Nha Trang has to be Vietnam’s best-known dive destination. The Hon Mun Marine Park, established three years ago, covers the islands surrounding the central coast town and is a huge draw for visitors.

Diving in the North is similar to the rest of Vietnam, whereby there is neither a proliferation of large fish life, nor pelagics, Mantas or Sharks. However, it is teeming with smaller reef fish and is a perfect site for new divers or divers who have not dived for a while. The hard & soft corals are pristine around the mass of small islands to the South and are home to a huge variety of small colourful reef/coral fish.  At times it is difficult to see the coral due to the large quantity of Fairy Basslets & Damsel fish. The mysterious Dugong has also been sighted here.

The remote Con Dao group of islands is about 180km from Vung Tau and has a local population of around 5,000. The main island, Con Son, was a much-feared former penal colony until 1975. 

Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia bordering China, Laos and Cambodia. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi, although the largest city is Ho Chí Minh City which was called Saigon before 1975.  Here's the map.

• Whale Island (Nha Trang) - shore diving from the beach to a maximum depth of 15 metres.  There are wall dives to a depth of 40 metres and coral gardens  at 15 metres. Although called Whale Island, whales, sharks & whale sharks are rarely seen and the same can be said for rays and big pelagics.
• The Con Dao Archipelago - The World Wide Fund for Nature has been active in protecting sea turtles and dugong. Since 1995, more than 300,000 baby turtles have been released into the sea and nearly 1,000 mature turtles have been tagged.  Con Dao National Park is now considered one of the best examples of marine conservation in Vietnam.
• Cu Lao Cham Marine park, which is 25 minutes by speedboat. The Marine Park comprises of 8 islands, which are home to 155 species of corals, 202 species of fish, 4 species of lobster and 84 species of molluscs.

• Outbreaks of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in Vietnam have led to over 40 reported human fatalities. The last fatality was in 2008.
• Malaria, Japanese encephalitis and dengue fever are common in many areas of Vietnam.  In 2007 there was a marked increase, from the already high figures of 2006, in the number of reported cases of Dengue. Southern regions of the country have had particularly high levels of infection.
• Always check the latest Foreign Office advice before travelling.