Nha Trang VIETNAM

[Yantiii]

anyone has any comments for diving in Nha Trang????? im considering a job offer in Nha trang.. whats the place like? party town? sleepy town?? would i survive being a single girl?? good diving?? is it busy and would instructors get good money to survive???:huh: i have never dived in Vietnam and wondering hows the GEnerAL condition is like.. compard to thailand or malaysia??

anyone with anything to say????

cheers!

 

[mislav]

would i survive being a single girl??

Welcome to the ScubaBoard!

I doubt that you will stay single for long.

On topic: try searching for 'vietnam' and 'nha trang' and you'll dig up some older threads that might hold some useful information for you.

 

[bubblemonkey]

I've snorkeled there and wasnt impressed, if you like built up resorty type places you will be fine but it holds very little of its original culture, you will find huge amounts of backpackers there doing the whole Mama haans booze cruise.

 

[drbill]

Feedback I've heard from people who have been there is that the diving isn't great but the town and beaches are beautiful and the Vietnamese very friendly. It's a major tourist destination from what they say. I've thought about going there myself.

 

[60feet]

Yantiii,

These old threads should keep you busy reading for awhile:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=159789&highlight=nha+trang
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=133895&highlight=nha+trang
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=88671&highlight=nha+trang
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=121743&highlight=vietnam

“General condition [for diving]”

I dived at one of the Nha Trang islands in January, and I’d have to agree with the general consensus. I saw maybe two small fish and essentially no other marine life. The coral is hard and either dead or dying. The water was warmer than in Southern California, and the viz was not bad. But good viz is of little utility when there’s really nothing to see. I was so disappointed I didn’t even do a second dive. Conditions are better in summer; in winter, the sea can be a little rough. As a diver, if you’re in Nha Trang, go diving once just for the experience; but I would not recommend anyone to go there just to dive. Going there for a few months or longer for a dive-related job is another matter.

“Compared to Thailand or Malaysia?”

I haven’t dived at either country, but I plan to go diving off Phuket in the near future. From the photos I’ve seen of underwater marine life at Anemone Reef and Shark Point, there’s no way that the diving at Nha Trang compare to that at Phuket. And then there’s supposedly even better diving at the Similan Islands of Thailand.

“What’s the place like? Party town? Sleepy town?”

Nha Trang is arguably one of the most beautiful and top tourist cities in all of Vietnam. It has a bit of everything, from blue ocean to green mountains, beautiful white sand beaches to local open markets, great seafood and other cuisines at very reasonable prices, very friendly locals who value tourism and tourists, lots of foreign tourists and even some foreign residents, foreign-owned and operated businesses such as bars, restaurants, laundromats, dive operations, etc. It is nowhere near a party town as HCMC, but it’s not that “sleepy” either, except that during low season, it is not as lively (but the upside is lower prices – hotel rooms, etc.). The bulk of the nightlife seems to center around the beach, especially at the Sailing Club on Tran Phu St. There are also a few bars a block or so from the beach that cater to foreigners & expats.

“Would instructors get good money to survive?”

The divemaster and DM students on the boat on the day I dived seemed to be transients. From talking to them, Nha Trang seems to just be a short stop for them. They have come from various parts of the world – Australia, Britian, etc. One of the DM students seemed bored but resigned to being stuck there until he gets his DM status and then moves on. Boat dives at Nha Trang appear quite inexpensive to me. I paid less than US $35 for a two-dive day trip that normally would cost around US $100 in So Cal. The price included fresh fruit snacks, water/tea/coffee on the boat, and a delicious and filling lunch back at their store after the boat returned to port. This, to me, was a steal. So I gave the DM a 100,000 dong tip, and he was genuinely surprised, remarking that he’s never received a tip from a diver before.

“Would I survive being a single girl?”

If you mean “would you survive with just working as a DM or DM student without any supplemental financial support” then, my answer is “probably.” This assessment is based on the presence of foreign divers working at the dive shops/operations in Nha Trang. Nha Trang (and Vietnam in general) is a safe country with low crime rate, with the bulk of “crime” being pocket picking and other petty theft. Foreigners and foreign tourists are valued in Vietnam and usually receive better treatment than locals or even Viet Kieu (Vietnamese tourists who live outside of Vietnam).

Hope this helps.

