Retire on $1000 Month in Nha Trang Vietnam

This is my Retire Early on $953 Month in Nha Trang Vietnam information.  We just completed a month in one of our favorite cities in Vietnam, Nha Trang.   

In this report, I will give you an itemized monthly cost of living.  But living costs aren’t everything.  So, I also cover walkability, weather, food, Internet visa, things to do, expat community, real estate, and medical care.

Then I will assign an overall retirement desirability score to Nha Trang.    

One of the things that makes Nha Trang so unique when compared to other cities, is that it is a beautiful modern city right on a gorgeous beach.   

So, it has all of the amenities of a beautiful clean modern city such as gorgeous high-end malls with famous international brands and 5-star hotels with gourmet international restaurants. 

But Nha Trang also provides the possibility of living a completely local life at local prices.  And all of it is within walking distance of the same beautifully maintained beach.  

The first few blocks from the beach have high-rise international hotels full of tourists, but starting around 3 to 5 blocks back from the beach, you will begin to see locally priced accommodations and family-owned restaurants that are easy on your pocketbook.

For example, we stayed in a view condo in one of our favorite neighborhoods for 6 million dong, which is $240 USD per month.   And, the local Vietnamese restaurants within a few blocks of our condo offer meals ranging from 30k to 50k dong ($1.20 to $2.00 USD) per meal.  The first link below includes a map of our favorite neighborhood.  

And the local food is very healthy, delicious, and beautifully prepared for vegetarians and carnivores.  So if you live and eat like the locals here, you will have an amazing life on an affordable budget.  

I will provide you with example living costs below.  But first, I want to warn you about one of the biggest mistakes you can make living as an expat overseas.  

One of the biggest mistakes you can make living overseas is to try to recreate your old life in a new country.  If you try to recreate your old life in a new country, you will be constantly disappointed and you will waste a bunch of money.  

You see, most of the comfort foods that you are used to eating in your home country, will not taste right if you order them in restaurants here.  They just don’t have all of the right ingredients here needed to duplicate the flavors you are expecting.  

Plus, the local chiefs here don’t know how to prepare the foods exactly like they are prepared in your home country.  And, the imported ingredients, if they are available at all, are fancy imported foods here.  So they cost 4 to 5 times.

That means that you will pay 4 to 5 times as much in international restaurants for dishes from home that don’t taste right and cost too much.  So you will be constantly disappointed if you keep going to tourist restaurants trying to recreate your favorite meals from your home country.  

But if you take the time to learn about the local favorite foods here, you will discover a bunch of new flavors that make your taste buds dance for only a few dollars.  And since they are local recipes, the chefs have what they need to provide high quality at local prices.  

So, if you really want to enjoy the experience of living overseas, one of the smartest things you can do is to become a student of the new culture, instead of trying to recreate your life in a new country.  

So why should you listen to me?  

I left my home country, the USA in 2007.   I have lived in 67 countries so far in my life and I have learned over and over again, that every country in the world has dishes that you will absolutely love if you take the time to learn what they are.  I have made almost all of these mistakes personally, so I am trying to help you avoid some of them.   

The old saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.  That is the secret to integrating peacefully into a new culture.  I am not saying that you won’t ever get a really good pizza, taco, or pasta from time to time, I am just saying that if you expect to find all of the flavors from your old life in a new country, you will be continually frustrated and go way over budget.  

If you don’t know how to find delicious Vietnamese food very easily at reasonable local prices, I recommend that you just try out our best restaurants list.  All of our favorite restaurants and markets are listed at the first link in the notes below this video. 

We were last here in Nha Trang in 20119 and it is just as nice as we remember it.   

Nha Trang is in the southern part of Vietnam about 9 hours north by train from Ho Chi Minh.  Nha Trang also has an International Airport (CXR) so it is accessible by direct flights from many parts of the world.

First I will discuss the cost of living and then my retirement desirability factors.    

Estimated Cost of Living in Nha Trang Vietnam

Here are our estimated costs of living converted into US dollars if the two of us moved to Nha Trang year-round on a lower budget.  We also include more typical expenses we have heard from other expats in case you want more typical expenses. 

Rents: We found a beautiful studio condo in our favorite neighborhood for 6 million dong, which is $240 USD per month.  That is the 1-month rental rate.  If we negotiated for a yearly rate we might have been able to get a proper 1 bedroom condo for about the same amount, but I will use $300 per month just in case.  

