Topic
Roads, passes, boats and buses, as ridden rather than as advertised.
The Hon Heo pass road is the only way onto the outer peninsula: QL26B east from Ninh Hoa past the salt flats and the shipyard turn, then nearly 10 km of single road over the ridge to Ninh Van fishing village, about 70 km from Nha Trang. It opened in 2009, parts of it have broken up, and it is still the best short ride in the north of the province.
On the published 2026 rates a scooter costs about 2.5 million VND for 30 days at a Nha Trang shop, or about 625,000 a month on a long term, while a used Honda Wave lists from 8.5 million VND. Past a few months the sums favour buying, but no official page I found settles whether a foreigner can register one, and the licence comes first.
In kilometres the coast road is no longer than the highway: about 60 km from Phan Rang to the Binh Lap peninsula against roughly 60 km on QL1. In hours it is a different day, with a pass, a bay, a coral shelf, a grape village and almost no fuel. Ride it between January and August and give it the whole day.
Vietnam recognises only 1968-convention International Driving Permits carried with the home licence, plus Korean permits under a 2023 agreement. Decree 168 has fined unlicensed riders of bikes over 125 cc 6 to 8 million VND since 1 January 2025, and 210 foreigners were fined here in six weeks of 2026. The rest is roundabouts, rain and two habits.
North first: Doc Let and the Hon Khoi salt, Dam Mon and Mui Doi, Dai Lanh and the old Ca pass road. Then west to the top of the Khanh Le pass, south over the Khanh Son pass to To Hap and Ta Gu, down to Cam Ranh bay and Binh Lap, along the Nui Chua coast road to Phan Rang, and 95 km of Highway 1 home. Not between October and December.
