When my sister travelled to Vietnam several years ago, she told me how awesome Nha Trang is and recommended I visit this city. One of the places she went to in this city is Vinpearl Nha Trang (there’s several Vinpearls in Vietnam) which is basically the Disneyland of Vietnam. So when Karen and myself arrived in Nha Trang, the very first place we visited is Vinpearl.
How to go to Vinpearl Nha Trang
To go to Vinpearl Nha Trang, we used an app called Grab which is the popular ride share app in Asia (their version of Uber).
The cost of taking Grab from our hotel (Sheraton Nha Trang) to the Vinpearl Cable car station was 80,000 VND (about $4.61 CAD). Karen and myself shared the cost so we basically paid 40,000 VND each.
Sketchy event that turned out legitimate
On the way to the Vinpearl Cable car station, our Grab driver stopped at this random shop in the middle of the street. A guy walks over to us to sell us a “Vinpearl card” which gives us access to the amusement park.
I was a bit sketched out and was hesitant to pay him anything. He showed me the pricing list for Vinpearl and the card to get in but there was something weird about this whole transaction. Finally, we caved in and paid him the 880,000 VND (about $50 CAD) to get in the park and take the round trip cable car.
I felt a bit sketched out and wasn’t sure if we just got scammed or not. During the line up to get in the cable car, I was feeling anxious to see if we would actually be let in the cable car.
Thankfully, the card was actually legitimate and soon realized that things worked a little bit weird in Vietnam.
Line ups and tourists
Just like any amusement parks, Vinpearl’s lineups are huge. From the moment we lined up to get in the cable car to the horrific line up to get on the most popular ride in Vinpearl, you’re sure to be spending a good chunk of your time lining up. To make things worst, we went on a weekday and the lineup was still long. I can’t imagine how long the lineup would be if you went during the weekends.
One interesting thing that we observed while we were in Vinpearl was the type of tourist that go here. They’re mostly local Vietnamese people, Chinese people, Russians, and Koreans. I think it’s because it’s relatively easy to reach Nha Trang from those countries and it’s a nice little getaway for those nationals.
There are also backpackers present in this amusement park which brings back fond memories every time I see them. Deep down inside, I feel like backpackers are my people even if I am travelling like a normal tourist for my trip to Nha Trang.
Rides
The rides in Vinpearl Nha Trang are definitely decent. We rode many things from the “Mine Adventure” to the overcrowded roller coaster carts to even silly ones like the carousel. After awhile, I think I started getting really dizzy from the spinning around so we stopped going on rides and checked out the shows and games instead.
One neat feature they have on every rides is that they have cubby holes you can put your belongings in to prevent them from falling out when you go on the rides. We found them to be very helpful and were relatively safe from theft also.
Food prices
Perhaps the part that I hated the most about Vinpearl is the insane food prices. They’re such ripoffs. I mean, I’m not surprised. Even back home in Canada, whenever I go to an amusement park, they definitely rip you off. And Vinpearl is no different with their overpriced food menu. You’re also not allowed to bring any water in the park. Before going to the cable cars, they will check your bags thoroughly to make sure you’re not bringing in any water.
Eventually; though, you have no choice but to buy food and something to drink. You’re going to spend several hours in the blistering heat and you’re bound to get thirsty. And of course, you’ll be burning calories walking around so much so you’re also going to be hungry.
Coconut water wasn’t so bad at 50,000 VND (about $3 CAD) per coconut. I bought spaghetti with crocodile meat with was 120,000 VND (about $7 CAD) for a very tiny plate. It was just enough to keep us alive before we can get more food once we are out of Vinpearl.
Water park and aquarium
Karen and myself were not very bright and forget to bring our swimming clothes to Vinpearl. We probably dodged the bullet because there was quite a bit of mosquitoes in the area. Stillwater attracts mosquitoes quite a bit and I saw tons of tourist with bites.
We ended up checking the aquarium and I have to say, it wasn’t bad at all! I liked walking through the underwater tunnels, that was pretty cool.
4D theatre
At one point, Karen wanted to check out the 4D theatre. I actually regret going there because we ended up missing the dolphin show to watch this terrible 4D movie. I didn’t like it at all and Karen was just creeped out. The only benefit of going to the 4D theatre is to get some AC to cool you off. Vinpearl is super hot and any chance you can get some AC is great.
Arcade
The arcade in Vinpearl is pretty big. There are tons of arcades you can play for free which is nice. One of our favourite things that we did in the arcade was do the hip hop dancing game. Tons of tourist would line up and start dancing. I am terrible at choreograph dancing but still had a blast doing it.
Among other fun stuff in the arcade is the 4D interactive game. They give you this toy gun and you shoot things on the screen. I won first place which I was excited about. We also played some basketball, and other random arcade games.
Black out and raining
While we were in the arcade, there was a sudden downpour. This caused a sudden black out in the entire amusement park leaving tourist to take cover. When the lights came back on, we were still stranded because it was raining so hard. We ended up buying ponchos for 65,000 VND each ($3.75 CAD) which we regretted later on. Mainly because it stopped raining soon after we bought them so we felt kind of rip offed.
Is it worth going to Vinpearl Nha Trang?
Well, if you’re going to Nha Trang, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to check out Vinpearl. It’s a family friendly place and tons of tourist visits it. Karen and myself had a fairly good time even if we were turned off by some of the prices.
If I do it again, I would start off by gunning it to the cart looking roller coaster ride to avoid the long lineups. I would also spread out going on rides in between going to the shows and arcade. After awhile, you start getting dizzy going on so many rides. The water park isn’t bad also if you enjoy waterslides.
If you want to save money in Vinpearl, I would just buy the cheaper foods like sausages. You can also drink coconut water to keep you hydrated. If you want to eat something big, just save your money until you’re out of the amusement park.
Conclusion to Vinpearl Nha Trang
Just keep in mind that if you go to Vinpearl in Nha Trang that it’s probably going to be your biggest expense here. Most of the local stuff you can do are fairly inexpensive. So if you go to Vinpearl, it can’t get any worst spending wise afterwards.
We went to Vinpearl before doing any other local activities and we were happy with this decision. Nha Trang has been an awesome place so far and Vinpearl is a great way to jump start your trip in the area.
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