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If you’re looking for a laid-back beachside town in Southern Vietnam, you’ve come to the right place! Mui Ne is a 4 – 5 hour drive from Ho Chi Minh. In this guide, I’ve listed the best things to do in Mui Ne, along with transport options & where to stay.
The city is actually called Phan Thiết but generally, most people will just refer to the area as Mui Ne which is a small coastal town within the city.
Getting From Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne
There are 3 ways for tourists to get to Mui Ne; a train, bus or private taxi. The train unfortunately only operates 3 times a week, and a private taxi would cost upwards of 100 USD, so for a couple backpacking in Vietnam, the best option was the bus.
Our original plan was to have these tickets pre-book (12Go) but when talking to locals about our upcoming plans many said not all these bus companies operate this route anymore or only have limited schedules! And, with no specific details, we became hesitant to book online.
Once arriving in HCM we got a Grab from the airport (for 103,000VND) to Eastern Bus Station (Mien Dong).
Inside the terminal, there are ticket counters for each company and with the help of google translate we managed to find a bus company with a convenient schedule and good prices.
Kumho Samco Busline – 175,000VND one way, HCMC to Mui Ne
If you know when you’ll be returning to the city I would recommend booking your return ticket at the same time, saving any hassles later.
This trip was during the day but still on a sleeper bus, so made the journey very comfortable.
The bus station in Mui Ne is 12 km from the beach (and where most accommodation is), getting a Grab from the station wasn’t the easiest but there were plenty of local taxis quoting the same price.
A taxi from Mui Ne bus station to our hotel on the beach cost 210,000VND.
Accommodation in Mui Ne
Mui Ne is famous for its seaside accommodation that caters for every budget. I would recommend booking a hotel along Nguyen Dinh Chieu. This street is quite long and on both sides are hotels, restaurants and local shops.
Staying across the road from the beach is perfect if you’re more of a budget traveller. Still very close to the beach but without the ocean views it’ll be way cheaper.
My husband and I stayed at Xin Chao Hotel and absolutely loved it.
Although many of the large resorts on the beach side have “claimed” the beach as their own and often the only way to get to the beach is cutting through our hotel. We did this a couple of times and no one asked any questions.
Accommodation options in Mui Ne
Budget
Mid-Range
Luxury
Best Things to do in Mui Ne
What do to in Mui Ne? There certainly aren’t endless sites to see in Mui Ne but what there is to do is amazing. Sand dunes meet the ocean, walk through picturesque streams and swim at stunning beaches.
Here are the 8 best things to do in Mui Ne;
Rent a Scooter
Scooter hire in Mui Ne cost around 150,000 VND per day and can usually be hired through your hotel.
Exploring Mui Ne is best done by scooter, many of the sites like the sand dunes, best beaches & fairy streams aren’t close together.
Taxis in Mui Ne charge higher rates than many other parts of Vietnam and Grab didn’t work for us. Even the main road is really long so a scooter was a super convent option for going out for a meal.
It’s important to be cautious when hiring a scooter anywhere in Vietnam, particularly Mui Ne. Technically to hire a bike in Vietnam you need a Vietnamese driver’s license. Although we did hear some conflicting information and it may depend on the size of the bike’s motor.
Throughout Vietnam, we never had any issues or questions from local police but we were warned a number of times by locals in Mui Ne about the police pulling over foreigners. They even told us not to drive out of the tourist areas because we could be stopped and hit with a hefty fine.
So I still think it’s a great option for transport while staying in Mui Ne, just be mindful of this and don’t go too far off the tourist trail.
Red Sand Dunes
You’ll know when you’re arriving at the Red Sand Dunes because there’ll suddenly be locals trying to get you to pull over and park in their restaurant.
We paid 10k for parking and afterwards purchased a drink at that restaurant.
Across the road from the row of restaurants are the Red Sand Dunes. Basically, no effort is needed to reach them!
