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Sunlight glows over rippled sand dunes at Mui Ne, casting long shadows across the desert landscape.

Southern Vietnam

Red sand, white dunes and a night on the coast

Four hours east of Saigon the coast turns dry and sandy, and inland from a long strip of hotels there are dunes that look lifted from another continent.

Overview

What Mui Ne is good for

Mui Ne is the nearest real coast to Saigon and the expressway has brought it within about four hours. It is a strip of hotels along a coast road east of Phan Thiet, with a fishing harbour at one end and, a few kilometres inland, two fields of sand dunes. It is also a kitesurfing centre, thanks to the most reliable wind in the country from November to April.

One night is right for the sights. The dunes are the reason to come, and they are only good at dawn: by eight the sand is hot, the light is flat and the quad bikes have arrived. Everything else, from the Fairy Stream to the basket boats in the harbour, fits into the afternoon before.

A visitor walks barefoot across the vast white sand dunes of Mui Ne under a clear blue sky.
Round basket boats and fishermen crowd the shore at Mui Ne's fishing village with a fleet anchored offshore.
The white dunes at first light. · The harbour in the early morning.
Length
2 days, 1 night
Road each way
About 4 hours
Dune start
04:45 on day two
Back in Saigon
around 17:00
Style
Private, with guide

Nights

Where you sleep

Ho Chi Minh City0Pick-up in District 1, 3 or Binh ThanhMui Ne1A beach hotel on the coast road, chosen for its stretch of sandHo Chi Minh City0Drop-off at your hotel

Day by day

Day by day

Day 1

East to the coast, the stream and the red dunes

The Fairy Stream between the sand cliffs

Pick-up at 07:00 and about four hours on the expressway towards Phan Thiet, with a coffee stop. You reach Mui Ne around 11:00, check in and have lunch at a seafood place above the beach.

At 15:00 your guide takes you to the Fairy Stream, a shallow, sandy stream you walk barefoot for about an hour between red and white cliffs of eroded sand. From there it is a short drive to the red dunes near town, which are smaller and busier but lovely in the last hour of light.

Dinner is yours to choose along the coast road, and your guide will point you to the good seafood.

StayBeach hotel in Mui NeMealsLunchTravelAbout 4 hoursOn footAbout 3 km, barefoot in the stream

Day 2

The white dunes at dawn, the harbour, home

Sunrise from the top of the white dunes

We leave the hotel at 04:45 and drive about forty minutes to the white dunes, about 25 kilometres up the coast. You walk up in the dark and watch the sun come up over sand and a lake. We head back at about 07:00, stopping at the fishing harbour, where the basket boats bring the night’s catch ashore and it is sorted and sold on the sand.

Breakfast at the hotel, a swim, and a lazy late morning. We leave at 12:30 after check-out and are back in Saigon around 17:00, a little later on Sundays.

MealsBreakfastTravelAbout 5 hours in totalOn footAbout 3 km on sand
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Price

Price

TravellersTier 1 — simpleTier 2 — comfortableTier 3 — the good ones
2 travellingfrom 225from 280from 430
4 travellingfrom 185from 230from 350
6 travellingfrom 165from 210from 315
Per person in US dollars, private trip, sharing a double or twin room. The three hotel tiers are the ones described on our How we book page. High season and single rooms cost more; your quote is itemised.

The hotel matters more here than on most short trips, because erosion has left some hotels with very little beach at high tide and we will only book those with sand in front. The car for two long drives is the other large cost, shared between everyone in the party. Weekends are busy with Saigon families and priced higher.

Included

What is included

What the price includes

  • Private car and driver from Saigon and back
  • Guide for the afternoon and the sunrise morning
  • One night at a beach hotel with breakfast
  • Lunch on day one, entrance fees and drinking water

What it does not include

  • Quad bikes or jeeps on the dunes, which are optional and paid on the spot
  • Kitesurfing lessons and equipment
  • Dinner, drinks and tips
  • Travel insurance and visas

Practical

Wind, sea and what to bring

Mui Ne has two faces. From November to April the wind blows steadily, which is excellent for kiting and makes the sea choppy for swimming. From May to October the wind drops, the sea calms, and the beach works better as a beach, with an afternoon storm on some days. The dunes are good in either season as long as you are there at dawn.

Bring sunglasses, a scarf or buff against blowing sand, and a torch for the walk up in the dark. Leave expensive cameras in the car if the wind is strong; sand gets everywhere.

Jagged sandstone formations and red cliffs rise above the sandy path at Fairy Stream in Mui Ne.
The Fairy Stream, walked barefoot.
Sunlight breaks through dramatic clouds over the red sand dunes of Mui Ne, Vietnam.
The red dunes at the end of the day.
Fishermen gather on Mui Ne beach with baskets and a motorbike as boats crowd the water offshore.
The bay in front of the hotels.
A busy morning fish market on the sandy beach at Mui Ne, with vendors in conical hats, motorbikes and baskets of catch.
The catch comes in at dawn.

Not for everyone

Who this does not suit

Skip this if you want a swimming beach above all. Phu Quoc, Con Dao or Quy Nhon will serve you better, and Mui Ne is really a wind coast with a beach attached. It is also a poor fit if you hate early starts, since without the dawn the dunes are hot sand and engines.

On a first two-week trip through Vietnam, we would usually spend these two days in Hoi An or the delta instead. As a weekend out of Saigon, it is exactly right.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

Do we have to ride a quad bike on the dunes?

No. You can walk up, which is slower and quieter. Quad bikes and jeeps are available and optional.

Is the sea good for swimming?

From May to October it is usually calm. From November to April it is often choppy with the wind, and that is when the kitesurfers come.

Can we stay a second night?

Yes, and it makes the trip less rushed. Add a night and we will spread the sights over two afternoons.

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Sunlight glows over rippled sand dunes at Mui Ne, casting long shadows across the desert landscape.

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