36 hours to explore Vung Tau City by motorcycle

With the distance of 120 km from Saigon, Vung Tau has become a familiar tourist city of many families and young people on holidays. It not only owns sea and mountains but also a lot of special features that many people have inadvertently missed. In this article, we would like to give some ideas to those who wish to travel to Vung Tau by motorbike for their backpacking trip. However, this route will start from Saigon.

The first day:
7 am – 10 am: Departure from Saigon to Vung Tau
For motorcycles, the shortest road to go to Vung Tau is driving through Cat Lai ferry, in the direction of Nhon Trach, Dong Nai and then turning right down the Highway 51 to Vung Tau.

If you take this route to drive in January or February, you will have great chance to see the rubber deciduous forests changing leaves romantically on the territory of Nhon Trach District, Dong Nai Province. After arrival in Long Thanh, you can drop off to Banh Bao 69 restaurant to have breakfast and then, continue the journey.

10am – 11am: Visit Vung Tau, visit the small mountain Lighthouse
You will drive motorbike along Tran Phu Street until you see the cafe Mr. Ket, where there is a small road nearby to go to the lighthouse. Just take the route to go to the lighthouse. The distance is not far and difficult to drive and the slope is not too high. From the lighthouse, you can observe the Sau beach and Dau beach of Vung Tau. You just pay the parking fee and no other extra fees have to be paid

11am – 1pm: Have lunch, drink coffee and see the beach

After sightseeing, you can have lunch at any restaurants on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street. The recommended one is Huong Duong broken rice. This restaurant is always full of customers and favored by a lot of locals and tourists. The price is about 30.000 VND/ portion. The dishes are very tasty, diverse and suitable for all kinds of eaters. With quick service and air conditioning, you will not feel hot and uncomfortable at all.

After lunch, you can choose a cafe along the beach to see the beach and relax. Or if you prefer, the air-conditioned coffee shop, there are a lot for you to select in streets of Tran Phu and Ba Cu, Vung Tau.

13h – 15h: Hotel check in and take a break
If driving by motorbike, you absolutely can book a hotel located in the city center with much cheaper prices than other hotels along the beach. The hotels on Nguyen An Ninh and Le Hong Phong Streets will be the best choices. However, you should ask for the price before booking.

3pm – 6pm: Bathing on the beach
After the lunch break to get more energy and refresh your mind, you need to prepare the swim suit to emerge yourself with white sand, blue sea offline. If there is a large group, all of you should equip with a water shooting gun to participate in the game called “playing without boredom.” The suggested beautiful beaches are Thuy Tien beach in Long Cung Resort or the Sau beach the more popular. If you are looking something romantic, the beach along the Lan Rung Resort is the perfect choice.

6pm – 7pm: Come back to the hotel
Take a shower again, change clothes and take a short break before you explore the beauty of Vung Tau at night.

7pm – 8pm: Have dinner
The evening is the busiest time in Vung Tau, especially the areas around beaches. Fish hot pot of snail stalls are the ones you should consider. However, as said earlier, these stalls are very crowded in the evening. You should take the time to wait for the waiters.

8pm – 10pm: Watch the dog racing
Dog racing is a specialty of Vung Tau, which other places do not have. Currently, the dog racing is held every Friday and Saturday nights. The gate ticket is at 60.000 – 80.000 VND/ person. You will see 100 dogs racing against each other for about 10 rounds. Additionally, you can also bet on the dogs that you believe for the winner. If your bet is right, the prize will be a good profit.

10pm – 10.30pm: Visiting the martyrs’ monument or beach park
The martyrs’ monument is regarded as the biggest one in Southeast Asia. Here is where the firework is held each year and is a scenic place for many young people.

If you choose to visit the park, you should enjoy Alibaba cream or cane juice. Seeing the sea at night is also a pleasant experience.

10.30pm – midnight: Double Bike Cycling around the city
This is the ideal time when you can catch the pair and together rent a bike to go for a walk. The beach area at this time is very quiet and there is a slope for you to show your good health as well as toughness. Especially, riding the brake-free bikes will be interesting experience with consternation when riding down to the slope by “foot” brake. The rent price for double bike to 20.000 VND/ hour

Midnight: Go back to the hotel to rest

The second day:
8am: Have breakfast
Many visitors travel to Vung Tau to enjoy the famous Khot pancake (a southern specialty consisting of small, fried rice flour pancakes). If you want to eat this kind of pancake, you should go to Tran Dong Street as the fried pancake here is crunchy and little oily. The price is cheaper than other places with 35.000 VND/ 7 pancakes.

9am – 10am: Visit Chan Khong Monastery
From Truoc Beach (Vung Tau), you will drive motorbike along Quang Trung Street until the intersection, turn left to Le Loi Street. The, after driving to the junction of Le Loi Street – Vi Ba, turn left to follow the road. Continue driving further about 1km with tortuous roads and the blooming peach blossom on the Lon Mountain (Tuong Ky Mountain), here Chan Khong Monastery comes.

In particular, the penjing was built in the middle of Monastery yard, with four lions kneeling towards the four directions. The center is the hand carrying the lotus flower, a symbol of Zen, which sets off the meaning and scene of the Monastery.

10am – 11am: Drive to the top of big mountain
After visiting the monastery, you will drive up on the same road to the mountain and Ho May resort. With the height from the top, you will take a panoramic view of Vung Tau.

On the half road, it is easy for you to drive motorbike. Along the way, you may see some monkeys sitting amongst the road very naturally, so be careful while driving. The, on the roadside, there will be several stalls for you to drop off in order to rest and drink cane juice.

The rest of the road will be uneven and rocky, which you will find difficult to move because not many people visit this place. Just follow the road, you will go to the big mountain. However, you have to buy tickets of 150.000-200.000 VND/ person.

11am – 12pm: Drive back to the hotel for check-out

12pm – 1pm: Have lunch
There are quite a lot of restaurant for you to come and eat. You had better choose the one with the delicious dishes, quick service and the pre-offered prices.

1pm- 3pm: Visit the Mary Mother of God Cathedral
The Mary Mother of God statue is imposingly standing in the Bai Dau. The road to go to the place is easy cool. It is also a wonderful destination for sightseeing.

If you have good health, you can climb to the cross at the top of the mountain. However, climbing at noon will be very tiresome.

After visiting the church, you will drive about 200 m more to visit Quan Am Pagoda (Pagoda of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva). It features a beautiful statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with 28 meters in height overlooking the sea.

3pm – 4pm: Eating oyster porridge
It is good for you to have extra meal for charging energy before departure to Saigon. You should go to oyster porridge stalls on Tran Dong Street. The price is 30.000 VND/ bowl.

4pm – 7pm: Back to Saigon
On the way, you can pay a visit to Dai Tong Lam Temple in Tan Thanh, Ba Ria Vung Tau. It is a beautiful temple with many Buddha statues records.

7pm: End of trip with so many unforgettable memories