Exploring Mui Ne, Vietnam

June 2017 Mui Ne, Vietnam

I never really knew Mui Ne existed until a friend of mine posted pictures of this exotic town. Situated in Southwest Vietnam, it surprisingly has long, beautiful stretches of beaches and sand dunes waiting to be explored.

HOW TO GET THERE

The closest city you can fly to will be to Ho Chi Minh City. From HCMC, you can either take a train, bus or cab to Phan Tiet, the closest city to Mui Ne. There are no direct transfers (by bus or train) to Mui Ne.

Based from my research, train is the fastest way to get to Phan Tiet City. It is advisable to book your train tickets online as seats get filled up easily. We paid SGD 47* each for two way tickets. From Phan Tiet City, you can take a cab (or GrabTaxi) to your hotel in Mui Ne. Total travel time by train was about 4 hours.

Book your train tickets via https://vietnam-railway.com

There's not much scenic view on the way, except for a few rice paddies and some mountain ranges. Be sure to buy some snacks with you on board, get your phones fully charged or better yet grab a book to kill time in the train ride.

Some Vietnamese entertainment on board

GETTING AROUND

I would strongly recommend to sign up for tours to get to places. I haven't seen any means of public transportation there so it will be more convenient to get someone to drive you around or better yet rent a motorbike so you can drive yourself around.

Or rent a jeep.

We paid USD 29* for a half day tour (all in for three people) with Hai Tuan Travel since we arrived only around lunch time at Mui Ne.

WHAT TO SEE

Sand Dunes

With a variety of red and white sand dunes, this is definitely something I never thought would see in Vietnam. If you are being a little adventurous, you can try the sand slide and quadbike in here. We opted to just pay someone to drive us in a quadbike to go up since the sand dunes were quite steep.

Quad bikes are available for rent

Have we had more time, we could have catch either the sunrise or sunset to marvel at these sand dunes.

Waiting for the sunset at the Red Sand Dunes

Fairy Stream

This is an ankle-deep, red-orange stream surrounded by rock formations where visitors can take a stroll following its current. There's nothing really too special about this and the walk may take 30-40 minutes.

There is no entrance fee to this and it is advisable to carry your shoes with you. It is comfortable to walk on it barefooted.

The murky colour is not due to waste but due to the red sand surrounding it

Fishing Village

This is a good place to see traditional Vietnamese fishing boats and observe how the locals get on with their livelihood.

Beach

Another gem in this town is its stunning beaches. Unfortunately, it was high tide when we visited so we haven't had a chance to take a dip on its rough waters. Some water sports activities like surfing can be done here as well. Our half day tour didn't include a stop over at the beach so it was good that our hotel has beachfront access.

By the beachfront of our hotel.

WHERE TO STAY

I highly recommend the Full Moon Beach Resort . The rooms are very spacious and have a homely, Vietnamese vibe to it. There is a pool and it has an easy access to the beach as well. There are a lot of nearby massage places, souvenir shops and restaurants that you can easily walk into.