Dai Lanh and Van Ninh Nha Trang

Dai Lanh sits at the northern edge of Khanh Hoa on the Phu Yen border, about eighty kilometres from Nha Trang on Highway 1. That number decides everything: roughly an hour and three-quarters each way, so this is a full day rather than a morning.

What the distance buys is a long curved beach, clean sand, clear water and almost nobody on it. The opposite of Tran Phu. Around it are the fishing inlets of Van Ninh district, where hundreds of wooden boats lie packed together, and the quiet town of Van Gia.

One thing must be said plainly: there is almost no tourist infrastructure. No sun-lounger rows, no board hire, few places to eat beyond roadside rice shops. That is both why it is empty and why you should bring water and something to eat, and not arrive late in the day.

The same district holds Hoa Son lake among fields and hills, and Van Phong Bay, the largest deep-water bay on the central coast. Choose Dai Lanh if you have had enough of crowded sand and want a day of sitting still. Do not choose it on a two-day trip: four hours in a car is too much to spend.

On the same northern run: Dốc Lết, Điệp Sơn and Ninh Hoà.