Everything you need to know before travelling to Binh Ba

Below are useful tips collected by iVIVU.com to help you have a smooth trip to Binh Ba island!

A brief introduction to Binh Ba island

Binh Ba is a small island of just over 3 km², in Cam Binh commune, Cam Ranh city, Khanh Hoa province – 60 km from Nha Trang and about 390 km from Ho Chi Minh City. To get to Binh Ba you must go to Ba Ngoi port, which is 15 km from Cam Ranh airport; Binh Ba is another 15 km from Ba Ngoi port.

Binh Ba used to be a military island, with outsiders restricted. The rules have now been relaxed, but foreigners are still not allowed – which is also why Binh Ba has only recently become famous! If you don't want to be sent off the island early, don't wander into military restricted areas or behave in a disruptive or rowdy way.

A panorama of Binh Ba island. Photo: lanbienxanh.vn.

Because it has been closely managed by the military, Binh Ba is still relatively unspoilt, its nature simple and untouched. Recently, however, with ever more visitors and infrastructure that hasn't kept pace, the island's environment is no longer as pristine as it once was.

When to visit Binh Ba?

You can visit Binh Ba whenever you like, but the ideal time is from March to September. Try to go on weekdays, as holidays bring huge crowds that make it hard to enjoy the island's beauty. And to avoid rushing, plan to spend more than 2 days on the island.

Getting there

There are 3 ways to travel to Binh Ba: by plane, by coach and by motorbike.

By plane: there are many daily flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang. As soon as you land, taxis line up at Cam Ranh airport to take you to Ba Ngoi port – 15 km, just over half an hour.

Note: time your flight and the boat to the island sensibly so you don't end up waiting for ages at the port.

Vietnam Airlines

– Southern regional office, Tan Son Nhat International Airport

49 Truong Son, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Tel: (84.8) 8446667 Fax: (84.8) 8485312 Sita: SGNAVVN

Email: vna.sro@vietnamair.com.vn

– Southern telephone reservations centre: 08-8320320

Jetstar Pacific Airlines, Ho Chi Minh City: (Opening hours: 07:30 to 18:00)

– Ticket office, 01 Me Linh Square, District 1 (84-8) 8.258.101 (84-8) 8.258.102
– Ticket office, 4 Truong Son Street, Tan Binh District (84-8) 8.442.705 (84-8) 8.486.256
– Ticket office, 177 Vo Thi Sau, District 3 (84-8) 2.907.349 (84-8) 9.325.980

VietJet Air, HCMC

- Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Tel: +84 (8) 3 547 4174
Fax: +84 (8) 3 848 9343

- VietJet Air Truong Son

Address: 2C Truong Son/48 Phan Dinh Giot, Ward 2, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 08 38 454 640
Fax: 08 38 454 643
Opening hours: 07:00 – 21:00 (Sundays & holidays until 19:00)

– VietJet Air Nguyen Kiem

Address: 35 Nguyen Kiem, Ward 3, Go Vap District
Tel: 1900 1774
Fax: +84 (8) 6 266 7667
Opening hours: 7:30 – 21:30 (Sundays & holidays until 18:00).

Cam Ranh airport. Photo: Seatimes.com

By coach: high-quality coaches and tour buses.

PHUONG TRANG

– In Cam Ranh: Lot 0, Le Duan Street, Cam Loc, Cam Ranh (near Cam Ranh bus station).
Phone: Cam Ranh – (058) 626 0263

– In Nha Trang: Phone: 0583. 524.315
– In HCMC: Phone: (08) 38.375.570
Address: 272 De Tham, District 1. Phone: (08) 38.333.468
Address: 328A Le Hong Phong, District 10.

