This is an area of Vietnam you probably never heard about. It’s ok. I never heard about Cam Lap either. I decided to explore it because it is a peninsula with beaches and those are usually nice hidden gems. Plus, I have been not so far from Cam Lap before on my trip from Phan Rang to Vinh Hy, and the beaches I saw along the way were very beautiful, so I thought this area would be worth a try.
I stayed in Cam Lap only one afternoon and I honestly recommend you dedicate more time to it. If I knew it was this beautiful I would definitely have spent more time in Cam Lap. But I had no idea about it… There are some places where you can spend a night on the peninsula. I unexpectedly saw a handful of foreigners here. I was expecting to see none haha.
Cam Lap isn’t far from Cam Ranh. Very near, in fact, not more than 30km away that can be done easily on a motorbike within 40 minutes.
The peninsula isn’t big and won’t take long to explore but the beaches are worth a longer stop to enjoy paradise. What a hidden gem.
I tried to go everywhere possible and the beaches in Cam Lap overcame my expectations.
Sao Bien
This was my first destination in Cam Lap. To get there the street is steep and not the best, but there are almost no vehicles. Came across some beautiful views to get there.
This might be the most touristy spot in Cam Lap. I’m not sure if you have to pay to access the beach because there was a guy sitting at the entrance, but I didn’t talk to him, so not sure… I just parked and entered with confidence haha.
Downstairs is a bit of paradise. Several bungalows on the sand, a cute little beach with coconut trees, pink beach chairs and an umbrella, an infinity pool with a slide, and a clean awesome area I wasn’t expecting to see. So charming OMG. If you plan on staying in Cam Lap, I think this resort on this beach is a pretty cool choice. There was a restaurant and a beautifully decorated area with a wooden walk on the water and beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. I was so excited to find this spot haha. Couldn’t wait to see the rest of the peninsula, so I didn’t stay here that long.
Exotel Yen Bay
It seemed to me like there was a resort here, and that would mean a private beach, but I still wanted to try my luck. I have explored some private beaches before by walking in confidently and avoiding talking to anyone.
But, there was nothing here. The place was not accessible and I believe this resort is still under construction –*this was on Feb 2024- and the project for it looks pretty dope. Anyway, I didn’t bother much about it and moved on to the next spot.
Kim Xuyen Homestay
Next was a beach in front of this homestay. Not a place to stay though. This is a fishing area with lots of huge fishing cages and fishermen around doing their thing. Nice to have a look but that’s it.
Lo Lem Beach Camping
As there are some other resort areas in other spots, I went to the beach near Lo Lem Beach Camping. There was a small dirt path to access the beach and that was the one I used, otherwise, the beach seems only accessible through some establishments.
Beautiful beach this one too! There was a resort with a bar in front of the beach and that’s where I decided to stop and relax the rest of the day. The beach here is beautiful and the views are wonderful as many mountains surrounding the area are in sight. So pretty with these photogenic boulders and calm waters! I really liked it here. Very chilled too even though it was a Vietnamese holiday when I visited. This is a very quiet relaxing spot.
Rock Cape Cam Lap
This was where I headed for sunset. I walked there through Lo Lem Beach and as I got closer to the cape, the beach revealed another truth. Trash and more trash as I don’t remember seeing before! This area is absolutely packed with trash!!! So much plastic OMG disheartening! Such a beautiful spot and so dirty and smelly! The biggest gathering of plastic straws I have seen!! What a shame! On the other side of this little bay is another beach. Quite wide and very empty either.
I explored around the rocks woooow what a beautiful place with stunning views of the little boats around. So beautiful here among the rocks wow. I was very surprised. Wasn’t expecting to find a place this beautiful. Beautiful rock shapes, beautiful views, very photogenic, but dirty haha whatever, still worth the hype.
And that was all I have seen in Cam Lap. I went back to Cam Ranh to sleep there regretting I didn’t book anything in Cam Lap instead… Would have been much nicer.
Binh Ba island
The next morning I woke up in Cam Ranh and I tried to go to Binh Ba Island. It is a small island seen from Cam Lap and Cam Ranh and from Google pics seems to be worth a day’s visit. I went to the port in the morning- Ba Ngoi seaport- not the one marked on the map, I went to Cang Ca Da Bac and they sent me to this one instead.
Once at Ba Ngoi seaport, I parked my motorbike where all the bikes were even though the guy was saying NO NO. Why not, if everyone is parking here? Weird. Later I understood why.
The port was packed with Vietnamese and I headed to the ticket counter to buy a boat ticket to Binh Ba Island. I was excited I made it on time for the boat. Until… I hear a NO as an answer. What do you mean NO? Is the boat already full? OH NO!! Am I too late? The answer was a no too… hmm I was confused. Why can’t I go, I insisted! I made her translate on her phone the reason why: NO FOREIGNERS ALLOWED!
Damn, I didn’t see that coming haha. I was very surprised to read that sentence. What? Seriously? Why? I don’t see a reason why, but I can’t escape the rules, so with a sad face, I have no option but to go back and face the guy who said “No” before. Haaaaa now your NO NO makes more sense!
This way, instead of spending a day on an unexplored island I went back to Nha Trang’s main beach, only to be stolen haha What a day!
Stolen in Nha Trang Beach
This wasn’t even my plan, to go to Nha Trang’s beach, but there weren’t any other appealing options honestly and I didn’t feel like going again to Cam Lap, only to have to go from there to Nha Trang later on. Maybe I should have. The truth is that my phone was stolen at Nha Trang beach once I left my things unattended on the sand.
Honestly, I was so fast going to the water because I was aware that Vietnam is not safe- in a way that there are lots of thieves- and even though I didn’t take any longer than 2 minutes in the water when I was back my phone was gone. It was so weird I confess! Everything was there on the towel except my phone!! EVERYTHING- I had all my stuff with me cause I was road-tripping. So, among the unfortunate, I think I was very lucky.
Someone must have been watching me for a while and knew exactly where my phone was. He was too fast!! I was extremely upset and in disbelief! I can’t believe it happened again in the same way. My phone was stolen less than 1 year ago in Koh Lipe as I left my things alone on the sand, that’s why it pissed me off even more! Because I was being cautious about it and still the thief got me. The hotel receptionist said this happens too often. They know what they are doing. He said it must be someone who worked in a phone shop that dismantled the phone immediately so it wasn’t worth going to the police, they wouldn’t find it. And yes, unlike Thai police who tried their best to help me, Vietnamese police couldn’t care less. The most useless police ever!!! I swear. I can compare the behavior in both countries with the same situation and honestly, Thailand can’t even be compared with Vietnam. I told this to the hotel receptionist, and how I was being treated differently through the same situation. Then he said: that’s one of the reasons why tourists prefer Thailand. He had a point. He even added I was lucky no one stole my motorbike. I swallowed deeply and was thankful instead of pissed haha.
