Is this the most beautiful motorbike trip in Vietnam regarding coastline streets? I would dare to say it must be one of the most beautiful ones.
I decided to visit Phan Rang, not for the city itself but for its position close enough for a motorbike trip in Vietnam to Cam Ranh. This is definitely off the beaten track as I didn’t find any info on anyone doing this on the web.
I went to Phan Rang for a short trip simply to do this motorbike trip in Vietnam that seemed to me that had the potential to be interesting. The reason why I mainly decided to do it was Vinh Hy and its bay. This motorbike trip ended up being much better than I could expect.
Phan Rang is definitely not the place where foreign tourists go, so to get there I had to find a way on my own by asking locals for help. First, I went from Ho Chi Minh to Phan Thiet a city near Mui Ne and the latest probably you have heard about. You can read about my time in Mui Ne HERE!
Ho Chi Minh to Phan Rang
Phan Tiet is also a beach destination just like Mui Ne, but not comparable because Mui Ne is where all the tourism activities are focused. Therefore, I dare to say there is nothing interesting in Phan Tiet itself. I stayed there for a night and took a walk around to find a beach that looks pretty normal, not fascinating, and very empty. There is no one doing beach here. So, perhaps, if you are looking for a very empty beach, this might be a good option, but honestly, there are way better empty beaches in Vietnam if that is what you are looking for. Anyway, is Phan Thiet itself worth a visit? No! But, this was also not my destination… as mentioned, I wanted to reach Phan Rang.
Phan Thiet to Phan Rang
From Phan Thiet I relied on my hotel receptionist to help me otherwise I had no idea what would be the best way to do this… She told me where to go to hop on a local bus to Phan Rang, but it was just a random place next to a big street… as I had no idea what the bus would look like and what time it would come, the lady asked my grab driver to help me. I went from my hotel by grab to the bus station she mentioned and my driver waited there with me until the bus showed up awwww. There was this stall selling drinks so I made sure to offer him a drink to thank him for his help. We sat and waited there for about 10 minutes (how generous is this that he is wasting his time to help me) and when a minivan showed up, he acted. This was not the local bus to Phan Rang, but it would do! It was a minivan and it was very well identified with a sign saying “Phan Rang”. The problem is that there is no one here that speaks English and I have no option to obtain information- I had no internet by then… so my gab driver was extremely helpful.
To hop on this minivan from Phan Thiet to Phan Rang I waited next to Khách Sạn – Karaoke Quê Hương. There was just a stall with many people sitting with bags and cases so you can guess where is the stop. It is not a properly signed bus stop. Just look for the signs of people that might be waiting.
After my grab driver helped me, he set off and I waited in the van for it to depart. I paid 100K dongs for the trip that took much longer than I thought to reach Phan Rang. It happened because this van acts like a bus, stopping wherever there is a person waving. They fill the van until there is no more possible place to sit (no that doesn’t mean a seat) and once we are packed to the ceiling the van won’t stop again for more clients. There was a family moving for sure because they had tons of things and all sorts of homeware with them. We stopped to load the van and once nothing else could fit we left.. the family had so much stuff that the husband stayed behind waiting for another bus as they couldn’t fit more things inside this minivan.
From Phan Thiet to Phan Rang it should take 2h30, about 150km distance, but it didn’t. The street to get there is supposed to be a highway, but just like other highways in Vietnam, there are crosswalks, traffic lights, animals, etc, etc…
Phan Rang
Once in Phan Rang, the minivan drops the passengers one by one where they ask. This made the trip last a long time cause I was the last one to be dropped off. I gave them a direction near my place that they could understand and it was easy. But once I got to Phan Rang I had another problem… The place I booked on Airbnb didn’t exist!!!! I was starving and tired from this trip and that messed up my nerves! How come I can book something that doesn’t exist!! They reimbursed me and I never booked through Airbnb again while traveling. Being that, I had to find another place to stay that was a 30 min walk away from where I was. There are no Grab services here and I didn’t see any Xe Om (or motorbike taxi) either.
There are no hostels here! The lady didn’t speak English either but fortunately, she called her son that did. I needed to rent a motorbike and I would need their help cause the place is not touristy and I had no idea where to rent a motorbike… there is no info about that. Important to mention that tourism in Vietnam was barely any at this time because of the pandemic.
I rented the motorbike at my hotel for 200K dong a day (expensive) but I had no other option. The next day I departed early for Vinh Hy on this scenic motorbike trip in Vietnam, the reason why I decided to come to Phan Rang.