HA LINH

– In Cam Ranh: 114 Hung Vuong Boulevard, Ba Ngoi, Cam Ranh.
Phone: Cam Ranh – 058. 626 0056
– In Nha Trang: 14B Tran Hung Dao, Nha Trang
– In Saigon: Phone: 08 350 75 345

PHUONG NAM

– Route Saigon – Cam Ranh – Nha Trang:
+ Departs from and returns to the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area.
+ Departures from Saigon and Nha Trang at 8–9 pm.
+ Sleeper coaches.
- Ticket offices:
+ Saigon: 275F Pham Ngu Lao. Tel: (08) 66540386
201 Pham Ngu Lao. Tel: (08) 66570386
+ Nha Trang: 3 Nguyen Chanh. Tel: (058) 6507677-625.8322
National Road 1, Suoi Tan, Cam Lam (058) 374 335
National Road 1, Cam Hoa, Cam Lam. Tel: (058) 386 3662
National Road 1, Bai Gieng 1, Cam Duc, Cam Lam. Tel: (058) 6284755
National Road 1, Cam Duc town, Cam Lam. Tel: (058) 3859267
National Road 1, Cam Thanh Bac, Cam Lam. Tel: (058) 3859752 – 2242290.
National Road 1, Cau Bac, Cam Thanh Bac, Cam Lam. Tel: (058) 3895376
44B National Road 1, Cam Ranh. Tel: (058) 3854232

HOA THUAN ANH

– Route Saigon – Cam Ranh – Nha Trang.
+ Saigon: departs from and returns to 258A Le Hong Phong.
+ Departure times: Saigon 20:30, Cam Ranh 21:30, Nha Trang 20:30.
– Route Can Tho – Nha Trang departs Can Tho on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 4:30 pm. New 36-berth luxury sleeper coaches.
- Contact addresses:
+ Saigon: 258A Le Hong Phong. Tel: (08) 62.722.955 – 62.725.001.
Thu Duc crossroads, 748-750 Hanoi Highway, District 9. Tel: (08) 37.306.125.
+ Cam Ranh: 95 Hung Vuong. Tel: (058) 3 954 955 – 221 2955.
+ Nha Trang: 1/24 Tran Quang Khai. Tel: (058) 3524 471 – 3522 632.
+ Can Tho: 60 3/2 Street, Hung Loi, Ninh Kieu. Tel: (0710) 3888.688
+ Vinh Long: Co.opmart supermarket. Tel: (070) 383 7838.
+ Long Xuyen: Co.opmart supermarket. Tel: (076) 3940011
+ Soc Trang: 5 Phu Loi. Tel: (079) 3614 858
+ Bac Lieu: 158 Hoa Binh, Ward 3. Tel: (0781) 395 8555

CUC TUNG

– Routes: Saigon – Ninh Hoa – Nha Trang – Da Nang; Vung Tau – Nha Trang and Can Tho – Nha Trang.
– Luxury sleeper and seated coaches.
– Nha Trang ticket office: (058) 247.1999 – 625.5666
– Mien Dong bus station ticket office: (08) 3511.6863
– From Mien Dong bus station, hourly departures in the morning and evening (last departure 10:30 pm).
+ Coach 79B-00001: departs Saigon 20:40, departs Nha Trang 9:40. Phone: 0989.305.305
+ Coach 79D-8050: departs Nha Trang 10:15, departs Saigon 21:45. Phone: 0904.447.373 – 0902.006.455.

MINH DUNG

– In Saigon
+ Route Saigon – Ninh Hoa
Departures from both ends at 20:00.
+ Route Saigon – Nha Trang
Departures from Saigon: 9:45, 21:30, 22:30.
– From Nha Trang: 20:30, 21:30.
+ Route Saigon – Cam Ranh
Departure from Saigon: 13:00.
From Cam Ranh: 22:00.
Ticket booking: (08) 35115234. Office: (08) 3519.0519 – 37442744

THE SINH TOURIST (Sinh Cafe) (www.thesinhtourist.vn)

– Ho Chi Minh City: 246 – 248 De Tham Street, District 1 – Phone: (08). 38367338-38376833
– Nha Trang: 90C Hung Vuong – Phone: (058).3524.329

MAI LINH (www.mailinh.vn)

– Address: 64 – 68 Hai Ba Trung, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Ticket booking: 08.9292929 (HCMC) or Mai Linh agents
Nha Trang: 20A Nguyen Thien Thuat, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa – Phone: (058).36255.888

Booking at Mien Dong bus station: prices are of course cheaper than the companies above, but the quality is very variable.

