Beginner’s guide to Nha Trang - Review: Lapostolle Residence, Chile

With a sweeping crescent beach and world-class diving on the doorstep, Nha Trang also boasts an abundance of bars, temples and local landmarks to entertain any first-time traveller.

Welcome to Vietnam’s hustling, bustling beach capital, situated some 440 km north of Ho Chi Minh City.

There's no shortage of bars, historic landmarks and water activities across Nha Trang. — There’s no shortage of bars, historic landmarks and water activities across Nha Trang.

Eat

Galangal

Arguably one of the best places authentic Vietnamese cuisine, Galangal’s menu has a strong focus on street food.

Try the street food buffet, with a tasty array of dishes crafted some fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods.

Address: 1A Biet Thu

Louisiane Brewhouse

Set right on the beach, this open-plan brewhouse serves delicious homemade beers as well as an assortment of local and international cuisine, including an in-house sushi bar.

Almost as good as the food is the music and atmosphere – visit on Wednesday for flamenco, Friday for pop or Saturday for rock and blues, from 8:30pm.

Address: 29 Lot Tran Phu

Lac Canh Beef BBQ

No trip to Nha Trang is complete without stopping at Lac Canh Beef BBQ.

This fast paced, cook-it-yourself restaurant serves Nha Trang specialties, such as bo lac canh (marinated beef).

For a real treat, order a bread roll to soak in the remaining marinade and grill it for a few minutes. Garlic bread never looked so passe.

Address: 44 Nguyen Binh Khiem

Bo Ke Seafood

Sampling local seafood doesn’t get much better than this.

Taking in both river and ocean views, this relaxing waterside restaurant showcases seafood the local way, with everything on the menu caught fresh each day.

Address: 42B Cu Lao Trung

Shop

Artful Collection

The handiwork of French photographer and designer Thiery Beyne, Artful Collection is a gallery and souvenir shop in one.

Housing a collection of Beyne’s work, here you can pick up limited-edition, originals and black-and-white prints portraying his impression of the country he now calls home.

Address: 1 Tran Quang Khai

Saigon Pearl

Here you can pick up a pretty little pearl keepsake, produced in nearby Van Phong Bay, using modern techniques from Japan.

All of the pearls sold at Saigon Pearl have matured over two years, providing top-notch quality.

Be sure to ask the shop assistant for a demonstration on how the pearls are cultivated.

Address: 150 Hung Vuong / InterContinental Nha Trang, 32 Tran Phu

XQ Hand Embroidery

Quickly becoming the most recognisable embroidery brand throughout Vietnam, XQ has been a driving force behind the art of embroidery becoming ingrained in Vietnamese culture.

Some of the embroidered works here are so exquisite, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a photograph.

Address: 64 Tran Phu

Po Nagar Temple, Nha Trang. — Po Nagar Temple, located at the mouth of the Cai River in Nha Trang.

Visit

Thap Ba Mud Bath Hot Springs

A concept that has existed for thousands of years, Nha Trang’s mud baths are the result of natural hot springs combined with volcanic ash.

Swimming in these mud baths is believed to have beneficial health properties, then you can rinse off in hot mineral water.

Address: 15 Ngoc Son, Ngoc Hiep

Po Nagar Temple

Located at the mouth of the Cai River in Nha Trang, this ancient temple features the unique architecture of the Champa culture.

Built between the 8th and 13th centuries during the prosperous reign of Hinduism in the Cham kingdom, the temple is the largest left in Central Vietnam.

Twice a day beautiful Cham girls perform traditional Cham dancing at the temple from 8am to 11am and 2pm to 5pm.

Hon Khoi Salt Field

Situated about a 45-minute drive from Nha Trang city, between January and June this salt field is quite the spectactle to witness.

From 4am to around 9am, women work here carrying heavy baskets of salt on their shoulders from shallow pits, and piling them up for the trucks to distribute across the country.

Try to arrive before sunrise for a spectacular and unforgettable view.

Address: Ninh Au Co Quang An Tay Ho

Tu Van Pagoda (Shellfish Pagoda)

Built around 1968, Shellfish Pagoda became famous for using solid ocean matter in its construction.

The 39-metre Bao Tich Tower alone took five years to contruct, using only coral and decorated with shells and clams.

Much of the materials used over the years was collected by the pagoda’s monks, found along local beaches.

In recent years, the landmark has grown to include more towers, caves, tunnels and bridges, all decorated with findings from the beach. Check out the 500-metre tunnel leading to ‘Hell’ while there.

Address: Thang 4 Street, Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa

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Ho Mun island

Nha Trang is famed for its world-class diving sites, regarded at the scuba diving centre of the country.

But the pinnacle of local dive sites is the marine park of Hon Mun – boasting over 350 listed varieties of hard and soft corals, as well a rainbow of tropical fish and other marine life.

STAY

Intercontinental Nha Trang

Situated on the golden street of Tran Phu in Nha Trang City, Intercontinental Nha Trang is just one of the luxury hotel brand’s outposts in Vietnam.

The property features 279 guest rooms, all of which feature a spacious balcony with private sitting area.

Guests can also make use of the complimentary Wifi provided, while those who are a part of Club InterContinental are also treated to private check-in and check-out, complimentary afternoon tea, and all-day non-alcohol beverages.

The hotel’s signature restaurants and bars promise a range of gourmet experiences too. Cookbook Café for instance (the main restaurant), serves all-day dining a-la-carte menus and buffet at night.

Three outdoor swimming pools, dedicated fitness centre, spa and kid’s club are just some of the facilities at Intercontinental Nha Trang hotel.

Guests can also indulge in cocktails at Lobby Bar or Aqualine Bar or soak up glorious Nha Trang sunshine at the poolside lounge.

Other facilities include a dedicated fitness centre, three outdoor swimming pools, a spa and kid’s club to entertain younger guests.

Intercontinental Nha Trang, situated on the golden street of Tran Phu in Nha Trang City, overlooking the iconic coastline.

Advice

Exchange rate

Vietnamese Dong is the local currency. So $1AUD is equal to about 17,000 VND (check here for the latest rate).

Gratuity

Whilst there is no expected amount for gratuity, a small tip will always be appreciated.

What to wear

Nha Trang is best known as a beach town and open to various forms of street fashion.

However, always dress properly with covered shoulders and knees when sightseeing, particularly religious sites.

Remember to remove shoes before entering temples or someone’s home.

Weather

Nha Trang’s dry season lasts from January through August, with a short wet season from September through December. The average annual temperature high is a pleasant of 30.7˚C.

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.

Beginner’s guide to exploring Nha Trang, Vietnam