Here is the process we use to find great apartments.  So, we will show you a table of all expenses in a moment.  We will use $300 per month for our lower rent estimate and $600 per month for the higher cost of living estimate for expats who want a 2 or 3-bedroom townhouse. 

Utilities:  We estimate that the year-round average for our utilities would be about $80 USD per month.  The utilities would be more for expats that rent the townhouse, or about 120 USD per month.  

Groceries:  We would shop mostly in the public market where vegetables, fruits, and rice are cheaper.  We estimate about $250 per month for groceries.  

Other expats are likely to buy more expensive imported foods and more meats, and there are more international foods in the grocery stores here to tempt you, so expats with higher pensions would likely spend around $375 per month on groceries.  

Restaurants:  We would go out to eat much of the time in the local restaurants averaging about $2 per meal per person and an additional three times per week in the expat (tourist) restaurants for about $6-8 per meal per person.  If we went out to eat 5 or 6 times per week, mostly at local Vietnamese restaurants, and three times per week in expat-style restaurants, we would spend around $70 per week or $280 per month in restaurants for the two of us.  

Other expats are likely to eat more Western-style foods in expensive expat-style restaurants and less in Vietnamese restaurants, so they would likely spend $360 per month for 2 people.  

Cell Phone Data: The cost to recharge our prepaid service is about $6 per month which includes 6GB of data per day.  My Android phone will act as a hotspot so we can both be on the internet at the same time when we are out of the house together.  Both Vinaphone and Viettel had good prices and reception. 

Other expats are likely to buy two prepaid SIM cards so they would send $12 per month.  

Laundry:  We would look for an apartment that includes a clothes washing machine and people hang dry their clothes in SE Asia.  Since the laundry detergent is included in our grocery bill, there is no additional expense for laundry.  

Drinking Water: We used a water filter we carry with us and the replacement filters cost about $3 per month.  We are using a common Brita filter you will find all over the world and online on Shopee.com.  

Internet: 30 MBPS up and down is about $10 per month for in-home wifi.  It is advertised at 100 MBPS but the realized speed is about 30 MBPS up and down. 

Transportation:  We walked almost everywhere in Nha Trang.  We used the Grab taxi application five times in a month roundtrip for a total of $25.00   Stay away from scooters unless you are highly experienced riding scooters in SE Asia.  Other expats might take grab taxis ten times per $50 per month. 

Alcohol (Optional): Local beer is about 30,000 Dong in local bars and restaurants ($1.20 USD) and about 18,000 Dong in stores ($0.72 USD).  So, we would spend about $90 per month on alcohol for the two of us.

Many other expats would spend a higher amount for imported foreign or craft beers in expat bars for about $2 USD each, so about $180 USD per month for 2 people assuming they are not into imported whiskey or wine.  

Entertainment (Optional):  We would budget about $200 per month for entertainment for the two of us.  We generally enjoy doing more do-it-yourself kinds of entertainment so expats would spend a little more, maybe $300 per month, for 2 of them?

Retire Early $953 Month Nha Trang Vietnam 

Nha Trang Estimates	Lower (USD)	Higher (USD)
Rent	300	600
Utilities	80	120
Groceries	250	375
Restaurants	280	360
Cell Data	6	12
Laundry	0	0
Drinking Water	3	3
Internet	9	9
Transportation	25	50
Total	$953	$1529
Alcohol	90	180
Optional Total	$1043	$1709
Entertainment	200	300
Optional Total	$1243	$2009

The above lower estimated cost of living would be if the two of us lived in Nha Trang on a tight budget.  The higher above estimate is just an example of what other expats might spend if they moved here and were easy come easy go with their money.  

To understand what it would cost you to live here, you must put your feet on the ground, see how you would choose to live, and add it all up.    

To get a better understanding of things you should add to our estimated cost of living watch this video:  9 Reasons You Can’t Retire on $1000 Month Overseas. 

But many of you will likely be unable to retire on so little here.  I give example reasons why in this report.  This next report explains how to avoid coming home early with your tail between your legs.   Also, if you are going to try to retire cheap offshore, make sure to read my report, the Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore, which explains why you should have emergency funds available for unexpectedly large expenses.  

You should also add anything to the above table that you spend money on in your home country that is not listed in the above table.  Presumably, you find those things necessary in life.  To do that, visit the Numbeo Nha Trang and add anything not mentioned in the table. 

Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.  

Many of the expats we meet living overseas are self-insured for medical care.  That means that not everyone buys health insurance when they move overseas.  That probably sounds crazy to many of you.  