The hill up to the top of the dunes isn’t overly steep and takes less than 5 minutes to reach. Entry is free and I would recommend arriving about one hour before sunset.
It’s absolutely beautiful out there, at this time of day you’ll have the best lighting and the view of the glowing red dunes against the blue ocean is so beautiful.
If you want to have a bit of fun and join everyone else sliding down the dunes, for 50k you can hire a plastic sled. Nothing fancy but it does the job!
To begin with, I was hesitant to go down the really steep hills but in the end, I absolutely loved it and you definitely go really fast.
While we were playing around on the dunes we had a couple of locals offer to take a few photos and videos of us. We happily excepted but be aware they’ll expect a decent tip.
White Sand Dunes
The White Sand Dunes are much further out of town and on a bike would take close to an hour to reach. These dunes are slightly different compared with the other, yep you guessed it, the sand is white, not red. But the white sand dunes are also very popular for 4WD & AVT adventures.
We had read online and heard from locals that this is one of the areas foreigners riding scooters can be targeted. Police are known to position themselves close to the entrance, making them hard to avoid.
If you decided to visit the White Sand Dunes and are keen on 4WD or ATV, I would recommend joining a tour take includes hotel pick-up. Or book a taxi to take you to and from the dunes.
Here are some awesome tours you can book via Tripadvisor
Fairy Stream Mui Ne
The fairy streams are as magical as they sound, and although there aren’t any fairies, there is definitely something surreal about walking through the ankle-deep water surrounded by forest, and steep red sandy cliffs. Hearing nothing but birds and the lightly flowing stream.
Fairy Stream Mui Ne is open from 6 am – 6 pm and costs 15k for adults and 7k for children.
Although we inadvertently started from the wrong end, there is a restaurant at the very end of the streams and we saw the sign for “Fairy Stream” so just parked up there wander down the small hill and started our journey along the streams. It wasn’t till we reached the other end and realized that was in fact the beginning and we had snuck in from the end. Oops!
A return walk along Fiary Streams takes around 1 hour and I suggest visiting early before it gets too hot.
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Beaches in Mui Ne
Mui Ne really does have some stunning beaches but it also has some really bad ones. And, by bad I mean covered in rubbish, plastic being washed in by the waves, and also in some areas, the ocean is causing really bad erosion so some beaches aren’t even pleasant to lay on.
I promise Mui Ne can still be an awesome ‘beach getaway’ though, you’ll just need to drive a little bit out of town for the best beaches in Mui Ne.
One beach we loved was along a quiet stretch of Nguyen Thong road and close to Cay Bang Restaurant.
It was very clear and the water was crystal clear and absolutely stunning.
Sunrise in Mui Ne
With Mui Ne’s east-facing beach, this is the perfect place to wake up nice and early to watch the sunrise over the ocean.
If your accommodation is across the road from the beach, try and peg out the day before a path or hotel you’re going to cut through to access the beach.
Also, hopefully, the tide is high during sunrise and you can also go for a morning swim. The perfect way to start any day!
Kitesurfing Mui Ne
Mui can have up to 230 windy days a year, making this one of the best places in Vietnam for Kitesurfing. Plus the flat water and small waves make Mui Ne a great kitesurfing location for beginners.
During the summer months, May to October the wind blows mainly from the south, at 10 – 14 knots. Then during the winter season, from October to late March the wind blows from the north and can be much stronger at 20 – 25 knots.
There are a number of local companies that can organize kitesurfing for you, check out this link to Tripadvisor for the best Surfing, Windsurfing & Kitesurfing in Mui Ne.
Mui Ne Fishing Village & Seafood Restaurants
As a blogger, I’m here to report on the things to do in Mui Ne. I understand that Mui Ne is a very popular place for fresh seafood restaurants and fishing is how many of the locals make an income.
But here is my honest opinion on this industry.
The Mui Ne fishing village is located on Huynh Thuc Khang street. From the road, you can see hundreds of basket boats (like the ones in Hoi An Coconut Village) and local markets selling fresh seafood at very competitive prices.
