Bai Xep and more Quy Nhon beaches

I’ve spent 2 days riding a motorbike around Quy Nhon. On the first day I went to the northern part and on the second day I explored a bit of the southern part of Quy Nhon, including Bai Xep, but not as far as on the first day because I didn’t find anything attractive further south.

Bai Bau beach

My first stop on this day was Bai Bau. Quy Nhon seems to have several beaches along the coastline further south, but I don’t see much information about it so it was a total mystery and discovery.
I followed the GPS to get to Bai Bau and once at the street to properly access the beach I found a closed gate! What? It was not possible to access the beach! I saw no other path to get to the ocean so I had to call it a go and give up on this beach. It was disappointing because my plan was to see several beaches along the coast, but that didn’t happen as I wished.

I decided that I didn’t want to travel further than Bai Bau, so after this discovery, I turned around and headed north to stop at other beaches that were supposed to be accessible along the way. Being that, my next stop was Bai Bien Bai Bang.

Bai Bien Bai Bang

The entrance seemed to be directed to a resort, but there was also a smaller street just next to the resort with public access. Needless to say, I saw no foreigners here and the few people I saw were workers and fishermen. They greeted me with smiley hellos from a distance but apparently, when I’m closer they get shy because they didn’t say a word when I walked across them haha.

The beach is actually located tucked between hills and mountains, so for me, it was very beautiful surrounding. The water colors were not impressive, but if you want a whole beach for yourself, this is it! Absolutely no one around, just really those fisherman emptying their fishing boats filled with tiny little shrimp. I saw them carrying baskets of shrimp back to land in this very Vietnamese sort of “scale” basket system where the weight is on their shoulders.

It was excruciating hot and there was no shade at all at the beach. I struggled a bit just to spend a few minutes there, and for that reason, I didn’t stay long. I don’t really like to burn in the sun like that and even though the beach was nice and sort of clean, it didn’t seem like the place to lay under the sun all by myself without any shade. So after admiring Bai Bien Bai Bang’s beauty, I moved on to try to see more beaches.

My next stop was Bai Xep, a beach that seems to have a good reputation in the area. On my way there I tried to see if it was possible to access any other beaches, but it seems like they are “private” as the resorts are the only way to access them. There are several resorts here. So no way I could get to those beaches.
Still, I planned to stay in Bai Xep longer so it was fine. Not this long because I was supposed to take longer exploring the other “private beaches” but whatever…

Bai Xep

Bai Xep is a beach in a cute little bay. It isn’t that wide but it is clean and pretty, even though not amazing. To access the beach I had to ride across very narrow alleys and I didn’t like this idea haha. Once I got stuck there, because 2 motorbikes didn’t fit at once, I decided to go to the street access and leave my motorbike in an area right after the steep street to access the beach. I saw that spot and asked some old men if I could leave my motorbike there. They answered with a smiley yes and I didn’t even pay anything for it! Surprise haha.

I didn’t know that it was possible to ride the motorbike right in front of Bai Xep beach and park it just there. The place seemed too small and crowded for it, but if you go to Bai Xep by motorbike, you can take it all the way to the beach and pay for the parking there.
I’m happy I decided to leave my motorbike further and could walk for a bit among the village’s houses and people. This place actually sees quite a few foreigners. There was a hotel right in front of the beach with foreign guests. They operate a restaurant too and that was where I stopped for a drink.

I also visited the other side of the bay, exactly opposite Bai Xep to find a very dirty beach with many fishing boats and nets and the place is obviously dedicated to fishing. Not the beach where you would lay down to relax haha. From here I could see Quy Nhon in the distance and it was a nice view to witness.

I spent most part of my day at Bai Xep Beach. There was a tree that provided shade and the rocks provided some shade too, so I stayed there tucked among them. The beach is very quiet. Had it almost to myself and a few foreigners, cause Vietnamese don’t wander under the mid-day sun. A bit further, I found a “private beach”. Well, there was a sign saying private beach area, but nothing stopped me from continuing. I actually didn’t go but I think it is ok to keep walking as I saw people doing it.
Near the rocks where I stayed, there was a sort of natural swimming pool during low tide where the water was way more pleasant and warm. I stayed a great part of my time there.
After having enough of Bai Xep Beach, which loses direct sunlight kinda early, I decided to explore one more spot before heading to the heart of Quy Nhon City.

Nui Vung Chua

I saw this spot on the map in the middle of the mountain and I decided to check it out as it seems to be a viewpoint.
I went there to see the sunset from the mountain. What I wasn’t expecting was that the place is a popular destination for walkers! Lots of people walking in Vietnam! WOW. I was very surprised! The street to get to Nui Vung Chua was steep 100% of the time! I saw people leaving their motorbike behind and walking all the way up. I was wondering why. Later on, when I decided to stop my motorbike, I was approached by locals telling me to be very careful when I ride down the mountain. Apparently, there are a lot of accidents in the area and he said it was dangerous. He told me people break their brakes by pressing them too hard. I confess he scared me. Why did it come at me with that conversation?? So annoying. I didn’t even feel like the place would be dangerous because the street was pretty good. Or maybe I have been to worse and that’s why that didn’t scare me haha. But as I’m a foreigner, I guess they were scared for me. I stopped my motorbike right before a very steep curve ahead, a few meters before a communications tower. I decided it was enough for my motorbike and I confess that seeing no one on a motorbike got me thinking. Another foreigner and I were the only ones I saw up there riding a motorbike haha, everyone else was walking, but they were wearing sports clothes so I believe they were there for that purpose.

Next to this communications tower is finally a plane street. And next to this tower is also a viewpoint. Don’t give up on trying to find it. There are no signs at all, the place is a path between the tall grass and you won’t see it at first unless you try to explore. There is this little path among the plants which leads to a rock where it is possible to have a gorgeous view of Quy Nhon. The view was kind of covered by some trees, so maybe there is a better viewpoint further ahead, but I decided I wouldn’t go further. Because the local guy scared me a bit with that conversation about being dangerous, and then I couldn’t stop thinking about the way down. WHY!!?? OMG I was so well without that disturbing info! Amazing how someone’s words can change your mood that much! People around you do have power!

Anyway, the view I had was pretty nice and I could see more and smaller mountains in the area that I wasn’t aware of. I think there might be more viewpoints around Quy Nhon on those mountains, But this one was the only one I visited. It was enough. I was happy about the view I saw from there.

Once I had enough of the view, I decided to start my way down, feeling scared all because someone placed a fearful seed in my brain. All went well and smoothly though.
I finally went back to the city to end my day and what a nice one!

Queen’s Beach

I stayed even another day in Quy Nhon, but this time I didn’t need any means of transport so I just walked along the beach all the way to this place called Queen’s Beach, but there isn’t any beach haha. Or if there is must be a tiny bit of sand between the rocks.
There was a temple with a nice city view though and the place was very chill for a walk, among trees and greenery. It was a very pleasant walk. A long one but pleasant. Only late I REALIZED THERE ARE BICYCLES TO RENT IN THE CITY, which might be a good option to explore the nearby surroundings like this one.