Phan Thiet City

Located in Binhthuan province, Phan Thiet is 200 km from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and lies south of Cam Ranh Bay on the southernmost stretch of Central Vietnam.

Phan Thiet is the largest town in Binhthuan province with an estimated population of close to 100,000 people. The town sits on the borders of Ca Ty River, is 20 km from the ocean and swells with boats during the fishing season in the summer months. Fishing is Phan Thiet's largest industry. According to local statistics, some 100 different varieties of fishes are caught here with an annual yield of over 70,000 tons. As a result, Phan Thiet is famous for its Nuoc Mam (fish sauce), a seasoning used in Vietnamese cuisine.

A calm river named Ca Ty is flowing via Phan Thiet. Almost construction projects has been built in two sides of CaTy River. Phan Thiet people is very gentle and friendly. They make living by deep-sea fishing and process sea food.

Most visitors to Phan Thiet will notice the pungent odor that is associated with fish sauce production. This is a process where anchovy-like fishes are caught, cleaned and place in large vats of brine.

The whole concoction is cured over a period of eight months to a year before the fish by-products are strained and the liquid is then diluted into less concentrated solutions to be bottled.

Fish sauce from Phan Thiet is available throughout Vietnam. Today, the annual production of nuoc mam in Phan Thiet is 16-17 million liters per annum. The salt used in the production of fish sauce is also a local product of Binhthuan province.

Although fishing is a big industry in Phan Thiet, it still remains a family business for many people in the region. While the men are out at sea, women and children often stay home to support the business by mending nets and tending to shore related chores.

A few kilometers East of Phan Thiet are some of the most beautiful stretches of beaches in Vietnam. Some are lined with tall coconut trees, others lean against vast red sand dunes. During the period between July and October, the fishing season is at its pinnacle in Phan Thiet as fishermen go out to sea. These boats form a magnificent display of lights at night and can be seen from shore. In fact, the scene is liken to a floating city by the locals

Mui Ne

Mui Ne is located 24 km north-east of the town of Phan Thiet. It is a fishing village as well as a familiar tourism area in Binhthuan Province. It is found on Highway No. 706, and features sweeping sand dunes and beautiful rows of palm trees. The beach is shallow and sloped, the water is clean and blue and the sun rarely hides behind clouds.

There are desolate and primeval beaches that have never witnessed human exploitation as well as imposing landscapes. There is also Doi Cat (Sand Hill), which has long been a creative subject of artistic photographs and paintings. Besides beaches and sand dunes, there are also beautiful landscapes such as Suoi Tien (Fairy Spring), the Ong Hoang Building and the Poshanu Cham Tower.

Mui Ne Beach is a peaceful alternative to the beaches closer to town. This beautiful beach is near a fishing village at the tip of Mui Ne Peninsula, 22km (13 miles) east of Phan Thiet on route 706 and 200km (125 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City. Mui Ne also attracts tourists and locals alike for its enormous sand dunes. Constantly changing with the winds and rains, the dunes are never the same. Ever! You can stroll the dunes and admire the wind's intricate patterns in the sand or revel in the shrieks of delight and laughter as youngsters (and the young at heart) slip and slide their way down 30m (100 foot) high sand dunes. (Usually ending up in a spray of sand and a giggling mass of bodies, arms and legs!

Fairies’ Stream

Suoi Tien (Fairies’ Stream) is a natural beauty spot with a magnificent mountain-water view, a primitive environment untouched by human beings. Standing near a small stream with clear clean water is an imposing mountain of white and red colors created by the sand and soil, and caves and cliffs, which are unique and strange-looking. This is an ideal place for picnics. The site is on the way to Mui Ne, about 15 km to the North-East Phan Thiet City.

Ganh Son

Ganh Son (cliff) in Chi Cong Village, Tuy Phong District landscape that nature has endowed to Binhthuan Province. The red soil and lava along the coast, which have been eroded by the rain, wind and sea waves over a long period of time, have formed different caves and strange-looking images. In the quiet, early morning of late afternoon, from Ganh Son you can see the panoramic view of a busy fishing village.

Doi Duong Beach

Beside such famous beaches in Binhthuan as On Dia, Bai Truoc, Bai Sau, Mui Ne . .. Doi Duong

Beach is one of the ideal places with pure and fresh environment. The wide beach stretches tens of kilometers with white and low sand gradually sloping towards the sea and then blending with the blue water. Factually, this is an attraction to visitors for sightseeing and sea- bathing on their long journeys.

Hon Rom

Calm winds sing lullabies unceasingly under cool shadows of coconuts trees sagging under the weight of their fruit. White sand dunes follow the yellow ones. The dunes keep changing their shapes as a result of wind blowing. All set up a wild attraction, inviting tourists to this well-known field resort. Tourists often come here to sightsee and discover the unique beauty of the sand dunes. Newly built bamboo cottages on sand dunes and new forms of entertainment such as sand surfing, sea-bathing, fire burning outside camps, or boarding on fishing boats add greater charm to the resort.