I didn’t carry medical insurance overseas for the first 17 years living overseas.  But last year I bought medical insurance.  If you are wondering what it costs and what it covers, watch my medical insurance video at this link.  This is not an affiliate link.    

More typical ex-pat living costs in Vietnam range from about $1400 to $3000 per month.  But people spending that much often have higher savings, incomes or pensions.  They often report spending more on entertainment, eating out more, traveling, and alcohol.  Many also have more expensive cars, houses, or apartments.  

Nha Trang Livability Factors

Before you move anywhere outside your home country, make sure to create a list of things that you must have to create a happy retirement.  Here are my livability factors and I will rank them high, medium or low for Nha Trang.  

Walkability:  If you live in our favorite neighborhood of Nha Trang, map below, almost everything you need is within walking distance.  Everything you need like restaurants, expensive and cheap, foreign and domestic foods, and the public market, would be extremely walkable.  You may want to take a Grab Taxi home from the grocery store if you have too much to carry, but we walked almost everywhere day and night.  So it is highly walkable here.  

Internet:  The Internet Wifi has not been an issue in Vietnam.  It is 30 Mbps up and down.  Unlock your phone before exiting the USA.  Pick up a sim card when you arrive that includes 6GB per day for just USD 6 per month.  You are allowed to use your Android as a Hotspot for your computer if you get a dud Wifi connection anywhere.  We just buy one SIM card and turn on the Hotspot so we can both get online when we are out of the house together.  So Internet wifi is high here.  

Food:  I love Vietnamese food.  You can easily eat delicious healthy meals for under $2 per meal if you eat with the locals.  If you want to eat with the tourists, meals run about $4 to $15 USD each. The sky is the limit. If you get an apartment with a kitchen you can cook some of your own favorite Foreign dishes.  The foreign ingredients, like foreign foods, are pricey, so only eat those once a week or so if you want to stay on the sorts of budgets we are talking about here. So I am rating food as high here.  

Weather:  High. Nha Trang has a long dry season from January to August and a shorter rainy season from September to December.  The city receives 41 inches (1029 millimeters) of rain during that period. Monsoons are not uncommon, though the city is largely shielded by the islands offshore.  Average highs range seasonally from 80F/27C in January to 91F/33C in June. Average daily lows range seasonally from 70F/21C in January to 78F/26C in June. 

If things get too warm for you in the summer, head up the mountain to Da Lat.  It is 4500 feet above sea level and rooms start at around $20 per night.  View our Da Lat report to know where to stay, eat, and play in the cooler weather. 

Things to Do:  High. This is a larger city with some cultural opportunities, like temples, traditional handicraft markets, and traditional Vietnamese folk music, clothing, and dancers. There are also three museums, Zen Monastery, art galleries, mud spas, waterfalls, sailing, and wave runners.  There is a large community here interested in taking care of their bodies–Yoga, beach exercise, beach running, fishing, swimming, biking, and hiking.  There are also a bunch of choices in spiritual pursuits.   

Expats Community:  High.  There are about 2 different Facebook groups where Expats and locals teach each other where to find things they need in Nha Trang including food, restaurants, places to live, or social events.  Facebook 1, Facebook 2. This is a great place to get any weird questions answered like … Do they have pet parakeet food in Nha Trang? Can I get sugar-free peanut butter and jelly?  Do you know a family doctor that speaks English or Chinese?  

Even if you are less expat-oriented like me, these Facebook Resources are still great resources to find odds and ends in Nha Trangn (or nearby Da Nang) that you miss from home.  They are also a great place to buy and sell things, find a place to live, and find out things that only longer-term expats would likely know about.  

Real Estate:  High.   A 700-square-foot condo (65 Square meters) would sell in the range of ($61,000 to $104,000 USD), according to Numbeo.com Nha Trang. You will have to pay the higher end of that range as you approach the most expensive areas.  Don’t even consider buying until you have lived in a place for at least a year or two and are totally in love with it.   Even then, make sure you get very good legal advice from someone not associated with the broker or your new local lover.  

Land ownership is very limited for foreigners.  Here is my report about why expat retirees should think twice, and carefully, before buying real estate overseas.

