Vietnam Surf - ALL Spots / Best Seasons & More [2026]

Vietnam surf is not really on the radar. Most people come here to explore the colossal cities and see the wonders of Ha Long Bay. But there are some gems, mostly long, sandy beach breaks that get firing during the monsoon.

Remember that iconic scene from Apocalypse Now where a gun-ho Robert Duvall rampages a Vietnamese beach just for a ride on a peeling right-hander point?

“You either surf. Or fight!”

Well…we hate to be the bearers of bad news but it wasn’t filmed in Vietnam at all. Nope, it was filmed in Baler in the Philippines.

But don’t be fooled by the usual Hollywood sleight of hand. Vietnam does have surf. It does have nice right-hand point breaks. And the truth is that surf probably did become popular here after the arrival of American GIs in the 50s and 60s.

Come on…just look at the map. Vietnam is the long, snaking backbone of Indochina. On one side it creeps up into the jungle-dressed hills of Southeast Asia. On the other, it rolls down to meet over 1,100 miles of Pacific coastline.

We admit there’s the small issue of the not-so-small swell shadow cast by Borneo to the south and the Philippines to the east. But swell makes its way through nooks and gaps here and there, while windswells have the potential to whip up beach breaks all along the shores.

On it’s day it can be epic.

There are about five or six key surf destinations to know about in Vietnam. Most of them rely on long, open beachfronts with shallow sand shelves that can suck in any swells that happen to be moving in the South China Sea.

Seasonality is very important. The low-pressure typhoons that bash the Sulu Sea and Japan are the main swell factories. They fire sporadically between November and March, creating short-period bouts of pretty decent sized surf, though it will always be a waiting game.

Besides all that, Vietnam is downright fun. It’s one of my personal all-time favs to travel. The people are gritty and honest, with a sense of humour that’s depreciating and dry. The food is on a par with Thailand (big words). And there are buzzing cities, wild dunescapes, lush mountain worlds, and evocative karst landscapes to explore when you’re off the waves.

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This guide is just one part of our complete guide to surfing in Asia

Vietnam surf at a glance

The good:

Beginner beach breaks galore
This is one of the most amazing and fun countries to travel in Southeast Asia
No localism

The bad:

Short swell season
Mostly sloppy beach break

What’s in this guide to Vietnam surf?

Where is Vietnam?

Vietnam sits on the eastern edge of Southeast Asia. It borders Loas and Cambodia on its western side, China to the north, and the Thai Gulf to the south.

Key to surfers, the South China Sea, also known as the easternmost sea of the Pacifc Ocean, runs the whole length of the country on its eastern side. (Don’t get too excited – because it’s a sea and not the ocean, it doesn’t really get the same swell as places like the Philippines and Indo!).

Where to surf in Vietnam?

Vietnam’s best surf destinations begin around midway down the country, which is where the coastline bends more east and south-facing and the NE monsoon makes its mark.

The first place consistent enough to be listed is the city of Da Nang. The rest pepper the coast between that and Ho Chi Minh City.

Da Nang

Da Nang is the single most consistent spot in the whole of Vietnam. It’s actually a pretty large city of over 1.2 million people, strung out along sparkling yellow-sand beaches between the bluffs of the amazing Marble Mountains.

The beaches here are kinda’ unique in the whole country in that they look almost directly northwest to a small gap between the Paracel Islands, the Philippines and Taiwan. It’s possible – but rare – to see NE swells pushing right through the Taiwan Strait to offer up long-period waves that have punch and power and long rides.

When that happens, the whole of the main city beach can GO OFF (here’s proof).

That’s very seldom. Most of the time, Da Nang’s beaches rely on whippy little windswell pulses that come from the east. It can still be good then but much mushier and unruly.

China Beach is the most famous spot. It’s there that American soldiers did their surfing during the war and where The Endless Summer guys passed through on their Asia trips. It’s the central portion of the main urban beach, also known as My Khe Beach.

Where to stay? Chi House Danang Hotel and Apartment – For nomading surfers, the studios here are great for living and surfing and seeing Da Nang. It’s a modern complex with one seriously nice central pool. The beach is over the road.

We have a complete guide to surfing in Danang right here

Hoi An

Between 30-40 minutes’ in a taxi to the south of Da Nang (the ride costs about $15), the enthralling town of Hoi An beckons with its riverside bars and coffee roasteries. Once a port town run by Japanese traders, it oozes style, showcasing layers of French colonial architecture next to lantern-lit Buddhist temples.

Hoi An itself is a bit inland but a newly developed beach area known as Am Bang is reachable by bicycle or motorbike in 10 minutes or so. It’s really lovely there, with chilled coffee shops and nomad co-working spaces spilling out onto a beige beach.

We’ve been a few times and can say 100% that it’s surfable. We’d take a bigger board and low expectations. Most of the waves are windswell mush but there are some that come through to offer short left and right rides over sand.

The closeness of Danang also means you can head up to China Beach to do your surfing if you want to – remember taxis are only $15 or so!

