Quick facts
- Region
- Since July 2025, part of Ho Chi Minh City 3
- Expats (estimate)
- 5,000–8,000, per Expat.com (unofficial) 4
- From Saigon
- About 2 hours by road or 2.5 hours by fast ferry 3
- Since July 2025
- Since 1 July 2025 Vũng Tàu has been part of Ho Chi Minh City: in June 2025 the National Assembly merged Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu and Bình Dương provinces into Ho Chi Minh City, whose enlarged local government began work on 1 July 2025. 2
- Rent, 1-bed flat (crowd-sourced range)
- $203–$300 a month 1
- Rent, 3-bed flat (crowd-sourced range)
- $503–$745 a month 1
Rents are crowd-sourced Numbeo averages, not official figures, and may lag the market; see the housing guide (coming soon). Run the calculator for Vung Tau →
A short history
- Digs on Long Sơn island show people living here from the 2nd millennium BC. Funan and then Chenla ruled the area in the 1st–7th centuries. 3
- Vietnamese settlers arrived in the 16th–17th centuries. The area was first called Tam Thắng after its first three villages. 3
- Nguyễn forts fired on French warships here in 1859. The French called the cape Cap Saint-Jacques, made it an autonomous town in 1895, and Paul Doumer built the Villa Blanche in 1898. 3
- After oil was found offshore, the area became a special zone in 1979 and a logistics base for the oil industry. Housing built for Soviet oil workers is still home to about 1,000 Russians. 3
- Vũng Tàu became a city again in 1991. 3 In June 2025 the National Assembly merged Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu and Bình Dương provinces into Ho Chi Minh City; the enlarged city's local government began work on 1 July 2025. 2
Key dates are checked against a second source where we found one (official portal, UNESCO or a founding institution).
Life there
Climate
Hot and sunny. Average highs run from about 29 to 32 °C (85–90 °F). May to October brings 14–20 rainy days a month; December to April is almost dry. 3
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 29.3° | 29.6° | 30.6° | 32.0° | 32.4° | 31.8° | 31.2° | 31.1° | 31.0° | 30.7° | 30.6° | 29.8° |
| Low | 23.1° | 23.9° | 25.5° | 26.8° | 26.6° | 25.8° | 25.3° | 25.4° | 25.2° | 25.0° | 24.7° | 23.6° |
| Rainy days | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 14.3 | 18.7 | 19.9 | 18.7 | 18.4 | 16.9 | 6.8 | 3.5 |
Expat community
Expat.com estimates 5,000–8,000 foreign residents, led by Russians, South Koreans, Americans and Australians (unofficial). 4 About 1,000 Russians live in the former oil-worker housing. 3
Healthcare
The U.S. Embassy lists Vũng Tàu General Hospital, Bà Rịa General Hospital and a Raffles Medical international clinic in the Petro Tower. 6 Ho Chi Minh City's large hospitals are about two hours away. 3
The U.S. Embassy notes that care in Vietnam is generally below U.S. standards outside the big international hospitals, and that serious cases may need medical evacuation. 6 More on the healthcare page (coming soon).
Getting around
The road trip from Ho Chi Minh City takes about two hours (about 1.5 hours on the expressways), or 2.5 hours by fast ferry. The local airport only runs helicopter services to Côn Đảo. 3 Grab serves Vũng Tàu. 7
Safety
Vũng Tàu is a busy weekend beach town for Ho Chi Minh City; the general advice on theft and traffic applies here too. 9
Across Vietnam
- The U.S. State Department rates Vietnam Level 1, "exercise normal precautions" (advisory issued 24 June 2026; checked Oct 27, 2026 in a browser). It names two risks: petty crime in tourist areas, and landmines and unexploded ordnance, which it says are a low risk in urban and tourist areas. 8 OSAC's 2026 report, which we read, gives the same level. 9
- The crimes foreigners meet most are phone theft, pickpocketing and bag snatching by thieves on motorbikes; petty crime rises around Christmas and Tết. 9
- Traffic is the biggest danger: OSAC says road accidents are the leading cause of death, serious injury and medical evacuation for foreigners in Vietnam, and helmets are required on motorbikes. 9
- OSAC says the June–October monsoon brings flood and landslide risk; in 2025 the country had 11 typhoons and tropical depressions between May and October. 9
- Emergency numbers: 113 police, 114 fire, 115 ambulance. 10
How residents rate crime here (crowd-sourced, not official)
- Numbeo crime index
- 32.1 / 100 (lower = less crime perceived) 11
- Numbeo safety index
- 67.9 / 100 (higher = safer) 11
Numbeo says it needs more contributors for this city, so treat these numbers as rough.
