Vung Tau and Long Hai

Vung Tau is a major beach town popular with the locals. It is accessible by the hydrofoil (7 dollars one way) and located at the mouth of the Mekong Delta on the tip of a small peninsula. Its known for its crowds and unclean beaches, but we went anyway to see just how true the rumors were. Though we didn't take many pictures of Vung Tau the Petro House, our one stop was an enjoyable experience. They offer good food at reasonable prices but their hotel is located in the center of Vung Tau. If your looking for the beach, they aren't the place to stay. After that we headed 30 kilometers to the east of Vung Tau to Long Hai, a less touristed beach. The taxi cost about 10 dollars and was well worth it though public transport is avaliable if you look. We stayed at a military guesthouse for only 200,000 or 12 dollars a night. It was a clean room with air con, television (only about 3 channels), fans, bathroom, and complimentary hot water for making your own tea. The beach is right across the street but they don't take advantage of the views and large scraggly trees block the sandy beaches. The beaches themselves were a major disappointment. While it is nice that it is relatively untouristed, it makes the locals especially voracious and they tend to overwhelm you and ruin your time on the beach. As for cleanliness of the beach I can't say much about it as there was trash and feces everywhere, even the water looked suspicious. The only true beauty in the town of Long Hai could be viewed at the top of a large temple overlooking the water and the Long Hai hills that sweep along the coast. The temple has a large room full of bright dragon costumes and fake pearls the size of your eyeballs. After viewing the temple and eating at one of the Cantin restaurants ( you can choose between 1,2,3,4,5,6) for good greasy springrolls and pork, we quickly went to bed, eager to return home to Ho Chi Minh City in the morning.
Vietnam Flag located near the ferry dock in Ho Chi Minh City, District 1
Long Hai Beach