Where to stay? The Watermark Beachside Hotel is perfect for beachside living in Hoi An. It’s in gorgeous Am Bang beach, 10 minutes’ cycle from the center. There’s a pool, sleek rooms, and beach access.

We have a complete guide to surfing in Hoi An

Nha Trang

Nha Trang is probably the only place that can match Da Nang when it comes to consistency and quality of waves. I mean, we’re still talking classic Vietnamese beach breaks the whole way along. There’s not a reef to be seen.

But this resort town does have access to several beaches that can work on big typhoon swells and more moderate windswell days alike. Plus, there’s generally a better fetch on the South China Sea before the Nha Trang coastline, which means waves are bit more punchy here than up north.

That shows because there are quite a few surf schools here that offer lessons to beginners throughout the main NE monsoon season (Nov-March). Most of them head to the long, white-sand beach of Bai Dai some 30 minutes to the south of the city. There are sandbars there that give 2-3-foot peelers that are perfect for learning on.

Where to stay? HANZ Panorama Condo Hotel – Nha Trang is all about glitzy condos on the shoreline. These ones are fricking lush, the pool is amazing, and they aren’t anywhere near as expensive as some you’ll find up and down the beach.

Read our full guide to surfing in Nha Trang

Mui Ne

Mui Ne cut its teeth as a windsurfing destination extraordinaire. Sat right on the bum of South Vietnam, the town’s long beaches and open bays hoover up the winds that push through on both the NE and SW monsoon. There are over 200 days of the year with gusts exceeding 10 knots, making it perfect for those with the sail and harness in tow.

Obviously winds like that mean it ain’t so good for us surfers. But there are some great days and good locations you can go to escape the onshores while making the most of the windswell that pulses through.

Check the top end of Mui Ne Main Beach. That sometimes has a peeling left hander that can give some of the longest rides in Vietnam. As you go south from that, it gets mushier and mushier but remains pretty good for beginners. Go north and you can find another nice left that comes in off the headland by the Red Canyon, though that’s a bit of a trek.

There’s also a beach called Malibu here that lives up to its name when there’s not too much wind messing around. The spots there can stay clean; they’re great for loggers and mal riders to trim for rides of 50-100m.

Where to stay? Red Sands Pool Villa takes you away from the massive resorts in the heart of Mui Ne to the top end of the main beach. It’s a lux stay near a spot with good wind protection and decent left handers.

We have a complete guide to Mui Ne surf

Vung Tau

There are two sides to Vung Tau. There’s the Front Beach and Back Beach. THe first is a long, exposed run of shoreline that’s windy as hell most of the time. It gets the same mushburgers that you find up in Mui Ne and that.

Back Beach hides behind a lip in the headland. It will need strong swells to wrap around the rocks but if they do they can form marching lines of clean left handers that make the most of N offshore winds to give what some would call the best wave in the country.

You’ll probably surf it alone. Plus, the last couple of years have seen a strengthening of both monsoons, meaning Vung Tau Beach has been working more and more.

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How to get to Vietnam?

For long-haul fliers, there are two main entry points to Vietnam.

Hanoi is the capital of the country and home to the largest airport. It’s in the north and is served by loads of major carriers. Then there’s Ho Chi Minh City in the south, which also has arrivals from Europe, Asia, and North America.

What’s annoying is that those two bigger cities are still quite far from the best surf spots in the country, though Ho Chi Minh is probably the better place to aim for since it’s got prime access to South Vietnam, where you’ll find the most reliable beach breaks of Mui Ne, Nha Trang, and others.

To get to those, we’d switch from plane to train and travel up the famous Reunification Express line. It stops at almost all the major points along the coast here.

An alternative would be to fly into Southeast Asia via another major city (Bangkok or Singapore, for example) and then catch a short-haul connection to Da Nang or Nha Trang that way.

Short-haul airlines like AirAsia or VietJet Air have always been cheap and reliable for us, though checking a surfboard can get pricy so try to stick to the major long-haul carriers if you’re bringing your own board.

Try using Kiwi to search flights – they have a unique algo that links together all airlines to get the best deal, not just the ones that use codeshares. It can turn up some great bargains.

When to surf in Vietnam?

Novermber-March is the best time to surf in Vietnam.

The season of the NE monsoon is the key time to surf in Vietnam. It brings the wettest weather and the strongest low-pressure systems to North Vietnam, causing heavy rainfall around Ha Long Bay and the Sapa Mountains.

It also pushes winds through the heart of the South China Sea, which build and build the swell across nearly 600 miles of open ocean before hitting the coast at key spots like Mui Ne and Nha Trang.

The SW monsoon lasts from May to October and sees the dominant wind direction switch. The only real chance you have of good waves at this time will be because of big typhoons hitting Taiwan and the Philippines.

If that does happen then the conditions might just be the best of the year, as it opens the door to long-period groundswell through the Luzon Strait and Taiwan Strait. Don’t rely on those though – they maybe happen once a year and everyone and their gran will be out enjoying it!