Every Friday evening, Saigon exhales toward the sea, and Vung Tau is where that breath lands. Ninety minutes from the city by ferry, this beach town has been the weekend escape for generations of Saigonese. This plan covers the ideal 48 hours: arrive Friday night, own Saturday, and drift home Sunday afternoon with salt in your hair.
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Leave work and head straight to Bach Dang pier in District 1 for the 5 or 6 pm high speed ferry. The 2 hour crossing is the decompression chamber: watch the skyline shrink, the river widen, and the sea appear. Tickets run 280,000 to 320,000 VND (about $11 to $13) one way, and Friday evenings sell out, so book at least a day ahead. Full transport options are in our getting to Vung Tau guide.
Arrive around 8 pm, check into a hotel near Front Beach, and walk straight to dinner. The promenade restaurants serve the weekend’s first seafood feast: grilled squid, garlic butter clams, and a cold beer with the waves audible across the road. A generous dinner for two runs 400,000 to 600,000 VND (about $16 to $24).
End the night with a slow walk along the lit promenade. The lighthouse beam sweeps the hill above, fishing boats blink on the horizon, and the city’s noise feels very far away. Sleep with the window open if your room faces the sea.
Book the return ferry when you book the outbound to lock in Sunday seats, since Sunday afternoon sailings fill fast. If ferry times do not suit, limousine buses from District 1 run until late evening and take about 2.5 hours.
Wake naturally and head to Back Beach, the town’s best swimming beach, before 9 am. The morning water is calm, the light is soft, and the beach shacks will rent you a lounger and umbrella for around 50,000 to 100,000 VND (about $2 to $4). Swim, read, nap, repeat. This is the morning the whole weekend is built around, so protect it fiercely.
Lunch at a beach shack: order whatever the staff recommends from the morning’s catch, plus a plate of banh khot, the town’s famous crispy shrimp pancakes, if you have not tried them yet. Budget around 150,000 to 250,000 VND (about $6 to $10) per person for a long lazy lunch.
The early afternoon is for shade and a nap back at the hotel. Vung Tau’s midday sun is fierce, and the smart money rests now to be fresh for the late afternoon climb.
For breakfast, join the locals at a sidewalk banh mi stall or a bowl of bun bo Hue near the beach. Eating where the motorbike drivers eat is the surest quality signal in any Vietnamese town, and breakfast for two rarely tops 100,000 VND (about $4).
At 4 pm, ride or walk to Small Mountain for the Christ the King statue. The 133 step climb inside the 32 meter figure leads to the shoulders, with a panoramic view over the peninsula and the sea. Entry is free, the late light is golden, and on clear evenings you can see the sun drop straight into the water from the terrace.
Descend via the lighthouse road for the classic viewpoint over the town, then freshen up for dinner. Saturday night dinner should be the weekend’s peak meal: a proper seafood restaurant on the Front Beach promenade, with crab, mantis shrimp, and steamed fish with ginger. Allow 500,000 to 800,000 VND (about $20 to $32) per person for the full works.
After dinner, the night market near the promenade sells souvenirs and late snacks, or find a beachfront bar for a nightcap. Vung Tau’s nightlife is gentle rather than wild, which is exactly right for a recharge weekend.
Sleep in without guilt. Sunday morning is for a final swim or a long coffee at a sea view cafe, watching the weekend crowds begin their own departures. Check out around 11 am and store your bags, then take one last wander: the White Palace villa museum, the whale temple, or simply the promenade in morning light.
Lunch is the farewell feast: a bowl of banh canh cha ca, thick noodle soup with fish cake, or a final round of banh khot at the famous Goc Vu Sua shop. Then catch the 2 or 3 pm ferry back to Saigon, arriving by 5 pm with the whole evening ahead.
You return to the city sun warmed, salt aired, and reset, having spent less than a fancy Saigon dinner would cost for the whole weekend. This is why the town has survived as the city’s escape for over a century.
If your Sunday ferry is late afternoon, rent a motorbike for a few hours and ride the coastal road to Long Hai, 25 kilometers north. The road hugs the cliffs, the beaches are emptier, and you will be back in Vung Tau with time to spare.
The ferry wins for weekends: 2 hours from District 1 with no traffic risk, versus buses that can take 3 hours or more on Friday evenings.
Near Front Beach for restaurants and the promenade, or along Thuy Van Street for Back Beach access. Both areas have options from budget to upscale.
Back Beach is the best swimming beach, cleanest in the morning. Front Beach is prettier for views but less swimmable.
Yes, with the early ferry out and the late ferry back. But the weekend version, with the Saturday statue climb and unhurried beach morning, is far better.
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