The narrow coastal strip between the Truong Son mountains and the South China sea from Da Nang to Nha Trang, 540km to the south, is trimmed with many of Vietnam’s best beaches. Both the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City railway and Highway 1 hug the coast for much of the journey, providing more or less continuous views of rocky headlands, sandy coves and atolls, and small fishing villages.

About 130km south of Da Nang is Quang Ngai Province and town. Close by is the village of Son My, site of what came to be known as the My Lai massacre, the worst war crime committed by the Americans in Vietnam. Heavily armed infantry, supported by helicopter gunships, committed appalling atrocities in all four of My Son’s hamlets, one of which was My Lai.

From the year 1000 AD, Vijaya was the capital of the Cham people after Vietnamese attrition forced them to abandon Indrapura, their capital near My Son in what is today called Dong Duong. In 1471, after centuries of attacks by Vietnam and the Khmer Empire, Vijaya was overrun by a Vietnamese army, and the once mighty Cham Kingdom collapsed into obscurity.

Song Cau, about 45km south from Qui Nhon, is a small village on the shores of a large bay with several secluded beaches. The scenery is very attractive, and boat trips are possible. About 100km north of Nha Trang, Tuy Hoa town is a large, sleepy backwater beside Highway 1. It has a couple of reasonable hotels, and a long tree-lined beach that is usually deserted during the day in summer.

Nha Trang itself is a large resort centre with a good beach, plenty of hotels and restaurants, an airport and a large archipelago of islands in a large bay. It is a good centre for a more traditional beach holiday and easily reached by air and rail from Ho Chi Minh City, 450km to the south.

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