Before coming to Ninh Thuan, I learned about beautiful beaches, famous "virtual living" entertainment and photography spots such as Vinh Hy Bay, Rai Cave, Thung Beach, stone park... Looking at the map, the destinations are quite far apart; most tourists choose to go on tours or ride motorbikes. Although choosing self-sufficient travel like many other backpackers, I am not enthusiastic about riding motorbikes.
After a while of researching, finding bus route No. 3 running on DT 702 route - one of the most beautiful coastal roads in our country, connecting Ninh Chu with Vinh Hy, I decided to choose to stay in Ninh Chu and from there go to Vinh Hy Bay and Hon Do.
Ninh Thuan is a land of sunshine and wind, famous for its folk characteristics that are still jokingly said "wind is like Phang (Phan), sunshine is like Roast (Rang)". Ninh Thuan is scorching hot, but strangely, this sun does not make me tired or sluggish like the hot sun of the city.
Red Rock's wilderness
Hon Do (My Hiep village, Vinh Hai commune, Khanh Hoa province, formerly Thanh Hai commune, Ninh Hai district, Ninh Thuan province), as far as I know, until this summer 2026, is still a little-known place, a fairly new name on the "tourism map".
Hon Do is a fossil coral population formed millions of years ago. Unlike diving in Yongxi to see coral, coming to Hon Do, visitors have the opportunity to admire fossil coral reefs on land. When the tide recedes, coral blocks appear with diverse shapes, turning the entire ground into a rough space, giving us the feeling of walking on... the surface of Mars.
I decided to spend a whole day exploring Hon Do.
From Ninh Chu ward to My Hiep village is about 17 - 18km. As soon as I asked for directions to Hon Do, a man living right near the village gate readily drove me straight into Hon Do territory. The road to Hon Do is paved with asphalt, far from the image of the bumpy road I once imagined. The car runs along the coast, the Ninh Thuan sun and wind blow straight into my hot face.
According to the story of the middle-aged man who drove me, Hon Do tourism has been bustling for about 1 year now, so this area still retains its natural beauty, the ecosystem is still quite intact. Hon Do Eco Resort located right next to the beach also just opened on June 30, 2026.
Standing in the windy space of Hon Do, I admired the coral reefs on land, then strolled through the coral "forest" with many strange shapes. Although it was not yet the moss season, the scenery of Hon Do still surprised me from the first sight. Standing in front of the windy sea, I imagined how beautiful it would be here in the moss season! Walking along the coast, I was engrossed in admiring and picking up a few coral pieces, including green coral fragments... Hon Do is peacefully beautiful, simple, and pristine.
Interesting stories about Ninh Thuan salt grains
Ninh Chu to Vinh Hy is more than 30km, taking about 45 minutes to 1 hour by bus No. 3. Arriving at Vinh Hy wharf, I bought a canoe tour to explore the bay. In addition to swimming, I visited Dolphin Cape, Yen Cave, Coc Beach, Turtle Island, and watched coral on the SUP.
Coming to Vinh Hy, I was a bit... disillusioned. Not entirely because of the overloaded number of tourists, but mainly because the way entertainment activities are organized is not reasonable. In the beach area of Coc beach, canoes and water motorbikes continuously glide close to the edge of the shore with high density, splashing waves right next to the area where tourists are swimming. The lack of separate space planning for water sports makes swimming and coral diving experiences unsafe and incomplete.
In compensation for the noise at the beach, bus number 3 from Vinh Hy back to Ninh Chu brought me surprises.
Passing by a salt pond, the driver happily pointed out to us, "that is the salt pond of Dam Vua Co., Ltd.". Currently, the main harvest season has passed, so the salt fields no longer have many white salt dunes.
Dam Vua Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between MK-Group of the Russian Federation and Ninh Thuan Salt Joint Stock Company.
Ninh Thuan is known as the "salt capital" of Vietnam; salt grains here are large in size, bright white, high mineral content and good quality. The driver proudly recounted: "My daughter is working for Dam Vua Company with a good and stable income. Dam Vua salt has high purity, rich white grains. Not only meeting domestic consumption and chemical industry needs, Ninh Thuan salt grains are also sold to the international market...".
Ninh Thuan, I have only known about the Vietnam-Russia cooperation with the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant project located in Phuoc Dinh commune (Thuan Nam district, Ninh Thuan province; now Phuoc Dinh commune, Khanh Hoa province), but I have not known anything about the connection and cooperation between Vietnam and Russia on sea salt grains, so the story of bus driver No. 3 is really interesting!
The Ninh Chu - Hon Do - Vinh Hy route brought me a beautiful natural picture of the South Central Coast region, from the bustle of the famous bay to the pristine beauty of the million-year-old coral reef. More than the scenery, what I remember most after the trip is the accidental encounters, everyday stories imbued with the saltiness of the sea on bus route No. 3 and the gentle smiles of the people of the sunny land. What impressed me most during my Ninh Thuan trip was the simplicity and friendliness of the local people.
Ninh Chu - Hon Do - Vinh Hy, with all their simplicity and sincerity, naturally went into my heart.
