Nha Trang traffic jam, crowded beach

Although the number of visitors is increasing, Nha Trang is lacking places for young people to play.

Photo: Xuan Hoat .

The weather on the second day of the holiday was not as hot as the first day. This year, Nha Trang was not as crowded as before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the tourism industry here is showing signs of positive recovery.

Nha Trang traffic jam for the first time after the pandemic

According to a survey, on the morning of April 30, tourists began to flock to Nha Trang. Many main roads of the coastal city such as Tran Phu, Hoang Dieu, Hung Vuong were jammed for kilometers.

From 9am, hundreds of cars were stuck on Tran Phu beach road from the city center to Vinpearl wharf. By 11am, the traffic jam was even more serious, the queue of cars was more than 4km long, moving meter by meter.

“We left the hotel at 9am, but it was almost 10am when we got to the port, a distance of more than 2km. The weather was quite sunny, so the children complained of being tired,” said Ms. Ha, a tourist from Hanoi .

Traffic jam on Tran Phu Street at noon on April 30. Photo: Xuan Hoat.

Traffic jams lasted so long that many tourists paid for taxis and service vehicles to walk despite the heat. "After checking Google Maps, we saw there was still about a kilometer to go, so my family decided to walk. Sitting in a taxi, we didn't know when we would reach the pier," said Ha Hung, a tourist from Dak Lak .

Due to the prolonged traffic jam, Khanh Hoa Provincial Police and Nha Trang City Police have dispatched forces to Tran Phu Street and intersections to regulate traffic and guide people and tourists.

"Tourists traveling by private vehicles to Nha Trang for tourism, coupled with the hot weather, they choose to go on island tours, which may be the cause of traffic jams on Tran Phu Street," said a traffic police officer.

Many Nha Trang residents were also surprised and excited because it had been a long time since Nha Trang had a traffic jam for tourists coming to relax.

According to the leader of the Traffic Police Department of Khanh Hoa Province, Tran Phu Street was only congested from the city center to Vinpearl Port, Nha Trang Tourist Port. By around 1 p.m., the traffic jam was gone and no violations occurred.

According to Mr. Tran Van Phu, Head of Nha Trang Tourist Wharf, on April 30, nearly 8,400 tourists took a boat to visit the islands.

According to Mr. Phu, compared to last year's April 30 holiday, the number of visitors this time increased by 43%, of which international visitors accounted for about 18%, mainly Chinese and Korean visitors.

Sharing with Zing about the reason for choosing Nha Trang for this vacation, tourist My Linh (29 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) said that Nha Trang is a place that fits her budget for resort tourism, the beach is relatively beautiful, and hotel room prices are diverse. As for food and drink, this tourist does not choose restaurants located on the front of Tran Phu Street to avoid being ripped off.

“This is my third time coming to Nha Trang, so I am quite familiar with the roads here. This time I came back, I saw that there are many hotels with a variety of prices for tourists to choose from, so hotel costs are no longer a concern for me when coming to Nha Trang this time,” My Linh said, adding that learning from her previous experience in Nha Trang, she chose seafood restaurants located behind Tran Phu Street to save money.

Cheaper than before the pandemic but lack of places to play

Unlike My Linh, tourist Ngoc Mai (25 years old, living in An Giang) said she was very excited to choose Nha Trang for her holiday vacation because this was the first time she had visited the coastal city.

However, after a day of wandering the streets and visiting several locations, Ngoc Mai said that Nha Trang does not have many places to play.

“Although I have been in Nha Trang since April 29, I have not found a suitable place to have fun other than swimming and entertainment,” this tourist shared, hoping that Nha Trang needs to have more attractive places and entertainment activities, especially for young people.

“Famous places like the Mountain Church and Tram Huong Tower are famous, but when you visit them, they don't create the same excitement as at first,” Ngoc Mai added.

Tourists swim in Nha Trang beach to cool off in the hot weather. Photo: Xuan Hoat.

According to the survey, many tourists still like Nha Trang because of its beautiful beaches and attractive island tours. In particular, Nha Trang is no longer as “expensive” as it was 3-4 years ago.

Tourist Anh Duong (35 years old, living in Quang Ngai) said he visited Nha Trang with his family and friends during this holiday. He said that prices in Nha Trang are “softer” than other coastal cities, such as Phan Thiet, Phu Quoc, etc.

According to Mr. Duong, most of his friends have children, so swimming or light sightseeing in the land of Agarwood are popular with everyone. However, in public places such as April 2nd Square, there are still many people flying kites and selling goods on the street, affecting people around them, especially children.

“My friends all live in different places so we decided to choose Nha Trang because it is in the middle. I stayed at a hotel on Ton Dan Street, the price of one million VND/night is commensurate with the quality of service, especially since it is very close to the beach,” Mr. Duong happily said.

Similarly, Gulnara (27 years old, Russian tourist) expressed her delight that the beach in Nha Trang has many street vendors with a variety of snacks, completely different from Russia.

“In Russia, when going to the beach, people have to bring food like they are going on a picnic, but here it is different. Most people do not bring food, they just sit in one place and someone will come and offer them food,” Gulnara shared, but he also said that it is often quite inconvenient because while resting on the sand at noon, vendors will bother him and offer him food.

The 63 provinces and cities in the country contain countless destinations that are culturally diverse and historically unique. Zing introduces to readers pages of books about the journey to discover Vietnam.