Survey detail
| Worries home broken and things stolen | 31 · Low |
|---|---|
| Worries being mugged or robbed | 35 · Low |
| Worries car stolen | 27 · Low |
| Worries things from car stolen | 34 · Low |
| Worries attacked | 30 · Low |
| Problem people using or dealing drugs | 44 · Moderate |
| Problem property crimes such as vandalism and theft | 33 · Low |
| Safety walking alone during daylight | 92 · Very High |
| Safety walking alone during night | 71 · High |
Scores 0–100 from Numbeo visitor surveys. 11
Things to do and experience
Food
Bánh khọt, small crispy rice-flour pancakes topped with shrimp, are the local favourite, along with bánh xèo and fresh seafood. 3
Beaches
Four main beaches: Back Beach (Bãi Sau), Front Beach (Bãi Trước), Strawberry Beach (Bãi Dâu) and Pineapple Beach (Bãi Dứa). 3
Culture
Climb to the Christ the King statue on Mount Nhỏ, begun in 1974 and finished in 1994. 5 Other sights are the French-era lighthouse, the Villa Blanche, Buddhist temples such as Thích Ca Phật Đài, and the fishermen's Whale Festival (Nghinh Ông). 3
Day trips
Ho Chi Minh City is about two hours away for shopping, hospitals and the airport. 3
Sources & “as of” dates
- Numbeo — Cost of Living in Vung Tau as of 2026-04-17 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · read 2026-10-27
- Official Gazette (Công báo) No. 773+774, 23 Jun 2025 — Resolution 202/2025/QH15 on rearranging provinces, full text (in Vietnamese; Art. 1 cl. 10, 14, 16; Art. 2) as of 2025-06-23 (PDF opened by Team Web Oct 27, 2026 (~6:53 PM PT): passed and in force 12 June 2025; new local governments to start work 1 July 2025) · read 2026-10-27
- Wikipedia — Vũng Tàu (city) as of 2026-10-21 (revision date of the article version we read) · read 2026-10-27
- Expat.com — Living in Vung Tau guide (key facts; unofficial estimate) as of 2025-12-15 ("updated" date on the guide) · read 2026-10-27
- Wikipedia — Christ the King of Vũng Tàu (article summary) as of 2026-01-01 (last edit date) · read 2026-10-27
- U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam — Medical Assistance (list of hospitals and clinics) as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day read) · read 2026-10-27
- Grab Vietnam — Where we are (cities served) as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no date; date = day read) · read 2026-10-27
- U.S. State Department — Vietnam travel advisory (Level 1, issued June 24, 2026) as of 2026-06-24 (checked Oct 27, 2026 (browser check), 6:17 PM PT) · read 2026-10-27 verified · Grok Boss (browser check)
- OSAC — Vietnam Country Security Report as of 2026-06-24 (report date) · read 2026-10-27
- U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam — Security and Safety Advice as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date) · read 2026-10-27
- Numbeo — Crime in Vung Tau (crowd-sourced survey, not official) as of 2026-06-11 (Numbeo "Last update" date; Numbeo says it needs more contributors here) · read 2026-10-27
Photo and video credits
- Photo: “Bai Truoc Vung Tau” by NDTK08, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons (resized)
- Video: “Plaĝo en Vũng Tàu” by RG72, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons (cut to 8 s from 6 s, sound removed, scaled to 480p, re-encoded to H.264; poster = frame from the clip)
- Photo: “VN-vungtau-bai-sau-1” by Balou46, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons (resized and converted to WebP)