Long Beach at golden hour

A slow barefoot walk along the island’s longest beach as the sun drops into the Gulf of Thailand, with grilled corn and cold coconut at the end.

Area

Duong Dong & west coast

Start from

Duong Dong or any Long Beach hotel

Distance

3–6 km walk along the sand

Time needed

half a day

Best season

November – April for clear sunsets; dramatic skies in the wet season

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

On foot along the beach

Tickets & rules

None

Why go

Long Beach, Bãi Trường, stretches for roughly twenty kilometres down the west coast from Duong Dong to the south. Its northern part is lined with hotels and beach bars, but walk a little further and it becomes quieter, with fishermen’s boats pulled up in front of small family restaurants and dogs asleep in the shade.

Because the island faces west, every evening is a performance. In the dry season the sun goes down clean and orange into a flat sea; in the wet season it goes down through towering clouds and lightning, which I think is even better. Either way, for half an hour the whole beach turns copper and everyone stops what they are doing.

This is the route I recommend for a first evening: no planning, just shoes in your hand and a direction.

The story

Until the late 1990s, Long Beach was mostly coconut palms, cashew trees and a handful of fishing hamlets. Backpackers started arriving after the island opened to more visitors, staying in simple wooden bungalows, and for years the beach was famous among travellers as a quiet alternative to the busier Thai islands across the gulf.

The opening of the new international airport in 2012, set inland from the west coast, changed everything. Large resorts followed, and then whole planned districts. Today the southern stretch of Long Beach is a patchwork of construction sites, grand hotels and survivors from the old days, which can be jarring but also tells the story of modern Vietnam in one walk.

Beyond the hotels, people still fish from round basket boats close to the shore, casting nets at dawn and dusk. Sometimes they will haul in a net right where you are standing and sort the catch on the sand: small silver fish, crabs, the occasional surprised squid.

On clear evenings you may see the outline of islands on the horizon to the west and south. Some of them are Vietnamese, part of the An Thoi archipelago; further north and west, the coast and islands of Cambodia are surprisingly close.

Getting there

From Duong Dong, walk south from the Dinh Cau area along Tran Hung Dao street and cut down any side lane to the beach. Most Long Beach hotels have direct beach access.

To end in a quieter place, take a taxi a few kilometres south and walk north towards the lights of town, then catch a car back.

A suggested plan

1. 16:00Start near the middle of Long Beach, swim while the sun is still high and the water warm.
2. 16:45Walk south, past the last bars, to where fishing boats line the sand.
3. 17:30Find a spot for sunset; times vary through the year, roughly between half past five and half past six.
4. 18:15Turn back in the afterglow; the sky often goes violet after the sun has gone.
5. 19:00Dinner of grilled fish at a beachfront family place with your feet in the sand.

Where to stay

Long Beach itself is the natural base, with everything from simple guesthouses on small lanes to large resorts. The northern end is closest to Duong Dong’s food and night market; the southern end is quieter but more scattered.

Good to know

• Ask for the day’s sunset time at your hotel; it shifts by nearly an hour over the year.
• Grilled corn, sweet potatoes and coconuts are sold from carts and baskets along the beach in the evening.
• Wear a light layer if a storm is building: the wind can change quickly over the water.