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Vung Tau - Bay of Boats

Just 128km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau has been a popular beach resort since French colonial times, when the town was known as Cap St. Jacques. Nowadays, the trip between Saigon and Vung Tau takes just 45 minutes, thanks to a daily hydrofoil service. On weekend and especially during holydays, Vung Tau streets, beaches and beach-front cafes simply swarm with tourists. But, as long as complete solitude isn't your goal, this bustling town is a fun place to enjoy some sun, sea air and delicious, fresh and seafood.

Despite the town's rampant development, steep cliffs, palm trees and ocen views lend Vung tau a distinctly tropical vibe. Set on a spit of land jutting into th mouth of the Saigon River, the town's core lies nestled between two rocky hills, Big Mountain to the north and Small Mountain to the south. Lush tropical greenery, flamboyant trees and frangipanis run riot over these hills, which are dotted with French colonial villas, pagodas and - in the case of Small Mountain - a 33 meters high Jesus Statue. Climb the steps leading up this giant figure and you can stand on Jesus’s shoulder, sharing his dizzying view of the bay from which Vung Tau, or "the Bay of Boats" takes its name. Also on Small Mountain stands Vung Tau's lighthouse, which offers stunning 360-degree views of the entire peninsula. Built in 1910, the light house provides a charming spot to sit and watch the sun sink into the sea.

Nui Lon, or Big Mountain, forms a lushly green backdrop to one of the town's quieter beaches, Mulberry Beach, a rocky shore that is home to some small guesthouses, as well as an intriguing Catholic cathedral

On the mount's southern slop stands one of the town’s most interesting tourist sites, the former royal of Bach Dinh. Built in 1909 as a retreat for French governor-general of Indochina, the mansion’s red-tiled roofs rise above a profusion of bougainvilleas and frangipanis, this garden carved into a lushly treed slop.

Today, the villa serves as a musem, but it's the view from its upstairs windows, rather than the collection of items salvaged from a 17th century shipwreck that is truly impressive.

Just 30 km from Vung Tau lies the smaller and decidedly less glitzy, resort of Long Hai. Once the site of glamorous French hotel, Long Hai is now a sleepy fishing town, where there is nothing to do besides bask on the sand, swim, and enjoy the catch of the day.

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