Jungle Beach Resort ^(unique)

Our brief comments:
The Jungle Beach definitely deserves to be in our 'unique' category! It's a 1.3ha (3¼ acres) plot 60km north of Nha Trang - a tiny cluster of bamboo buildings at the end of the road near the tip of a peninsula.

The approach to the is off-putting. From the highway, the minor road runs past a huge shipyard refitting ocean-going tankers and bulk carriers and through a grubby fishing village full of litter.

The resort is at the end of the road. As you walk in, it's obvious that the Jungle Beach is light-years away from a conventional beach resort. Apart from the bare necessities, modern hotel facilities are conspicuous by their absence - no hot water, virtually no furniture apart from a bed, no pool, and so on.

Instead, you get plenty of good food, stunning scenery, a coral sand beach, friendly personal service, and as much exercise or relaxation as you wish.

The 'reception' area is at the rear of a standard Vietnamese house with a large roof extension. It's also the lobby, lounge, bar, restaurant, library and just about every other function.

The proprietors are Loan and Sylvio, a friendly Vietnamese/Canadian couple. They offer 6 guest bedrooms and nine very basic bamboo shelters on the beach, all equipped with beds, mosquito nets, mattresses, sheets, pillows and not much else.

Electricity from the grid serves the buildings only - if you're intending to sleep al fresco, slipping a torch into your luggage is a good idea!

Forget about en-suite facilities - there's three blocks of toilets and showers. Three wells supply adequate water - 9,000m³ are stored in four thatched water towers, so the showers are powerful and cool.

When we visited, a further block of four toilets was a day or two away from completion. A further 20 rooms, an ornamental pool and an extension to the garden are planned for when the money is available.

Guests sleeping outdoors and in the bamboo shelters can store their luggage in a room in the main house.

Food, prepared and cooked by the hosts, is provided. Also included are coffee, tea, drinking water, fruit and snacks, as well as the use of all facilities and self-guided 'jungle activities'.

The mountains to the rear of the resort offer good medium rated trekking opportunities. Apart from a largely pristine forest environment, there's plenty of wildlife. Lemurs and langurs are regular visitors, and three varieties of eagle sweep around the mountain slopes.

Small waterfalls and streams run through rocky channels, and there's a 10m plunge point.

Snorkelling is possible around the rocks at the end of the beach, and there's coral on a nearby island.

As the area is all but deserted, the resort is very secluded. Apart from the noise from passing fishing boats, the standby generator during occasional power cuts, and the lapping of the sea, the only sounds to break the peace and quiet are those made by the guests.

The Resort's listing in the Lonely Planet and references to 'a hippy commune' in Internet forums has made the Jungle Beach very popular with young people.

The entries are nearly all positive, and suggest that it would suit anyone looking for a swimming, sunbathing, 'lazing about and getting back to nature' sort of place without the usual trappings and expense of an international hotel.

Feedback from our customers indicates that they like it, too!

Inspected June, 2005