Solo travel experience in Ly Son Island Vietnam 2020

Ly Son is the only island district of Quang Ngai Vietnam, located northeast, 15 nautical miles from the mainland. Ly Son tourist route was opened in 2007 and has grown stronger and stronger since 2014, when the island was connected to the national grid. In addition to being an extremely attractive tourist destination, visitors can indulge in swimming in the cool water of Be Island and enjoy fresh seafood dishes.

About 25-30 million years ago, Ly Son island was formed under seismic tectonic eruption with volcanic lava. Currently on the island there are 5 mountains are all evidence of erupting volcanoes. The eruption and extinction of the volcano created fascinating natural landscapes on the island. They also spread on the southern surface of the island a layer of fertile basalt soil suitable for many crops, while also creating reefs that are good conditions for aquatic species to live.

1. What is the ideal time to travel to Ly Son?

As an island district on the East Sea, Ly Son has the sunshine mode which is the most in the system of coastal islands, very suitable for year-round tourist and leisure activities. However, Ly Son has a rainy season that lasts from about September last year to February next year. Some notes below will help you choose the appropriate time to come to Ly Son.

From March to August every year is the time of the dry season, it rains less as well as more sunshine so it will be relatively suitable for coming to Ly Son.
If you want to go to Ly Son to attend the ceremony to swear the Hoang Sa soldiers, you need to remember the time from 18-20 / 3 lunar calendar (there are years to organize earlier).
If you want to visit the harvest garlic field you can come around early December.
The year-end period from September to December is the rainy season of the Central region, sometimes bad weather affects the travel from the mainland to the island, you need to monitor the weather carefully to plan for suitable if coming to Ly Son at this time. At times, the banning of the Sa Ky – Ly Son ship lasted for weeks.

2. Transportation to Ly Son

As an island off the coast of Quang Ngai, to get to Ly Son first you need to reach Sa Ky port, located in Quang Ngai province, this is the port where the trains depart from and to Ly Son.

Going to Quang Ngai

Train
With a location in the heart of the city, Quang Ngai station is quite convenient for visitors to move to the hotel after coming here.

From Hanoi, there are 5 Thong Nhat trains passing and stopping in Quang Ngai every day: SE1, SE3, SE5, SE7 and SE9 trains. The most suitable trains to get to Quang Ngai are SE1 (departing from Hanoi at 22:20 and arriving in Quang Ngai at 15:56), SE3 (departing from Hanoi at 19:30 and arriving at Quang Ngai at 2:22 pm) and SE9 (departing from Hanoi Hanoi at 14:30 and arrive in Quang Ngai at 10:30) by these trains to Quang Ngai around noon to afternoon, suitable for using the afternoon to go out as well as check in hotel.

Similarly, from Saigon, there are 6 trains to Quang Ngai: SE2, SE4, SE6, SE8, SE10 and SE22 but only SE2 trains (departing from Saigon at 21h55 and arriving in Quang Ngai at 11:17), SE4 (departing from Saigon at 19h45 and arriving in Quang Ngai at 9:59 am) and SE10 (departing from Saigon at 9:40 pm and arriving in Quang Ngai at 7:00 am) are suitable.

Car bed lying
Cheaper and faster than going by train, you can choose open bus routes, most of the North-South long-haul bus routes will go through Quang Ngai. However, if these routes are not registered, they will only drop off at routes that are quite far away from the center, so that you can go to the city center, you should choose the bus routes to Quang Ngai Please.

Planes
Quang Ngai currently has no airport located in the province, the closest airport to the center of Quang Ngai city is Chu Lai airport of Quang Nam province. However, from this airport, there are both free and paid bus routes to get to the center of Quang Ngai City. Flights to Chu Lai are operated daily from Hanoi and Saigon with a fairly constant frequency, you can check on the airline’s website.

High speed train
In the past, there were only 1-2 SaSy – Ly Son high-speed trains every day making travel quite hard, buying tickets also took a lot of time. At the present time, because Ly Son has been invested and planned to develop tourism, the number of tourists coming to the island is increasing, private service companies also invest and build more ships to serve customers.

Depending on the time, every day there may be 10-15 trains running to Ly Son Island, the earliest train is around 7:30 and the last train is usually only around 15h-15h30.

Speedboat
Currently, the passenger transport route of Sa Ky – Ly Son has 7 high-speed trains have been put into operation with a total number of passengers carrying about 800 people / time. In particular, the largest car carrying 168 people / time, the smallest is 78 people / time. These ships are newly built and quite modern, the time to Ly Son Island is shortened to 30-50 minutes.

