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Tra Co, with its romantic charm, has always been a memorable destination for international travelers and an everlasting muse for artists. With its blue sea, white sand, clear water, and golden sunshine, Tra Co encapsulates a poetic and romantic beauty that one must experience firsthand to truly understand.
Tra Co - 'The most romantic beach in Vietnam'
Located in the far northeast of the country, about 8-9km from Mong Cai City and approximately 200km from the center of Halong City, Tra Co is a tourist destination that offers breathtaking natural landscapes (beaches, forests) and preserves the essence of traditional ethnic culture (Tra Co communal house, Uncle Ho's memorial site).
The beauty of Tra Co Beach is truly heart-stirring (image source: collected)
When it comes to Tra Co, one immediately thinks of the place known as the 'most romantic beach in Vietnam,' a beauty that remains intact, harmonious, and simple with its smooth white sand stretching peacefully amidst the azure sea throughout the seasons. Visiting Tra Co is embracing peace, romance, and immersing oneself in the sun and wind. With over 15km of coastline, Tra Co is one of the longest beaches in Vietnam, also the outer edge of a naturally formed island shaped by waves and wind, making its natural beauty even more pronounced.
The scenery here is unlike that of Halong, Do Son, or other beaches, as the fine sand blends into the deep blue sea, reminiscent of Central Vietnam beaches, yet with mountain ranges reflecting the characteristics of Northern Vietnam. The blend of these coastal regions gives Tra Co a serene, romantic, and poetic beauty. Tra Co Beach has been bestowed with many titles such as 'The most pristine beach,' 'The most romantic beach,' 'The beach closest to the border,' and more.
Best Time to Visit Tra Co
Perhaps summer is the liveliest and most joyful time here with the 'Tra Co Village Festival,' held in early June every lunar year at the Tra Co Temple, a temple that has stood the test of time, deeply imbued with Vietnamese cultural values. The Tra Co Temple festival still maintains the folk cultural activities of the Red River Delta region. This is also one of the most lively and largest festivals of coastal fishermen in the Northern region.
The procession of deities during the Tra Co Temple festival (image source: collected)
How to get to Tra Co Beach?
Route to Tra Co, Mong Cai from Hanoi
From Hanoi, take Highway 5, then turn onto National Highway 1B (to Lang Son via the new route) to Bac Ninh, then turn right onto QL18 to Pha Lai. Near Ha Long, there are signs directing you to cross Bai Chay Bridge, then drive from Ha Long to Mong Cai along National Highway 18 for about 180km (the road from Cua Ong to Mong Cai is narrow and winding, so pay attention). Once in Mong Cai, drive about 12km to reach Tra Co Beach.
Bus
If you're traveling by bus, you can purchase tickets from Ka Long bus company for sleeper buses departing from My Dinh Bus Station (Hanoi). The bus schedule includes departures at 7:00 PM, 7:30 PM, 8:00 PM, and 9:30 PM daily. You can contact the bus company to reserve tickets for various days of the week. Upon arrival at Mong Cai bus station, you can take a motorbike taxi, regular taxi, or purchase a ticket for Bus Route 07: Km15 Mong Cai City - Mong Cai Town - Tra Co. Buses run every 15 minutes, with 8 trips per day, priced at 15,000 VND per trip.
Note that the route to Tra Co is quite long and winding, so if there are children or people prone to motion sickness in your group, make sure to prepare mentally and bring enough medication.
Submarine
If you depart from Hai Phong or Bai Chay, you can travel by submarine. Currently, there are 2 trips each morning and afternoon from Tra Co to Bai Chay and from Hai Phong to Tra Co.
Transportation in Tra Co
Below are some transportation options in Tra Co for your reference:
Taxi Service
Mong Cai Taxi Company Phone: 0333 884 885, 0333 883 883 ;
Mai Linh Taxi Company: 0333 770 770
Bus
Bus Route 07: Km 15 Mong Cai city – Downtown Mong Cai – Tra Co. Bus frequency is every 15 minutes per trip.
Motorbike Rental
Motorbike rental starts from 200,000 VND/bike/day. You can inquire at hotels or contact 0168 68 999 66 (Mr. Tung) for more information.
Motorbike Taxi
You can find them everywhere in the city, make sure to negotiate the price before going.
Must-Visit Tourist Check-in Spots in Tra Co
Tra Co Beach
Most people come to Tra Co to go to the beach, to experience the 'most romantic beach in Vietnam', and admire the almost preserved tranquility with its natural charm. The blue sea, white sand stretching along the four-season clear water, bright yellow sunshine, lush green casuarina forest, adorned with beach morning glory flowers blooming, showcasing dreamy purple flowers. Tra Co carries within it a beauty, harmonious colors that anyone who comes here, even just once, will remember forever, unable to forget the romantic poetry of this place. The wide beach area makes it an ideal spot for recreational activities, or simply walking barefoot on the sand, listening to the waves of the sea.
