A
t the moment, “Where?”
is the response you’re
most likely to hear on
mentioning your holiday
in Vinh Hy Bay. Regarded by the
Vietnamese as one of Vietnam’s four
most beautiful bays, it is still pretty
much unknown to outsiders. This
is likely to change soon however,
considering it is now home to Amanoi
– a spectacular Aman resort launched
in September. Add to this Dragon
Air’s promise of direct flights between
Hong Kong and Nha Trang (a
50km/90-minute drive north of Vinh
Hy Bay), and next thing you know,
everyone will be cooing over this new
arrival on the travel scene.
Vital statistics
Combine Africa’s Bushveld, Australia’s
Great Ocean Road and Indonesia’s
beaches, and you’ll have an inkling
of what Vinh Hy Bay has to offer in
terms of scenery. Situated northeast
of Ho Chi Minh City (HCM) in Ninh
Thuan province – right on the belly
button of Vietnam’s seahorse-shaped
coastline – Vinh Hy Bay is part of
Nui Chua National Park. Ranging
from sea level to the summit of Nui
Chua Peak (1,039m), the National
Park protects more than 29,000
hectares of tropical dry forest, as well
as an adjacent marine reserve of over
7,300 hectares. Streams carve their
way through ravines, giant granite
boulders balance above verdant
vegetation, and weathered trees curl
their gnarled branches into organic
pretzels. In the Vinh Hy Bay Sea
Conservation Area there are at least
307 varieties of rare coral, including
50 varieties recently discovered in
Vietnam. And the views? Well, the
views are magnificent.
While much of Vietnam’s
coastline slopes gently into the western
waters of the East Sea (also called the
South China Sea outside of Vietnam),
for about 10 kilometres around Vinh
Hy Bay the shoreline rears up and juts
rugged promontories into the ocean.
This, in turn, is pierced by pinnacles
of rock in a multitude of fascinating
shapes. Prickly pears and thorn trees
tangle with more tropical foliage
atop rocky bluffs, white curls of sand
smile in every protected inlet, and
beyond the shoreline, dusky green
hills roll away to the distant Truong
Son Mountains. Vinh Hy Bay is
picturesque in the extreme. And did
I mention the weather? Ninh Thuan
province is renowned for having the
best climate in Vietnam, with average
temperatures ranging from 22ºC to
35ºC, and approximately 250 days of
sunshine a year.
Getting there
The problem with being in the
vanguard of exploration is logistics.
Vietnam is just a skip and a jump from
Hong Kong – a mere two-and-a-half-
hour flight direct to HCM, and less
Keen for a trip
en famille
with your newest addition? Vietnam is opening
up at a rapid rate, and
Laura Miller
explores a part of the coastline that
won’t remain a secret for much longer –Vinh Hy Bay
.
than two hours to Danang and Hanoi.
When Dragonair launches its direct
flight to Cam Ranh Airport (which
services Nha Trang), you will spend
just one hour and 40 minutes in the air
over the East Sea.
But, when we visited Vinh Hy
Bay in August, we had to travel via
HCM after a rather early start in
Hong Kong. While not too arduous
a trip (the connecting flight between
HCM and Cam Ranh Airport is 40
minutes), we had a few delays – and
any trip with multiple flights is going
to be a challenge with two little people
in tow (and only one iPad!). On arrival
at Cam Ranh Airport, we fell straight
into “the loving arms of Aman” as
my husband puts it, and were whisked
to an air-conditioned SUV for the
90-minute drive to Vinh Hy Bay. (The
coastal road was being tarred, and
would surely speed up the journey
considerably when finished.) The other
travellers in the airport didn’t seem
at all nonplussed about
not
having
loving arms to fall into, however, and
all simply made their way to the taxi
services counter.
I was all set to snooze in the
car, but the buzz of seeing a new
destination perked me up, and soon
we were cruising through rice paddies,
past quaint farmhouses and then
alongside the sea. One moment stands
out – a glimpse of a woman working
at her sewing machine, framed by a
window, with the shirts she had sewn
Birth
destination
of a
November 2013
93
