Do Son Beach

Do Son is a peninsula south-east of Hai Phong developed as a beach resort under the French and used by Hanoi and Hai Phong ever since, with villas on the headland and a long shore. The water is the honest problem: this is the mouth of the Red River system and the sea here carries a heavy silt load, so it is brown rather than blue in any season, which surprises people expecting a Vietnamese beach. What Do Son is genuinely known for is the buffalo fighting festival on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, an old local tradition in which pairs of buffalo are set against each other.

Highlights

• A French-era resort peninsula - villas and a long shore.
• Brown water from the delta - the Red River silt load.
• A buffalo fighting festival - on the ninth of the eighth lunar month.
• Hai Phong's nearest sea - used heavily in summer.

When to go

May to September for the beach; the eighth lunar month for the festival. Half a day.

Practical notes

The sea is silty and not clear, which is geography rather than pollution alone. It is crowded in summer weekends. The buffalo festival involves animals fighting and being slaughtered afterwards, which many visitors will not want to watch.

Nearby

Hai Phong is north-west; Cat Ba is east by ferry.