What to do in Nha Trang while it’s raining. Useful tips for tourists
So, you decided to save your funds on a holiday and chose the cheapest holiday package to Vietnam for the time from October to December. Who knew that this time is usually a rainfall season in Nha Trang? If you don’t want your spent money to go down the drain, you need to invent some activities while it’s raining. Don’t worry, there are lots of things to do!
Here are the main places worth to go to, and kinds of activities which you, probably, will want to try while it is raining hard outside and there is no wish to visit the beaches of Nha Trang and Northern and Southern Islands as well:
Contents
We have shown all the places on the map:
And now let’s talk about each of these places separately.
Museums
Oceanographic museum
To get more details, see the article “Oceanographic museum”.
Oceanographic museum of Nha Trang deserves attention, with no doubts, no matter if it is shining or raining heavily outside the hotel window. Here you can see living sharks, lots of species of fish, turtles and different underwater plants. It is both interesting and informative. Spending all the holidays on the beach, you won’t see even the third part of flora and fauna representatives exhibited in the museum.
Museum working hours: from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Entrance fee: 30 000 dongs (7 000 for a child).
Bao Dai Villas
History fans can get a bunch of positive emotions and useful information after visiting Bao Dai Villas. This complex was built in the 1920-s and served as a summer residence of the emperor. It was perfectly kept and demonstrates perfectly the features of local architecture, space decoration, and life organization of the country leaders a hundred years ago.
Beside this, Bao Dai Villas are a beautiful park with exotic plants and a wonderful sky deck opening the fascinating views of Nha Trang bay.
The cost of visiting is 20 000 dongs.
If you have a wish, you can take a souvenir photo sitting on the emperor’s throne. But this pleasure is additionally paid (about 30 000 dongs).
Impressions Museum
Interactive Impressions Museum is a relatively new entertaining place in Nha Trang. It can be called a museum really conventionally as all the exhibits can be not only touched but also used as elements of very original photoshoots. Besides this, the visitors of the original museum can become the participants in lots of competitions and amusements. For example, here it is possible to take a journey on… the ceiling.
It doesn’t make sense to describe further details, it is just worth trying. Numerous visitors say that both adults and children will have a great time here.
Health procedures
Mud baths
Tourists who visit Nha Trang regularly, say that in a rainfall season it is possible to have a great rest by visiting one of the local mud baths. Taking a bath in a warm pool on the background of a grey sky and drizzling rain – it is a peculiar trick of popular baths. The more especially as muds are really useful and healthful here.
Popular mud baths are:
- Thap Ba;
- I-resort;
- “100 Eggs”.
Another popular mud bath is Galina Resort&Spa. Here tourists are offered to use an indoor pool, where the weather mess is not felt. The only disadvantage is that limited dimensions of the venue do not allow accepting a great number of visitors at a time, so it is better to make a reservation in advance.
The cost of services in different baths may vary differently, depending on the duration and number of services provided, but on average it amounts to about 270 000 dongs.
Massage and SPA
For more details read our article “Massage in Nha Trang”.
Fans of massage and various SPA-treatments can fully satisfy their most original and secret desires and fantasies, having visited Nha Trang. Here you can get pleasure, and there are lots of possibilities for this. The cost and quality of the services offered may vary. The treatment types used in massage parlors are diverse, from the classical feet massage to chocolate wrap, hot stone massage, and others. But be prepared that parlors and services of low cost, as a rule, are specialized in providing intimate services…
Fish peeling is a very popular treatment, widespread in many countries of the world. Vietnamese people are wonderful specialists in this segment of health industry. In Nha Trang you can arrange your feet not only in multiple SPA parlors but in shopping centers also (for example, in Nha Trang center), and even in the Yang Bay Park.
Theatres
Original Puppet Theater on the water
A tradition of organizing puppet theaters on the water dates back to the XIth century C.E. Water surface is a stage for the performances alike. Acting artists are wooden puppets covered with special water-resistant lacquer. Puppet movers hide behind the screens, and in the night time, the performance unfolding on the water surface attracts plenty of tourists.
It is noteworthy that among the visitors of the performances alike there are traditionally more adults than children. However, the organizers are already used to such a situation and explain it by the fact that modern children grow in the digital world and real puppets fluttering on the water are out of their coordinate system and do not bring much interest. Adults are completely different, realistic performances are much more familiar to them.
Markets
For more details read our article “Nha Trang Markets”.
The market is a peculiar site of pilgrimage which doesn’t need special promotion. Arriving in any country, tourists definitely try to visit a local market – a specific thesaurus of national identity, unimaginable goods and smells.
Let’s not forget that it is possible to buy all kinds of fruit and seafood in the market several times cheaper than in official shopping centers. It is not necessary to speak Vietnamese to do this, it is enough to have innate skills of trading. Using mimics and sign language lets you make a successful deal almost in every part of the world.
However, the Vietnamese market is worth visiting not only for possible shopping. Its specific atmosphere is the best illustration to various myths and tales about Asian countries.
