An Nhứt Rice Fields

Most visitors come to Vũng Tàu for the beaches. Few expect one of the province's most photogenic landscapes to be a sea of rice instead. Just 30 minutes from the coast, An Nhứt swaps waves for 2,000 hectares of paddies, a winding country road, and one of southern Vietnam's simplest yet most rewarding sunset photography spots.

Before tourism reshaped Vũng Tàu's coastline, much of today's Bà Rịa province relied on rice farming and fishing. An Nhứt remains one of the few places where that older agricultural landscape survives at scale, largely unbothered by the resorts and seafood restaurants that now define the coast just half an hour away.

A 2km winding asphalt road runs through the middle of the paddies like a ribbon through the landscape, flanked in some sections by trees with yellow blossoms. A lone tree standing in the centre of the fields became the signature landmark after the location went viral on social media in 2024 - unlike the famous solitary trees of New Zealand or Iceland, it carries no historical or symbolic weight of its own; it simply became an accidental icon after showing up repeatedly in Vietnamese photography and social feeds.

The rice cycle follows traditional seasonal rhythms - the two harvest windows when the paddies turn gold are the most photogenic periods, but the deep green of the growing season and the white egrets that work the fields year-round give the location a different but equally valid beauty outside harvest time. Rather than a permanent market, a cluster of bamboo food stalls appears along the dike road every weekend, set up by local families as city visitors arrive for sunset.

An Nhứt is located in Long Điền district, approximately 30km southwest of Vũng Tàu city centre, near National Highway 55. From Vũng Tàu, the drive takes approximately 30-40 minutes by motorbike or car. From Ho Chi Minh City, the journey takes approximately 1.5-2 hours by car via the expressway.

Navigate by GPS to Xã An Nhứt, Long Điền - there is no entry signage from the main road so GPS is essential. The roads throughout the area are asphalt and easily accessible by both motorbike and car.

The landscape is flat open paddies with the 2km winding road as the main attraction for photography. The lone tree in the fields is the signature shot. During harvest season (late March-early April and early August), the golden colour of ripe rice against the sky in the late afternoon light is the primary draw. Outside harvest season, the deep green of growing rice with egrets flying overhead has its own appeal.

On weekends from 4 PM, food stalls built from bamboo and bamboo poles set up along the dike road with local countryside dishes - bánh khọt, bánh xèo, grilled corn, roasted bananas, boiled shellfish - at prices from 5,000-25,000 VND. The atmosphere is casual and local. Kite flying is a popular weekend activity among families. The fields can also be cycled through for a slower experience.

Unlike the terraced rice fields of northern Vietnam, An Nhứt is about openness rather than elevation - wide skies, long horizons, and changing light define the experience more than dramatic topography, so it's worth adjusting expectations away from a Mù Cang Chải-style landscape. The road itself has no guardrails or streetlights, so it's best enjoyed in daylight rather than after dark.

An Nhứt works best as a late afternoon visit - arrive around 3:30-4 PM to walk the fields in comfortable temperature, catch the golden hour photography window between 4-5 PM, and stay for the food market which opens from 4 PM. Combine with Phước Hải beach for a full day trip from Vũng Tàu.

If you're visiting Vũng Tàu for two days, this is one of the easiest ways to experience a completely different side of the province without driving far from the coast. Check the rice calendar before building a trip specifically around the golden harvest aesthetic - timing is everything and the window for golden rice is only a few weeks per harvest cycle.