China Beach

On China Beach it's a long walk from the dunes to the sea, well, only about 70metres, which isn't a desert, but that's quite a lot of hot sand to run across on a sunny day. Basically it's a long sweep of sand to the sea, protected from the wind by the shape of the peninsular, and a long sweep of calm water from there. The lack of wind keeps the waters warm as well as making it a safe place to swim.

Used as an R&R haven by US war veterans, the real fame of the place comes from a TV series of the same name chronicling the R&R which took place. Unfortunately no one really knows which bit of the coast – all long, sandy, flat and sweeping, was actually the bit of beach used, returning veterans can't rally tell and the local Vietnamese didn't really know in the first place and would definitely not have named any of the beaches on their coastline 'China Beach'.

Locals drop by in the mornings and evenings but for much of the day visitors can have the water to themselves. At one end is the Furama (luxury) Resort and accompanying shops, bars and restaurants.