Medical: High.  Historically, wealthier Vietnamese would often travel to Bangkok, Kuala  Lumpur, or Singapore for significant healthcare challenges.  Source.  But over the last decade, Vietnam has slowly been raising its game medically.  Source.  Many Expats are now staying in Vietnam to be treated for various medical conditions.  I didn’t meet anyone in Nha Trang who had experienced any medical care here. So I would just leave a message at one of the Facebook pages listed above under Expat Community to get a specialist for whatever specialty you need.  I did visit a dermatologist while in Nha Trang and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him.  The doctor used a laser to remove a skin growth I was worried about and everything cost only $28 USD including the office visit, laser procedure, and meds-Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa. 

Visa: Medium.  There is no retirement visa in Vietnam.  The expats we have met mostly just do a visa run once a month to renew their visas.  But I just read a comment on one of the above Nha Trang Facebook pages that an expat was excited that you can now get a 3-month eVisa for $25 USD, every time she does a visa run.  

We also ran into a few expats on the street who recognized us from our YouTube channel.  They both mentioned that their agents take care of the visa run for them for $100 per month.  

None of the expats we have chatted with have said that they had any trouble doing visa runs, one after another, over the last few years.  According to them, it is an accepted practice in Vietnam, like it was in Thailand a decade ago.  

But I know a few people who left Vietnam over the last 3 years because they were tired of doing visa runs every month.  

But we may have more good news for you soon.  We just did the new 3-month eVisa and it works great.  Now we are just waiting to hear from other expats, whether or not Vietnamese immigration is letting people use the 3-month eVisa for back-to-back visa runs.  

Once we have more data that Vietnam is routinely accepting the 3-month eVisa for visa runs without objection, it will mean people can stay in Vietnam indefinitely by doing only 4 visa runs per year at $25 each.  That would be amazing.   

Transportation:  Almost everything we needed in Nha Trang was in walking distance.  We did use the Grab taxi to go to a few places but it was very reasonable.  I would not recommend driving scooters here unless you are highly experienced.  Walking is a great way to stay healthy as you age.  

Nha Trang Retirement Desirability Score:  High.  Vietnam is now clearly near the top of my country list to retire cheap in paradise for pennies.  Nha Trang is one of the most charming cities in all of Vietnam and I would recommend it highly for retirement. 

The only thing that annoys me about Vietnam, in general, is that they do not offer any retirement visas.  Luckily they have no trouble allowing people to do multiple back-to-back visa runs and it has been that way for years. 

Where We Stayed in Nha Trang

When we first arrived in Nha Trang, we spent the first three nights in this Airbnb.com for $17 USD per night.  Then we walked around our favorite neighborhood (shown below) and booked this place for a month for $240 USD.  Here is the process we use to find great apartments.  

Our Favorite Markets, Restaurants, Services

 Nha Trang Restaurants ($ USD) (Chay/Vegetarian) 

Quán Chay Chân Nguyên: Noodle soup 25k ($1), Mix rice 35k ($1.60)

Ẩm Thực Thuần Chay Mr.Khang: Vegan Beef Pho 35k ($1.40)

Ẩm Thực Thuần Chay BỒ ĐỀ SAO: Mix brown rice 45k ($1.80)

Nhà Hàng Chay Bụt Việt: Spicy tofu 60k ($2.40), rice 15k ($0.60)

Bếp chay Nguyên Như: Bun Hue 25k ($1), Dry noodle 25k ($1)

Okale Vegetarian Restaurant: Noodle soup 39k ($1.60). 

Tam An Chay: All dishes 25k ($1) 

Nha Trang Restaurants ($ USD) (Meat and Vegetarian)

Pizza 4P’s:  Margherita Pizza 160k ($4.60), Burrata Parma Ham half with small cheese 149k ($6), Beer 79k ($3.20) 4-6pm happy hours-2 for 1. 

La Cala – Gusto Italiano: Margherita pizza 160k, mediterranean salad 100k, house wine 120k

Taco Tim’s; 3 beef taco 150k ($6), Burrito bean 80k ($3.20)

Egoist Restaurant:  Big breakfast 109k ($4.40), Tuna grill + toast 129k ($5.15), cappucino 55k ($2.20)

Cafe Culture:  Mediterranean omelet 160k ($6.40), has browns 30k ($1.20), cappuccino 55k ($2.20)

Greek Kitchen:  Tzatziki 70k ($2.80), Hummus 70k ($2.80), Saigon 15k ($0.60), watermelon salad 100k ($4)

Cheers Sports Pub: Egg & cheese muffin 50k ($2), Omettle 100k ($4)