 

[Divehappy]

I'd say 60feet is right, although maybe a little harsh on the general conditions of the reefs etc. I dived in Nha Trang for three days while doing my AOW course 3 years ago during July - conditions and viz were great, but there's not an abundance of marine life as with Thailand and Malaysia. There are hundreds of species of coral though and some giant moray eels too.

For sure Vietnam comes a very poor third to Thailand or Malaysia in terms of dive excitement but as a place to work you would probably have a lot less competition than either of those countries - especially as Thailand is introducing a crackdown on foriegn dive staff, the outcome of which remains to be seen.

Moreover, as a place to work Nha Trang seems like it would be a lot less stressful than other places as conditions at sea are pretty easy and you're back on shore each night without a long boat ride.

Nha Trang itself is a great seaside town and would be fun to hang out in for a few months - there would be no shortage of people to meet etc.

For what it's worth, I wrote a fairly lengthy piece on staying and diving in Nha Trang on my site Divehappy

and I also highlighted a report by a girl who worked in Nha Trang as a Divemaster.

 

[60feet]

I'd say 60feet is right, although maybe a little harsh on the general conditions of the reefs etc. I dived in Nha Trang for three days while doing my AOW course 3 years ago during July - conditions and viz were great, but there's not an abundance of marine life as with Thailand and Malaysia. There are hundreds of species of coral though and some giant moray eels too.

I knew before I dove off Nha Trang in January this year (a winter month for Nha Trang) that the conditions would not be ideal. As noted in my post above, in summer (including July), conditions are better - calmer seas and better viz. I was disappointed with the diving, mainly because my expectations were higher than they should have been. Also, keep in mind that it's been 3 years since you dove Nha Trang, Divehappy... I've read somewhere on this board that Nha Trang fishermen continue to practice dynamite fishing at these islands. If that's true, then perhaps there has been some deterioration of the condition of the coral since you last saw it. Or it could be that I'm a harsher judge .

I'll be in Nha Trang again in two months (because I like the city) and will probably do another day boat dive trip (when in Nha Trang...). Hopefull the dives this time will be incrementally better.

 

[jiveturkey]

anyone has any comments for diving in Nha Trang????? im considering a job offer in Nha trang.. whats the place like? party town? sleepy town?? would i survive being a single girl?? good diving?? is it busy and would instructors get good money to survive???:huh: i have never dived in Vietnam and wondering hows the GEnerAL condition is like.. compard to thailand or malaysia??

anyone with anything to say????

cheers!

Stay in PP Yantiii. Even Koh Tao is better than Nha Trang.

 

[RainbowScuba.com]

anyone has any comments for diving in Nha Trang????? im considering a job offer in Nha trang.. whats the place like? party town? sleepy town?? would i survive being a single girl?? good diving?? is it busy and would instructors get good money to survive???:huh: i have never dived in Vietnam and wondering hows the GEnerAL condition is like.. compard to thailand or malaysia??

anyone with anything to say????

cheers!

Hi,
I dive there about 6 months of the year for the last few years. Yes, is a party town, well at least for Vietnam, but safe and fun area. The diving is not as good as Thailand, but not as bad as stated above. It has rainy seasons when viz is bad but... Lots of smaller fish, eels, 300 diff hard & soft coral, have dove all over and is not bad...

What company? In Nha Trang there is about five companys, all load at about 6-7am from the docks, pay is very low, but yes very busy. Hope they pay you per student... Salery is around $200 month, but only about 60 hrs per week... Most are on holiday or attending IDC or divemaster training in lew of pay

Food is great and everything is cheap... hotels are around 120 - 150 per month

Hope this helps!

 

[Giap]

salary is now 200$ a month ??
Who could accept to work in conditions like these ,even in a cheap country ?? (unless you own a house that you rent as a back up ,have a rich family supporting you or else..)
That' s somehow the problem with PADI in the last few years, they' re certifying thousands of new instructors every year (with a stunning 100% pass rate at IDCs)
Of course there is no work for everybody ,90% quit the job within a year ,and the rest have to accept a ridiculous salary...
I remember a few month ago a lot of people started to complain about that in the PADI website "employment board"...since then they put a message saying social issues should not be discussed on their website, or they' ll report you to the quality managment..
However 200$ a month ,plus the usual 10$ extra per certification ,it' s just ridiculous...probably the lowest wage for an instructor worldwide !!
Even Thailand pays much more, and the diving is a lot better there.
But with the 1000's of newly certified PADI instructors on the market ,Nha trang dive shops will always find a new victim..