Vung Tau

## **Location**

Vung Tau is the largest city and former capital of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. It is located in the Southern Vietnam, to the northeast of the Mekong Delta. It shares its border with Dong Nai province to the north and Binh Thuan province to the east, Ho Chi Minh City to the west and East Sea to the south - east.

## **Characteristics**

Vung Tau has the area of 141.1  km2 and the population of 450,000 in 2016. Vung Tau is 129 km from Ho Chi Minh City, 95 km from Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), 513 km from Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa). The tropical monsoon climate is influenced by the ocean and has an annual average temperature of 27°C. This province benefits from more than 2,700 hours of sunlight annually. There are two distinct seasons: the dry (from November to April) and the rainy (from May to December). The annual average temperature is 27ºC.

## **History**

During 14th and 15th centuries, the cape that would become Vung Tau was a swamp which European trading ships visited regularly. The ships' activities inspired the name Vung Tau, which means "anchorage". The French Indochinese government named it Cap Saint-Jacques. Under the reign of king Gia Long (1761–1820), when Malay pirates built a base here and subsequently became a danger to traders in Gia Dịnh city, the king sent his army to crack down on the pirates. The pirates were ousted and the troops were given the land as a reward. 10 February 1859 marked the first use of cannons by Nguyen''s army, when they fired at French battleships from the fortress of Phuoc Thang, located 100m from Vung Tau's Front Beach.

In 1876, according to a decree by the French government, Vung Tau was merged in Ba Ria county per Saigon's administration. During the 1880s there talks about moving Saigon's port facilities to Vung Tau, but this came to nothing due to Saigon's better infrastructure. In 1898, Cap Saint Jacques was merged with Ba Ria county once again, but re-divided in 1899. On 4 April 1905, Cap Saint Jacques was made an administrative district of Ba Ria province. In 1929, Cap Saint Jacques became a province, and in 1934 became a city. On 30 May 1979, Vung Tau town was made the capital of Vung Tau - Con Dao island Special Administrative Zone. On 12 August 1991, Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province was officially founded and Vung Tau town officially became Vung Tau City.

## **Activities**

Swimming, hiking, church, dog race, tandem renting, kayak boat paddling.

## **Special event in year**

Whale Holiday: 16 - 18 / 8 in lunar calendar

Kite Festival.

World Food Festival Culture.

Thang Tam temple festival: 17  -20/2 in lunar calendar

## **Specialties**

Seafood

Banh khot

Salted egg yolks cake

## **Tour**

### **Dai Viet tour** (link)

#### **Attraction & activities**

* Climb Mount Nho that leads to the statue, called Christ of Vung Tau.
* Watch dog racing.
* Swimming.
* Thang Tam temple.
* Ho May tourist area

#### **How to go**

The bus will depart from Ho Chi Minh city and arrive at Vung Tau.

#### **Estimate cost**

The trip is organized by Dai Viet tour with the cost of 107.89 USD.

### **Saigontourist** (link)

#### **Attraction & activities**

* Visit Long Thanh.
* Stay at The Grand Ho Tram Strip at Ho Tram.
* Enjoy the resort.

#### **How to go**

The bus will depart from Ho Chi Minh city and arrive at Vung Tau.

#### **Estimate cost**

The trip is organized by Saigontourist with the cost of 175.22 USD.

## **Picture**

Vung Tau beachChrist of Vung TauDog racingHo Tram resortThang Tam temple