There are three main markets in Nha-Trang:
- Cho Dam;
- Xom Moi;
- Night Market.
Their exact location can be seen on the map at the beginning of the article.
Bowling and billiard
Bowling became a universal entertainment a long time ago, popular in many countries of the world on all the continents. Vietnam is not exclusion. If there are rain and sleet outside, visiting bowling will definitely elevate your mood. There are optimal conditions created for bowling fans in the “Nha Trang Center”. Come here and you won’t be disappointed.
Bowling fans can find an entertainment for themselves in almost every bar in Nha Trang. Billiard table is a necessary attribute of the venues of that kind. Here you can have a meal and play with the tourists alike. If you consider yourself to be a more serious player, it is worth visiting a local pool hall. There are enough tables for all who wish to play, and the prices are affordable enough.
Cinema is always cinema
Going to the cinema is one more way to have a great time while it is raining. Knowledge of English is desirable as in big cinemas they do not show Russian films yet. But they can be watched in a small cinema in Central Park. Sometimes even the films about Vietnam War are shown there.
Well, every cloud has a silver lining – watching a film will let you broaden your vocabulary, as a minimum. Especially if you go to the cinema with a person who knows English or Vietnamese quite well (as a rule, all English films have Vietnamese subtitles).
Shopping is the best way of rest
For more details read our article “Nha Trang Shopping Malls”.
For most tourists a high-quality rest is associated with a possibility to do good shopping. Vietnamese department stores are very attractive in this context.
Nha Trang Center
Nha Trang Center is a place where even a novice knowing nothing about local culture, habits, traditions, cuisine and other things, can purchase all necessary things for themselves and friends.
Here it is also possible to have a nice meal, admire the awesome sea view (the center stands tall on the bay coast), go to the cinema, or to the California gym.
On the floors of this shopping center, the tourist feels completely comfortable, as nobody bothers with annoying propositions and offers to bargain. The only disadvantage is that prices here are a bit higher than in the local markets and that’s why only tourists act here as buyers.
Lotte Mart
Lotte Mart is a super modern shopping center among all the local ones. It was opened not so long ago, in 2016, and at once started to gain popularity among the tourists. Lotte Mart is a two-story building with everything which is necessary to an average tourist – from food products and alcohol to cosmetics and souvenirs.
Big C
Big C is an enormous hypermarket where, besides the shops selling everything and always, there are very cozy cafeterias and playgrounds for kids. This shopping center stands out with very attractive prices for food products and for clothes.
Maximark
Maximark is one more popular outlet among tourists. Prices in this four-story shopping center are 10% lower than in Nha Trang Center. Here it is possible to buy almost everything – from food to souvenirs, and a journey through the sales floors can last for all the rainy season.
Besides the main ones, there are also METRO, Coop Mart and others.
Restaurants and night clubs
More details in the article “Night life of Nha Trang”.
Night clubs and restaurants of Nha Trang are places of round-the-clock merrymaking and good mood where bad weather does not happen. In the day and in the night here you can have a tasty meal, communicate, dance, smoke a hookah and just have a great time.
“Winter” club, for example, is one of the favorite places of rest for multiple Russian speaking tourists. Constant events and parties, pleasant music and wonderful atmosphere attract lots of vacationers here. For ladies the entrance is free, and for men, it is 50 thousand dongs.
Among the popular bars and clubs it is worth mentioning Skylight Nha Trang, The Rooftop Lounge, Lunar Lounge, The Temple, The Cloud and many others.
Other
Snake farm for exotic lovers
Visiting a snake farm is an entertainment that is not meant for the faint-hearted. Right here you can be ensured that in Vietnam and other Asian countries snakes are treated in a completely different way from that in Europe. Vietnamese people consider snakes as a very nourishing and healthy supplement to the everyday diet. Moreover, an eaten cobra, for example, is considered to be very efficient prevention of many diseases. Western medicine does not approve exotic “medications” officially yet but does not confuse them as well.
In a snake village, tourists can get acquainted with Vietnam which has not changed for several hundred years already. Here you can see ancient rituals related to snakes, and try specialties cooked of them, too. Not all the tourists take their chance to have a snake for lunch for the first time or to drink a cobra’s blood, but those who have taken a risk, give very positive reviews. These visitors state that tasting “snake” dishes have positively influenced their immunity and let them forget about cold-related diseases for the whole year. As they say, believe it if you want, check it if you doubt.
Silk workshop
The silk factory is one more specific attraction of Nha Trang. In fact, there is nothing extreme here. People who give their due to the talented Oriental craftsmen, creating unique pictures, try to get to this workshop.
We are talking about handwork when a picture is created by silk on silk. These are real masterpieces being popular all over the world. Only focused specialists can appreciate all the tricks of the work, and average tourists can just display their admiration with the pictures of Vietnamese craftsmen. Find some time for visiting this workshop – and you will make sure that it is worth it.
We tried to mention all the main places to rest in a rainy season. We hope that every one of you will find an activity after your heart while it is raining out of the window.
If you know an interesting place we didn’t mention, write in the comments!