Traco Beach, a favorite destination for many (image source)
The untouched beauty is still preserved (image source)
Seagrass bed (image source)
Black Rock Beach
Black Rock Beach, also known as Ngoc Son Beach, is located quite far from the city center, so it still retains its characteristic pristine beauty. Nestled at the foot of Ngoc Mountain (in area 1, Binh Ngoc ward, Mong Cai City), with a long stretch of sand alongside lush green four-season forests, Black Rock Beach, as its name suggests, has many black rock slabs scattered along the sand. This unique feature of nature has brought a strange and attractive beauty to this tourist spot.
The black rock slabs look like the fingers of Ngoc Mountain reaching out to embrace the turquoise beach. Perhaps it's because of the black color of the rocks that the seawater here seems clearer, as if you can see the bottom of the sea. It's even more special when next to Black Rock Beach is a long, smooth white sand strip, about 7km long, leaning gracefully against the protective barrier of the lush forests.
Black Rock Beach with its unique beauty (image source)
Row of cliffs stretching along the coastline (image source)
Sa Vi Cape
Sa Vi Cape, located in Tra Co Ward, Mong Cai City, is renowned as the geographical head of the Motherland, where the first strokes were drawn on Vietnam's map. This place features a relief sculpture depicting three pine trees stretching straight up into the sky, inscribed with a verse by poet To Huu:
“… From Tra Co's primeval forest
To Ca Mau's mangrove forest…”
On cold, misty days, Sa Vi Cape takes on a mysterious air with its deserted beach, sparse vegetation, and lazy boats lying on the white sand.
Sa Vi Cape, the starting point of the Motherland (image source)
The sacred beginning of the S-shaped coastline (image source)
Mong Cai Central Market
Mong Cai Central Market, also known as Mong Cai Market 1, can be considered one of the liveliest border markets in Quang Ninh province, and it is also a tourist attraction in Quang Ninh that always attracts a large number of visitors for sightseeing and shopping. The market is located on Tran Phu Street, quite close to Hoa Binh Square, so if you walk from here, it will take you only about 10 minutes.
The market is structured with underground floors including machinery, components, and mechanical equipment. Floor 1 is for men's fashion clothing. Floor 2 is for women's items, including clothes and jewelry. Going up to floor 3, you'll find shoes, wallets, handbags, and other accessories, while floor 4 houses a high-end supermarket.
Mong Cai Border Market
Mong Cai Border Market is not only a commercial center for trading goods but also a place for cultural exchange and fostering bonds between the local people of the two countries. There are thousands of private businesses and state-owned enterprises here. Most of the business owners in the market are Vietnamese and Chinese, and most of them can speak both languages.
The variety of goods displayed and exchanged at the market across the border is quite diverse. Chinese goods imported into Vietnam mainly include fabrics, ready-made clothing, blankets, shoes, high-end electronics, children's toys, biscuits, and fruits such as apples, oranges, pears, and dried grapes. Vietnamese goods exported to China mainly consist of processed rubber, fresh seafood, frozen shrimp and fish, agricultural products such as tea, coffee, peanuts, and beans...
Mong Cai Border Economic Zone (source: archive)
Trà Cổ Communal House
Trà Cổ Communal House, located in the Nam Thọ area, Tra Co Ward, Mong Cai City, is an ancient architectural work of grand scale, ranking top in Quang Ninh province. This communal house was built since the late Le dynasty (15th century) and has been renovated and repaired several times thereafter to worship the village deities, the six meritorious mandarins who founded the village. Despite its imposing architecture, characterized by curved roofs with dragon heads and intricate carvings, Trà Cổ Communal House is still appreciated for its architectural value.
Trà Cổ Communal House with its ancient architecture (source: archive)
Despite the bustling trading and cultural exchange atmosphere at the Mong Cai Border Tourism Economic Zone, the people of Trà Cổ still preserve the unique festivals of the islanders. The main festival of Trà Cổ village takes place on the 1st of the 6th lunar month each year, but preparations for the festival last throughout the year. It includes the procession of village deities, the pig contest (Mr. Elephant), cooking competitions, and traditional folk games.
The Mr. Elephant figures in the village festival (source: archive)
Trà Cổ Church
With its exquisite architectural lines, Trà Cổ Church is hailed as the largest and most beautiful church in the Northeast region of our country. Built since the 1880s, Trà Cổ Church is quite ancient, majestic, and boasts beautiful architecture. After being damaged by war for a period, by 1995 the church underwent major renovations, restoring hundreds of reliefs.
However, due to severe deterioration, the church has recently been demolished for renovation and reconstruction.
