Vietnam Diving?

[ozymandias_kok]

We are planning a trip to Vietnam during the first half of February. Anybody know anything about the diving there? I hear Nha Trang is the best in country, but we are amenable to other places as well.

I've found web sites for two groups in Nha Trang:

http://www.divevietnam.com seem decent

http://www.vietnam-diving.com/index.php?id=1 seem okay too, but nary a mention of pricing on the website at all.

Does anyone have any experience they could share?

 

[pakman]

Here's a thread about Vietnam with some info... Also if you look in the bottom of the page, you will see links to similiar threads on Vietnam...
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=121743&highlight=vietnam

I've never been diving there (been in VN a number times for business and holiday). I'd be curious as well but from what I've heard (from 2nd hand sources) it doesn't sound so great... I think I'd rather just chill in Hanoi or Hue...

 

[thomjinx]

I have been diving in VN with Rainbow Divers in Nha Trang. Excellent dive op. I would say that while it is worth diving if you are there, I would not go to VN for the diving. When I was there there were not many fish, but good variety of coral.

Nice country to visit though. The Vietnamese are amazingly omnivorous if you like to try strange and unusual foods! Mmmmmm......try the stewed weasel!

 

[Warmwater Wank]

In Hanoi you'll find cafes where they run the coffee beans thru weasels (which may be why they stew them later?)... but I suspect this is grounds for a different thread? (sorry) If you miss seeing Ha Long Bay, north of Haiphong, you will have missed a truly beautiful part of the planet, though it isn't for for diving. Great country, wonderful people. Plenty of live snake restaurants.

 

[stevenl]

Agree, Vietnam is nice, but the diving is not worth the trip.

While there, I would go diving, but I would not go there for diving.

Also, you will be there very early in the season, most of the diveshops will even be closed I guess.

 

[ozymandias_kok]

Thanks for the answers, sounds kind of in line with what I'd heard. We're going to do the major sites and cities at least. Sounds like I don't need to dedicate more than one day for diving, if that's available.

Any idea if hanging out at the beach would be worthwhile that time of year? Water too cold / rough? I'm not a beach guy, I just find it a convenient place to get to the water.

PS - I saw the "similar threads" down at the bottom after I made this first post. Oops.

 

[red_barbarian]

I've done 20ish dives out of Nha Trang. The diving is cheap, figure $35 for 2 dives and lunch, hotel pickup yada yada yada. The instructional staff at Rainbow divers and Sailing club divers are very good. They run PADI IDC's together. Your timing is poor however. The viz won't be good at that time of the year, although some years it can be ok. Rainbow divers runs op's out of Con Dao island and Phu Quoc island. I'll be going to Phu Quoc at the end of Dec. I'll try to post a trip report at that time.

Nha Trang can be outstanding when the weather is right. The outer islands have some very nice dives. The standard dives that the ops go to when the weather/viz are poor result in a lot of negative reviews. One note of caution, you can get dives in Nha Trang very cheap, I have seen several of the ops not mentioned do things that were unsafe IMHO. One was recently removed from PADI.

Second hand I have heard about the other dive sites in Vietnam. Check w/ the folks at Rainbow divers about conditions in Phu Quoc and Con Dao while you are there. They gave me thier honest opinion about the conditions the first time I went to Nha Trang and convinced me to come back at a later date. I have done several courses w/ Sailing Club divers, ask for Simon White (SC manager) to get another honest opinion about the days conditions. If the conditions are right try the speedboat trip to one of the outer islands costs a bit more, but almost no ever dives there.
A disclaimer-- I don't have any affiliation w/ any dive op in Vietnam, but I have family, In-Laws, that bring me there every 18 months or so. I know the folks at the Saiing Club divers outside the shop, have had beers and meals w/ them, so I might be biased.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Dived with Rainbow Divers in Nha Trang and was well-pleased. Outer islands are better. Some dive sites look a bit bare but are actually seething with nudibranchs and some other macro. Rainbows were very straight with us and they have dive operations at other sites - so worth asking them for advice.

As for Nha Trang - great place. Lots of things to do and see in the town and very easy to go out from there to visit the general area. And then chill out on the long sandy beach.

Easy distance from the airport so little wasted time.

 

[red_barbarian]

Actually Nha Trang airport is now closed, you have to fly into the new airport in Cam Ranh. You can get a Van ticket for about $5 if I remember right. The loal bus is even cheaper, but unless you know the area and speak a bit of Vietnamese it's a bad option. You can also get a cab for about$20...OUCH! It's about a 30 min ride, used to be so much nicer when you could walk from the airport to your hotel.

 

[Divingdon]

I worked for Rainbow up until a couple of months ago. As everyone above says a good dive company. Feburary last year we did have some reasonably good viz days up to 15 metres, but it really depends on what the weather has been doing.