I’ve traveled to Quy Nhon several times and I enjoyed the quiet beaches, fresh seafood, and cultural attractions of this beach city in central Vietnam. I often spend anywhere from 3 nights to a week in this city on each visit.
In this article, I will share with you my experience about how many days in Quy Nhon is enough and my itinerary for 1 to 2 days and more days in Quy Nhon.
Quy Nhon is a beautiful beach city in south central Vietnam, located along the coastline between Nha Trang and Da Nang. It is a very popular tourist destination for local Vietnamese but still a lesser known destination for many foreign tourists.
The city is known for its beaches, colorful fishing village, and authentic local life. If you are traveling by train between Nha Trang and Da Nang, you can stay a couple of nights in this city to experience different sides of Vietnam.
During the first time I visited Quy Nhon, I explored the city by walking, using Grab taxi/bike, and taking tours. But on the next visit, I rented a scooter, so I explored most corners of this beach city, and can give you an in-depth guide.
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How many days in Quy Nhon is enough?
Most foreign visitors spend 1-3 nights in Quy Nhon when traveling around Vietnam. Local Vietnamese go for holiday in Quy Nhon, spending anywhere from 3-5 nights in this beach city.
In my first visit, I spent 3 nights in Quy Nhon and was able to see its major sights and enjoy the beaches. On the second visit, I spent a week in this city and still want more.
I would say 1-3 days is generally enough to see some of the city’s famous cultural attractions (Cham towers, Buddhist temple), explore the fishing villages, and enjoy the water activities. You can try local specialties, fresh seafood, and enjoy the relaxed nightlife atmosphere.
Basically, with 1 full day in Quy Nhon, you can visit major sights in the city centers such as Thap Doi Twin Cham Towers, Quy Nhon Beach as well as visiting popular attractions such as Eo Gio, Nhon Ly Fishing Village, and Ky Co Beach.
In the late afternoon and in the evening, you can take a stroll around the city center, observe local life, visit the main beach, and the main square.
The main cultural attractions in Quy Nhon are Cham towers. There are dozens of the ruins of Cham towers around Quy Nhon as the city was once the capital of the ancient Champa Kingdom.
If you are short in time, I recommend visiting one or two major ruins to get a sense of its history and architecture. The most popular ones are the Thap Doi tower in the city center, and Banh It tower located 30 minutes drive north of the city center.
If you have plenty of time to explore, I recommend renting a scooter and driving around to explore all of the Cham towers’ ruins of Quy Nhon. Riding a scooter around its countryside is also one of the best things to do in Quy Nhon.
Quy Nhon has a long coastline and is much quieter than Da Nang and Nha Trang. You can swim, watch the sunrise and sunset at the main beach. You must check out Ky Co beach, which has crystal clear water and white fine sand with water activities such as paragliding, banaboat, and snorkeling.
If you’re on an adventure and plan to rent a scooter, you can drive along the national highway and visit lesser known and even quieter beaches such as Quy Hoa Beach, Bai Ran, Bai Bang, Bai Chom, Bai Xep Beach.
If you’re into hiking, there are several hiking routes for you to explore, taking anywhere from 2-4 hours each trail. I recommend hiking trails at Nui Xuan Van, Vung Chua, and Nui Ba Hoa. All are popular hiking trails for locals and have stunning views of Quy Nhon, especially at sunrise and sunset.
If you don’t like exploration, there are some nice hotels and resorts on the beach for you to relax and unwind. Spend as much time there as you like.
Where to stay in Quy Nhon for visitors?
To make the most of your visit to Quy Nhon within 1 to 2 days, I recommend staying either in the city center or Bai Xep area. They both offer authentic local life and easy access to the beaches. The city center has more choices in terms of accommodations and restaurants.
Bai Xep, located 10 km away, has fewer choices of hotels and restaurants compared to the city center but has some good ones.
You can find backpacker hostels, mid-range hotels, and luxury beachfront resorts in this authentic fishing village. I recommend staying in Bai Xep if you are all about the beach life and don’t mind a bit far away from major tourist amenities.
I’ve stayed in several hotels in Quy Nhon. If you want to go right on the beach, I recommend staying at the Seagull Hotel. If you want a boutique style hotel, a short walk from the beach, I recommend L’amor Boutique Hotel. If you’re on the budget, the Mento Hotel is an excellent choice.
All of these hotels are in prime locations of Quy Nhon, short distance from the main beach, seafood restaurants, motorbike rentals, shops, and markets. They all have clean and comfortable rooms and views of the mountain, the city, and the sea.
There are also many popular hostels in resorts in Bai Xep for foreign tourists such as Haven Vietnam, Mira Bãi Xếp, Life’s A Beach, or Anantara. These hotels are located in a quite isolated area along the national highway, 13km south of Quy Nhon city center.
They all have small and beautiful beaches in front of their property, which are great for relaxing and unwind.
