Nha Trang

Get the visa sorted before you sail.

For ordinary U.S. passport holders, a visa is generally required. Official immigration information confirms e-visas valid for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, through the portal at evisa.gov.vn.

Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date.

Check the name, the passport number and the dates twice, then print it — a phone screen is a backup, not the document.

The port on the form has to match your itinerary.

Nha Trang appears on the official tourism authority’s list of seaports eligible for e-visa entry. Cam Ranh appears on the e-visa portal only as an airport, not a seaport — so confirm your actual arrival port before you apply, and on a Cam Ranh call ask your line in writing which checkpoint to name.

Then follow your cruise line’s instructions on whether clearance is arranged for the call or you need an individual visa. Not every line handles visas for you — ask yours.

If your sailing also calls at Phu My or Ha Long Bay, ask whether one single-entry visa covers all the Vietnamese calls.

Money: dong, with dollars widely taken.

The currency is the Vietnamese dong. Celebrity and What’s in Port both say many businesses accept US dollars, and ATMs are common in town.

Carry small dong notes for Po Nagar’s cash ticket desk, and haggle at the market. Check Vietnam’s customs rules on carrying large cash sums before you sail.

Taxis: use the meter.

Older guides to the Cau Da port say taxis and cyclos wait at the gate. We found no official fare, and nothing on taxi stands at Ana Marina or Cam Ranh.

One older guide put a small taxi at about 100,000 dong one way — dated, so treat it as a ballpark, not a fare.

Safety: traffic and bag snatchers.

The State Department’s national advisory for Vietnam is Level 1, exercise normal precautions (issued June 24, 2026; checked October 29, 2026). The State Department’s 2024 country page calls petty theft and bag snatching regular in tourist areas and road traffic dangerous.

Carry your phone and bag on the side away from passing motorbikes — common advice where snatching is reported, not a statistic.

Season: wet from September to December.

Local Vietnam puts the dry season at January to August and the rains at September to December, wettest in October and November. Tenders, boat trips and the cable car are most exposed then, so plan a dry-land backup. Your November call falls inside that window.

VinWonders has suspended the Vinpearl cable car from October 26 to November 10, 2026, with speedboats running to Hon Tre Island instead. The operator says service will resume as soon as possible after that, with no firm reopening date — recheck if you are reading this later.