I hated it though, the overfishing made me so sad, in some areas I could see more rubbish on the beach than sand. And same with the seafood restaurants along Nguyen Dinh Chieu, they clearly don’t fish to demand.
The street is lined with empty seafood restaurants and multiple tiny tanks, jam-packed with live seafood. So many different creatures including sharks, crabs, fish and lobsters are clearly suffering and probably won’t be put out of their misery any time soon because there are no customers.
Mui Ne can be a great place for foodies without visiting any of these restaurants. Goa Indian restaurant and bar, was delicious, serving a wide variety of Indian dishes. Pitstop Mui Ne Food Court is perfect if you’re unsure what you feel like. It has a beautiful outdoor seating area, overlooking the ocean and there are heaps of restaurants within the food court to choose from. Plus I found plenty of amazing Vegan/Vegetarian restaurants in Mui Ne using the Happy Cow app.
Is Mui Ne Worth Visiting? Here are a Few Things to Know Before Visiting
Like Nha Trang, Mui Ne is very much targeted at Russian tourists. Menus are often written in Russian, along with English and Vietnamese. Plus locals can usually speak Russian.
Be careful if hiring a scooter. As I mentioned above, police are known to target foreigners in Phan Thiết and if you don’t hold a valid Vietnamese driver’s licenses you could be hit with a large fine. So always stick to the tourist areas and ask your hotel for advice.
Personal safety and petty theft. Losers from big cities, like HCMC, are known to travel to Mui Ne to target tourists. Always keep your belongings close, lock your bike and never carry around large amounts of cash.
Rubbish on the beach, really made me sad. Some beaches in Phan Thiết were just covered in rubbish, making swimming at times unbearable. I know not all of this mess is due to the locals, a lot of the rubbish washes in with the tides from other parts of Asia, but the local fishing industry definitely makes this problem worse.
I was happy to see many staff at local restaurants doing their part and clearing the beach and streets surrounding their restaurant.
In Conclusion
Mui Ne is a great choice for a beach getaway in Vietnam, particularly if you’re coming from Ho Chi Minh City. Places like the Red Sand Dunes and Fairy Stream, really are so unique & diverse and provided me with some very memorable moments in Southern Vietnam.
In this guide, I have listed the best things to do in Mui Ne, what to look out for & also honesty about negative experiences I had there.
I hope you found this guide helpful and please comment below with any experiences you’ve had in Mui Ne or if you have any further questions.
Thanks for reading,
Happy Travels.
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Elyse is the author & content creator behind A World To Live. After traveling to over 40 countries, she has a passion for discovering new places. Elyse is a money-conscious traveller who loves writing independent travel guides to help her readers get the most out of their travels.
Urgh, the litter would have made me so mad too! I guess some of it can’t be helped when it floats in from elsewhere… but it is horrible if tourists or fishermen are littering.
Apart from that, the area looks incredibly beautiful! The dunes are especially gorgeous to see.
Yeah, that part was very disappointing. But I do have hope that over time it will change.
If it’s a beach town I’m in! Sliding down the red sand dunes would be a lot of fun. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do.
Mui Ne looks like a beautiful and interesting destination in Vietnam. The Fairy Streams look particularly stunning! I haven’t visited the country yet, but I will save these recommendations for a future trip.
Yeah the fairy steams were my favorite:)
Rubbish is everywhere, especially when you’re road-tripping in Western Australia. Hopefully, one day, people will learn. I hadn’t heard of Mui Ne before, but it does look beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
I agree, it’s such a shame because we should all know better by now or countries should have rubbish disposal systems in place 🙁 You’re welcome, it’s a great way to spend a few days by the sea
I’ve been to Vietnam but I’ve actually never heard of this place. Thanks for sharing some info about it on your blog! Looks like a great little vacay spot!
Would love to see the Red Sand Dunes and the Fairy Stream, both sound and look like a beautiful outing.