In June 2022, Khanh Hoa province suspended tourist diving around Hon Mun Island, the most famous site in Nha Trang Bay. The corals had bleached and broken after several typhoons. Yet our old page continued to present Hon Mun as the top dive to book.
It also promised dugongs, reef sharks, and 20 to 30 meters of visibility, without any date. We have revised the page with our usual grid: level, current, season, supervision, and fallback plan.
The following is valid as of October 3, 2026. Several points remain impossible to decide from here, and we say so each time.
Can you still dive at Hon Mun?
Not with certainty. The authorities of Khanh Hoa suspended tourist diving in fragile reef areas of the bay in June 2022, particularly around Hon Mun. In March 2024, Tuoi Tre described corals in recovery, without announcing a reopening. We found no more recent decision.
So ask the center where they plan to take you.
The context matters. The marine protected area of Nha Trang Bay was created in 2001 around Hon Mun and covers about 160 km², including 122 km² of sea around nine islands, according to Vietnamese press in 2022. At the end of 2023, the bay management measured 30 to 50% coral cover to the north and northwest of the island. This is a sign of recovery. But a reef that is rebuilding poorly tolerates fins, hands, and anchors. An operator’s page still showing Hon Mun as a cover photo says nothing about current authorization.
The same press attributed the damage to typhoons Damrey (2017) and Rai (2021), warming waters, and poorly regulated human activities.
What diving sites around Nha Trang in 2026?
In June 2024, the province approved four replacement diving zones for a one-year trial: the north of Hon Rua Island, the artificial reefs of Vinh Hoa, the northeast of Tri Nguyen Island, and the waters between Bai Tranh and Bai Soi, according to Vietnamese press. The results of this trial have not been published, to our knowledge.
| Site or sector | Published status (date) | What you should ask before |
|---|---|---|
| Hon Mun | Diving suspended since June 2022, reopening not confirmed | Current authorization, otherwise replacement site |
| North of Hon Rua | Trial zone approved in June 2024 | Planned depth, current of the day |
| Artificial reefs of Vinh Hoa | Trial zone approved in June 2024 | Type of reef, maximum depth |
| Northeast of Tri Nguyen | Trial zone approved in June 2024 | Travel time, sea conditions |
| Between Bai Tranh and Bai Soi | Trial zone approved in June 2024 | Entry point, fallback plan |
| Hon Rom sector | Very busy, restriction mentioned in June 2024 | Written confirmation that diving is allowed there |
The old page also mentioned Hon Tam, Monkey Island, and caves at Hon Rom. Due to lack of dated sources on their diving status, we leave them out of the table.
Names vary from one center to another.
Thus, two operators can sell “Nha Trang Bay” without referring to the same place. Ask for the exact name of the site, its position on a map, and the planned maximum depth. Also verify that the center is among the selected companies, since the province announced in 2024 a selection of providers and wanted to fight illegal diving. A serious center answers straightforwardly. A center vague about authorization will often be vague about the rest.
When to go diving in Nha Trang?
Avoid autumn if you want to limit cancellations. France Diplomatie reminds that monsoon rains affect central provinces until November and that Vietnam is exposed to sometimes violent tropical storms in autumn, especially in the center. Nha Trang is located in this zone.
For the rest of the year, we found no dated records of visibility or water temperature in the bay. The old page announced 20 to 30 meters of visibility and water between 25 and 30 °C from April to September, without citing anyone. These figures circulate in many copied guides. They may be close to reality. Impossible to decide from here.
However, good visibility says nothing about the current or the sea on the return.
However, the France Diplomatie fact sheet itself has an old date, updated in 2018 and declared still valid as of June 15, 2024, which requires rereading it the day before departure. If you compare several destinations in Southeast Asia, also look at the Similan Islands, closed part of the year by the national park. The calendar weighs heavily.
For what level, and with what supervision?
No depth has been published for the 2024 test zones. The required level therefore depends on the site of the day, the current, and your actual autonomy. A beginner can do an introductory dive or training, provided that the center announces the site, depth, and number of divers per instructor before payment.
The current decides more than the photo.
Ask the question that booking platforms forget: where is the nearest hyperbaric chamber, and how does the center organize evacuation from the boat if a diver is unwell? No reliable public information was found on this point for Nha Trang. The center must be able to answer. Also check that your insurance covers diving at the planned depth. And if rough seas quickly stress you out, reread our guidelines for managing stress while diving before leaving.
The two 45-minute dive introductory dive, presented by the old page as the norm, remains a choice specific to each center. Rather compare what is written in black and white. For another reference in Asia, the coast of Anilao in the Philippines is prepared with the same questions.
How to dive without damaging a reef that is rebuilding?
Keep your distance from the bottom, touch nothing, and refuse an anchorage placed on the coral. These gestures count double in Nha Trang, where the Vietnamese press in 2022 blamed warming, typhoons, illegal fishing, tourism-related discharges, and management deemed too lax.
Since the end of 2023, single-use plastic items are banned in tourist establishments of the bay, according to Tuoi Tre.
Controlled stabilization protects better than words. If your weighting is approximate, ask for an adjustment dive on a sandy bottom before the reefs. The detailed rules are in our guide to observing without disturbing marine life, and the question of sunscreen and marine bottoms deserves five minutes before departure. Yet the gesture that weighs most remains simple. Do not put your hand down.
In short, a diving trip to Nha Trang in 2026 is booked site by site, with two or three days margin to absorb rough seas or a closed site. These days cost a few extra hotel nights. They avoid diving on a bad sea day just to make the ticket worthwhile. Would you book it that way?
FAQ
Can you dive at Hon Mun in 2026?
Tourist diving has been suspended there since June 2022. As of October 3, 2026, no confirmed reopening has been found. Ask the center for written confirmation of the planned site.
What is the best season to dive in Nha Trang?
Avoid autumn: France Diplomatie reports monsoon rains until November in the central part of the country and tropical storms in autumn. For the rest of the year, no dated visibility measures are published.
Can you dive in Nha Trang without experience?
Centers offer introductory dives and training. Demand the name of the site, depth, and supervision before paying. The instructor decides on site if conditions are suitable.
Will you see dugongs or sharks in Nha Trang?
No one can promise that. No dated observations justifying this promise in the bay were found.
Sources
- Damaged corals in Vietnam’s Nha Trang Bay show recovery thanks to protection measures (Tuoi Tre News, 2024)
- Travel advice: Vietnam (Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, fact sheet valid as of 06/15/2024)
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