What to do in Phu Yen, Tuy Hoa?

attractions - Vietnam: Nov. 1, 2013

Phu Yen, Tuy Hoa…why bother

That’s the question however, the answer is getting easier with every year. Lonely Planet tells you to pass it by; most of the other guidebooks give it a small paragraph at best but say about the same thing. The ones that provide any information at all are telling you things which are six to ten years out of date at best.

Until last summer, when someone got off the bus or train here and found our place, the few visitors would ask ‘So, how many tourists do you normally get here?’ My pat answer was ‘Tourists here are like Bigfoot sightings in other places.’ Then, last spring, some Russians picked Tuy Hoa as a destination; since then (through no fault of the Ministry of Travel and Tourism) we seem to be getting more casual visitors to the area.

What Phu Yen, Tuy Hoa can offer

Tower in Phu Yen Those looking for a highly charged night life will be sadly disappointed, it just ain’t here. There is one ‘disco’ operated by the same group who own the CenDelux hotel complex. It’s populated by a very small group of zombie-like young men most of the time. The same area is peppered with karaoke bars as is the rest of the town.

What we do offer is a dip into the real Vietnam with very short travel times to do so…we can offer relaxation and a severe lack of street peddlers. Chill time of the first order.

Miles of deserted beaches, short trip times will get you deep into the farming country or into the lush green of the local mountains. Tuy Hoa is a nice clean town to walk around in with friendly people where you will still find relaxed tourism. Trekking around or into the hills is relaxing, enjoyable and convenient. However, you won’t find many amenities so plan on bringing your own.

Also, you won’t find tourist information readily available. A simple thing like a local map with points of interest listed makes a showing once in a while then quickly becomes unavailable. The major points of interest (in the province) can be found by doing a quick search on-line; getting to most of them takes some work.

When to visit Phu Yen, Tuy Hoa

There is no hard and fast rule about ‘best time’; the best guess answer to that is normally April through the end of September, give or take a month on either end. It all depends on the weather patterns. Two years ago a Vnese friend announced that the monsoon season was over when the sun came out for a week in February; at the end of that week the sun went away and it rained for the next three weeks solid.

How to get to Phu Yen, Tuy Hoa

Located about half way between Nha Trang and Qui Nhon it’s about a two and a half hour trip by bus from either city. There is a local bus service from Qui Nhon which runs pretty much hourly seven days a week. Both north and southbound trains have this as a stop about 6 times a day and there is a ‘local’ which originates in Qui Nhon and runs south to Phan Rieng some days (they don’t really have that schedule nailed down yet).

By air, no problem. There’s a small plane going north or south once a day so you can arrive in the morning or mid-afternoon. The airport is a short taxi ride from town.

You can also find some tips for accommodation and food in Phu Yen, Tuy Hoa in my next article.