To book high-speed train tickets to Ly Son you can buy directly at Sa Ky port ticket counter, order by phone 0255 3626 431 – 0255 3614 586 or email dangkyve.csk@gmail.com or book a ticket by the online booking form of the port. The port management will sell tickets one after another for each train, only one ticket will be sold for the next train so if you want to buy a ticket and leave, it will be difficult to choose the train, if you buy first (or have waiting time for the right train), you can choose the train you want. Above is the high-speed train ticket price table for Ly Son (Updated 6/2020), the ones with higher prices are usually high-speed trains.

From Da Nang to Ly Son

Based on the actual situation, many people fly into Da Nang and then from here to Ly Son. Here are a few guidelines for you to move and timely on high-speed trains (currently around 7-8am and 3pm).

From Da Nang to Quang Ngai about 120km, there are 2 trains from Da Nang to Quang Ngai that you can note because it is suitable for the time to catch the Sa Ky port, the SE1 to Quang Ngai at 13h23 and SE5 to Quang Ngai at 4:23 am, from here you choose to take a taxi straight to Sa Ky port (Mai Linh taxi is cheap at the door of Quang Ngai station, please pay attention to look at the door with the cheap symbol to save cost savings). With the train arriving at 4:23 am, you can also choose Mai Linh’s bus option (this bus departs at 5:30 am and arrives in Sa Ky at around 6:30 am) from Quang Ngai Station to Quang Ngai Bus Station (where catches beginning of bus route) about 4km.

In addition to the train option, you can choose the option of taking a bus, from the center of Da Nang City, you have to move to the avoid area to catch the car, you can choose any trip from the North to the Male. Pay attention to the selection of sleeper bus routes for comfort, absolutely avoid the 16-seat short-distance cars because these cars always go very recklessly to scramble for customers.

From Sa Ky port, if you want to ride back to Danang, you take the bus from the port and tell the driver to let you down at the foot of Tra Khuc bridge and then you walk 1 segment up above the bridge. Right here is a pub and a lot of passenger cars standing there and soliciting you to catch a car for you, do not listen to them because they are paid by small buses to do it. You try to walk through it (or walk backwards) about 100m and then choose the bus bed that runs South-North (a lot of cars so do not have to worry) to go to Da Nang, this car is often empty. Very comfortable, the ticket price is only about 100k. This option is suitable if you go alone or few people and want to save money.

Traveling on Ly Son island

Ly Son has quite a few travel options for you. On Big Island, you can travel by motorbike or rent a tricycle of the people to move if the number of members in the group is not too large, if the group you should choose to rent a car for convenient. On Little Island, due to the relatively small area, you can choose to walk or choose the tram run by a few households on the island.

Rent Motorcycles
For those traveling alone, a couple or simply you want to take the initiative to go on your own time, it is most suitable to rent a motorbike to explore Ly Son. Car rental prices often fluctuate in the range of 150-200k (without petrol) and are often rented by the owner of the accommodation right away, so it is quite convenient. Please note that even though you are a tourist island, you still need to follow the traffic rules carefully to ensure safety for yourself and everyone else.

Tram
In 2017 Ly Son was allowed to pilot electric cars to serve the travel needs of people and visitors. On that basis, private units have put into use 12 electric cars to serve the tourist transportation at tourist attractions on the island. This is an environmentally friendly transport, suitable for the conditions in the island, so many people and tourists choose.

Rent a car
Like electric cars, cars are taken by some businesses as well as companies from the mainland to Ly Son Island to serve tourists on the island. On the island there are currently more than 20 cars with passenger activities, compared to electric cars, the car seat may not be as cool but will be less affected by wind and rain, suitable for families with elderly people and children.

Going from Big Island to Little Island

Each day there will be 14 passenger trains from Ly Son port to Dao Be. The first one departs from Big Island at 7:30 and the last one is at 11:50. From Little Island back to Big Island, the first flight departs at 10:30 and the last trip is at 15:10. Please note that the time to not miss the train, if you want to go to Baby Island, you can only go in the morning.

In case you go with a large group (or even a small number of people) you can contact to rent the whole package both the return and return trips, this way you will be more active in terms of time.

3. Staying in Ly Son Island

Currently, Ly Son Island has more than 110 accommodation establishments with over 650 rooms of many motels and hotels with the ability to meet the accommodation needs of about 2,500 – 3,000 visitors at the same time.

Hotels, motels In Ly Son

The day before Ly Son had no electricity, the only hotel on the island was Ly Son Hotel, which was considered “luxurious” compared to the rest. However, since the island was connected to the national grid, the number of hotels invested in new construction increased dramatically, hotels with beautiful views and well invested services have gradually changed the face of Ly Son island, attracting more and more difficult groups of visitors to the island.

