A crowd-puller all year round, the beautiful Nam O Beach is located in Lien Chieu district on the southern coast of Vietnam. The boat ride to the ecological park in Hoa Bac is very popular.
Developed in the early 1960s, Nam O Beach was originally frequented by local people alone. The stilt houses of today were built for tourist purposes and much of its historical charm has been lost. The small community used to support itself by producing firecrackers but since the government imposed a ban on these in 1995, the inventive locals have gone into preparing nuoc nam, a dipping fish sauce, instead.
A highlight of a trip to Nam O Beach is taking a boat westwards on the Cu De river. This ecological tour takes tourists to Hoa Bac in Hoa Vang district, a ward inhabited by roughly 9,000 minority people and dominated by the cultivation of tea and coffee.
Nam O Beach is on its way to become an increasingly touristy spot since a large new hotel complex, the Red Beach Resort has been built. The beach is furthermore incorporated in a project to embellish landscapes and solve the problem of pollution. The construction of an 800-meter road that will connect the Nam O Bridge with the bathing resorts is also part of this concept.
Getting There & Away
The city of Da Nang is situated 17kms south of Nam O Beach. Its international airport receives daily flights from Hanoi (1 hour, 15 minutes) and Ho Chi Minh City (1 hour, 10 minutes) as well as three flights per week from Singapore and Bangkok.