Vietnam forum

Posted from within Vietnam.

I agree with daawgon, Cua Dai is very beautiful!! China Beach in Da Nang is really nice, but let me tell ya...there is the really touristy part of the beach, and it looks a bit nicer because it has all of the umbrellas and deck chairs. But, further down along the beach (in the direction of furama...which is hard to miss) there are no people during the day, and also no one tries to sell you things. I go there almost every day, I never have to pay to park my motorbike, and it is like I am alone on the beach. If that is something you'd like, try it out:)

autourdumonde3232

I live on one of the best beaches in the world, and it isn't in Vietnam.

Some days, the beach where I live is absolutely awesome. Other days, it's 'washed out' (as we say, here).

You have raised 2 points:

1. a search for a good beach that isn't too commercial/crowded,

2. a beach that has clean water for swimming / snorkelling.

As most of Vietnam is located in the tropical / sub-tropical region, all beaches in Vietnam will be exposed to sedimentary inflows (that is, the silt waste from rivers). In the wet season, and for some time thereafter, the river discharges will produce tons of sediment that will permanently 'cloud' all Vietnam beaches. Later, when the weather produces warm sunny windless days, and the wave action becomes minimal, these sediments will subside and settle into the top sand layer.

In areas like China Beach and ALL the way to Hoi An - when there are plenty of waves, the beach waters will be very cloudy. This cloudiness will minimise after a few windless and waveless days. But, during these times, if the wind 'picks up' it produces waves that stir up the water to bring the sediment back up.

This is the same for Cam Ranh Bay, Mui Ne and the Vung Tau regions as they are directly exposed to the China Sea (or Pacific Ocean).

In areas like Nha Trang, the surrounding islands will minimise the oceanic wave action, and so the beach waters in the region will tend to become cleaner sooner. But, again, because it is more shallow, the wind can quickly cloud up the sediment.

Perhaps the cleanest beaches will be found on (or around) islands that are not located near to mainland rivers.

With the above in mind, it is not necessarily the number of people that use a beach that contributes to water clarity (although it can have a minor impact), rather, it is the environmental and weather characteristics.

A crowded beach on a day when the water is crystal clear and the sun lovely and warm is great. And, it happens. A crowdless beach when the water clarity is yuk doesn't quite make it for me.

With this in mind, rather than get statements from people who have been to a beach on a 'perfect' day and wax lyrical, work out the environmental characteristics of the locations you may be visiting, and then consider the weather situation.

That, I suggest, will give you a better opportunity to get what you want.

Cheers

donnavan

FYI

China Beach and Cua Dai are on the same strip of beach. China Beach is ONE end (the Danang end) and Cua Dai the other (the Hoi An end).

You may be aware that the US had a large military facility at Danang during the 1966-1972 war. And, as many US soldiers came from 'inland' US, their 'experience' with the ocean was minimal. Thus, the US military awarded the soldiers two 'vacation' occasions - for most at Danang Beach camp (another was Vung Tau). These 3 day, 2 night 'vacations' were known as R&C [rest & care] as against the 7 day, 6 night vacations' called R & R [rest & recuperation] which were normally taken outside Vietnam.

After the war, a US TV series was made called China Beach. Until then, there were no references to China Beach, other than the Danang military camp was on a beach of the China Sea.

As you can anticipate, an entrepreneur quickly 'cashed in' on the title, seeking to use it to 'locate' his resort. That venture has gone, but the name is now largely used by tourism marketers to add interest to the commercial sections of the beach (around the Danang area).

Cheers

Right! Thanks brucemoon! well as i said, the hoi an bit is lovely!

Cua Dai beach at Hoi An I found to be quite clean. Getting more difficult to find "unspoiled", undeveloped (therefore, uncrowded) beaches in Viet Nam, though. Why? Because we all want to go there.....