Ly Tri Guesthouse
Address:  West Village, An Vinh, Ly Son, Quang Ngai
Phone: 096 129 22 39

Thien Tri Guesthouse
Address: East Village, An Vinh, Ly Son, Quang Ngai
Phone: 0377 508 536 – 0387 559 869

Vo Gia homestay
Address: East Village, An Vinh, Ly Son, Quang Ngai
Phone: 098 794 19 14

Binh Yen Guesthouse
Address: West Village, An Vinh, Ly Son, Quang Ngai
Phone: 0383 096351 – 0255 3867570

Boat and Sea Hotel
Address: East Village, An Vinh, Ly Son, Quang Ngai
Phone: 0342 905 883

Homestay in Ly Son

Previously when the accommodation service in Ly Son was not much but every holiday the number of tourists flocked too much, leading to a shortage of accommodation. Many Ly Son residents have taken advantage of the vacant rooms in the house to rent to tourists at a reasonable cost, gradually realizing the great demand, many people have invested the cost, renovating their houses to turn them into translators. homestay service to visitors every time to Ly Son Island. With these homestay services, you can learn more about the culture of Ly Son people through the households you live in, you can also ask people to buy food and cook for you at home too.

Sleeping tent

This is an interesting option but only suitable for a small group of people you like to experience. In addition, if you come to the island on the occasion of crowded tourists, all accommodation facilities are overloaded, renting a tent in Ly Son to have a sleeping place is a good fire-fighting option. You can set up sleeping tents on Be island or Hang Cau area.

4. What to do in Ly Son Island

As an island district, however, Ly Son has a lot of beautiful tourist attractions for you to visit, along with the main tourist destinations on which islands you.

Ly Son tourist map

Little Island

Little Island, also known as An Binh Island or Be Island as the name suggests, has a very small area. LittleIsland, though small in size, has a beautiful beautiful beach with fine white sand, surrounded by high cliff bow, and white foam waves rushing day and night.

From Big Island every day there are relatively many trains to Little Island, ships usually depart in the morning and come back in the afternoon. If you have a large group of people can rent a boat to the island to take initiative. Renting a private boat has the advantage that you can go at any time, regardless of the train time. In the evening, I can bring a tent to sleep on a small island, light a bonfire and cultural exchange. Make an appointment early in the morning and then come back to the mainland.

On Be Island, you can take a walk around the island to visit the beautiful scenery, the garlic fields, to the beach at the end of the island and then return to the pier to rest and eat and drink.

Ly Son night market

The market was built on an area of nearly 1000m², lasting about 500m, with 38 stalls displaying and selling typical products and items of Ly Son Island.

Cultural and historical sites in Ly Son

Duc Pagoda and Avalokitesvara Statue
Halfway up the side of Gieng Tien mountain, the volcano has been sleeping for thousands of years on the island, visitors must pass more than 100 stairs along the ridge to reach the Duc Pagoda.

Located in the lobby of the pagoda temple landscape is the statue of Avalokitesvara 27 meters high, leading to the ancient temple, moss located deep in the mountain. Duc Pagoda is also known as the temple without monks, according to the legend of the Buddhists, Avalokitesvara(A saint in Buddhism) used to dwell here, keeping the islanders peaceful so as to avoid natural disasters.

From the pagoda, in the direction of the statue of Avalokitesvara overlooking the sea, the picturesque scenery. The most interesting is to climb to the top of Liem Tu to see the crater which is now a panoramic view of a green meadow. The top of the mountain is an ideal spectacle for a panoramic view of Ly Son Island from above to understand why this place is like a fairyland.

Cave temple

Hang Pagoda is located in An Hai commune, Ly Son island. It is called Cave Pagoda because it is located in the largest cave in the cave system in Ly Son, created from Thoi Loi mountain range, lava color, steep cliffs nearly 20 m high. Pagoda yard in front of the cave overlooking the sea. In the middle of the yard there is a lotus pond with a Buddha Statue. Around the yard are ancient sea eagles that have been for hundreds of years. The cave is 24 m long, the ceiling is 3.2 m high, the area of 480 m². In the cave, there are altars of Buddha Amitabha, Tathagata and Maitreya in the middle … The altars are made from natural stalactites in the cave floor, then processed into worshiping places.

To Vo Arch

To Vo Arch is a stone arch, about 2.5m high, has a spectacular shape and has absolutely no impact of human hands. According to geologists, the To Vo Gate is formed from volcanic lava, which is the result of millions of years of volcanic activity here. Around To Vo Gate are shiny black lava rocks, strange shapes undulating in the clear water of Ly Son Island.

