My first impression of Quy Nhon was already rated ten score over ten, when I sat on the sidewalk, and started to enjoy the fruit smoothie in front of my friend’s house main gate (that’s authentic way to eat street food in Vietnam), right after the flight from Hanoi.
Quy Nhon may seem like a relatively new addition to the tourist map in Vietnam for foreign travelers. Essentially, the city left me with a nice impression of Da Nang ten years ago when commercial development had yet to fully take place: beautiful beaches, charming temples, friendly locals, and delicious cuisine.
So let’s discover Quy Nhon!
- Is Quy Nhon worth visiting?
Absolutely!
Quy Nhon holds a special place in my heart as my favorite city in Vietnam. It offers everything you’d desire for a peaceful vacation without the crowds found in more mainstream destinations. The locals are exceptionally friendly and helpful. During my three-day trip to Quy Nhon, my host and his friends from the region took me to numerous restaurants, introduced me to a variety of new dishes, and engaged in interesting conversations. Even now, we stay connected through social media, and I occasionally catch up with them.
Geographically, nestled between the poetic scenery with one side bordering the mountains and one side skirting the sea, shaped by the long curving coastlines, beautiful white sand and clear blue water, Quy Nhon easily attracts the heart and holds the step of backpackers. The coastal city of Binh Dinh province, in the South Central Coast region of Vietnam, is the starting point for my long backpacking trip after six years away from home, just because a friend of mine tried to convince me “ Quy Nhon is so beautiful, my dear!”.
I could not recommend Quy Nhon enough. Personally, I will choose Quy Nhon over places like Da Nang, which is unfortunately developing a bit commercially.
Photo: Lien Dinh. “Journey to Ki Co Beach”
2. When is the perfect time to visit Quy Nhon?
I arrived in Quy Nhon during early May and was fortunate to experience beautiful weather with clear blue skies and refreshing sea breezes. I hadn’t planned my trip in advance, so I felt lucky to have arrived during such a pleasant time.
Quy Nhon’s rainy season lasts only 2-3 months at the end of the year, with the rest of the year being dry, particularly from March to September. The summer months between May to September are particularly ideal for travel, as they offer sunny and comfortable weather without the risk of rainstorms or extreme heat.
3. How to Get to Quy Nhon
Depending on your current location within Vietnam, there are various transportation options to get to Quy Nhon. Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, and Bamboo Airways offer round-trip flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Quy Nhon with prices ranging from approximately 900,000 to 4,000,000 VND per person depending on the timing.
Once you arrive at Phu Cat Airport, you can take a bus for 60,000 VND (2.5 EUR) per person (updated as of May 2022), which is suitable for solo travelers, or a taxi for 200,000 – 250,000 VND (9-10 EUR) per trip to reach the center of Quy Nhon city. In addition to air travel, you can also opt for a bus or train from neighboring provinces to reach Quy Nhon.
4. Getting around in Quy Nhon
Moving in the city, you can rent a motorbike for 120,000 – 150,000 VND a day (I use the service of a company called Rồng) or rent a taxi, a car to go to further destinations. If you only travel in the central streets in a large group of 8-15 people the you can choose a tram for 25,000 VND per kilometer and 250,000 VND for 60 minutes (updated 04/2022 on Vietnamtour website.
You can also take a motorbike taxi or grab (if available) for short distances.
5. Accommodation
I found a great host in Quy Nhon on Couchsurfing, so I did not use any hotel, motel or homestay services in Quy Nhon. Booking.com or hostelworld.com are my main sites to search for accomodation. Depending on your interest, you have variety of options in those sites. If you like to be with local people, try to find a host on either Servas, Couchsurfing or Host a sister (only for women or you need to travel with a sister LOL)
6. Food
According to research on the Internet and locals, there are many specialties in Quy Nhon including noodle with fish cakes, jumping shrimp pancakes, rice porridge cake, grilled spring rolls, normal spring rolls, sticky rice, shrimp and squid pancakes… In addition, as a coastal city, Quy Nhon is also famous for seafood dishes made from snails, scallops, clams, oysters, lobsters, crabs, cobia, king crabs… If you are vegetarian or vegan, tell the owners of the shop, it is possible that they have vegan version for you because local people also eat vegan food for certain days each months for religious reasons.
Photo: Lien Dinh. “ Bun cha ca (Noodle with fish cakes)”
What to do in Quy Nhon
Here is the order of places that I visited in Quy Nhon for 2 days based on the recommendations of my local friends.
- Ong Nui pagoda
- Eo Gio
- Ki Co beach
- Banh It Cham Temple
- Tay Son museum
- Ham Ho ecosytem
- Ghenh Rang – Tien Sa
- Ong Nui pagoda
My Couchsurfing host suggested that I started my Quy Nhon adventure at Ong Nui Pagoda for three main reasons. Firstly, it is the furthest destination from the center of Quy Nhon, so it makes sense to visit it first and then make my way back towards the city. The pagoda, also known as Linh Phong Son Tu, is situated on the top of Chop Vung in Phu Cat district, approximately 30km away from the city center.
Secondly, I should visit the pagoda during the early morning or late afternoon to avoid the harsh sun and to take advantage of the panoramic view of the coastline at the foot of the mountain. This way, I could start my day trip on a high note.
Overall, Ong Nui Pagoda is an excellent starting point for a day trip in Quy Nhon.