Phan Rang motorbike trip to Cam Ranh
I knew nothing about Phan Rang and its surroundings, so everything there was a surprise and I liked it. Surely there is info about this area in Vietnamese but I can’t find it or understand it. In English, I found nothing about this route that I was about to do.
So, I followed this street on the map that seems to follow the coastline. I was hoping to see some beaches on the way, but I was definitely not expecting the whole route to be so scenic. Doing this motorbike trip in Vietnam was a delight to my eyes!! I stopped several times to contemplate the surroundings, therefore this trip lasted the day. My first stop was at the beach called Ninh Cu Beach or Bai Bien Ninh Cu. The beach is very wide and I stopped at the northern end of it. Wrong location… Here the beach is very dirty even though there were some people enjoying it.
Next, I continued north and stopped at Ninh Cu Bridge, a bridge with beautiful views of the surroundings!! I was not expecting Phan Rang to be this pleasant as not far from that bridge I am surrounded by salt lakes transforming the landscape and giving it a very charming touch. So far, the street was offering me views I did not expect. This area is very beautiful and it is marked on google maps as Mirro salt lake next to Ninh Chu Home where there is another dirty beach but very small and therefore pleasant as it was very peaceful with nice mountain views on the horizon.
The salt lakes follow along for a while and next there is another very empty beach also not so interesting. The street here is good and easy to do. It gets more hilly further ahead, but nothing scary, but beautiful instead as I was riding surrounded by hilly landscapes. There is a point where I see signs of grapes and many people parked along the street. I think this might be a popular place for grape farms.
Motorbike trip in Vietnam: Vinh Hy
At last Vinh Hy, and the view I wanted to have that day. Vinh Hy seems to be touristy among locals. There were many Vietnamese here in the area, but don’t worry because traffic along this street was inexistent.
Once at Vinh Hy, I decided to go to the bay and enjoy lunch there. The scenery is beautiful with many docked boats that fulfill the view with wonderful sights. It is a very quiet place even though. But, to see Vinh Hy from above it is the best view you can have. So off on the motorbike trip in Vietnam again to the viewpoint where I could see the whole bay accompanied by some wandering goats.
What a beautiful view! I stayed for a while contemplating it completely unaware that the views that followed were even better. When I decided to do this motorbike trip, this was what I thought would be the highlight, but it was not.
On Maps.me there are a few viewpoints marked ahead and they seem to be close to each other. That’s why I decided to continue on this street until the last viewpoint marked on the Maps.me app.
I’m glad I decided to because this was the absolute best part of the trip. This stretch of the street followed the coastline at its best where you can see the ocean at all times. The view is splendid to the beautiful blue tones of several beaches that follow along the street and look amazingly beautiful and once again, completely empty. The beaches here are beauuuuuutiful!! I could see what seemed to be corals. I think these beaches might offer nice snorkeling spots.
I stopped too many times on this stretch of road haha. The views were stunning. Crystal clear waters, WOW not expecting this at all. The street goes all the way to Cam Ranh that from what I’ve seen might be a beautiful destination. Keeping heading north, I had privileged views of some islands that are just nearby like Hon Chut, and Dao Binh Ba and this area here is fabulous. There are several floating farms, boats, and smaller islands that can be seen from the street and the viewpoints that follow it. So awesome! I dare to say this might be one of the most beautiful streets to do a motorbike trip in Vietnam. I doubt there is one with better coastline views. Surprising! I had no idea that Vietnam could offer me this pleasant experience.
I followed the street until the last viewpoint marked on Maps.me which was near Binh Tien. I had already done a long distance and the sky was turning darker and darker. I definitely didn’t want to do all the way back under the rain, so I decided to head back from that last viewpoint which offers a view of Bai Bien Binh Tien, a very wide beautiful beach. From that point on, the street seemed to stretch away from the coastline, which was also one of the reasons that kept me from going further. Probably and most likely, there are more beautiful unexpected views ahead, but that you will have to find for yourself and let me know haha
In total, I have ridden this street for 50 km northern than Phan Rang and then all the way back. The route should take 1 h, but obviously, that was not the point of my motorbike trip in Vietnam. I stopped everywhere I could, so I took much longer to complete my journey. The way back was obviously faster but I can say I spent a total of 4h this day doing this motorbike trip in Vietnam.
I ended up the day at the same beach where I started, Bai Bien, but at the center of the beach where all the Vietnamese are. Here the beach is clean and there are people selling food and drinks. It was a pleasant place to end the day as the place is surrounded by mountains that stretch far away.
I couldn’t recommend more a motorbike trip in Vietnam along this street from Phan Rang to Cam Ranh. It could be a good idea to follow it all the way to Cam Ranh. What a beautiful street. I was surely not expecting it!
