions

Modern industries

Wars in the region

Including the famous war tunnels

War tunnels were located in all Vietnam, not only in Cu-Chi

The building itself is nice

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

Fish Market

It is located in the town center, close to the beach.
It is always interesting to watch the sea creatures which are being sold in the Vietnamese fish markets.

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

Market of Vung Tau

You don’t need to visit this market, there is nothing special about it.

It is located at the north of the city, near the central station of buses.

How to arrive ?
  1. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.
  2. See the possible ways of Transport in Vung Tau.

Organised Excursions in Vung Tau

There are some organized excursions in Vung Tau. There may be one day trips from Saigon.

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If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.

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