Mui Ne

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Travel Guide and Tips: Mui Ne

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Mui Ne is a small town on the coast of Southeast Vietnam known for its long stretch of beaches, sand dunes and water sports. It's a perfect getaway for locals and tourists looking for a place to relax and catch some sun. 

Things to do

Fairy Stream, Fishing Village, White Sand Dunes, Red Sand Dunes

These are the top attractions to see for Mui Ne, which can be done in a tour or on your own. The Fairy Stream takes you down a small stream to beautiful geological rock formations and red clay cliffs. The Fishing Village is filled with colour boats and tubs. It's interesting to see how the fishermen use the tubs. The white and red sand dunes are a fun visit. You can rent an ATV or Jeep to ride the dunes. 

Kite Surfing

Kite surfing is all the rage in Mui Ne. You can take kite surfing lessons and make your way out into the sea. If you're not interested in trying the sport, just heading down to the beach to watch is quite entertaining. It's crazy to see how hard it is to get up. Yet, these kit surfers make it look so easy. 

Hang out at the beach

There's a long stretch of beach near the city centre, but you'll need to walk through a resort or restaurant to get to it. The waves can be quite strong, so be careful if you're not a strong swimmer. It's better to go in the morning while the tide is low. By evening, the waves are quite rough. 

Where to Eat

Lam Tong Quan Family Restaurant

We ate here everyday. It's an affordable restaurant that serves a mix of western and local foods as well as seafood. They have western breakfast options as well. They're right by the beach, so you can eat with a beautiful view. Try the squid spring rolls and the fish with lemongrass and chilies. 

Banh Mi

There are a few Banh Mi stands within the city centre. We tried the one near the ATMs, but we didn't really like it. Apparently if you walk further, there's one stand that offers chicken Banh Mi that's really good. 

Gelato

If you walk around the city centre, you'll come across a few gelato places. They usually sell a small scoop for 25,000 dong with a waffle cone. It's pretty good if you're craving sugar. 

Where to Stay

Mui Ne Backpacker Village

For budget accommodation, staying here is actually quite nice. They have about six different mixed or female dorm rooms as well as private rooms. The dorms are good since they're not bunk beds plus they give you a towel. They also have an outdoor pool to cool off in. The bar offers Happy Hour from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. where you can get 2-for-1 on certain drinks. The washrooms are always pretty clean.

They also offer a breakfast for 35,000 dong, but we heard it wasn't that great. They also offer the Sand Dunes tour for $5 USD as long as there are 6 people going. 

Happy Travelling! 

Mui Ne Sand Dunes Jeep Tour

The sand dunes in Mui Ne are one of its biggest attractions. Most tours will offer the ride to the Fairy Stream, Fishing Village, White Sand Dunes and Red Sand Dunes at sunrise (4-5 a.m. start) or sunset (1-2 p.m. start). We booked ours with our hostel for 5 USD as long as six people signed up. It comes with a small water bottle and Saigon beer.

We opted for the sunset tour because we didn't want to wake up early. Our tour started at 1:20 p.m. and lasted until sunset. When we went, it was quite busy. Our jeep was overpacked since it can only hold six people, but we had nine people that day. 

If your accommodation doesn't offer the tour, many tour agencies will offer this package for around 7 USD. 

Fairy Stream (1 hour)

At first, you'll be extremely confused when they drop you off here. You'll need to head down the stairs and you'll see a stream. Walk down the muddy stream for about a kilometre, and you'll understand why it's a worthwhile visit. 

Along the way, you'll see a an ostrich ride farm (which I don't condone) and a restaurant. Keep going and you'll start to see beautiful red and white cliffs. The contrast is quite beautiful, especially on a clear day with the blue sky. 

If you keep going, you'll end up at a small waterfall. We never saw it, but we heard it was underwhelming. 

Fishing Village (10 minutes)

The fishing village is the next stop, and it's quite a short one. You don't really need more than a few minutes there. You'll see the village from the top of the stairs, which offers the best view. If you head down the stairs to the shore, you won't be able to see as much. 

The boats are quite colourful and it's interesting to see the tubs that the fisherman use. 

White Sand Dunes (40 minutes)

The white sand dunes are about 30 minutes from the city. Once you get there, you'll need to pay an entrance fee of 10,000 dong. You'll have the option of renting a jeep or quad. The jeep costs 500,000-600,000 for the whole jeep which can fit 5-6 people. The quad costs 300,000 total, which fits two people. 

We didn't bother with either of these options and just decided to walk up the sand dunes. It doesn't take too long to walk up and you still get the view! 

However, if you're up for it, we heard the quad was quite fun. Just be careful, since it sometimes flips over. 

Red Sand Dunes (Until sunset)

The red sand dunes are closer to town, so it's more popular. The moment we arrived, we were bombarded by children asking if we want to rent a thin, plastic toboggan from them. The toboggans aren't that great, since it's hard to slide down if you're not super light. We watched a few people only get halfway down the dune. 

The dunes aren't exactly red in colouring like the Fairy Stream. It's more of a light orange colour. The red dunes are also more crowded, since there's tons of locals walking around the dunes trying to get you to rent a toboggan. 

Notes:

  • You don't get too much time at each attraction, but I personally found it to be enough. We read reviews where people wanted more time to explore. So if you do like to take your time at the attractions, it might be better to rent a taxi, a private tour or ride a motorbike there. 
  • Purchasing the tour with a hostel is actually quite nice since you'll get to meet people you're staying with. Even if you're not staying at a hostel, it's a great way to meet like-minded people. 
  • We got our water bottle and beer at the end of the tour, which seemed a little weird. It definitely seemed better to get the water before you leave, since it's hot on the dunes. 

Happy Adventuring!

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Transit Guide: Da Lat to Mui Ne

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Mui Ne is a beach resort town known for its sand dunes, beaches and hot weather. It's a great place to chill out and relax in the sun. 

How to get there

The best way to get there is with a bus. It takes about 4 hours total to get to Mui Ne from Da Lat. It was a scenic ride, with views of the countryside and mountains. There's one rest stop along the way to use the washroom and grab food and snacks.

There's a few tourist companies you can purchase from, including your place of accommodation. We booked with our hotel for 130,000 dong for a bus ticket with An Phu. We regretted this decision because it was such an uncomfortable ride. The buses were run-down, old and lacked suspension. The whole ride was quite bumpy because of it, since the roads are in good condition throughout Vietnam. We got dropped off at the tourist office in Mui Ne, which is in the city centre. 

If you can, it's best to book with the Sinh Tourist. Their buses are much better and more comfortable. 

Happy Travelling!