From the main jetty into the welcome gate of Ly Son, turn left to go down the path to the temple near Duc Pagoda, you will find a small cliff near the sea. This is one of the favorite places for photography enthusiasts to come to Ly Son, you can come here with your friends to catch moments when the sunrise or sunset.

Thoi Loi Mountain

An extinct volcano, the highest peak of Ly Son island (149m). Currently on the top of the mountain there is a fresh water lake with a volume of 30 000 m3 that provides all fresh water for both Big Island and Little Island.

Cau cave

Located in Dong village, An Hai commune, at the foot of Thoi Loi mountain, Cau cave has a majestic natural scenery between the sea and the mountain. Cau cave is eroded by waves and sea breeze, “carved into the mountain” and formed thousands of years ago from lava. The scene here is quite wild but has a very poetic beauty, captivating visitors.

It only takes less than 15 minutes from the district center to reach Cau cave. Here the air is very fresh, the wind blows and the waves all year round the rocky cliffs – made up of lava, hundreds of meters high, looking very poetic and majestic. Perhaps this is the place where Ly Son people or fishing, or it may also be a place with lots of seaweed, so it is called Cau cave.

In Cau cave, next to the majestic scenery of the mountains, with the worn-out rock tissue protruding toward the sea are flat flat dunes, covered with a layer of green moss, which is tapped by white waves day and night. Sea water is also very strange to here. Standing on the edge of the cliff near the edge of the sea, a group of fish swimming in the depths of several meters can be seen. And this is also a very interesting place for swimming. Because in addition to just soaking in the cool water to calm the winds of the island, you can also dive to watch corals, observe the swimming sea creatures.

Ly Son fish market
In the morning, at Ly Son wharf, the fishing boats arrive with lots of fresh fish, squid, shrimp and crab. Early morning fish market on Ly Son Island takes place in about 2 hours and is not noisy, crowded with buyers and sellers but still leaves visitors with many impressions, because the seafood here is always unique and fresh. tasty.

Ly Son boat racing festival

In Ly Son, the boat racing festival takes place in the southwestern sea of ​​the island. Typically there are traditional boat racing associations in An Hai, An Vinh (Ly Son) and Tinh Long (Son Tinh) villages on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

Ly Son boat racing festival takes place from 4th to 8th January (lunar calendar). Perhaps this is the largest festival of the residents of the waters in Quang Ngai in particular and in the South Central in general, in terms of size of organization, time of organization, continuity and participation of participants. In the 4-day boat race, Ly Son boat racing festival is not only a recreation but also a tribute to the gentle ancestors who gave birth to the island and pray for National peace and security, prosperity.

Ly Son has 8 racing boats named 4 animals in the four spirits: Long, Ly, Quy, Phung are elaborately carved carvings. Ly Son boat racing festival

5. Cuisine in Ly Son

Ly Son seafood
Offering port area Ly Son district, where the wharf is considered the center of the island district. There are many motels and hotels here, so visitors often come to the “night market” to enjoy seafood at night. The name of the night market Ly Son has since the day the island had electricity.

Here, you can easily choose and enjoy the fresh seafood processed in the style of the people of Ly Son.

King crab

The king crab is about the size of a spreading hand, and is curled up, looking like a giant bug or shaped like a turtle, the head is slightly bent, pinkish red, the apricot is square, the pincer and stick are short, the head of the crab long and bearded The Huynh Huynh beards have those in deep water that weigh more than 1 kg.

In the waters of Binh Dinh – Quang Ngai, this crab is called by the fishermen as the king of the crabs ie Huynh De. The name of king crab is explained quite interesting. Originally the crab name was “emperor”, but in the olden days the local mandarins ordered the people to read the camp for fear of committing crimes (Lord Nguyễn Hoàng). According to the words of the old fishermen in the Central, in the past, when the king traveled in the beautiful seas, saw the fishermen here caught strange kind of crabs, pink as a fighter, shaped like a turtle. tasting. Eat delicious, good for health, so the king told the localities where this kind of crab must rise to the palace. Since then the name of the king crab also known as the emperor, king crab handed down in folk.

Ly Son Scad
Round Scad is a familiar fish, but Ly Son Scad has its own nuance and flavor. Off the coast of Ly Son island, there is a sea current that often collects pollen and ephemera from the upstream of many rivers in the Central region into the East Sea to provide a rich food source for seafood species. . Ly Son scad in the waters of the sea enjoy this law from heaven. Mousse, fat and … benign, is what the pompano here has brought to humans.

