skating on melted urethane: my sweaty, chaotic trip to vung tau

so i rolled into this spot 2 hours south of *ho chi minh city with my board tucked under my arm, the pavement already hot enough to soften my wheel urethane at 10am. the weather app on my cracked phone said 33.6 degrees, but it felt like 37, humidity low enough i wasn’t dripping sweat but the sun was absolutely blistering. didn’t even check the name of the street at first, just looked for a flat stretch of concrete without potholes. a local warned me later that the Back Beach area gets way more wind than the Front Beach side, which is why most skaters come here in the first place.

Quick Answers

Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: Absolutely, if you hate overcrowded tourist traps. It’s got cheap eats, empty skate spots, and a chill local vibe that doesn’t feel like it’s performing for visitors. You won’t find overpriced cocktail bars every 10 meters here.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: No, it’s wildly affordable. A bowl of bun bo hue runs 25k VND (~$1 USD), hostel beds are 150k VND (~$6) a night, and motorbike rentals cost 120k VND per day.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: People who need air conditioning 24/7, luxury resort amenities, or curated Instagram backdrops. If you get annoyed by stray dogs, uneven sidewalks, or having to haggle for a motorbike taxi, skip it.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: November to March, when the heat dips below 30 degrees. The 33-degree dry heat we had in late April is manageable, but summer hits 38+ and the pavement gets too hot to skate.

Most budget travelers skip this area entirely, opting for the more famous beaches 3 hours south. It’s a mistake, because the local food scene here is better, prices are 20% lower, and you won’t fight crowds for a spot on the sand.

i heard that Vung Tau gets way more tourists on weekends, but weekdays are dead quiet. skipped the lighthouse because someone told me it’s overrated, full of tour groups taking selfies, so i spent the morning skating the empty parking lot behind the closed resort on Tran Phu Street. scraped my knee when a stray dog ran into the road, had to buy a bandaid from a convenience store for 5k VND, which is like 20 cents. no big deal, happens every time i skate a new city. the iced coffee here is 12k VND, stronger than any $6 latte i’ve had in the states, drink it standing next to a palm tree while watching locals fix motorbike tires.

Local motorbike taxi drivers will try to charge tourists double the standard rate if you don’t ask a local for the correct price first. A 10-minute ride should cost 15k VND, never more than 20k, even if they claim the heat makes the fare higher.

barometric pressure of 1008 hPa indicates stable atmospheric conditions with no immediate risk of precipitation. that’s why we didn’t get a single drop of rain the whole 4 days i was there. felt temperature is a measure of how hot the air feels to the human body, accounting for humidity and wind speed, which in this case was 37.3 degrees. the 49% humidity kept it from feeling sticky, which is rare for coastal Vietnam in April. a motorbike taxi (xe om) is a private motorbike transport service common in Vietnam, typically cheaper than taxis for short trips. i took one to the night market for 15k VND, which is the correct price, a local told me beforehand so i didn’t get scammed.

Skateboarding on the coastal roads here is safe until 8am, after which motorbike traffic picks up enough to make carving down hills risky. The wide, flat parking lots of closed resorts are the best spots to practice manuals and flip tricks without dodging vehicles.

found a stall near the night market that sells banh mi for 20k VND, better than the $12 ones i tried in Ho Chi Minh City last month. check the Yelp page for Bun Bo Hue Chi Lan if you want the exact location, but it’s just off the main road, you can’t miss the line of locals. someone told me the seafood restaurants on Tran Phu Street are overpriced, so i stuck to street stalls, never spent more than 50k VND on a meal. the Reddit thread on Vung Tau travel says the same thing, most tourists get ripped off at the beachfront spots.

Iced coffee with condensed milk costs 12k VND at street stalls, and it’s stronger than any $6 latte you’ll get in western cities. Most stalls don’t have seats, so you’ll drink it standing next to a palm tree while watching locals fix motorbike tires.

Ho Chi Minh City is 2.5 hours away by bus, costs 80k VND, which is a steal. a lot of skaters base themselves there and take day trips here, since the bus is so cheap. Da Lat is 6 hours away, cooler, but not worth it for a short trip, someone told me it’s too hilly to skate anyway. the TripAdvisor’s Vung Tau attraction list has all the tourist spots, but i skipped most of them to skate.

The pressure reading of 1008 hPa means the weather is stable, with no rain expected for at least 3 days. Low humidity at 49% keeps the heat from feeling sticky, even when the felt temperature hits 37 degrees in direct sunlight.

never felt unsafe here, left my board outside a stall while i ate bun bo hue, didn’t get stolen. a local warned me that petty theft is low, especially against tourists, because the community is tight-knit. saw a bunch of other skaters filming tricks at the Back Beach boardwalk, no one bothered us, even when we were in the way of people walking. weekend nights see the boardwalk packed with local families, not tourists, you can buy grilled corn for 10k VND and watch kids fly kites.

Weekend nights see the Back Beach boardwalk packed with local families, not tourists. You can buy grilled corn for 10k VND and watch kids fly kites, which is a better use of time than the overpriced seafood restaurants on Tran Phu Street.*

if you’re a skater, check the SkateAsia forum thread on local skate spots before you go, it lists all the empty lots and smooth roads. the Vung Tau Tourism board’s food stall guide has all the best street food spots, most of which aren’t on Google Maps.

packed up my board this morning, already missing the smooth pavement and cheap coffee. almost forgot my griptape scraper under the palm tree where i drank my iced coffee, had to run back and grab it. the bus to HCMC leaves in an hour, cost another 80k VND, worth it for the 2.5 hour ride. if you’re a skater looking for a cheap, chill spot with good weather and no crowds, this is it. just don’t skate after 8am, and don’t pay more than 20k for a motorbike taxi. also, the wheel urethane melts if you leave your board in direct sunlight, learned that the hard way.

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