The Southern Central Coast Cà Ná

Cà Ná is fish sauce country. More than a dozen  refineries of the traditional Vietnamese condiment n™øc m m line the 1km stretch of Hwy. 1 that cuts through the town. Otherwise, the small fishing port is unremarkable. Just west of the village along Hwy. 1 are a few resorts squished between the highway and the South China Sea, which provide great access to the beach, despite the large boulders scattering the shore. Unfortunately, this beach is never more than 50m from the highway, and it’s battered by high winds from October through March, so most travelers bypass Cà Ná for M´i Né or Nha Trang, unless they’re staying at the scuba resort, specially designed for diving enthusiasts.

Transportation And Orientation. Cà Ná is 32km south of Phan Rang and 115km north of Phan Thi€t. The resorts and seafood stalls begin just west of the turn-off to the port and continue in that direction along Highway 1. Local buses typically pass here; just ask to be let off. Open-tour buses sometimes stop in Cà Ná as a rest stop. Otherwise, hire a motorbike from Phan Rang (40min.; 70,000). Hwy. 1 is the main drag through this town, and almost everything in town is on one side or the other of this highway.

Accommodations And Food. Three large resorts, complete with restaurants and tennis courts, can be found around Cà Ná. Cà Ná Hotel 2, close to the village and next to the Hòn Cò Cà Ná Motel (see below), has the cheapest bungalows along this stretch of pavement. They’re a bit past their prime, but are still clean and comfortable. The nearby section of beach is not the nicest, but the staff is friendly and helpful, and they can arrange for motorcycle tours of the surrounding areas or schedule bus pickups. The cheapest rooms have fans; all others have air-conditioning and TV. (☎760 616; fax 761 320. Bungalows 120,000-180,000; more spacious villas 200,000.) Vietnam Scuba Resort 5, 3km west of the village, is a plush resort catered to divers. Secluded bungalows face the beach, and a small army of dive instructors await your beck and call. (☎062 853 919; www.vietnamscuba.com. Room and 3 meals US$75; diving and 1 meal US$80; diving, room, and 3 meals US$130.) Hòn Cò Cà Ná Motel 4 is the closest to the village. Although it calls itself a motel, it’s actually a full-fledged resort, outfitted with a minimart, bar, restaurant, massage parlor, Internet access (12,000 per hr.), and private beach. Bungalows are spacious and clean, and there’s parking outside. (☎760 998; honcocana@hcm.vnn.vn. Bungalows US$25. MC/V.)

Bién Vinh Háo Seafood Restaurant 2, east of the scuba resort, serves excellent seafood and has an English menu. This roadside restaurant, with thatched roof and bamboo decor, faces the sea. (Entrees from 25,000.) Ph™£ng Th=o Restaurant 1, across from Cà Ná Hotel, offers basic Vietnamese dishes—bland but filling—in a spacious room. (Soup 8000; rice dishes 20,000.)

Sights. Fish sauce is what really sets Cà Ná apart from any other highway town, and fish sauce is the reason this city is worth a stop for any coastal traveler. The locals here create n™øc m m from scratch, and observers can see every step in the nine-month-long refining process by visiting the town’s  n™øc m m stalls. Anchovies are netted from the nearby sea, set upon wire racks, doused and layered with rock salt, and plunged into huge wooden barrels. The liquid that seeps from the barrels is then filtered and siphoned in several stages, until the final product is packaged in a fine plastic bottle. Whatever culinary genius happened upon this convoluted and counterintuitive process deserves a high-five. The barrels can be seen from the highway, and any of the refineries can show you around; some will even insist that you have a taste of their freshly fermented sauce, using rice paper for dipping. Tài Sang (☎861 311) has an easy-to-follow layout and a particularly friendly staff. You can take home the finished product by the liter (15,000).