National Oceanographic Museum – Discover Vietnam’s largest marine institute

Contents

The National Oceanographic Museum attracts a large number of visitors annually (Source: Collected)

Traveling to Nha Trang without visiting the National Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam is a big waste. This is an extremely ideal destination for you to explore and admire the world of rare marine life. At the same time, this place will help you have a deeper understanding of the sea environment.

1. Overview of the National Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam

The National Oceanographic Museum is part of a system of specialized research institutes on marine flora and fauna with a large scale in Southeast Asia. With nearly 100 years of establishment and development, the museum has become the leading center of oceanographic research and dissemination nationwide. Every year, this place attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.

1.1. Location of Nha Trang’s Institute of Oceanography

• Address: No. 1 Cau Da street, Vinh Hoa ward, Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province

The museum is located in a 20-hectare-wide area near Cau Da port. The reason why the museum was built in the coastal city of Nha Trang is because this city is close to international waters and has the deepest coastline in Vietnam.

• Opening hours: 6:00 – 18:00 daily

The National Oceanographic Museum opens daily for visitors (Source: Collected)

1.2. Entrance fee to National Oceanographic Museum in Nha Trang

The price of Nha Trang’s Oceanographic Museum tickets is very affordable, specifically:

• Adults: 40,000 VND/person (about $2)
• College students: 20,000 VND/person (about $1)
• High school students or younger: 10,000 VND/person (about $0.5)

1.3. History of Nha Trang’s Oceanographic Museum

The Museum of Oceanography in Nha Trang was established in 1922 in the French colonial period with the name “Indochina Oceanographic Institute of Fishing”, then renamed “Indochina Institute of Oceanography”. In 1969, management was transferred to Saigon University. With a huge store of a large number of rare marine specimens listed in Vietnam Book of Records, the museum has become a famous Nha Trang destination, attracting many tourists each year.

The National Oceanographic Museum has a long history (Source: Collected)

1.4. National Oceanographic Museum’s map

The museum includes 5 main subdivisions:

• Aquarium

The aquarium system of the museum is likened to a “miniature ocean” with more than 300 typical species, such as turtles, sharks, rays, corals, ornamental fish, and lobsters, etc., for tourists to see and study.

• Large specimen showroom

Coming to the large specimen showroom with an area of ​​​​nearly 200 square meters, visitors will have a chance to admire three large specimens, including:

• • A skeleton of a super large humpback whale with a length of 18 meters and a weight of 10 tons, which had a lifespan of more than 200 years
  • A skeleton of a rare dugong species, which is endangered in the world
  • A skeleton of a manta birostris stingray, which weighs nearly a ton and is 3.5 meters long

The giant whale skeleton at the National Oceanographic Museum (Source: Collected)

• Paracel and Spratly Islands Marine resource showroom

In order to introduce to a large number of tourists about Vietnam’s resources, environment, and sea sovereignty and security, the Paracel and Spratly Islands Marine resource showroom was established. Coming here, you will learn more about the resource system of the Paracel and Spratly sea areas, and at the same time, improve national awareness about protecting the sea and islands of Vietnam.

• Marine biodiversity showroom

The marine biodiversity showroom displays and preserves many large and rare ocean creature samples. There are about 23,000 large marine samples of 5,000 species belonging to groups of marine flora, sponge, coelenterata, mollusc, crustacean, echinoderm, fish, reptile, marine mammal, etc. Besides, there are also samples of rare species such as sturgeon, king crab, sharptail mola, giant clam, giant flying cuttlefish, whale, seal, etc.

• Artificial reef showroom

The artificial reef showroom displays a collection of marine geological samples collected from many different ocean regions. In addition, visitors will be able to see first-hand the system of marine surveying machinery and equipment in use over many periods. You will also find out about technological development of the marine research industry in Vietnam.

The colorful artificial reefs at the National Oceanographic Museum (Source: Collected)

2. An ultimate travel guide to Nha Trang’s Oceanography Institute

2.1. How to get to the National Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam?

To reach the museum, you can go by private vehicle (motorcycle or car) or bus:

• By private vehicle: From the center of Nha Trang city, go straight from Le Thanh Ton street to Tran Phu street. At Cau Da port, you will see the museum, which has a lionfish in front of the entrance.
• By bus: Take bus number 04 from the city center, the final stop is the Museum of Oceanography in Nha Trang.

2.2. Trying water activities in the National Oceanographic Museum

Besides indoor exhibitions, the museum offers visitors outdoor activities to learn more about the natural ocean wildlife, including watching corals on glass-bottom basket boats and snorkeling. These services are only open from 9 a.m to 11 a.m and require extra fees.

2.3. Famous tourist attractions near Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography

• Po Nagar Cham Towers: The Po Nagar Cham Towers historical site is about 2 kilometers away from Nha Trang city center. This is a work with bold ancient Champa architecture built with bricks and decorated with unique stones.

Po Nagar Cham Towers are only a short distance away from Nha Trang Oceanography Institute (Source: Collected)

• Dam Market: This large and famous market in the coastal city has an area of ​​​​over 5,000 square meters and includes 2 floors, selling essential supplies, handicrafts, seafoods, and specialties. Visitors can visit the market and buy Nha Trang specialties as gifts without having to worry about price and quality.

• VinWonders Nha Trang: After exploring the museum, tourists can go on to visit VinWonders Nha Trang amusement park – a super interesting entertainment destination situated on the beautiful island of Hon Tre.

VinWonders Nha Trang is your next go-to destination after exploring the National Oceanographic Museum

Coming to VinWonders Nha Trang, visitors will have a chance to experience the 880-meter-long steepest and highest Zipline slide in Vietnam, watch the first real-time multimedia blockbuster in Vietnam – Tata Show, or enjoy the beauty of Hon Tre island from the sky wheel – one of the 10 tallest Ferris wheels in the world. Those are just some of the activities that will bring you one-of-a-kind, exciting entertainment experiences.

>>> Book entrance tickets to VinWonders Nha Trang to have lots of fun at this top-rated park in Vietnam!

Coming to the National Oceanographic Museum, visitors will be immersed in a vast ocean world and have the chance to explore the mystery of the sea. Hopefully, this article suggested by VinWonders will help you have a complete trip with many memorable experiences. Book entrance tickets to VinWonders Nha Trang to grab the best deals before visiting this wonderful park!