A Few Tips About Mui Ne, Vietnam

For one day and a half, we headed to Mui Ne, which is 4-5 hours northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I saw photos about the place and I told myself that I wanted to visit it when I started my backpacking trip. As a reference, here are a few tips during our trip to Mui Ne, Vietnam. Please take note that the information is based on my experience.

road trip mui ne
Mui Ne, Vietnam

Transportation

Rode a bus going to Mui Ne from Ho Chi Minh City. The bus left around 8pm and we arrived around 1am. We asked the conductor to drop us at a particular stop in Mui Ne which was near our guesthouse. You have to stay alert because the conductor might forget. It’s a good thing that I woke up to ensure that we wouldn’t go beyond our stop. The tickets we bought came from the hostel where we stayed in HCMC. We took round trip tickets so be sure to keep the return bus ticket to avoid any problems when you go back to HCMC.


sleeper bus

Accommodation

We coordinated with the hostel in HCMC so that we could have a place to stay when we arrive in Mui Ne. The owner booked us a night on his partner’s guesthouse which is Phoenix Hostel and we paid only 15 USD for a night there. It saved us the hassle of looking for other tour agencies since the hostel owner already had contacts.

duy an guesthouse mui ne

Duy An Guesthouse

The problem when we arrived in Mui Ne was that they weren’t prepared that we were to check in that hour. The owner, an old guy, took our reservation documents and we informed him that we talked to his partner, Tran Law, who arranged the reservation. The owner gave us a family room since all their rooms for two persons were already full.

Basically, the transportation and the accommodation were already pre-booked with last minute offers back in Ho Chi Minh City.

Food Places

Food shops in Mui Ne are also aplenty. This is a known tourist destination, so houses have put up small eateries beside the road. You can simply borrow the hostel’s bike and then head to one of these restos for a quick bite or even bottle of booze. We only ate once during dinner time since breakfast was already included in our overnight package.


baguette!

Half-Day Tour Package

For the half-day tour package, we booked a 4×4 vehicle that took us to famous tourist spots in Mui Ne. The Fairy Stream, Fishing Village, White Sand Dunes and Red Sand Dunes are a few the famous popular places to visit that you can be toured in 6 hours. This is one of those great travel packages that you can enjoy during sunrise or sunset.

Mui Ne tourist spots
Red Sand Dunes, White Sand Dunes, Fishing Village and Fairy Stream

We didn’t bother booking in advance because I didn’t find the need to do so. Or probably because I’m too lazy a traveller to research online. Anyway, you have the option to hire a motorbike for a cheaper cost (around 10 USD per person). But if you don’t want the hassle of being under the heat of the sun, you can comfortably relax in these 4×4 vehicles.

roadtrip mui ne
sitting comfortably inside the jeepney

Here are other points about Mui Ne:

  • Though the pictures look great, the place doesn’t smell nice. Fish sauce production is a livelihood here; you will smell fish everywhere, even inside your hostel. But you’ll get used it.

fish sauce vietnam
jars and jars of fish sauce

  • A lot of tourists come here to kitesurf.
  • There is NO Facebook in Vietnam. It’s banned and you have to go through a proxy server to access it.
  • Take care of your cameras when going to the sand dunes, strong winds occur and the sand particles might seep into your camera devices which can break them.
  • Mui Ne has a number of places to offer. You can just chill afterward if you have more time.
  • Sunsets are beautiful here. You can also admire the view of fishing boat silhouettes when the sun goes down.

mui ne shadow
silhouettes

Budget Estimate

I didn’t take note of the budget during this trip. I only referred to another blog post for a rough estimate. Thank you to Nathalie of My Wandering Soles for her very detailed guide about Mui Ne. If you want an expense report on an estimate budget when going to Mui Ne, you can head to her page here.

If I had more time, I would’ve tried kite surfing. I would also want to stop by and just stare at the sea while waiting for the sky to turn dark.


bus with a broken glass, heading back to Ho Chi Minh City

Thank you Mui Ne, for the memories. Until I pass by again!

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Mui Ne is five hour by bus from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Check out my other stories of Mui Ne here:


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soloflightEd.com is a travel blog by Edcel Suyo. He enjoys performing headstands and crazy stunts during his trips in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Now based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and working to earn a living, he takes time to enjoy the city and travel during weekends.
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10 thoughts on “A Few Tips About Mui Ne, Vietnam”

  1. Your blog is very informative especially for budget travellers. I myself will be visiting Mt. Pinatubo and Zambales next week. Your wirting in Zambales has provided me with such useful tips. Thanks.

    Reply
    • If you arrive in Mui Ne at 12 noon, yes, you can do the half day tour already. Actually the tour would just depend on your pace, but definitely you can visit these places in Mui Ne during that span of time. Another tip would be to depart from HCMC earlier than 8am.

      Reply

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