Bau Trang

Bau Trang (white lake) is a famous land-space in Hong Lam Hamlet, Hoa Thang Village, Bac Binh District, about 65 km North East of Phan Thiet City. It is a fresh-water lake formed long ago and located amid the endless sand hills. Bau Trang is divided into two parts by a sand hii, which are called Bau Ong (Mister Lake) and Bau Ba (Lady lake). Bau Trang is large and is 19 metres deep at its deepest spot. Around the lake lotuses are growing.

Cau Isle

Cau isle is a young island rising in the sea, about 9 km from the seashore, it is possible to come to this isle from several different points such as Phuoc The commune, Vinh Hao commune, Binh Thanh or from Ca Na. The time depends on each wharf but on average, it takes about 40 minutes to come to this island by motorized sampan. Cau isle is about 119 km North East of Phan Thiet City. Cau isle has the length of over 1500 meters and the largest place is nearly 700 meters and the highest one is more than 7 meters. From the main land, it looks like a big warship. The whole island is surrounded by ten thousands of rocks with many different and

shapes, they look like packs of animals of many big and small kinds, it is really interesting when having a condition to observe the whole island carefully. Around this isle, the water is always clear and blue; when the tide is low, on the seashore we can see numerous beautiful oyster shells and snail shells fascinating lots of tourists and travelers. Around the island, there are many kinds of living sea animals and good seamen with simple tools can also find fresh seafood. On the isle, there are shallow wells for fresh water. Although the water amount is small, it is the sort of permanent leaking water - the ancient book called them "Fairy Wells". Nowadays, Cau Isle has been planned to be a sea-creature preserving area with a lot of promising prospects on ecological tourism in the future. Historical and Cultural Sites

Ke Ga Light House

Ke Ga light house was completed in February 1897 by French architect Snavat. It is 65m above the sea level and has 184 steel spiral steps leading to the top of the tower. The signal light for ships is 2,000W in capacity. The length of each tower base is more than 20 m, and the side of the square house is 40 m wide. The light house on Ke Ga Island, together with the surrounding scenery, makes up a magnificent landscape and impresses many visitors.

The lying Buddha

The Buddhist statue “Buddha joining into Nirvana”, or “The lying Buddha”, 49 metres long, was sculptured in 1962 on Ta Cu Mountain. It is in the cultural complex including Linh Son Truong Tho and Linh Son Long Doan Pagodas (built in the late 19th century) in Tan Lap village, South Ham Thuan District, about 30 km to the South-West of Phan Thiet City.

Thuy Tu Temple

Van Thuy Tu (Thuy Tu Temple) is located on Ngu Ong (fisherman) Road in Duc Thang Precinct, Phan Thiet City. Thu Tu fisherman built it in 1762 to worship the Whale. Its architecture is in the shape of the Tam (third “ ”) letter with its front side facing East. At first, it was built near Van estuary close to the coast. There are nearly 100 whale skeletons and other species of fish of the same family are worshipped, more than half of which are 100-150 years old. In the framework of the temple, there is a large burial ground for dead whales, which sometimes get stranded on the shore. Van Thuy Tu is one of the ancient relics having many high by the Nguyen Kings.

Poshanu Towers

Poshanu Towers, 7 km to the North–East of Phan Thiet City, are located on Ong Hoang (Mr. Heaven) Hill. Built by the Cham people in the late 8th century, this group of towers worships the Shiva Genie, who is highly respected by the Cham. Beside these three towers, there was once a temple, but it has been buried in the ground for more than 300 years. Inside the main tower, there is an altar, on which a couple of Liga-Yoni, a symbol of the existence of the Shiva Genie, is worshipped.

Podam Cham Tower

The group of Pô Dam Cham tower temples are located at the foot of Ong Xiem mountain belonging to the locality of Phu Lac commune - Tuy Phong district - Binhthuan province, about 11.0 Km North West of Phan Thiet city. The building techniques as well as the architectural art are similar to Poshanu tower temple group's, this group had the epoch from half the end of the eighth century to the beginning of the ninth century and they belong to HòaLai art and architectural style.

Podam Tower is the place where Cham people living in Phu Lac and its nearby areas carry out the rituals to worship the Cham Kings every year. Nowadays, the King's Descendant's family ancestries have still preserved 8 nominations granted to PôDam King by Nguyên King’s Dynasties from Minh Mang to Khai Dinh. They have been kept specially as the family ancestry's precious properties and the King’s Descendant’s responsibility. This place of historical interest was classified as the National Art - Architectural one in 1996.