Nha Trang Vietnam dive trip report

Nha Trang, Vietnam dive trip report, August 16, 2007

I am just back from diving one day at Nha Trang, Vietnam as part of a
Southeast Asia journey. After reading the sparse information
regarding Vietnam diving on this board, I followed recommendations to
Nha Trang for reputedly the best quality diving in Vietnam. What a
bonus it was to find, what to me was great diving, with one big
surprise. First the biodiversity of corals and fish blew me away, 3
Pipefish, Frog fish, hard and soft corals galore. Also I saw a lot of
fish behavior with aggressive anemonefish and polarized schools of
bait fish.

The big surprise was the 75 degree thermocline!? As someone who has
seen plenty of 100+ foot visibility and warm water, Nha Trang was a
nice change of pace. Many new species of fish here for me and I have
done some diving in the Indo-pacific. Interesting underwater
topography with low granite boulder ridges covered in soft coral and
gorgonians as well as nice hard coral formations. The two dives I did
were off of Hon Mun Island, with a maximum depth of 56 feet. The trip
through green mountain islands on an old wooden boat to reach the
island was outstanding.

At US $ 43 for two tank boat dive with full rentals, diving Nha Trang
is a bargain. Rainbow divers is the big outfit in Vietnam, but their
tendency to treat their divers like school kids was off-putting. As
well we found their office manager to be unhelpful regarding local
practicalities such as lodgings. Once on the boat Rainbow managed
things quite well and our dive master Viet was excellent. Coco dive
center had a beautiful boat and might be a good option in Nha Trang.

Nha Trang town is not what I would call a beach resort. It is quite
urban with a beach front but no beach side bungalows. It was nice to
rent a small sailboat and sail on the South China Sea. We stayed at
Sun Hotel about 1 block from the beach with a small balcony, AC,
private bath with a tub for Approximately $18 a night. Good hotel
with helpful staff.

If you are looking for warm tropical waters with awesome visibility,
Vietnam aint it. But for something different with lots of unusual
species and a different approach to diving Vietnam is great.

If you are in Vietnam and are a diver definitely check it out, as far
as doing a dedicated dive trip, bring neoprene. I could see doing a
trip and diving several locations up and down the coast, you might
find a new species of Nudibranch? Hope this report provides some
helpful info. T