Red Gate Bakery Cafe: Bagel 25-35k ($1 to $1.40), cheese 25k ($1), 2 egg 25k ($2), good drip coffee 30k ($1.20)

Fork’n Lekker Garden Cafe:  Pork ribs 199k ($8), vege burger 175k ($7), Sapporo draught beer 50k ($2)

Mix Greek Restaurant: Mix seafood 310k ($12.40), hummus 90k ($3.60), greek salad 160k ($6.40), beer 30k ($1.20) 

Set cafe: Mashes potato 40k ($1.60), sausage bbq 70k ($2.80), beer 10k ($0.40)

 Nha Trang Restaurants ($ USD) (Meat Only)

Bún Riêu – Bún Thịt Nướng: Bun riue noodle soup 30k ($1.20), very delicious 

Bún Cá Nha Trang Hạnh Nhiên: Jellyfish+fish+fish ball noodle 40k ($1.60).  

Nha Trang Bars/Coffee Houses ($ USD)

Ola Cafe – 31 Nguyễn Hữu Huân:  Best coconut coffee 55k ($2.20), cappuccino 50k ($2), yogurt cheesecake 48k ($2)

CCCP Coffee:  Milk coffee 35k ($1.40)

CocoBean Coffee:  Coconut coffee 50k ($2), nice environment to relax, next to lake, just block from the largest mall listed below. 

Galaxy coffee:  Viet black coffee 27k ($1), avocado shake 55k ($2.20), a cafe that looks like a bar, but has no alcohol 

Jelly Brew Pub:  Summer Beer 55k ($2.20), Amber 55k ($2.20), local beer 30k ($1.20)

Nhà Bar:  Saigon 50k ($2), tiger 55k ($2.20) Dancers on the bar at 10.30 pm 

Bluesea Beach:  Best beach bar – Beer 25k ($1), coconut 40k ($1.60)

Nha Trang Services and Markets ($ USD)

CLB HOANG GIA (Gym):  Our gym is $16 per month per person. 

Dermatology Clinic – Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa:  $28 to remove a small growth on my chest. 

Xom Moi Market – public market:  Large market with individually owned fruit, vegetable, and meat sellers.  Best prices, freshness, and selection. 

Hot mineral springs I-Resort Nha Trang:  Mud bath + Swimming pool 350k ($14 USD/day), beer 20k ($0.80), pumpkin soup 65 ($2.60 USD), fish porridge 35k ($1.40 USD) 

Cam Spa 4.0 Nha Trang:  90 mins deep tissue massage 390k ($16), tips option 100k ($4 USD) 

Lotte Mart Nha Trang Gold Coast: High-end mall and grocery store.  

LOTTE Mart Nha Trang: The largest mall and grocery store we visited in Nha Trang, out in the suburbs. 

Bách hóa chay Linh Chi:  Vegetarian products like fake meats, etc. 

Siêu thị Bách hoá XANH 63 Võ Trứ – Small grocery store near the public market. 

MBBank Khánh Hòa:  Best bank to pull out most money at an ATM, 5 million dong ($200 USD max). 

CGV Big C Nha Trang:  Mall with a movie theater, 80k dong ($3.20 USD). 

Moonmilk: A grocery store with expensive imported goods.

Guest Stars Sharing Their Life in Nha Trang Vietnam

Nha Trang Report 2019 Report 

We were last in Nha Trang in 2019.  Everything below this paragraph is from our last visit in 2019.  Everything above this paragraph is from our 2024 report.

Nha Trang Cost of LivinG 2019  

Cheapest Flights and Trains to Nha Trang

We almost always get our cheapest flights on this Skyscanner.  They have a web crawler that is constantly looking for the cheapest prices all over the world.  We took the train from Da Nang to Nha Trang. Here is where you catch the train.  We bought our train ticket right in the station the night before we left.  We took the morning train which took 10 hours and cost 419k Dong per person, which is $18.20 per person, USD. 

Must See Nha Trang Vietnam

Watch the above video to see the 9 must-see spots for Nha Trang.  If the video looks fun, click ==>this link<== or the below Google Map and start walking.  The descriptions of each stop are below.  

Trầm Hương (Incense Tower):  The Incense Tower is named after the most expensive wood that is used to make incense.  It reminds me of a lotus flower. The lotus flower in Buddhism is a symbol of the beauty of enlightenment spring from human suffering.    

Wet Market (Chợ Xóm Mới):  This is a local wet market.  If you live or retire cheaply in Nha Trang, you will want to shop in wet markets instead of grocery stores to save the most money possible on groceries.  

