Nha Trang to Quy Nhon is a half-day ride of about 210 to 220 km up the coast, and a morning limousine bus is the easiest way to do it: about 3.5 to 5 hours for 220,000 to 340,000 VND. The train is comfortable but awkwardly timed, with the only daytime departures leaving after 14:00, and it stops at Dieu Tri, about 12 km outside the city. A private car takes about 3 to 4 hours, and a night in Tuy Hoa splits the trip.
How we built this guide: on 19 October 2026 we checked Vietnam Railways' timetables and fares for Thursday 5 November 2026, Vexere's route page and its listings for the same day, 12Go for 5 November, The Sinh Tourist's schedule, OpenStreetMap's car routing, 2026 news reports on the expressway, and travel guides to Phu Yen. We did not make the trip for this guide. Prices are in Vietnamese dong (VND) with US dollar estimates at Vietcombank's selling rate of 26,080 VND per dollar on 19 October 2026.
Which way from Nha Trang to Quy Nhon suits you?
Take a daytime bus for value, the train for legroom and an evening arrival, and a car for the coast. 12Go listed no flights. Our Quy Nhon guide covers where to stay.
| Mode | Time | Price seen on 19 Oct 2026, for 5 Nov | Catch | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limousine bus or van, daytime | About 3.5 to 5 hours | 220,000 to 340,000 VND (about $8.40 to $13) on Vexere | Drop-offs mostly at offices, bus stations and supermarkets | Most travelers |
| VIP cabin bus | About 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes | From about 500,000 VND (about $19) | Many are through buses to Da Nang or Hue | Lying flat by day |
| Train to Dieu Tri | 3 hours 52 minutes to 5 hours, plus about 20 minutes by taxi | Soft seat from 162,000 VND (about $6.20) on SE8 | Daytime trains leave at 14:03 and 16:13 | Rail fans, an evening arrival |
| Private car | About 3 to 4 hours 10 minutes, operator estimates | From 1,864,404 VND (about $71) per car on 12Go | Expressway tolls need an ETC tag | Groups, coastal stops |
How do the trains work for Quy Nhon?
Ride to Dieu Tri and take a taxi into town, because Quy Nhon's own station is on a short branch line. Vietnam Railways showed no Nha Trang to Quy Nhon station train for 5 November 2026. Its Nha Trang to Dieu Tri timetable for that day lists six trains over the 219 km:
| Train | Leaves Nha Trang | Arrives Dieu Tri | Time | Cheapest soft seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE4 | 02:47 | 06:39 | 3 hours 52 minutes | 225,000 VND |
| SE2 | 03:51 | 07:50 | 3 hours 59 minutes | Not checked |
| SE8 | 14:03 | 17:55 | 3 hours 52 minutes | 162,000 VND |
| SE6 | 16:13 | 20:27 | 4 hours 14 minutes | 178,000 VND |
| SE22 | 18:12 | 23:13 | 5 hours 1 minute | 210,000 VND |
| SE10 | 21:58 | 01:52 next day | 3 hours 54 minutes | Not checked |
SE8 is the pick: a soft seat cost 162,000 to 188,000 VND, a 6-berth sleeper 226,000 to 288,000 VND and a 4-berth sleeper 304,000 to 348,000 VND, with SE6 charging the same for berths. The overnight trains from Saigon cost more on this leg: SE4's soft seats ran 225,000 to 259,000 VND and its 4-berth sleepers 427,000 to 478,000 VND. On 12Go, the same trains started at 271,485 VND, so the railway's own site was cheaper.
From Dieu Tri into Quy Nhon
Take a taxi or a Grab car. OpenStreetMap's fastest route from Dieu Tri station to Quy Nhon's central square is 12.6 km, about 13 minutes in free-flowing traffic. A 2025 Local Vietnam guide allows 15 to 25 minutes, says cars usually wait outside the station, and puts the fare at roughly 200,000 to 300,000 VND, while calling the local buses impractical for travelers. Grab lists both Quy Nhon and Binh Dinh among its service areas.
Which buses and vans run from Nha Trang to Quy Nhon?
Plenty: Vexere counted 91 trips a day on its route page, updated 18 October 2026, with an average of 4.2 hours for about 220 km and fares from 200,000 to 800,000 VND. For 5 November it listed 92 trips. The daytime options worth knowing:
- Lam Sang: a standard seater at 06:00 from Nha Trang's southern bus station to the Quy Nhon bus station office, 4 hours 10 minutes, 220,000 VND.
- Sao Limousine: limousine seaters at 08:00 and 14:00 from the North Nha Trang bus station, about 4 hours, or 07:20 and 13:20 from its own office, to the Go! supermarket in Quy Nhon, 270,000 VND.
- A Ty (Quy Nhon): limousine seaters at 11:00 and 13:00 from the North Nha Trang bus station, 3 hours 30 minutes, 250,000 VND as an early-bird price against 320,000 VND normally.
- Trong Thuy Travel: limousine vans at 11:30, 15:00 and 19:30 from its Nha Trang office to Co.opmart Quy Nhon, 4 hours 30 minutes, from 300,000 VND.
- BB Limousine: limousine seaters at 06:30, 09:30, 11:00 and 15:00, 5 hours, 340,000 VND to the Go! supermarket.
- Viet Lao and HM Happycar: VIP cabin buses from about 09:30 to 13:00, 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes, from 500,000 to 550,000 VND. These are through buses to Da Nang and beyond.
