Nha Trang Diving Trip with SDC

Saigon Divers Club is not a dive center. But we organize our own trips! How? They’re created by the community itself. Members come together to find buddies, explore Vietnam’s coastline, and discover new ways of diving familiar sites. In September, five of us headed to Nha Trang to do just that.

The timing was late in the season. Nights brought heavy rain, and days stayed slightly overcast. But underwater, the conditions were excellent: calm seas, light winds, visibility of 15 meters, and a warm 29ºC at 10 meters depth. While the warmth made diving comfortable, it also reminded us of the challenges facing coral reefs under rising ocean temperatures.

Nha Trang rewarded us with a wide variety of underwater terrain: swimthroughs between giant boulders, vertical walls, and sandy bottoms that revealed all kinds of life. With divers ranging from newly certified to divemaster and instructor level, we spotted nudibranchs, crustaceans, puffers, soles and flounders, juvenile morays, schools of razorfish, as well as playful remoras — all thanks to patient searching and the knowledge of Sơn, an instructor at Rumblefish and long time member of SDC, who knew the site like the back of his hand.

The most memorable was probably our night dive under a jetty, just three meters deep. Low visibility, surge, and a thermocline made it a challenge to see and dive the site, but the reward was worth it: nocturnal decorator, arrow, and hermit crabs, scorpionfish, lionfish, trumpetfish hunting in the shallows, and sleepy puffers tucked into the reef.

After the dives, we shared meals in town and traded stories. One diver even bought his first dive computer with advice from the group. It was proof that the club isn’t just about diving; it’s about learning from and supporting one another.

We also noticed the amount of litter on the reef, sparking conversations about cleanup dives. Saigon Divers Club has already organized a few, and more are sure to come. For us, diving isn’t only about exploration. It’s about protecting the places we love.

That’s the spirit of our community: anyone can propose a trip or project, whether it’s a liveaboard, a photography course, or an awareness campaign. Already, members have launched a marine biodiversity website called Sinh Vật Biển Việt Nam, created educational content, and built training opportunities for underwater photographers. Each initiative grows from the same idea that brought us to Nha Trang: diving is more meaningful when shared, and Vietnam still has plenty to discover.

Want to make a difference ?

• Stay informed about upcoming conservation and citizen science programs by joining the Saigon Divers Club on Reclub and attending our offline monthly meet-ups in Ho Chi Minh City. 

• Living in the North? Consider joining our sister club, the Hanoi Diving Club.

• Learn the PADI Dive Against Debris Course with Rumblefish Vietnam or other dive centres offering the course.

• Learn underwater photography to be at the heart of the adventure and document our impact.

• At home or the beach, choose to support brands with a clear pledge towards ocean conservation like Koraï (over 7% of their generated revenue is funding ocean stewardship)

• Educate yourself about marine ecosystems and consider taking the free Greenfins Eco-diver training. 

• Start by understanding better our coral reefs.