Cathedral of Christ the King:  French missionaries brought Roman Catholic Catholicism to Nha Trang in 1886. This cathedral was built in the Gothic Revival style in 1928.  Hopefully, you will get to t see the stained glass from the inside when you are here. 

Long Son Pagoda: Long Son Pagoda was erected on a nearby hill in 1886 by a Buddhist monk who had been in the resistance against the French before joining the sangha.  The Pagoda was moved here in 1900 after a large cyclone destroyed it. The temple was heavily damaged during the Vietnam War, so it has been restored several times over the years.  

Walk Across the Bridge:  

Po Nagar: This 1400-year-old temple was created by the Champa Kingdom which ruled this area of Vietnam from about 200 AD.  The Champa slowly lost territory and were absorbed by the Vietnamese Dynasties completely by the 19th century AD. The Champa reached its social apex in about 900 AD and slowly declined from there.  Hinduism promoted the art and culture of the Cham people. As such, you will see temples similar to this all over Indonesia, India, and Cambodia.

Beautiful View:  This is just a beautiful view of rocks on the coast.  

Best Mud Bath in Nha Trang Vietnam (TẮM BÙN THÁP BÀ NHA TRANG)

If the above video looks fun, click ==>this link<== or the below Google Map and ride your scooter to the Mud Bath.  The first stop on the tour is where you rent the scooter for 150k Dong for the day ($6.50 USD/Day). 

Nha Trang Nightlife

This is a beautiful city and there is much more nightlife than this.  This is just to get you started your first month or so.   

If the above video looks fun, click ==>this link<== or the below Google Map and start walking. 

Digital Nomads Nha Trang Life and Food Experiences 

Nha Trang OUR Favorite Neighborhood

Nha Trang is one of my favorite places in Vietnam.  If I moved to Nha Trang for a few months or a few years, I would not stay in the tourist area.  I would stay in this neighborhood we found. 

I just rather live near locals than tourists since the prices are cheaper and the traffic is not as hectic.  Plus, the Vietnamese seem to be happier outside the tourist area.  Just walk the streets on the below ==>Google Map<== and you will see my favorite neighborhood.

Nha Trang Facts and History

Here are some interesting facts about Nha Trang Vietnam.  

I was last here in 2016.  I was surprised by how many large beautiful hotels were built along the beach.  There seems to be a much larger influx of tourists than there was before. You will hear languages from all over the world, but the major tourists seem to be Russian and Chinese.  

But like it was back in 2016, the tourists seem to be centered around the big hotels near the beach.  If you prefer more of a local feel (like I do), I recommend staying 200 meters north or south of the big hotels.  

The Nha Trang economy is based mainly on tourism and secondarily on shipbuilding.  The economy is also based upon fisheries with lobster farming being an important income for people living in the suburbs.  

There is a large cable car system that links the mainland to Bamboo Island.  

In more recent years, Nha Trang has become a stop for many large five-star sea cruises.  
You can also stay in an upper-middle-class local neighborhood that I will define a show you video about above.  

There are about 600,000 people living in Nha Trang, Vietnam now. 

Tourists come here mainly for the beaches, scuba diving, snorkeling, cheap delicious food, and the pleasant attitude of the Vietnamese people.   

Though the Champa Kingdom mostly controlled this area for hundreds of years from about 200 AD until the 19th century, the area remained quite sparsely populated by people.  There were many animals living here even tigers.  

Starting in the early 20th century things began to develop fairly rapidly.  By 1924, the French Indochina government had declared the growing Nha Trang urban center a townlet.  Nha Trang was established by merging several ancient smaller villages of Xương Huân, Phương Câu, Vạn Thạnh, Phương Sài, and Phước Hải.    

Nha Trang was established as the capital of Khanh Hoa Province by Paris.  

In 1966, Nha Trang was established as an American Army Base.   

In April of 1974, near the end of the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong captured Nha Trang from the Americans.  

In March of 1977, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, then in control of all of Vietnam, upgraded Nha Trang to City status.   

In March 1978, the provincial government founded Phước Đồng Commune under Nha Trang City.

Nha Trang is on a beautiful bay named by Travel and Leisure as one of the top 29 most beautiful bays in the world.  There are a number of small islands just off the shore of Nha Trang that protect the city from violent storms. 

This is Dan of Vagabond Buddha.  Thank you for reading our retire in Nha Trang for a cheap guide.  The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?