The Sinh Tourist also schedules a limousine from Nha Trang at 07:00, arriving at 11:00, for what it lists as 215 km. On 12Go, buses started at 398,750 VND and BB's vans at 512,775 VND, well above Vexere's prices, so compare before you pay. Our comparison of Vietnam's bus companies explains the vehicle types.
Watch out: most evening buses on Vexere left between 18:00 and 23:55 and reached Quy Nhon between about 23:00 and 04:00, many at the Phu Tai crossroads or fuel stations on Highway 1 rather than in the center. Unless you have a room and a pickup arranged, travel by day.
How long does the drive take, and is the expressway open?
By car it is about 3 to 4 hours, and the expressway now links the two cities. OpenStreetMap's fastest route from central Nha Trang to Quy Nhon's central square is 211.8 km, about 2 hours 50 minutes in free-flowing traffic, mostly on Highway 1 and through the Deo Ca tunnel. Its map data may lag the newest expressway sections.
The expressway opened in stages over 2025 and 2026:
- Van Phong to Nha Trang (over 83 km): the southern section opened on 19 April 2025 and the northern one on 1 January 2026, per Vietnamese Wikipedia, after VOH reported the last 13 km finished in September 2025.
- Chi Thanh to Van Phong (48 km) and Quy Nhon to Chi Thanh (nearly 62 km): both fully open from the night of 18 May 2026, per Phap Luat via Tuoi Tre, which noted just over 7 km near the Cu Mong tunnel still waiting for a frontage road. The first 20 km near Quy Nhon opened on 29 April, per SGGP.
Tolling on all three sections began at 14:00 on 14 August 2026, at 900 VND per km and by electronic tag only, per Tien Phong. Its lowest quoted fares for the three sections add up to about 173,000 VND, by our arithmetic; a hired car with a driver handles this.
On 12Go for 5 November 2026, six private car listings started at 1,864,404 VND (OUROS Travel, 4 hours 10 minutes), with Chou Travel at 2,400,000 to 2,520,000 VND (4 hours) and iHome Transfer at 3,203,667 VND (3 hours). The operators do not say which road they use, so if you want the coast, say so when you book.
The coast road and the Deo Ca tunnel
The prettiest stretch is where the mountains meet the sea at the Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen border, around Dai Lanh beach and Vung Ro bay. The Deo Ca tunnel replaced the climb over the Ca pass there on 21 August 2017: the 13.19 km project includes the 4.12 km Deo Ca tunnel and the 500 m Co Ma tunnel, and it cut the crossing from about an hour to just over 10 minutes, per DTiNews.
Should you stop in Phu Yen on the way?
Yes, if you have a day. Phu Yen, now part of Dak Lak province after the 2025 mergers, per Tuoi Tre, has some of the coast's most striking rock formations. Quy Nhon itself is now in Gia Lai province.
- Getting there: Tuy Hoa is about 115 km by road from central Nha Trang on OpenStreetMap. On 5 November 2026, SE8 reached Tuy Hoa at 16:07 and SE6 at 18:29, per Vietnam Railways, and the next day's SE8 left Tuy Hoa at 16:10 for Dieu Tri.
- Ganh Da Dia: a coastal field of basalt columns about 30 to 38 km north of Tuy Hoa. Local Vietnam, updated October 2025, estimates around 35,000 columns, puts entry at about 40,000 VND in cash, and recommends sunrise or sunset in the dry months.
- Mui Dien and Vung Ro: VnExpress's Phu Yen guide, updated April 2026, describes Mui Dien as the easternmost point of mainland Vietnam, with a lighthouse of about 100 years and an entry fee of about 10,000 VND, and suggests stopping at Vung Ro bay, the scene on this page, on the way back to Tuy Hoa.
By car, see Vung Ro and Mui Dien on day one, sleep in Tuy Hoa, and visit Ganh Da Dia on the way to Quy Nhon. Without a car, take the train to Tuy Hoa and taxis to the sights.
Going the other way: Quy Nhon to Nha Trang
Southbound, the train timings are friendlier. Vietnam Railways' Dieu Tri to Nha Trang timetable for 5 November 2026 lists SE5 at 06:02 (arriving 10:17), SE9 at 12:29 (16:52), SE21 at 14:23 (19:18), SE3 at 16:54 (21:05) and SE1 at 18:50 (22:35). The same bus companies run south. For the wider network, see routes from Nha Trang, our Hoi An to Nha Trang guide for the leg north of Quy Nhon, and our Nha Trang guide.
Key facts at a glance
- SE8 leaves Nha Trang at 14:03 and reaches Dieu Tri at 17:55, soft seat from 162,000 VND, per Vietnam Railways for 5 November 2026.
- Buses average 4.2 hours for about 220 km, at 200,000 to 800,000 VND, per Vexere.
- Dieu Tri station is 12.6 km by road from Quy Nhon's central square, per OpenStreetMap.
- Expressway tolls between Quy Nhon and Nha Trang began on 14 August 2026, per Tien Phong.
- The Deo Ca tunnel opened on 21 August 2017, per DTiNews.
Limitations
Times and fares are a snapshot taken on 19 October 2026 for Thursday 5 November, and they change with the date and how early you buy. We did not check fares for SE2 and SE10. Bus and car times are the operators' own estimates, and the Dieu Tri taxi fare comes from a single 2025 travel guide.
The expressway opened in stages, and the press reported a short unfinished stretch near the Cu Mong tunnel in May 2026, so ask your driver about the route. The Ganh Da Dia entry fee comes from a travel guide, and other sources quote less. The UK government puts central Vietnam's rainy season at October to December, with floods most likely in October and November, so keep a spare day in late autumn and check the forecast before any coastal detour.
