For most of the people, it is either Halong or Saigon that takes their heart away when they are traveling in Vietnam. For me, it was Mui ne. No one really recommended me visiting Mui ne, but I have read about it in a couple of blogs and it was just 4 hours away from Ho Chi Minh City, so I decided to include it in our itinerary. Although the initial plan was to spend half a day in Mui ne and catch the overnight bus for Hoi An, but I fell in love with this place and I spent two days here.
Since I was travelling during the Lunar New Year, I was only able to get an evening bus to Mui Ne from Ho Chi Minh City. The ticket was for somewhere around rs.400 and the experience of travelling in sleeper buses of Vietnam was so unique, I totally loved it. I reached Mui Ne around 11 in the night, I already booked a bunk bed in iHome Backpacker Resort for rs.200.
The town looked like it was well into a deep sleep but the resort was just coming to life. This place had a private pool, volleyball area, Table tennis, Pool table, Hammocks, basically, it had everything cool you ever wanted. Fun activities happening around the bar, people were going in for a late-night swim, some were dancing, I was blown away instantly!
iHome Backpacker Resort 
I had thought that I’ll sleep and get up early explore the place in half a day and then get on with my journey towards Hoi An. But I didn’t sleep till 4, it all started with beer pong, then dancing, then more beer, hell I even played some Hindi songs for everyone.
The next morning I got up late, around 10, I wanted to witness the sunrise but I didn’t mind catching up on extra few hours of sleep. I booked a tour with the resort itself for rs.600, for the whole day. The tour will happen in one of those world war 2 jeeps and the whole of Mui Ne will be covered in a day. You can also rent a bike and explore the town by yourself. The latter is recommended, I chose to go with the tour as I made friends in the hostel and they all suggested me to go with it for a hassle-free experience.
The first stop was Fairy Stream, which initially seemed like a tourist hotspot as there were so many people at the point we got of the jeep, however it got better as we went further ahead. It’s a beautiful trail passing through some amazing limestone formations with a small stream following constantly along the whole way. So the name was perfectly apt for this place. It eventually leads to a small waterfall, which wasn’t very exciting, but I surely enjoyed walking barefoot in the stream.
Fishing Village 
After this we went towards the fishing village, I have seen pictures of this before and didn’t think this will be so wow! The driver told us if we visit this place early in the morning, you can probably see one of the biggest fish markets in Vietnam. The sun was unbearable so we left quickly from here.
It was a beautiful, 30 minutes drive on one of the most beautiful roads right next to the sea, with people kitesurfing and then there were so many secluded beaches as well.
Beautiful Sea Side roads 
There were white sand dunes out of nowhere in front of us! All sorts of adventure activities were happening here, quad biking, sand surfing, dune bashing, etc. Nothing I haven’t experienced before, so I decided to take a walk towards the lake right next to the dunes to click some pictures.
In about 1 hour or so, we moved to our next destination which was red sand dunes this time, I wasn’t very excited here but everyone else seems to be loving it here. As soon as the sun started setting, the driver asked us to get in the jeep and start our return journey. I was disappointed, I thought that we would be able to watch the sunset from this place, that would have been lovely.
But little did I know, he was taking us to a place from where you get to witness the best sunset, which is our resort only. As soon as we stepped down from the jeep and walked towards the beach, it all turned golden. I have never seen a sunset so beautiful. It lasted for 10-12 minutes only but it was the best part of the day.
The beautiful day was followed by a night of beer and games, between different nationalities. A special shout out to my friend who did beat a Chinese woman and a german veteran in straight sets of ping pong. Never seen him so proud. The night ended at 4:00 am.
The next morning I again missed watching the sunrise, but I think I didn’t mind it watching the most beautiful sunset of my life. I just decided to chill in the resort itself until 5:00 PM, that’s when my bus to Hoi An will depart. Although there was nothing left to explore in Mui Ne, I still didn’t want to leave. I guess it was the vibe, I was not ready to let go of the vibe of this place.
I’m sure whenever I come to Vietnam the next time, I’m definitely going to spend 3-4 days in Mui Ne, maybe learn to kitesurf.
I strongly advise everyone to stay in iHome Backpacker Resort (This is not a promotional post)
Experience not to miss in Mui new
- Staying and partying at the iHome Backpacker Resort
- Visiting the Fairy Stream
- Visiting the Fishing village and the fish market
- Exploring and spending time on one of the many secluded beaches here
- Visiting the sand dunes
- Learn and enjoy kitesurfing
- Watching the beautiful sunsets
Tentative Itinerary
Day 0: I would advise you to reach Mui Ne at night or evening so you can rest up and enjoy the whole of the next day.
Day 2: Head out to explore the town, either book a tour or on your own by renting a bike. End the day by watching the beautiful sunset
Day 3: Chill or indulge in kitesurfing
Day 4: Do nothing or go out and spend the day at one of the secluded beaches. End the day by watching the beautiful sunset. Later board the bus to head out towards your next destination.
Mui Ne, doesn’t need more than 2 days to explore it, however, if you want you can spend as many days in this beautiful town as you want.
TRAVELbeings 