Cua Lo Beach

White, fine sand runs for more than 10 kilometers along the shore at Cửa Lò.

Cửa Lò lies northeast of the city of Vinh, in Nghệ An province. On December 1, 2024, it was officially merged into Vinh city, under a resolution of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. The sea is only about 16 to 20 kilometers from the center of Vinh. That is so close that a person can begin the morning in the city streets and hear the waves by noon.

What sets Cửa Lò apart from many beaches in central Vietnam is its gentle, even slope. The shore is not steep and has few hidden rocks. The water is clear and blue-green, and in normal conditions the waves are moderate. The sand is white and fine. This is why the beach suits families with small children, and older people too. Children can wade out quite far before the water reaches their chests.

In 2026, ASEAN named Cửa Lò an ASEAN Clean Tourist City, at a Southeast Asian tourism forum held in Cebu, in the Philippines. The title did not come by chance. It came from the rows of fresh-water showers along the shore, from sand cleaned every morning, and from a stretch of sea kept clean.

Out beyond the surf, three islands can be seen. The nearest is Lan Châu Island. People there often call it Rú Cóc, because its shape is like a toad reaching out into the sea. When the tide goes out, the western foot of the island joins the mainland and forms a natural peninsula. On the island stands Nghinh Phong Pavilion, built in 1936 on the order of Emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại was the last emperor of Vietnam. A lighthouse there still works.

Farther out is Hòn Ngư Island, also called Song Ngư Island. It covers about 2.5 square kilometers and lies about 4 kilometers from the shore. Its two peaks, 133 meters and 88 meters high, rise from the sea like the shoulders of a giant lying down. On the island is Song Ngư Pagoda, recognized as a provincial historic and cultural site in 2011.

Cửa Lò is more than a beach. It has more than 500 years of history. In the 15th century, the senior court official Nguyễn Sư Hồi, a son of the founding hero Nguyễn Xí, came to the Cửa Xá area and set up his main headquarters there. He helped the people turn the sandy strips along the coast into villages. They honored him as the guardian spirit of Vạn Lộc village, at Vạn Lộc Temple. It has been a national relic site since 1991. The Vạn Lộc Temple festival is held every three years. It falls in the zodiac years of Tý, Ngọ, Mão and Dậu.

The Yên Lương Temple festival in Nghi Thủy was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2024. The Cầu ngư festival, also called Nghinh Ông, is held every two years. It takes place in Nghi Hải, from the end of the third lunar month to the start of the fourth. Its rites include bả trạo singing and dancing, offerings, and tuồng performances. All of this is a living layer of sea culture beneath the surface of a sun-and-sand resort.

The seafood of Cửa Lò is what keeps people there. There is ghẹ steamed bright red, and firm-fleshed bề bề. There is gỏi cá trích made from very fresh herring, and squid grilled along the seaside road as evening falls.

At dusk the sand is still warm. The three islands blur in the red glow of the sky, and the waves tell the story of more than 500 years, of a strip of sand that became villages, temples and a sea. Cửa Lò is sun, sand and waves, and also a whole sea culture still breathing underfoot.