Mien Dong bus station: 292 Dinh Bo Linh, Ward 26, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City
Phone: (08) 899 4056; (08) 898 4441; (08) 898 4442; (08) 898 4893
Email: webmaster@benxemiendong.com.vn
Website: www.benxemiendong.com.vn.

A beautiful view of Binh Ba. Photo: dichvudulichbien.worldexpress.com.

By motorbike:

As the distance is quite long, carefully consider your health, the weather and the condition of your "steed" so that nothing goes wrong on the way and you don't arrive too exhausted to enjoy yourself. From Ho Chi Minh City, follow National Road 1A northwards, passing Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan) and Phan Rang – Thap Cham (Ninh Thuan)…

It's best to leave your motorbike at Ba Ngoi port, in a car park or with someone you know, and head to the island at your leisure. Firstly, to take a motorbike to the island you have to hire a private boat. Secondly, the island is small – a few walks around it and you've seen it all. If you want to explore more remote corners, you can rent a motorbike there.

Boat times from Ba Ngoi port to Binh Ba

From Ba Ngoi port, the only way to get to Binh Ba is by boat.

Boats on the Ba Ngoi – Binh Ba route run daily. Fare: 25,000 – 30,000 VND per person (depending on the boat).

Timetable:

– Ba Ngoi – Binh Ba: 7 am, 10 am, 1:30 pm, 4 pm.
– Binh Ba – Ba Ngoi: 5 am, 9 am, 12:30 pm, 4:30 pm.

If you hire a private boat, you decide the departure time.
– Boat hire contacts: 0976.789.186 (Mr Hau) or 0944.506.371 (name forgotten).

Accommodation

There are quite a few guesthouses on the island, most fully equipped. Prices are usually 100k per person on weekdays (one and a half to two times more at weekends). The most famous is Uncle Bay Ho's guesthouse (0983 858 941), right next to Bai Nom, with sea-view rooms, clean and well equipped (just no fridge).

Ms Dung's guesthouse 0972332202: about 70,000 VND per night, meals 70,000 VND each. Ms Tuyen's house 0914.493.793, or her mother's number 0962.466.528 – spacious and cool, sleeps about 40 guests, with about 7 bathrooms/WCs.

Beautiful Nha Cu beach. Photo: dichvudulichbien.worldpress.com.

To save more, if you don't need many amenities and just need a bed, stay in a homestay for about half the price of a guesthouse – for example Ms Ut Tang's (0918 948 953). Ask Ms Ut Tang or anyone around Bai Nom to find a whole house. There is also Ms Ngoc Tu, phone 0942016958: a spacious, airy, clean house with all amenities, near the market and beaches, suitable for groups of about 20 people, around 1 million VND per day.

Contact them in advance and someone will pick you up by motorbike at the port and take you to the guesthouse. The islanders are very easy-going and lovely – you can look at the room first and then decide to stay or go elsewhere without anyone minding. What's more, almost everyone will happily show you many interesting things.

Food

Binh Ba is famous as the island of lobsters and fresh seafood, so you definitely can't miss these specialities. You can ask a tour organiser to take you by boat to the beaches and eat on a floating raft. There are spiny lobsters and green lobsters, each at two prices: dead lobster around 400,000 – 600,000 VND/kg, live lobster 1,400,000 – 1,800,000 VND/kg. Prices vary by day and season but are certainly 30% to 50% cheaper than elsewhere.

However, don't eat too much – save some for the evening. If you want a party with karaoke, someone will organise the whole thing. If you want to "challenge yourself" a little, go to the market and organise your own seafood buffet. Around 4–5 pm, go to the pier; along there you'll find many places selling seafood.

There's everything from spiny and green lobsters to all kinds of fish, sea snails, sea cucumbers, abalone, oysters and squid… Ask the prices, choose what suits you and ask a restaurant to cook it. You can eat right there or ask them to bring it to Bai Nom so you can eat while watching the sea. They'll lend you everything from stoves and pots to bowls and chopsticks – all you need is to borrow a tarpaulin (ask your guesthouse), find the best spot, then eat, drink and sing!

