By the fishing port in Phường Đông Hải, boats just back from sea unload the day's catch, and the seafood restaurant's tanks hold live mud crab and mussels — but the deep blue bay that actually draws visitors here sits in a different district, 42 km away.
Vietnam's Department of Cultural Heritage confirms Vĩnh Hy Bay falls within Núi Chúa National Park, listed as a national scenic site
Vietnam's Department of Cultural Heritage's official site, dsvh.gov.vn, in "Danh lam thắng cảnh Vịnh Vĩnh Hy, tỉnh Ninh Thuận," confirms Vĩnh Hy Bay sits in Thôn Vĩnh Hy, Xã Vĩnh Hải, Huyện Ninh Hải, within Núi Chúa National Park (a UNESCO biosphere reserve), and is listed as a national scenic site. Vietnam National Administration of Tourism's official site, vietnamtourism.gov.vn, confirms Vĩnh Hy Bay as one of Vietnam's "four most beautiful bays." Huyện Ninh Hải People's Committee's official portal, ninhhai.ninhthuan.gov.vn, features Vĩnh Hy Bay on its own page.
Honest clarification: the core attractions sit outside the old administrative territory, and the 2025 reorganization created a new geographic link
It has to be said honestly that Vĩnh Hy Bay administratively falls under the (old) Huyện Ninh Hải's Xã Vĩnh Hải, about 42 km from downtown Phan Rang, and clearly not within Phan Rang City's 12 wards and 1 commune. Ninh Chữ beach's old core zone likewise sits in Huyện Ninh Hải's Thị trấn Khánh Hải, also outside Phan Rang City's old territory — though after the July 2025 administrative reorganization, Thị trấn Khánh Hải (from the former Huyện Ninh Hải) merged with Phường Văn Hải (from Phan Rang City) to form the new Phường Ninh Chữ, creating a geographic link between the two places under the newest administrative division. This entry honestly distinguishes between "the old verification baseline (Phan Rang City's 12 wards and 1 commune)" and "the post-2025 new system" as two different administrative standards. This entry's coordinates anchor on the fishing-port and seafood-restaurant clusters in Phan Rang City's own coastal wards (Đông Hải and Mỹ Hải, both among the old 12 wards) as the honest representative point within Phan Rang City's own territory closest to this kind of seafood culture; items like mud crab, blood cockle, and mussel (known locally as "nipple snail" / ốc vú nàng, which several travel outlets say is found only in Vĩnh Hy's waters) are still honestly attributed to Vĩnh Hy Bay as their core source, not native to Phan Rang City itself.
How to Eat It Like a Local
- The fishing-port clusters in Phường Đông Hải and Mỹ Hải are the easiest place within Phan Rang City's own territory to eat fresh seafood.
- To try Vĩnh Hy Bay's signature seafood — mud crab, nipple snail, and the rest — plan a trip out to Vĩnh Hy Bay or Ninh Chữ beach.
- Fresh-caught, fresh-cooked seafood is the selling point here; choose a shop that serves straight from a live tank.
An Honest Look at This Plate's Story
- Vĩnh Hy Bay sits about 42 km from downtown Phan Rang, clearly outside Phan Rang City's old 12 wards and 1 commune territory — this entry states this plainly.
- After the 2025 administrative reorganization, Thị trấn Khánh Hải merged with Phường Văn Hải into the new Phường Ninh Chữ; this entry distinguishes the old verification baseline from the new administrative recognition.
- The core source of specialty items like nipple snail remains Vĩnh Hy Bay; this entry doesn't misattribute them as native Phan Rang City seafood.
Crack open a mud crab and the roe spills out rich and fragrant — this flavor mostly traces back to a bay 42 km away, said to be Vietnam's most beautiful. Phan Rang City's fishing port is simply the last, most convenient stop on its way to a visitor's table.