Van Phong Bay, some 50 kilometers north of the central coast city of Nha Trang, carries a beautiful meaning - van means "cloud" and phong means "wind."

Van Phong Bay.

Van Phong, however, is not only a place of winds and clouds but also of sunshine, beaches, dunes, islets and blue clear waters.

Van Phong is surrounded by Gom Peninsula, which is like a 30-km-long arm embracing the bay.

In the early morning, you can be the very first one to see the day's earliest sunrays if you stay in Khai Luong fishing village, the most eastern point of Vietnam.

Nature is abundant in Van Phong. Tropical and mangrove forests are home to many animals and plants, several of them rare in Southeast Asia.

Among the characteristics making the bay particularly attractive to tourists are the sparkling blue waters and long, wide, smooth beaches lined with green poplar trees.

The 30 or so natural beaches include Son Dung, Bai Tay, Bai Dua, Bai Nhau and Bai Lach, offering far more space than local and international tourists fill up.

Of them, Xuan Dung Beach is a must. A few houses form a tiny village there, but the real draw is the fresh water that flows underneath the sands.

You can use your hands to dig into the sand, touching fresh water soon. The villagers collect fresh water for their living this way.

In addition, the bay's salt waters make for some excellent diving and snorkeling. To go diving, snorkeling and sightseeing, people can book a tour with such agencies as Vietravel.

Even those who don't know how to swim can go snorkeling by simply putting on a life jacket and diving goggles and following the guide.

They can see and even touch multicolored corals growing three to five meters below the water surface. What's more, snorkelers can even stand on one type of coral, which looks as if it has a large face.

It is estimated that some 350 kinds of corals live in the region though if tour operators let tourists touch and even stand on the corals, there soon will be a lot less.

Corals are very fragile and can easily be damaged.

Taking a boat for sightseeing the breath-taking landscape of the bay also still is a good option.

During sunset, while listening to the tales of fishermen, tourists can enjoy sea food and rice wine in such fishing villages as Dam Mon.

The sea food is seasoned with few spices and extras to take away nothing from its delicious fresh taste. Among the specialties is chao hai san, rice gruel with fresh oysters, shrimps, cuttlefish and more.

Though most tourists skip Van Phong, the bay actually has been known for tourism, as well as commerce for a long time.

Van Phong was listed a sight under the Nguyen Dynasty, who ruled Vietnam from 1802  to 1945.

Van Phong also has two sea gates - Cua Van, or Port Dayot under the French, and Cua Gia - and a depth of 20 to 27m, making it suitable for big container ships.

At the bay's deepest point the ground is 40m below the water surface. But so far, neither tourism nor commerce have developed much.

(Source: STD)