The popularity of Vietnam as a tourist destination is growing rapidly and with it comes a dive infrastructure that is opening the doors to a multitude of dive sites along its long eastern coastline. Considering the length of Vietnam’s coastline it does come as somewhat of a surprise that most of the diving is based in Nha Trang.
Da Nang may develop as a diving destination but currently there is only one operator. Diving in general can be very good with everthing from gently sloping fringing reefs to vertical walls down to 50 meters deep. The coastal waters off Vietnam offer an impressive biodiversity with nearly half of all the species of coral on the planet found here. Marine life includes sharks, morays, rays and all the regular reef visitors. There are several virgin scuba spots that have yet to turn into popular resorts such as Phu Quoc and Con Dao. The future for these pristine diving locations will mean more dive boats, more divers and more dive sites discovered. If you want to see untouched reef and undeveloped islands its time to head off to Vietnam.
Diving in Nha Trang
As the Republic of Vietnam grows more and more as a tourist favorite destination in South East Asia, its shore line is home of some good dive sites in Nha Trang and off to the island of Mun also known as Hon Mun. Situated on the north east of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon), and far from the murkier waters of the MeKong river delta, Nha Trang offers great Vietnamese culture, essentially based on the harvest of the sea in a very traditional way. The coast line around Nha Trang has developed through history its pure tradition of fishing techniques and it will be possible to visit some of these fishermen villages, guardian of ancestrous traditional fishing secrets. Vietnam is the newest dive destination. Nha Trang offers fantastic sites: with over 350 different species of coral, also various and rich underwater life . Off Nha Trang lies the island of Mun, home of some interesting dive sites, where one of our dive package will take the adventurer diver.
These are some dive sites in NhaTrang :
Hon Mun
This is the island where all dive sites already mentioned in the Nha Trang section are located. It also has a couple of other sites such as Rainbow Reef and Tiger Wall. There are some shallow spots which offer good night diving and a smaller southern island called Hon Mot with a could of good dive sites. There are no wrecks around the islands of Nha Trang as everything above 50 meters has been salvaged by locals. Depth: 5 – 40m Viz: 5 – 20m Currents: Occasional Getting there : Boat 1 hour Best months: Jan / Oct
Madonna Rock
There are a couple of good swimthroughs at this dive site. It is a small rocky outcrop off Hon Mun Island, marine life includes giant morays, lionfish, scoprion fish and a wide array of breath taking coral. Depth: 5 – 25m – Viz: 5 – 20m – Currents: Occasional – Getting there : Boat 1 hour Best months: Jan / Oct
Moray Beach
A shallow dive with a sandy bottom, also some bizarre rock formations here. The site gets its name from the resident giant moray eels that are upto two and a half meters long. You may find the rare black spotted moray (Gymnothorax-favagineus) here too. This site is also good for spotting pipefish, razorfish and trumpetfish with a couple of leaf fish hiding in a small cave at 3 meters. Depth: 3 – 18m – Viz: 5 – 20m – Currents: Occasional – Getting there : Boat 1 hour Best months: Jan / Oct
Goat Rock
A spectacular vertical wall dive down to 40 meters can be done here. The wall is covered with hard and soft coral and provides home to all manner of marine critters.
Electric Nose
A little further towards the mainland is another little rocky out crop where deep diving can be done. The underwater terrain drops to 45 meters here but currents can be strong so only recommended for experienced divers. Depth: 5 – 40m – Viz: 5 – 20m – Currents: Occasional – Getting there : Boat 1 hour Best months: Jan / Oct
