During our trip in Vietnam, we had a short relaxing trip to Mui Ne, which is like a small fishing town located in the coastal areas in the South of Vietnam. It reminded us a little of Phuket in Thailand, but a little more quaint and less commercialised.
Getting to Mui Ne
From Saigon or Ho Chi Minh, we took a sleeper bus under the Company Sinh Tourist to Mui Ne. The journey took us about 4 hours. Personally I would have preferred it if the bus had the normal inclined seats instead, as I felt a little uncomfortable having to lie down all the way throughout the bus ride. We also had to take off our shoes and place them in given plastic bags before boarding up the bus.
There are many bus companies operators which you can choose from, and you can purchase your tickets in advance from any of the stalls selling the tickets along the roads in the city area.
Sinh Tourist Bus Website: https://www.thesinhtourist.vn/landscapes/mn/1/mui-ne
As we took a morning bus from Saigon, we took away Banh Mi from Banh Mi Hong Hoa, which is located a short distance away from the Sinh Tourist bus station. Banh Mi Hong Hoa is listed as one of the top places to get your Banh Mi fix, and some even tout it as the Banh Mi worth travelling to Vietnam for!
Look at the perfectly cooked egg! I had the Banh Mi with the assortment of hams and it was super delicious with the crisp baguette.
Banh Mi Hong Hoa
Address: 62 Nguyen Van Trang, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening Hours: 7am - 10pm
Website: https://banhmihonghoa.com/cua-hang
The Cliff Resort
We stayed at The Cliff resort in Mui Ne and booked the Terra Ocean View 2 bedrooms villa for 2 nights. We had a huge jaccuzi facing the ocean and the view was lovely! It takes a lil long for the tub to be filled, but it was well worth the wait to soak in it and enjoy the view.
Overall, we had a wonderful stay during our 2 nights there. The rooms were clean and spacious, the service from the staff was prompt and they made us feel very welcomed.
The Cliff has a good spread of breakfast ranging from american style to local delights. There are a few live cooking stations (they can even make you poached eggs), and they rotate the menu daily (we had pho, ban xeo and com tam during our stay).
We had a swedish massage at the Zest Spa, where we could choose from a few different essential oils such as lavender, lemongrass, etc. The staff were skilled and gave us an awesome relaxing massage.
The Cliff Website: http://thecliffresort.com.vn/facilities/fac-pool
El Latino - Mexican Food
I love my Mexican food and we were so excited to see Mexican options in Mui Ne! Food is slightly on the pricier side (about $18 sgd per pax), but it includes 1 litre of Sangria! The quesadilla and chicken fajitas were yummy and served with sides of avocados, cheese, salsa and yoghurt where we could do the wraps ourselves. The calamari appetizer was worth ordering too.
Overall, loving the pop colours and the al fresco dining at El Latino!
El Latino's Address: 139 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Phan Thiet, Vietnam
Jeep Tour - Fishing Village, White and Red Sand Dunes, Seafood Dinner
On our second day at Mui Ne, we booked a Jeep for 4 pax to bring us around for the day. We paid the Jeep driver 25usd (for 4 pax total), and he ferried us around Mui Ne from 1.30pm to 6.30pm.
You may request your hotels or resorts to help you book a Jeep driver, alternatively you are able to book their services in advance in any of the tour shops located in the city centre of Mui Ne.
I would suggest taking this route: Pickup from hotel > Fishing Village > Red Sand Dunes > White Sand Dunes > Seafood dinner. In our tour, we went to the White Sand Dunes first and by the time we got to the Red Sand Dunes, the sun has already set and there wasn't much to see.
Our first stop was the Fishing Village located about 40 minutes away from our resort. You can see many floating fishing 'tubs' in the waters, and there is also a stationary 'tub' located at the beachfront for you to hop in and take a photo. It's a pretty spot for photo-taking, but as the beach is littered with dead crustaceans and broken shells, the fishy smell can be a lil overpowering. Suggest to take a few quick photos and leave!
The White Sand Dunes should be really called a desert in fact, as it was so vast that we couldn't see the other end when we arrived. Do note that you have to pay for the ATV (approx $35sgd for 4pax) to bring you across the dunes and up to a peak where you are promised of a spectacular sunset view. However, as we didn't want to pay for the ATV, we had to walk and march across the dunes lol. After a while, it did got a lil tiring, and we only managed to get to the middle of the dunes, and not to the top of a peak.
Nonetheless, we managed to get a few good shots and it was a good experience walking in the soft white sand barefooted. We ran out of time though as we stayed here long than expected and didn't manage to reach the Red Sand Dunes in time for the sunset. Oh wells, another time perhaps!
The only few differences we felt between the two Sand Dunes was that the Red one was abit steeper and we had to climb up for abit. There were also children renting cardboards so that you can slide down the dunes. Otherwise, the White Dunes were definitely more majestic to visit due to its vastness and the pure white sands.
We made a stop at a stretch of stalls selling seafood near the Red Sand Dunes and finally decided to dine at Ben Tau Quan seafood restaurant. Reason being after checking out a few restaurants along the stretch, the lady owner seems to be honest and her sea produce were still alive, unlike some other stalls where they have been kept in the pails for awhile.
We also managed to haggle and overall paid approx $100 for the entire meal which we thought was a pretty good deal! We had a plate of steamed mantis prawns (more than 20 pieces!), grilled clams oysters and squid, stir fry lala clams with onions, steamed live fish in soya sauce and of course the main highlight of the meal, a full size lobster porridge and bbq lobster with butter and cheese. Everything was pretty much delish and the four of us were stuffed from the seafood dinner. Everything served was really fresh too!
Ben Tau Quan's Address: 167 Huỳnh Thúc Kháng, Mũi Né, Thành phố Phan Thiết, Bình
I would definitely recommend Mui Ne for travellers to Vietnam looking for a getaway from the hustle of the city. If you have more days in Vietnam, you can plan for a short 3d2n stay in Mui Ne to enjoy the facilities of the resort, soak in what the tropical paradise has to offer in its scenic places of interest and its abundance of fresh seafood.
Mui Ne, Vietnam
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