See more: Best areas to stay in Quy Nhon
How to Spend 1 to 2 days in Quy Nhon Itinerary
The best way to explore Quy Nhon is by renting a motorbike. This allows you to pick up the attractions that you want to explore and see them at your own pace.
If you don’t drive, don’t worry, there are plenty of guided tours to take you to famous highlights of the area. You can hire a private driver (either car or motorbike), or using Grab Taxi/Bike.
Grab and GreenSM is widely available in the city center of Quy Nhon but is not always available in the remote area, but you can always use local taxis.
If you’re going out of the city center, make sure to think about the transport back to the city center. You can ask your driver to wait for you and pay him a little extra for waiting time.
There are no rules of how to spend 1-3 days in Quy Nhon, I suggest just pick the major sights and what attracts you then put them in your own itinerary.
There are Cham ruins, Buddhist temples, beaches, and fishing villages to explore in Quy Nhon. You can put attractions in the same directions to explore at one time.
Day 1: Explore Quy Nhon’s main attractions and beaches
The main attractions in Quy Nhon are the ruins of Champa Kingdom and the beaches. So on the first full day, I suggest visiting highlights such as Thap Doi Cham tower, Ky Co, Eo Gio, and Nhon Ly fishing village.
The Linh Phong – Ong Nui Temple is also in the same direction with these attractions, so you can combine your visit on the first day with Ky Co – Eo Gio if you hire a private driver or have a scooter.
Twin Cham Towers (Tháp Đôi)
The 12th century Thap Doi is a popular Cham ruins in the city center of Quy Nhon due to its central location, easily reachable by Grab taxi and bike. Quy Nhon was the ancient capital of Cham Kingdom, which once ruled the central part of Vietnam.
There are many ruins of Cham Kingdom around Quy Nhon and its surrounding area. Thap Doi Towers in Quy Nhon aren’t as impressive as the ones at My Son sanctuary near Hoi An/ Da Nang, Po Nagar Towers in Nha Trang, or Po Sah Inu Towers in Mui Ne, but still well worth a visit.
You can buy a ticket at the entrance (30k for adults) and spend around 30 minutes exploring and taking photos. It has typical Cham architecture with reddish bricks, arched shape windows and doorways.
If you have time, you can drive 30 minutes from the city center to visit the Banh It Towers, which has more towers and spectacular views of the city. It has an exhibition where you can learn more about the history and culture of Cham people in the region.
Ky Co Beach
Most visitors who don’t drive take a guided tour or hire a private driver to explore Ky Co – Eo Gio area (and sometimes together with Hon Kho island) within a half day trip or full day trip.
On my first visit, I used Grab Bike Linh Phong – Ong Nui temple, then the Grab Driver offered to take me to Nhon Ly fishing village, Eo Gio, and Ky Co beach based on Grab price.
It’s easy to get a Grab taxi/ bike from the city center to other parts outside of the city center, but it can be very difficult to get one back, so make sure to plan transport in advance if you’re visiting these places without a tour.
There are two ways to get to Ky Co beach by road and by sea. The first time, the Grab driver took me to the beach area by road. The second visit, I got to the beach by sea. If you’re sea sick, it’s better to take the road.
Ky Co Beach is known as the Maldives of Vietnam with white fine sand and crystal clear water. There are multiple restaurants on the beach that are reasonably priced. You can swim, watch a seal show, and enjoy watersport activities such as paragliding, banana boat, and snorkeling.
I recommend spending 2 hours or half days at the beach to explore everything it has to offer. They also have accommodation onsite, so if you want to stay here to enjoy its beaches, you can consider booking a stay at Ky Co.
Eo Gio
Eo Gio is a rocky beach located in Nhon Ly fishing village and near Nhon Ly Beach, where you catch the speed boat to Ky Co beach. The entrance ticket to Eo Gio is 22k for adults. Most Vietnamese go here to take photos and enjoy its natural beauty with rocky coastline and crystal clear water.
Nhon Ly fishing Village
After exploring Eo Gio, you can head back to the parking area then explore the fishing village, its beaches, and Buddhist temple.
You can walk to the Ngoc Hoa Pagoda to enjoy its peaceful atmosphere, take a stroll along the “ Con Duong Da Xanh” to take beautiful photos like Santorini of Vietnam with blue and white houses.
This street leads you to one of the beaches in Nhon Ly fishing villages where lots of colorful fishermen boats dock. Along the way there are nice photo spots and you can see local houses. There are numerous cafes in the village where you can sit and relax.
Linh Phong – Ong Nui Temple
After these attractions, if you still have time for the day or the driver with you (or you have a scooter), you can consider visiting Linh Phong – Ong Nui Temple, which is not far away from the Nhon Ly fishing village.
Linh Phong -Ong Nui Temple is a nice complex with modern and ancient temples. The modern area is home to a huge White Buddha Statue with stunning views of Quy Nhon’s beaches and moutains. It requires climbs via 600 steps to reach the top.
I visited the temple midday when it was extremely hot and humid, so I decided to use motorbike services at the bottom of the complex. At the top, I spend around 30 minutes here wandering around, climb to the top of the buddha and enjoy news of the sea and the city.