Snail statue Ly Son

The snail is one of the largest snails in the sea. Along the island’s shores, they cling to the deepest reefs, so catching them is not easy, moreover, the more they stick to the rock, the more they stick to the rock. The best and largest size snail must choose a large hand size spread, weighs about half a kilogram. The snail’s statue is fresh and fresh, if it is still alive, it is “wide” in the salt lake to store when it needs to eat. If making a dish to eat immediately, bring the snails washed with salt water or sea water then put the whole child in a pot of boiling water to boil. When the snail has just cooked, take out and pry the meat. The snail meat is white and clear like steamed squid meat, just fragrant and crispy like the cartilage.

The statue is not easy to find, Ly Son is the home of the statue, but there is not much to provide large quantities for restaurants and hotels.

Ly Son mussel

Mussels are molluscs, found throughout the reef around the island. They live in a layer of coral sand with seaweed, oval, slightly larger than the thumb. Ly Son people often catch mussel on the days when the water flows strongly from March to July of the solar calendar, when around the rocky promontory island, catching mussels is easier. Mussels after being caught, using a small knife, spearhead separates mussels in half, pry open the intestines. The mussel is as big as the little finger, and has a very bright brick color. Mussel has a sweet taste, salty taste, intertwined with a characteristic fat fat and processing many different delicacies such as stir-frying, porridge …

Ly Son grilled fish

The key to creating this “very Ly Son” fish ball is fresh fish that has not been frozen. Therefore, Ly Son grilled chops are not “produced” year-round, but only when the sky is calm and quiet, boats will bring fish to the oven. If the fish is not fresh, it will not have a nice pink-white color, not fragrant, not tough.

The second point that determines the characteristics of Ly Son fish cake is the “participation” of Ly Son garlic! People make fish ball in Ly Son has a principle: Only use Ly Son garlic as a seasoning to marinate the rolls. It is known that fresh fish mixed with Ly Son garlic has just mixed without frying, steaming and aromatic aroma. If using other garlic the taste will be less.

Ly Son garlic salad

Garlic spit to remove the roots, take the stems and a few leaves close to the stems, peel off the outer shell, split, cut and wash books, drain, bring steamed water for nine. When eating for spices, include: Sugar, pepper, monosodium glutamate, roasted salt with lemon squeezed to get water, mix cashew, squeeze puree, peeled beans (peanuts) and be edible. Garlic salad is both simple and fragrant, the spiciness of garlic makes us an unforgettable feeling.

6. Refer to Ly Son tour for 3 days

You come to Ly Son can combine to spend a few days to explore Quang Ngai, the land still has many mysteries that not many people know.

The schedule below does not include travel time to Quang Ngai, please arrange more depending on the departure location. In addition, this is a shortened schedule, if you want and have time, please extend 1 more day to be able to comfortably explore Ly Son.

Day 1: Quang Ngai – My Khe – Son My – Quang Ngai

After arriving in Quang Ngai, rent a hotel to take your luggage and then call a taxi to move to My Khe beach (12km from Quang Ngai city in the direction to Sa Ky port) lunch at the beach

In the afternoon, continue to follow Sa Ky port about 3km to Son My vestige area, where the My Lai massacre happened in the world.

Evening back to Quang Ngai City to rest, if you like you can stay right at My Khe beach to be more convenient for the morning port

Day 2: Quang Ngai – Sa Ky Port – Ly Son

In case you have booked in advance, you only need to be present about 1 hour before the train. If you slept in My Khe last night, it only takes about 30 minutes to get to the port, from the center of Quang Ngai City, it will take a little longer.

Whether taking the bullet train or super speed, you’ll only be around 9am on Big Island, unless you’re late.

Rent a tram, car or motorbike to check in at the hotel and then enlist rent a motorbike to explore Ly Son Island, most motels in Ly Son have this service.

Enjoy seafood and stay overnight on Big Island.

Day 3: Big Island – Little Island – Sa Ky – Quang Ngai

Early in the morning, take the earliest train to Be Island at 7:30, explore the beautiful beaches, dive to see the coral reefs, visit the garlic fields on Baby Island.

Around noon, buy tickets to Big Island to catch the train back to Sa Ky port. From Sa Ky port, you can return to Quang Ngai city center or My Khe beach to rest before returning. For those who are using aircraft, it may not be possible to catch up on the same day as it is too late, for those traveling by train, there are more flights so it will be a little easier.

Read more :

• Discover the beauty of Tuyen Lam Lake in Dalat Vietnam
• Vietnam travel destinations for lovers of tranquility?
• High 7 best things to Do in Hoi An, Vietnam