There are destinations and experiences that can not be missed in Hai Hau. They are the collapsed church, salt fields, the life in a fishing village, the dawn over the sea and the traditional craft villages.

Hai Hau is one of three coastal districts in Nam Dinh province. The coast of Thinh Long in Hai Hau stretches along Thinh Long town and the communes of Hai Hoa, Hai Trieu, Hai Chinh, Hai Ly and Hai Dong. Hai Hau District has National Highway 21A (the endpoint is Thinh Long town), provincial road 56, Ninh Co inland waterway and maritime.

If you are in Hanoi, the two weekend days is long enough for you to visit Hai Hau to rest, enjoy seafood and go around to take photograph in the fresh air without having to go too far from Hanoi (about 120 km). The collapsed church, salt fields, the life in a fishing village, the dawn over the sea and the traditional craft villages… are the destinations and experience that visitors should not ignore in Hai Hau.

Following is the suggested plan to discover Hai Hau in 2 days.

Day 1

– 8 am: Travelers depart from Hanoi, drive along highway Phap Van – Cau Gie to come to Nam Dinh (for cars).

– Around 9:30 am, you can be in Nam Dinh. Currently, the road is quite favorable, so the travel time is significantly reduced. If you do not hurry, you should stop for a while in Nam Dinh city to rest. Then, you go over Do Quan bridge, take the first turn on the right to Vu Huu Loi Street, keep driving until you see Thinh Long ferry. Crossing the ferry, you will reach Thinh Long town, where is located in front of the coast. If you travel by bus, you should catch the bus at Giap Bat station (bus running on route Hanoi – Nam Dinh – Thinh Long), then catch a motorbike taxi to go the next destinations.

– Around 10:30 am: You can perform check-in procedure at the hotel. There are many hotels to choose from with prices ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 VND/ night/ twin room.

– In the afternoon, from approximately 4 pm, when it is cool, you can go along the dike leading to Xuong Dien beach in Hai Ly commune, Hai Hau district (about 5 km from Thinh Long beach). Here, you will mingle with the sea and fishing village located right next to the collapsed church. Trai Tim (Heart) Cathedral was abandoned in 1996 because the sea is getting closer to the mainland. The ruins and solitude in peaceful nature will bring you new feelings.

– 6pm is the time when the sun sets, you can return to the hotel to have a shower and then go to the sea to have dinner with fresh seafood dishes.

Day 2

– You should get up at 5:30 or earlier to watch the sunrise over the sea, fishermen catching fish, raking or watch the fishing boats returning to Thinh Long seashore from the sea.

– Then, you come back to the sea dikes to see people making salt. Salt fields are located about 1 km from the collapsed church, right on the side of the dike. Along the way, you will encounter many fishing villages and fish markets. If you like photography, it has a lot of things to satisfy your hobby.

– 9 am, you return to the hotel, have a quick bath and have breakfast, then take a break. You can also swim on the beach before checking out at 12 o’clock.

– 12: 30, let’s have lunch on the coast and at about 2 pm,  you can visit Co Chat silk village or Phu Nhai church located about 5 km from Lac Quan bridge.

– Approximately 6 pm, you can go to Hanoi.

In Nam Dinh, there are many seafood specialties such as crab, shrimp (prawn, shrimp boats), fish, squid … The seafood here is not as big as in other coastal cities because people mainly catch them inshore, fishermen start in the morning and return in the afternoon. However, the delicious and freshness are ensured because seafood is consumed within the day and people do not use preservatives.

Tags: Plan your Indochina tour, Things to do in Vietnam