Vietnam

[PhatD1ver]

living in China, it's going on my Pre-retirement list... one of the things you learn traveling in Asia is just to 'go with the flow' and, LESS is BETTER... as kumi learned, staying at a mega-star resort has all the creature comforts, but you lose control... I will wager that if he'd found a nice little humble resort in Nah Trang (possibly suggested by Rainbow Diver's) that he'd have been able to do far more, for much less.. I know I'll be doing it that way, it has worked for me in Thailand and the Philippines so far.

And before you think I sacrifice comfort, what else do you need beside a hot shower and a bed at the end of a day diving? for some people a nice little beach bar, for others, somewhere to grab a rollup... but truly, a resort doesn't really give you much more than an overpriced place to sleep. And the nice thing about the smaller resorts, many have access to beaches, and you can grab a shore dive if you want.

It's true in Indonesia, Malaysia, and a lot of other places where the simple life reflects the way you should travel.. leave the big hotels to the people with no sense of adventure.

 

[NFacey]

Ok I'm going to throw in my t'pence worth since after reading this forum I decided to keep an open mind and look into diving in Nha Trang.
The night before we took the bus there from Dalat, I read this thread and then browsed TripAdvisor before coming across a few reviews for Han Solo Diving. The personalised nature of his operation appealed ("solo" is appropriate) - as did the price on his website - USD50pp vs. 75 at the main schools (yes I know we shouldn't book diving on price but we're backpacking and the reviews were good!). I flicked him a quick non-committal email enquiring re availability for Monday (this was on Saturday night). 18 minutes later I had a cheery reply in the affirmative and we arranged that Han would come to meet us at our hotel when we arrived there on Sunday. At 4 o'clock as agreed, we met for a drink and he ascertained our experience level and equipment sizing. We had a chat and talked about how we'd been enjoying street food all over SE Asia. Han then offered to take us for dinner at the best place to try Nha Trang's speciality of fresh roll-your-own BBQ pork spring rolls. This sounded great, particularly since we were mindful of the comment on here to avoid exacerbating the overfishing problem by patronising the touristy seafood restaurants. So later on he met us at the restaurant which was fortunate since we'd never have been able to order without him! It was delicious and unfathomably cheap, and we got to pick Han's brains on a few quirks of Vietnam we had been pondering. After dinner we had an early night in readiness for our Monday pickup at 7.30am, which was pretty prompt and right from the doorstep of our accommodation. As someone else commented, when it's quiet in town the dive centers team up to get decent use of a boat, which seemed sensible to us. We had Han to ourselves but shared the boat with just a few others; 2 Aussie snorkellers, 2 "try divers" (DSD) and their instructor, and 2 certified OW divers doing a refresher with their guide. There was tea, coffee, water, cake, and a whole lot of fruit we could help ourselves to for breakfast (although Han additionally fetched us a delicious BBQ pork baguette each for breakfast based on the conversation we’d had the night before). Nearing the site we were invited to check our gear - the BCDs were pretty well-used but in reasonable condition, the regs in very good order and our 3mm full-length wetsuits fitted fine.
After about 45 mins we arrived at Mun Island which is in the Marine Park. Our first dive site was Madonna Rock (apparently named for the twin conical outcrops!) and for the first 15 minutes or so I was starting to regret the decision. Viz <5m and 21 degree water made me wish for a 5mm suit! After that though we started to shallow up a bit and it got warmer (24-27), viz up to 15m, much healthier coral and some general reef fish we hadn't seen in Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia. Along with sightings of lionfish, various pretty pufferfish and a frogfish, there were three awesome swim-throughs that made the dive for us.
During the surface interval, we could make ourselves sandwiches with various fillings in beautifully fresh baguettes and continue to enjoy the breakfast offerings.
The much shallower second dive was at a site called Pipe Beach which was still pretty cold in places. Highlights included a school of razorfish, a juvenile harlequin sweetlips, large yellow trumpetfish, and the two species pictured here which we were told the local names for but are struggling to identify online - help appreciated!
Once back ashore we were bussed back to our accommodation at around 2pm.
So to summarise - it was a hassle-free, great value trip that over-delivered on our realistic expectations.

 

[Vindobona]

So does anybody know anything about diving on Con Dao?

I'm going to Vietnam in January, and Con Dao seems pretty amazing and untouched. Wikitravel says that the best diving in all of Vietnam can be done there (lots of turtles, rays, barracudas and even some sea cows), but I cannot find that much detailed information/reviews on here or anywhere else. Found 2 dive operator websites, and prices seem to be very expensive.

 

[PhatD1ver]

So does anybody know anything about diving on Con Dao?

I'm going to Vietnam in January, and Con Dao seems pretty amazing and untouched. Wikitravel says that the best diving in all of Vietnam can be done there (lots of turtles, rays, barracudas and even some sea cows), but I cannot find that much detailed information/reviews on here or anywhere else. Found 2 dive operator websites, and prices seem to be very expensive.

kind of off the beaten path, that presents two problems 1) no competition for dive shops, so no price control 2) transportation to and from, but potentially some good pay out 1) not a lot of tourist traffic, 2) decent diving (assuming the locals haven't decimated the reef with fishing).

 

[pallen]

BackpackingScubaDiver! I have never visited the Con son Island but my friends visited it last year with his cousins. He shared his diving experience with me. According to him it is really a great island including 16 islands. He said it was an awesome opportunity that he availed there. So I would like to say you to go there and take a chance to this island. I am sure you will definitely like it.

 

[ti325v]

So does anybody know anything about diving on Con Dao?

I'm going to Vietnam in January, and Con Dao seems pretty amazing and untouched. Wikitravel says that the best diving in all of Vietnam can be done there (lots of turtles, rays, barracudas and even some sea cows), but I cannot find that much detailed information/reviews on here or anywhere else. Found 2 dive operator websites, and prices seem to be very expensive.

Hi Vindobona:
As one of the dive shop owners located on Con Dao, If you are looking for good diving you will likely not find it here in January. Nha Trang is generally pretty bad as well. Many people agree to just give Phu Quoc a miss.
Yes diving has to be expensive on a remote island, costs here are astronomical. Please also consider we may take out in a year the same number of divers a small shop in Nha Trang takes out in a month. Come here in April and the diving may just surprise you.

 

[MB NZ]

Have they stopped dynamite fishing in Nha Trang yet? I found it somewhat detracted from the dive experience.

 

[vietzay]

Been to Mui ne and have had a lot of fun in this small fishing village, for the scuba diving that is rare in this part of vietnam i used to take a tour through Vietnamese Private Tours . Vietnam Tours. Vietnam Small Group Tours if you are fan of windsurfing and activities that are categorized under the same activity then here is your paradise. i personally loved it.
hope helps