Wind-eroded orange sand dunes and rock formations under a clear blue sky in Binh Thuan.

Southern Vietnam

Wind, dunes, and a beach with a caveat

The closest proper beach to Saigon and the kitesurfing capital of Vietnam. The dunes are genuinely strange and worth the early start; the swimming is not the reason to come.

Plan my trip

Orientation

What Mui Ne is

A long strip of hotels along a coast road east of Phan Thiet, backed by scrub and, a few kilometres inland, by dunes that look transplanted from somewhere much drier. Mui Ne exists for two reasons: it is the nearest real beach to Saigon, and it has the most reliable cross-shore wind in Vietnam, which has made it a kitesurfing centre with a large Russian and Eastern European following.

Two nights is right. The dunes take a morning, the fishing village and the Fairy Stream take another couple of hours, and beyond that it is a beach where the swimming is often choppy and the sand narrow in places. If you are here to kite, that arithmetic changes entirely and a week makes sense.

Nights: 2
From Saigon: 4 hours by road
Wind season: November to April
Calm sea: May to October
Best for: Kitesurfing, dunes, a short coastal break

Dunes

The dunes, and the timing that matters

There are two dune fields. The white dunes, about 25 kilometres out, are the bigger and stranger of the two — a genuine desert with a lake in the middle of it. The red dunes, close to town, are smaller and busier. Both are unpleasant after about eight in the morning, when the sand heats up and the quad bikes arrive, so the whole trip is built around a five o’clock start and sunrise on the white dunes.

On the quad bikes and jeeps

The jeep tour is the standard way and it is fine. The quad bikes chew up the dunes and the hire is often uninsured. We take the jeep and walk the last part, which is also the only way to get a photograph without tracks in it.

Wind-rippled sand dunes stretch toward the blue sea with a small green islet in Binh Thuan, Vietnam.

Kitesurfers glide across turquoise waves off a sandy beach in Binh Thuan.

Round basket boats and wooden fishing boats crowd the shore and turquoise water at Mui Ne fishing village.

A person walks along the shallow stream beneath red and white eroded canyon walls at Fairy Stream in Mui Ne.

Timing

Wind, water and the season

From November to April the wind blows steadily and the kiting is excellent — it is also when the sea is choppiest and least appealing for swimming. From May to October the wind drops, the sea calms down and the beach works better as a beach, with afternoon rain. You cannot have both, and which season suits you depends entirely on why you are coming.

Erosion is a real issue along parts of this coast and some hotels have very little beach left at high tide. This varies hotel by hotel rather than by area, which is exactly the kind of thing a booking site will not tell you and we will.

Not for everyone

Who should skip it

If you want a swimming beach, go to Phu Quoc, Con Dao or Quy Nhon instead — Mui Ne is a wind destination with a beach attached. If you are on a two-week first trip, this is a leg we would usually cut in favour of a night more in Hoi An. And if you are coming from Saigon for a weekend and want sand and a pool, it is exactly right, which is why half of Saigon is here on a Saturday.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

How far is Mui Ne from Ho Chi Minh City?

About four hours by road, or five in Friday evening traffic. There is also a train to Phan Thiet and a half-hour transfer at the other end.

When should I go to the dunes?

Leave at five for sunrise on the white dunes. By eight the sand is hot, the light is flat and the quad bikes have arrived.

Is the swimming good?

Honestly, variable. The wind season makes the water choppy and some stretches of beach have eroded badly. We pick the hotel by how much sand it actually has.

Can I learn to kitesurf here?

Yes, and it is one of the better places in Asia to learn, with several schools and steady wind from November to April. Allow three to four days for a beginner course.