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Visitors to Cua Lo beach have an excellent opportunity to see beautiful natural scenery, enjoy unique tourist activities and taste seafood on the sand dunes near the crystal clear blue water.
Tourists can travel more than 350km to Cua Lo from Hanoi by car or train to escape the heat and noise of the city.
Cua Lo is famous for its 10-km beach, good accommodation and delicious seafood. Not far from Cua Lo are three small islands, called Hon Ngu, Hon Chu, and Hon Mat, which are dazzlingly breath taking.
Hotels on one side and pine and coconut trees on the other of the main road running along Cua Lo beach as well as the stands of trees growing as a natural barrier against beach erosion provide cool cover for sun-soaked tourists.
In Cua Lo, tourists have the chance to see a number of famous historical sites such as the tomb of King Mai Hac De and Kim Lien village - the hometown of President Ho Chi Minh.
A tourism festival takes place annually, usually in early May, to welcome the first tourists to the beach on summer holiday.
Cua Lo serves as an enormous swimming pool, while Cua Hoi on Hon Ngu island, just 2km away, is famous for delicious seafood at reasonable prices.
Near the beach there is a chain of three and four-star hotels such as the Green Hotel, Saigon-Kim Lien Hotel, Pacific Hotel and several resorts.
During the day, tourists can spend their time sunbathing or relaxing on the beach, drinking coconut juice or chatting with friends over a glass of beer and fresh seafood. Other activities on offer include karaoke singing, night fishing from small boats, and riding in a horse-drawn cart or on a tandem bicycle.
On the beach, there is a fish market from which tourists can buy fresh shrimp, squid, crabs and oysters, and ask local restaurant owners to cook for them. The charge for cooking is just between US$2-4.
What most impresses visitors to Cua Lo beach is the honesty, friendliness and hospitality of the locals who invite them to buy Cu Do cakes made of peanuts, sugar and ginger, and some other special products like fish sauce or shrimp paste.
Tran Ngoc
(MONRE)