Nha Trang construction update – 2024 edition

I’ve been a regular visitor to Nha Trang over the last decade, and I’ve posted construction reports in 2020 and 2022. The 2020 report was during the international lockout when I was in Vietnam during the pandemic, and 2022 was months after the country reopened, but when China had not reopened.

This 2024 visit felt more like Nha Trang before 2020. Most of the shops had reopened, and there were tourists everywhere. I was staying in the main hotel area by the beach, and in the mornings the roads were clogged with tour buses picking up groups from the hotels.

Nha Trang was traditionally a Russian tourist hotspot, but Chinese are now the largest visitor group. I was wondering if there were going to be more Russians here (like Phuket, Pattaya, and Bali), but the most noticeable change was the amount of South Korean visitors. Danang has become the overwhelming favourite city in Vietnam for South Koreans, so maybe this is a spillover effect of South Koreans wanting to go somewhere different.

I was so curious about the increase in Korean signage in the city that I had to consult the Cam Ranh Airport wiki page to see where all the flights were coming from. Here is the current list of destinations serving CXR (as of March 20244):

China: Beijing–Capital, Changchun, Changsha, Changzhou, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Hefei, Hohhot, Hong Kong, Jinan, Kunming, Lanzhou, Macau, Nanchang, Nanjing, Nanning, Ningbo, Quanzhou, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Ürümqi, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Wuxi, Xining
Kazakhstan: Almaty, Astana
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur
Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar
Russia: Irkutsk, Yekaterinburg
Singapore: Changi
South Korea: Busan, Cheongju, Daegu, Seoul–Incheon, Muan, Yangyang
Taiwan: Taipei–Taoyuan,
Thailand: Bangkok–Don Mueang
Uzbekistan: Tashkent
Vietnam: Can Tho, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh

There are now flights from 6 South Korean airports, which is impressive for a geographically small country.

I tallied up flights from China to Cam Ranh in 2019, and there were 32 cities from China. There are now 35. The Wiki list isn’t always updated, and there are seasonal and charter flights in the mix, in addition to flights that only operate twice a week. The Wiki page was showing some flights that were starting within the next month, but they are often slow to remove cancelled flights (for example the Cam Ranh – Danang service is currently not operating). Even with those disclaimers, this is one of the highest representations of Chinese flights for any city in Southeast Asia.

Other observations include the rise of flights from Central Asia, and how few flights there are from the rest of Southeast Asia. This distinct tourism mix is unlike any other in Southeast Asia, which is partly what intrigues me about this city (I’m tempted to fly from Nha Trang to Tashkent).

People complain about Nha Trang being touristy, but if you step 2 blocks inland it’s a normal Vietnamese city with great food to seek out.

So tourists are back in force, but there are still many construction projects from the 2010s travel boom that remain unfinished. This construction report is a snapshot of major Nha Trang projects as of March 2024.

Nha Trang Construction Projects

Tropicana Nha Trang

In my frequent travels around Vietnam, I’m familiar with the most prominent stalled projects in each city, and in Nha Trang, the most prominent is Tropicana Nha Trang. This project has been dormant since at least 2020, and I wasn’t expecting anything to change. Sure enough, it is still stalled.

Annova Nha Trang Hotel

The Hoàng An – Nha Trang Hotel & Condotel was almost finished when last visited, and now it’s finished and named Annova Nha Trang Hotel.

Ocean Gate

Ocean Gate is basically finished, and from a distance, it looks like a nice apartment tower. There are no other tall buildings in this area, so most of the apartments are going to get a view (sea view, mountain view, or both). Something happened though when they were within sight of the finish line, and the project remains stalled.

Nothing has changed here since my last visit in 2022.

Welltone Luxury Residences

Another project that has struggled to get off the ground is Welltone Luxury Residences. This was previously known as The Aston, which has been rebranded since my last visit in 2022. The new website is leaning into the luxury aspect, with video clips of Rolls Royces, people in suits drinking champagne, and luxury yachts.

The new project still includes 3 apartment towers that face the Cai River. It doesn’t look like it has progressed since my last visit.

The Light Holiday Hotel

With so many stalled projects around the city, it was good to see one finally finished. The construction of this hotel was hit by the pandemic in 2020 and it was still unfinished in 2022.

It’s now branded as Signature, though it is still showing up online as The Light Holiday Hotel.

Grand Mark Nha Trang

Grand Mark Nha Trang is the project formerly known as Imperium Town (its name when I visited in 2022).

This project has barely progressed in the two years since my last visit.

Swiss Touches La Luna

Swiss Touches La Luna is another high-profile project that stalled during the pandemic and has not restarted. This hotel-resort complex is at the northern end of Nha Trang Bay. There is no beach here and the hotel is surrounded by small local houses. There appears to have been an ill-conceived plan to develop this area further. Without any other amenities in the area, it is hard to see why someone would stay here if there is no beach and no nearby shops. The coastline of Vietnam is littered with abandoned hotel projects like this that began in the boom times of the latter half of the 2010s.

Vega City Nha Trang

At the northernmost point of Nha Trang City is Vega City. This is a new urban area leisure development at the far end of Nha Trang Bay.

The last time I was here it was not open for visitors. It is now partially open so I went to have a look around. From the images on the website, I suspected that this would be something similar to Phu Quoc. Unfortunately, it looks like a mini version of Phu Quoc, with rows of badly designed cookie-cutter shophouses.

To give you an idea of how badly designed these shophouses are, here is one that I took photos of the inside.

There are no staircases in these shophouses, so I don’t know how you are supposed to get to the upper floor. Usually, the stairs are made with concrete when the concrete structure is built. There is a gap in the floor at one end, so they could install stairs later, but the ceilings are so high that the stairs are going to be very steep.

Another thing that reminded me of the gaudiness of Phu Quoc is that the shophouses are in themed zones. There is a Europe and Hawaii zone, and here is the Caribbean zone.

There were two cafes open when I visited, which appeared to be the only businesses in operation. I went to one cafe that had umbrellas outside to shade from the sun. There are no trees or tree boxes in preparation for future planting. The shophouses are so small that there was very little room for seats after the work area for the cafe was set up.

The shophouses are near a small beach that is fronted with a concrete seawall.

They had a simple opportunity here to make a pleasant seaside promenade, but the walkway is an uneven concrete path with vegetation between the split levels. It’s so ugly and aggravating to look at. How hard would it have been to make a level walkway that was pleasantly landscaped? It also feels like it needs a rail along here.

One of the main towers has been completed.

I will give them credit for making an architecturally interesting theatre. I saw a poster promoting a show from last year, but I don’t know if its location can sustain a steady flow of theatregoers.

There are private villas that are planned further along the coast, with more towers inland from the coast.

I rode along the coastal road behind the project land, and the area has been fenced off with barbed wire. The area here will be filled in according to the original plan.

This project has years to go until it is fully completed (if it is fully completed), so I will wait until construction has finished to give it a full review. I am posting updates on this project at Vega City Nha Trang.

A full list of construction projects can be found at Future Nha Trang.