Ong Nui Temple, which is an ancient temple, located nearby. This is an old, peaceful temple. The road to the top is a bit windy, you can hike to the top or use the motorbike services from local people with reasonable prices.
Quy Nhon beach and the main square in late afternoon and evening
I got back to my hotel in Quy Nhon City in the afternoon, and found some laundry shops nearby to do my laundry. I walked to the beach at sunset. The beach is packed with locals swimming, playing volleyball, exercising, and watching the sunset.
There are some nice beach bars along the beachfront where you can have a nice drink in a nice setting at a table and bean bags on the sand.
You can echo out the Nguyen Tat Thanh Square, which is the city’s main square where locals hangout in the evening. There are also many nice seafood restaurants in the area where you can have a nice dinner with fresh caught seafood right from the sea.
Day 2: Relaxing on the beach or at your resort’s facilities
As I mentioned, there is nothing much to do in Quy Nhon besides relaxing on the beach, swimming, sunbathing, or doing some island hopping. If you stay in a nice resort, you can just use their facilities such as swimming pools and spas.
If you spend most of your time on a nice peaceful beach area, maybe consider staying in Bai Xep? You can have a look at many other beaches on Quy Nhon to see if you want to check out. They include Hon Kho Beach, Nhon Hai Beach, Trung Luong beach, or Queen’s Beach.
If you’re into hiking: check out Vung Chua, Xuan Van, or Ba Hoa Mountain
Quy Nhon has several popular hiking destinations for hikers. These places are very popular with locals and they often wake up early around 4.30-5am in the morning for the hike to catch the sunrise at the top of the mountain and avoid the heat during mid day.
Vung Chua and Ba Hoa Mountain will take around 2-3 hours to hike to the top and hike down. They both have stunning views of the city and the beaches, especially at sunrise and sunset.
Xuan Van Mountain is an easier hike with paved stairs and takes around 1 hour up and down depending on your starting location and your pace.
If you can ride a scooter: rent one to explore more beaches and countryside area
You can rent a scooter for 100k-150k a day to explore more parts of Quy Nhon. With a scooter, you can explore more remote beaches , fishing villages, and the countryside.
When I rented a scooter, I was able to drive south of the city center, visiting smaller beaches along national highways such as the local beach Xuan Hai, Bai Rang, Bai Bang, Bai Xep, or Bai Nhom. These smaller beaches than the main beach in the city and has more secluded amtopshere.
With a scooter, I can drive further away to Quang trung museum ( around 1 hour drive from the city center) to learn about the famous Emperor Quang trung and the history of the region.
There are also many lovely ruins of Cham Kingdom to visit such as Binh Lam Champa Tower, Duong Long tower, Vijaya Citadel, or Canh Tien tower.
If you’re into museum: Quang Trung museum & Explorascience
Quang Trung museum
If you’re into the history of the region, I recommend visiting the Quang Trung museum. Since it’s located 1 hour drive from the city center of Nha Trang, it’s best to take a guided tour or rent a scooter to visit this museum.
Quang Trung Museum is the museum about the Emperor Quang Trung and the Tay Son uprising in the 18th century. Quang trung with his two brothers briefly uniting the country, and defeating a massive Qing Chinese invasion.
Explorascience Quy Nhon
The Explorascience Quy Nhon is located closer to the city center, around 20 minutes drive away. You can easily get a Grab Bike or Taxi to get to this place for 50k VND.
It’s an interactive museum where you learn about science, planets with real experiments. There are also interesting shows and movies to watch. It’s ideal for people of all ages including children and adults.
See more:
You can watch my youtube video here about how long should you spend in Quy Nhon:
How to get to and get around Quy Nhon?
Quy Nhon is easily reachable by airplane and by road. It has a domestic airport called Phu Cat, situated about 30 kms northwest of Quy Nhon city center. You can take flights from major cities in Vietnam such as HaNoi or Ho Chi Minh city. From the airport, you can catch a taxi to get to your hotel.
Quy Nhon has a train station, connecting with other cities in Vietnam. It is located in Dieu Tri, 10km away from the city center. From Dieu Tri Train Station, you can use a taxi to get to your accommodation.
You can also use buses to get to other cities like Nha Trang (4 hours), Da Nang, and Hoi An (9 hours). But in my experience, the best way to travel to Da Nang and Hoi An from Quy Nhon is by train as it is a safer and nicer ride for a long journey.
In my opinion, 1 to 2 days is generally enough to see major attractions in Quy Nhon. With one full day, you can see the Twin Cham towers, Linh Phong – Ong Nui Temple, Ky Co, Eo Gio, Quy Nhon Beach, Bai Xep Beach, and an authentic fishing village. You can take a stroll around the city center, observe local life, try fresh seafood, and enjoy relaxing nightlife.
The city is known for its beaches, so if you come here for a relaxing beach vacation, you can spend as much time as you want.