Mui Ne Day Trip Itinerary and Travel Guide

Ho Chi Minh can be a bit draining (specially for long term traveler), One quick getaway from the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh city is the costal town of Mui Ne. Located at the southern part of central Vietnam, Mui Ne offers beautiful landscapes, cultural experiences and some opportunity to bask under the Sun on the beach.

How To Get To Mui Ne

Mui Ne can be reached over land via an over night bus. About three to four hours away from the former capital, one can reach Mui Ne via over night sleeper buses. The buses are pretty comfy that I managed to sleep for a couple of hours until we arrived at our stop. The temperature is freezing so make sure to bring your jacket. Make sure to tell the conductor where or what your hotel is (if you have any) so they can drop you off there.

If you opt to take the same bus we did, you can check out their bus schedule for Mui Ne on the photo below.

Where To Stay In Mui Ne

You can definitely not check in while in Mui Ne if you’ll be strictly on a day trip. Since the over night buses arrives early in the morning you can just stay in one of the cafes in the city (like my friend did on her trip). But if you prefer to have a place ready where you can relax anytime you can get a room at any of the many hostels around the town.

>>> Check Mui Ne Hostels<<<

What To Do In Mui Ne

  • Red White Sand DunesThe sand dunes are just basically sand dunes near the ocean in Mui Ne where you can do various activities such as driving quads or sand buggies,  sliding down the hills or even try out sand boarding. There are two sand dunes formations in Mui Ne. The white sand dunes is where it is best to watch the sunrise while the red sand dunes becomes more beautiful as the sun casts a warm tone to the sands as it sets. I personally opted not to engage in any activity on the red sand dunes during our trip. It was almost mid-day when we arrive and it was sweltering hot. However, if you are doing a sunset tour, I think it would be awesome to take photos at the red sand dunes.
  • Fishing VillageIt was nice to check out the fishing village. If you are an Asian, there’s really nothing special at the village except for the basin like boats they use to transfer their catch to the shore. If you are a bit eeky when it comes to fishy smell, you might want to skip this one or just check the view from the road. It smells really fishy.
  • Fairy StreamThe fairy stream is a small creek  of a fresh water spring. What’s interesting here is the landscape of red and white sand that constantly changes due to erosion. It’s also nice to walk bare footed on the soft sand with refreshing waters flowing through.


  • Beach BummingMui Ne is blessed with a beautiful coast line. It is also a great place do kite surfing as it has the best winds during season in Vietnam.

Pro Tips

Check for group tours for most of the destinations. We were able to sign up for a half day group tour from our hostel for just $3.5 per person. The tour took us to the red and white sand dunes, fairy stream and fishing village. There was no tour guide just a bus driver taking us from one site to another. It was a nice air conditioned bus so it wasn’t so hot during the day. The driver also gave more than enough time for everyone to enjoy the destinations.

Not feeling like a people person for a the day? You can also rent motorbikes that will drive you around these spots. No need to worry if you don’t know how to drive. These motorbikes comes with their drivers.

Itinerary

Day 0
11:30 PM Depart for Mui Ne (via Futa Bus)

Day 1
04:30 AM Arrive at Mui Ne // Leave bags at reception
05:15 AM Tour Departs
11:00 AM Return to hostel // Check-in and rest
12:00 PM Eat Lunch // Coffee
13:00 PM Return to hostel freshen up and sleep.
18:00 PM Eat Dinner
20:00 PM Walk around Mui Ne Highway // Buy milk shake
21:30 PM Go to hostel pack things

Day 2
00:00 AM Wait for bus at the highway
05:00 AM Arrive in Ho Chi Minh

Expenses

Round Trip Bus Tickets – 160k VND
Hostel – 66k VND
Tour – 80k VND
Food (whole day)- 182k VND

Notes:

  • There are bus trips earlier than 11pm so if you don’t have a hostel to stay it would be best to take an earlier bus.
  • The bus arrived earlier than expected (4am instead of 6) so we had to wait for the check-in time at the hostel pool area.

Honestly, Mui Ne can be just a quick half day trip for me. Being someone from a tropical country full of beautiful beaches, lazying by the beach was last on my list for this trip.  I heard there are good places to eat as well, but I think Saigon is a better place to experience authentic Vietnamese food. So there, if you want to see the dunes go ahead I’d say it still is worth the trip. We definitely enjoyed our time in Mui Ne it’s just that we didn’t find much to do after the tour. If you find more activities to do in Mui Ne please let us know, we’ll try to give Mui Ne another shot!

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