Here are five destinations just two to four hours’ drive from central Ho Chi Minh City where travelers can immerse themselves in nature and escape the crowds during Vietnam’s National Day holiday.

Ho Coc Beach

Ho Coc is a small, unspoiled beach in the former Xuyen Moc District of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, about 125 kilometers southeast of central Ho Chi Minh City and easily accessible by road.

From Ho Coc Beach, travelers only need to follow the coastal road for about two kilometers to reach Ho Tram Beach.

Set beside the edge of a forest and far from residential areas, Ho Coc offers a peaceful, secluded setting with clear blue water, a clean shoreline and rocks in a variety of unusual shapes. The beach is fringed by towering casuarina trees and shady rows of evergreens, while its broad stretch of sand slopes gently into the sea.

Visitors can camp beneath the cool casuarina forest beside the beach, listening to the waves and birdsong while enjoying the fresh sea breeze. During the day, they can cycle along the coast, try stand-up paddleboarding and take part in other outdoor activities.

Tan Lap Floating Village

bien ho coc brvt 3 118033.jpg
Ho Coc is an unspoiled and peaceful beach. Photo: Tran Ngoc Tuan

About 100 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, Tan Lap Floating Village in Moc Hoa Commune, Tay Ninh Province, is an ideal retreat for those looking to recharge in nature during the September 2 National Day holiday. Surrounded by vast melaleuca forests, the area invites visitors to sit aboard a traditional three-plank wooden boat and drift slowly along narrow, winding waterways through the forest.

Another favorite experience at Tan Lap Floating Village is walking along a five-kilometer path through the melaleuca forest. The village also preserves the rustic way of life traditionally associated with communities in Vietnam’s river regions.

Visitors can join local residents in farming, fishing and making traditional cakes. About 13 kilometers from Tan Lap Floating Village is the “Endless Field” tourism site, another attraction worth visiting. It served as a filming location for The Endless Field, a movie adapted from the novel of the same name by Vietnamese writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu.

Phuoc Hai Fishing Village

làng chài Phước Hải Nguyen Ngoc Minh.jpg
  • Covers content
  • Not interested
  • Inappropriate
  • Seen too often

ADBRO is the full service ad network for high impact contextual advertising with direct access to the exclusive in-image inventories across major local publishers.

We provide free creative adaptation into rich media, interactive and playable ads formats. Campaigns in our channel are delivered under guaranteed prices for actions with programmatic & managed delivery. We provide contextually segmented in-target audiences for over 60 industries with a full range of brand safety solutions.

ADBRO operates across SE Asia, including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia.

To test our channel for your advertising campaigns or consider partnership programs for publishers, please contact us at www.adbro.me

Phuoc Hai Fishing Village. Photo: Min on the go

Phuoc Hai Fishing Village, in Phuoc Hai Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, was formerly part of Long Dat District in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province and has existed for hundreds of years. Around two hours from central Ho Chi Minh City, the village has a tranquil charm, with blue sea, long stretches of fine golden sand and an unhurried pace of life.

In Phuoc Hai, visitors can explore and take photos at Phuoc Hai embankment and Phuoc Hai Square, as well as the Loc An embankment, Loc An fishing port and Loc An Beach. Other nearby attractions include So Bong Lake, Minh Dam Mountain and Nuoc Ngot Pass. In the morning, travelers can visit Phuoc Hai Market to buy fresh seafood such as snails, squid, shrimp and oysters at affordable prices, either to have cooked at their homestay or to take home as gifts.

One of Phuoc Hai’s best-known specialties is milk oysters, priced at just VND35,000 ($1.33) per kilogram.

Vam Sat Ecotourism Area

About 45 kilometers from central Ho Chi Minh City, Vam Sat Ecotourism Area in An Thoi Dong Commune is home to remarkably diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, spanning both freshwater and saltwater environments.

Visitors can enjoy the area’s peaceful natural surroundings and escape the noise and pollution of the city. As a forest and wildlife conservation area, Vam Sat offers opportunities to see Siamese crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles, long-tailed macaques, painted bats and a variety of rare bird species. From April to October each year, the area enters its bird-nesting season, when millions of birds arrive to breed, creating a remarkable natural spectacle.

Travelers can explore the area by mountain bike or paddle a boat along the mangrove forest. Vam Sat also offers a range of local specialties, including three-striped crabs, mudskippers and giant catfish.

Con Son, Can Tho

During the September 2 holiday, travelers from Ho Chi Minh City can also head to Con Son, often described as a “green gem in the Hau River,” where fresh air, abundant fruit trees, tranquil scenery and the warmth and hospitality of local residents create a relaxing countryside escape.

In recent years, Con Son has attracted visitors with a variety of experiences, including touring fruit orchards, making traditional cakes, watching “performing fish” and enjoying the cuisine of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

Traveling aboard wooden boats, visitors can stop at floating fish farms scattered across the river. Beyond conventional fish farming, some floating farms have introduced unusual experiences such as fish massage and the chance to see giant, exotic freshwater fish.

After leaving the floating farms, travelers can venture deeper into the islet to explore lush orchards heavy with longan, rambutan, star apples and pomelos. They can also join local residents in harvesting fruit or making traditional dishes such as Vietnamese pancakes, steamed rice cakes and grilled snakehead fish.

Khoi Vy