Lobster – the speciality of Binh Ba. Photo: catviet.vn.

There are also many stalls selling delicious, cheap dishes such as fish-cake noodle soup (fried or steamed), grilled pork vermicelli, noodles, macaroni, hu tieu, smoothies, grilled rice paper… These cost only 10k – 20k – tempting, right? Guesthouses will also cook for you on request, but a meal costs quite a lot (80k – 90k per portion) for fairly ordinary quality.

Every early morning, from about 5:30 to 7:00, there is a market right at the pier. Fishing and squid boats come in and people sell seafood straight off them, mostly fish and squid, quite cheaply. For more kinds of fish, especially cobia, wait until 8 am when more fish arrive. Before leaving Binh Ba, people usually go to the market in the morning to buy seafood and pack it in boxes to take home. Cool boxes are sold here, and the sellers will add ice, pack the fish and seal the box for you.

Things to do

By day: swimming and coral watching

– A must when travelling to Binh Ba is hiring a boat to visit the beaches and snorkel to see the coral. A boat for all the beaches usually costs 1 – 1.2 million VND per trip depending on the place, so it's cheaper in a big group. Although it's called "snorkelling to see coral", you don't actually need to dive – just wear a life jacket, lie on a float and put your face in the water. So even if you can't swim, don't be shy – give it a try! Bring swimming goggles to make it easier, as a diving mask can be awkward and uncomfortable if you're not used to it.

– You can even see coral without getting into the water. Sometimes at Nha Cu beach at very low tide, strips of colourful coral are exposed to the sun for you to walk among, look at, touch and enjoy.

Exposed coral at Nha Cu beach. Photo: The Thao & Van Hoa newspaper.

– There are many beaches, but trips usually cover 7, of which 3 can be reached by motorbike: Bai Nom, Bai Chuong and Bai Nha Cu. Bai Nom is a very wide sandy beach with some submerged rocks; most locals and visitors swim here because the water is very clean and clear. Bai Chuong, about 30 minutes' walk from the pier, is the only beach on the island where you can watch the sunrise. Bai Nha Cu has many sea urchins, so you may get spiked when swimming, but the water here is wonderfully clear and clean.

– So if you have time, hire a boat only for the other 4 beaches: first, the boat will be cheaper (about 600k), and second, you'll have more time to swim and see the coral at each spot. Remember to ask for equipment (life jackets, floats, masks) and a guide to show you the best coral spots.

– There is also a service for eating on a raft together with the boat hire (contact the tour organisers at the guesthouses near the pier on Binh Ba, or ask any local).

Rent a motorbike and explore the island

- After swimming and seeing the coral, just as much fun is renting a motorbike to explore the island. Rental is 100k per day; there are plenty of rental places and every guesthouse offers it. Ride out early to Bai Chuong to watch the sunrise, then explore all the mountain passes. Many spots give beautiful views, especially the 3 highest points to the north, south and east, where you can see the whole of Cam Ranh bay, Turtle Island, coastal patrol boats, small fishing boats and the island's residential area.

– Old relics such as bunkers, cannon emplacements and tunnels along the mountain are also well worth a visit.

– At Bai Nom there is a small park with many trees, and hammocks for hire nearby. A cool afternoon nap swaying to the sound of the waves and sea breeze is wonderful. Hammock hire is only 5k each (with a 50k deposit) – well worth trying!

In the evening:

- The first fun activity to try is crab spotting. The uninhabited beaches around Binh Ba have lots of ghost crabs, and chasing them by torchlight at night is great fun – especially as you can then enjoy delicious fried crab.
– In the evening, groups can contact Mr Tung Rau (0969 819 797) to organise a grand seafood and karaoke party on the beach.

– Another fun activity is contacting raft owners to go out on a raft and fish for lobster and squid. Some tour companies organise this too, or just ask any islander – it won't be hard to find the right place.