Ong Nui Pagoda boasts the largest sitting Buddha statue in Southeast Asia, making it a must-visit tourist destination. However, reaching the statue requires climbing 679 steps. Therefore, it is recommended to start the day with the most challenging part of the journey.
Apart from the giant sitting Buddha statue, visitors should explore the ancient pagoda that features beautifully and intricately decorated architecture, including the three-door gate, the stupa, and the main hall.
- Eo Gio
Eo Gio means “Strait of the Winds” also known as the “Waist of Winds” in Vietnamese because of the curved-in mountain which looks like the shape of waist. Some people said that Eo Gio is the Vietnamese copy of the famous Jeju boardwalk in Korea – I guess I would just focus on the nature and artistry view of the sea rather than the broadwalk.
Photo: Lien Dinh. “Eo Gio”
If you are not into nature, you might find what this place can offer you is a rather uneventful 10-minute walk up and down the rocky mountains, with crashing waves below. After finishing the short tour, there are some imbisses or places to relax and move on.
If you appreciate Mother Nature, you will enjoy the the blasts of wind constantly blowing at you and be in awe of the crashing waves that caused the gorgeous rock formations, and stunning curves of the beach. Some people might be thankfull for the investor and company building the boardwalk so you can climb the mountains easily at a cheap 25,000VND (~USD1.10) entrance fee to be surprised with the nature’s beauty. I am quite skeptical about this. Put in another word, I hate that broadwalk which destroyed the orginial natural version of the landscape. However, the lucikly part is that even with the broadwalk, Eo Gio is still stunning and worth visiting.
So, it is just a matter of perspective.
Please pay attention that tt’s really cold in the early mornings and evenings after 6pm. Good to visit it before noon… then after that you can enjoy your lovely seafood lunch!
- Ki Co Beach
Located about 25 km northeast of Quy Nhon’s center, in Nhon Ly island commune, Ky Co beach is what brings Quy Nhon become a rising star in tourism industry in Vietnam. It is like a beautiful princess showing its distinctive beauty, boasting crescent-shaped coastline and crystal-clear water.
The most special feature of Ky Co is definitely the two distinct shades of green/blue water, prominent against its white sand.
The beach has special landscape which might bring you the impression that you are visiting a private island because of its crescent curve with three sides bordering the mountains and one side skirting the sea. Moreover, the high tide will create the beautifull pools surrounded by large and sharp rocks, while the low tide will exposes many caves.
Photo: Lien Dinh. “Ki Co Beach”
- Banh It Temple
There are twin Cham Temples in town but I prefer to visit this complex of temples so I skipped the ones in town to come here. You cannot connect Banh It temples with the rest of Quy Nhon ( I mean the beach and the sea). What you see here is what used to be a town of sorts, the so-called Cham Temples of Quy Nhon. Eventhough they are Champ temple but slightly different due to the Vietnamese and Chinese influence. The building material brings a native feel to it. Those towels stand tall and proud on those lush green hillsides. It is powerful, peaceful and beautiful. I visited Banh It temples in the early morning when there were not so many visitors and I had the whole place for just myself. If you want to know about who are Cham people and the history of this ancient country, please read this article.
- Tay Son Museum
The museum is not bad at all when it provides the information about one of the greatest kings in Vietnamese history, Nguyễn Huệ. The ticket entrance is 30.000 VND and if you want to see the Tay Son drums and martial arts show then you have to pay extra 20.000 VND. The show is perfomed twice in the morning. However, it will be quite difficult as foreigers to visit since you might need a historian or a person who knows history of Vietnam and Quy Nhon to company with.
- Ham Ho ecosytem
I will be honest here that I was not so impressed by this place. Well, it is an ecosystem where you can have short boat trip which was nice and got off at some rock pools. You have to climb over many big rocks and hold on to ropes. Only Vietnamese food served and all in Vietnamese. The bike ride from Quy Nhon was an hour and half and on motorway so many trucks all pumping out black fumes. The rock pools what we saw were beautiful but if you just this place then it does not really worth the ride. The reason I visited this place was because it is not so far from Tay Son museum. It is suitable for family weekend plan rather than backpackers who wants to seek for something special. However, the rice fields near Ham Ho are stunning and if you decide to go to Ham Ho, this part can win your love.
- Ghenh Rang – Tien Sa
Ghenh Rang Tien Sa is inherently a complex of nearly 35 hectares wide area in the Xuan Van mountain range. The road to Ghenh Rang Tien Sa area is beautifully built, gently sloping. Rock populations and caves with various shapes spread along the coast. The salty breezes of the sea blow incessantly, making the air here become cooler and more comfortable.
When you stop at Egg Beach, you will be admired with countless unique pebbles that have been sanded by the waves, you will be surprised with the round rocks like eggs with many sizes creating a special unique landscape for this place. Right at the foot of the steep, craggy cliffs are stacked and layered egg-stone beaches.
This area was also where Han Mac Tu, one of the Vietnamese greatest poetes, spent his very last days of his life after struggling with leprosy.
I muss say that I would like the place if it was not unbelievely crowded. People were so motivated to make thousand of selfies and family photos with multiple different poses.
My summary for you
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Quy Nhon is a great place since it have not been so touristic yet even though I could see an increasing number of local tourist in this town. Based on what I experienced, I would recommend you definitely visit Ong Nui pogoda, Eo Gio, and Ki Co beach. The rest of the time you can either visit one of the destinations I mentioned above or just walk along Quy Nhon beach in town, and enjoy the food. You don’t have to rush things!