There is so much to say about Binh Ba Island – a small, picturesque, peaceful, and incredibly lovely island; so I decided to write a review of Binh Ba Island for those who want to travel to Cam Ranh Nha Trang can refer to.
How to go from Saigon to Cam Ranh?
There are many ways to go to Cam Ranh Nha Trang such as: by plane, train, or car. However, I chose a car for simplicity and cost savings. From Saigon to Cam Ranh, I chose the Xe Nha 355 Pham Ngu Lao Q1 company (I REGRET IT) the car was parked at the bus station so there was no restroom. The blanket and seats had a very foul smell. There was no drinking water and from Ho Chi Minh to Cam Ranh, at 7 am on the car, there was no stop for everyone to use the restroom. I got off at the Cam Ranh Post Office at 5:35 am (because my friend had just had an accident and his leg was not fully healed) the assistant was rude, urging us to get off quickly, with an attitude as if they wanted to push us off the car right away. Meanwhile, the ticket was 230k, more expensive than Phuong Trang, Hanh Coffee by 30k but the quality was like that.
I called a Vinasun Taxi but it was too early so I had to wait a long time. A motorbike taxi at the intersection negotiated with me for 20k/bike, from the intersection to the port about 2.5km but when I arrived they demanded 40k/1 bike. But because I wanted to have fun, I paid them in full.
How to go to Binh Ba Island?
We went on a very windy day. All tourist boats to the island were banned for safety reasons. We had to wait for the boat at Ba Ngoi port. These days there were few visitors to the island so we didn’t know how long we had to wait. Until there was a boat carrying residents to the island, we took a risk to ask for a ride even though we knew we shouldn’t. But the risk paid off.
The boat owner: “lie down, so no one sees you, or we’ll get fined”. We lay down huddled close to the boat like illegal migrant workers. But the difficulty had its good side, experiencing a boat trip “surfing the waves” in the true sense. For the first time, I felt like swimming in the sea right on the boat, even if I didn’t swim, I had to, the waves splashed up to the point where I wished I had shampoo and shower gel here so I could shower. 100k for 20 minutes surfing, then you will arrive at Binh Ba. The sea here surrounds the whole island, there are no storms all year round so the people here make a living by shrimp farming. Every house farms shrimp, so this place is called Lobster Island. You can see thousands of shrimp farming cages all over the bay. Binh Ba Island is still a military area so there are some restrictions due to security.
See more: Binh Ba island 1-day tour
Means of transportation on Binh Ba island
When arriving on the island, there are 2 types of transportation for tourists here: motorbike taxis and Jeeps. Motorbike taxis cost 100k/ride, Jeeps cost 300k/ride. They will take you on a tour around the island, the motorbike taxis here both transport you and act as tour guides, having interesting conversations with them.
Discovering Binh Ba Island
Hill of white silk: located on the highest peak of the island, when I arrived, it was a pity that the season had ended and only a few small clusters remained. Standing here, you can have a beautiful panoramic view. This island has a type of tree rarely seen on other islands, which is the Mango tree. It is an ancient Mango tree type, with roots as big as three people hugging. They grow naturally and abundantly on the island. The fruits are unusually large, about 1kg each.
Exploring Turtle Island
Turtle Island juts out into the sea resembling a turtle to the point that you don’t need to imagine, just look and you’ll see its fascinating turtle shape.
Snorkeling: Friendly motorbike taxis took us to Bai Nha Cu. It’s called Bai Nha Cu because it used to be a residential area for fishermen. The beach here is very beautiful and the water is crystal clear, you can see the bottom. Even though the weather was gloomy that day, we could easily see clownfish from the glass-bottom boat. You can choose to dive to see the coral or sit in a glass-bottom boat. The beach here is special because it has less sand and more coral and shells.
After admiring the coral, we rode jet skis to Hon Rua. It was the first time driving a jet ski, and the weather was kind enough to make the game challenging, with the jet ski gliding on the waves. Although the waves were not big in the bay, there were still waves when there was wind. It was thrilling but a bit scary. When we arrived at Hon Rua beach, it was just us as tourists that day. It was nice to have the whole island to ourselves. Besides Hon Rua beach, you will be given diving gear, and you can catch fish or crabs if you want, but whether you catch anything is up to you. There are plenty of coral reefs here, shallow enough to see just by wading. But you should be cautious for safety, as the beach is very remote with no safety measures or warnings.
Enjoying Binh Ba Lobster
After some fun by the shore, it was time to enjoy the island’s specialties. A motorbike taxi took us to a restaurant on a floating platform. Eating seafood on a floating platform is always the best because the seafood is fresh and still alive. The lobster here comes in two types: green lobster and cotton lobster. It is much cheaper than in the city, with the cotton lobster, a large size, costing around 1.5 million VND per kilogram. The green lobster is cheaper, at around 900,000 VND per kilogram. There are also many other unique seafood options: electric fish, sea cucumbers, parrotfish, depending on what they catch that day.
Cà phê Đồi Gió
This is the most beautiful coffee shop on the island. But I didn’t have time to enjoy it because I was afraid of missing the boat. On this quiet day, there was only one boat back to the mainland in the afternoon. If you miss it, you won’t be able to go back until tomorrow, unless you are a long-distance swimmer like Ánh Viên.
On the way back, we took a wooden boat. The boat was bigger than we thought, but it was also empty that day. The boat owner said: “Today is empty, so give me 60k per person for fuel.” Everyone hurriedly paid as if fluctuating train ticket prices were a common thing. It took about nearly 1 hour to get back to the mainland by wooden boat.
Impressions of Binh Ba Island
In conclusion, Binh Ba is still quite pristine. Suitable for those who like to experience new things. The locals here are simple and lovely. The food is delicious, cheap, and rustic. The beach is very beautiful, the most beautiful beach here is Bai Nom (smooth sand without shells or coral). If you stay overnight here, you can ask the islanders to take you fishing on the cliffs. You can easily see the locals fishing and grilling right on the spot.
Many interesting experiences for a trip to Binh Ba.
Review Binh Ba Island
Food on the island is quite cheap compared to Nha Trang city. Seafood, fish rice, … in general, seafood is the main focus. Buying things here is also very cheap. The specialty here is LOBSTER.
Binh Ba Island has many beautiful sightseeing spots.For those traveling in groups, you can rent a Jeep or a motorbike to travel around the island with spots like:
- A small town with small, peaceful and simple alleys, like in a movie.Binh Ba Market with its own cultural features. The locals are very friendly and lovely.
- Chuong Beach is beautiful and enchanting. Nom Beach is romantic and dreamy. The sea at these beaches is incredibly clean and you can see the seabed. Once you swim here, you won’t want to go anywhere else.
- Hong Grass Hill is dreamy like a young girl looking out to the islands. Watching the sunrise or sunset here is absolutely wonderful.
- Yen Island is pure and dreamy like a fairy. You can take beautiful bikini photos here. Besides, you can wear a life jacket, diving goggles to dive and see coral reefs, one of the most beautiful coral reef viewing spots in Binh Ba. The coral reefs are beautiful with many colors, many swimming fish, the sea is blue, white sand, and wild rocky beaches like in a magazine.
- From Binh Ba, you can visit Binh Hung, Binh Lap, Binh Tien Islands. These are 4 precious islands of Cam Ranh (It’s recommended to spend around 2 days if you want to explore them).
