Located at 1 Cau Da Street, about 5km from Nha Trang City Center, National Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam is an interesting aquarium with images of Nha Trang’s marine environment. Opened to the public from 1922, today it is still a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists.
The collection of this museum spreads out over two floors. The ground floor is home to fish tanks of varying sizes that house all manner of marine life. All kinds of fish you would find in the sea area of Khanh Hoa Province are presented there, namely, reef sharks, turtles, living coral, anemones, puffers, lionfish, clownfish, seahorses, and a whole array of colorful reef species, some of which can be found in no other place in the world.
Meanwhile, the upper floor features thousands of preserved specimens, animal skeletons, local boats, and fishing artifacts. One of the highlights of the museum is the skeleton of a humpback whale, which was excavated in the Ha Nam Province back in 1994.
Apart from the museum aquariums, there are also many theme rooms which focus on marine science featuring the history of its research equipment and technology such as: “From Light to Life” (features algae and phytoplankton), “Life in a Drop of Water” (microscopic aquatic organisms), or rooms illustrating coastal natural disasters, sacred legends, traditions and culture of Vietnam fishing.
The museum is open from 6 am to 6 pm. Entrance fee is VND 40,000/adult. Tourists can reach there by car or motorbike with a 15-minute drive from the city center.
