---
title: "Living in Vung Tau as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/vung-tau
description: "Beach city two hours from Ho Chi Minh City, now part of the metropolis"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Vung Tau, Vietnam

Vung Tau scores 59.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 627 of 1000 cities. Expect about $900 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 24.1 Mbps.

Vung Tau is the closest beach to Ho Chi Minh City, a peninsula of long promenades and seafood restaurants about two hours away by road or ferry that became part of the city in the 2025 merger of provinces. Expats from the offshore oil industry keep a small international scene going, rents are low and the sea is pleasant rather than beautiful; weekends fill with day-trippers from Saigon.

Known for: Back Beach promenade, Jesus statue hill, Ferry and expressway to Saigon, Oil-industry expats.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 59.5 |
| Cost of living | 64 |
| Safety | 68 |
| Healthcare | 67 |
| Internet | 65 |
| Visa ease | 35 |
| Getting there & around | 60 |
| Climate | 33 |
| Air quality | 85 |
| Quality of life | 58 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $900 | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 1.9 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 67.7 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 71 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 73.8 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 24.1 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 23.7 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | e-visa required / 45 days / 45 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (SGN) | 94 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 190 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 4 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 11.6 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.766 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 25.9 | 13 | 75 | yes |
| Feb | 27 | 7 | 69 | yes |
| Mar | 28.4 | 15 | 68 | no |
| Apr | 29.7 | 43 | 69 | no |
| May | 29.2 | 166 | 77 | no |
| Jun | 27.8 | 224 | 84 | no |
| Jul | 27.2 | 217 | 87 | no |
| Aug | 27 | 199 | 87 | no |
| Sep | 27 | 210 | 87 | no |
| Oct | 26.9 | 235 | 86 | no |
| Nov | 26.6 | 111 | 85 | yes |
| Dec | 25.9 | 39 | 81 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tan Son Nhat International Airport | SGN | 94 | 74 | 2 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 94, of which 74 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Sapa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/sapa) (58.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/sapa-vs-vung-tau)
- [Mui Ne (Phan Thiet)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/mui-ne) (60.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/mui-ne-vs-vung-tau)
- [Hoi An](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/hoi-an) (55.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hoi-an-vs-vung-tau)
- [Nha Trang](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nha-trang) (58.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/nha-trang-vs-vung-tau)
- [Phu Quoc](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/phu-quoc) (56.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/phu-quoc-vs-vung-tau)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Vung Tau as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $900 per month in Vung Tau (a country-level estimate for Vietnam). That is a 64/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Vung Tau safe for digital nomads?

Vung Tau scores 68/100 on safety. Vietnam records 1.9 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 67.7/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Vietnam have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Vietnam as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need an e-visa, applied for online.

### How fast is the internet in Vung Tau?

Measured median download speed in Vung Tau was 24.1 Mbps (upload 23.7 Mbps) across 1,065 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Vung Tau?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Vietnam (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Vung Tau. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

### Which airports serve Vung Tau and how many nonstop flights are there?

Vung Tau is served by Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) with 94 nonstop destinations, of which 74 are international. 2 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Vung Tau?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 79°F (26°C) in Jan to 85°F (30°C) in Apr (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Vung Tau or Sapa: which is better for digital nomads?

Sapa is the city with the closest factor profile to Vung Tau in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Vung Tau](https://navoy.io/hotels/viet-nam/vung-tau) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/vung-tau