Móng Cái Golf Course
Situated in the planned economic development zone of the Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh economic triangle, right in the heart of Tra Co Beach, Mong Cai Golf Course, also known as Vinh Thuan Golf Course, is an international standard golf course with 18 holes and a nearly 3km-long beach, featuring constantly changing wind directions, high difficulty, and great challenges.
Here, visitors not only play golf but also enjoy the breathtaking scenery of Tra Co. When investing in building the golf course, the investor cleverly integrated extremely attractive utility services such as a 200-room 5-star international standard hotel system and high-class villa areas.
Delicious Dishes, Specialty of Tra Co
Seafood Delights
When at the beach, indulging in seafood is a must. Tra Co seafood is famous for its deliciousness and incredible variety, guaranteed to satisfy even the most discerning palates.
Cù Kỳ Mong Cai
The majestic horseshoe crab, also known as the helmet crab, moves with graceful slowness, firmly clinging onto rocks. This ocean delicacy offers a plethora of culinary delights: horseshoe crab noodle soup, horseshoe crab rice crackers, and horseshoe crab vermicelli. Sporting two sizable claws, its meat is firm and aromatic.
The horseshoe crab, a specialty of Mong Cai in general, and Tra Co in particular (image source: collected)
Savoring a bowl of delectable horseshoe crab vermicelli on Tran Quoc Toan street will invigorate you before hitting the road.
A bowl of horseshoe crab vermicelli that delights travelers' hearts (image source: collected)
Horseshoe crab meat is firm, aromatic, and packed with nutrients. It provides vitamins A, D, E, and is rich in minerals like iron, beneficial for both eyesight and bone health. Dishes made from horseshoe crab are easily digestible and suitable for all ages.
Cà Sáy of Tiên Yên
Cà sáy is a hybrid duck breed, combining flavors from both species. In Tra Co, Cà Sáy of Tiên Yên is transformed into various dishes, some bearing the distinct flavors of Chinese cuisine. Locals favor boiled cà sáy, which pairs perfectly with authentic fish sauce produced in Cai Rong, Van Yen, Cat Hai, bringing out the dish's rich aroma. The meat of cà sáy is tender, sweet, and devoid of any fishy taste.
Boiled cà sáy (image source: collected)
Grilled cà sáy, despite its fatty skin, does not overwhelm with grease. Its thick, golden, crispy exterior is mouthwatering, while the meat inside is firm, sweet, not overly chewy, nor oily. This delightful dish can be enjoyed as a snack or paired with fragrant sticky rice. (image source: collected)
Tiên Yên Chicken
Apart from the renowned cà sáy delicacy, Tiên Yên is also famed for its 'mountain chicken.' Dubbed so because these chickens roam freely on hillsides rather than being confined to cages, spending their days foraging naturally and roosting in trees at night, resulting in meat that is exceptionally fragrant, sweet, firm yet tender, not tough, and succulent without being greasy.
Tiên Yên chicken meat lends itself to various dishes, each retaining its distinct deliciousness, but the ultimate delicacy remains the simplest preparation: boiling. The chicken's skin takes on a golden hue as if coated in turmeric and shines as though dipped in oil, yet it's remarkably thick. At first glance, it appears rich and fatty, but one bite reveals its crispness and sweetness.
Renowned Tiên Yên chicken (image source: collected)
Sea Bamboo
Despite their simple preparation, dishes made from sea bamboo in Tra Co boast a uniquely enticing flavor: sea bamboo blood pudding, sea bamboo salad, stir-fried sweet and sour sea bamboo feet, sea bamboo eggs wrapped in betel leaves, steamed sea bamboo, breaded sea bamboo balls, grilled sea bamboo cartilage, sea bamboo stir-fried vermicelli... Each dish is easy to make and a delight to savor.
Sea bamboo, a specialty of Tra Co (image source: collected)
Sea bamboo specialties can be transformed into numerous dishes (image source: collected)
Hotels in Tra Co
Hoa Son Tra Co Hotel
Quality: 2 stars
Address: Tràng Lộ Area, Tra Co, Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh
The geographical location of this hotel is extremely convenient, just a few minutes' walk to Tra Co Beach, as well as easy transportation to other tourist spots.
The hotel boasts a simple yet highly functional design (image source: collected)
What to buy as souvenirs when traveling to Tra Co?
When visiting Tra Co Beach, tourists often head to the border gate or opt to buy gifts for their loved ones, friends right at the central market of Mong Cai. No matter where you are, there's an incredibly diverse range of goods, allowing you to choose freely, whether you're looking for household items, clothing, handicrafts, or electronics.
For those looking to purchase seafood, Tra Co's geoduck is undoubtedly the top choice. Remember to wake up early to head to the beach to buy freshly caught geoduck (priced around 110,000 VND/kg). Although the size of geoduck here varies, thanks to the higher salinity of the sea, the meat is incredibly fresh and delicious.
Fresh and delicious Tra Co geoduck (image source: collected)
