Mui Ne
Mui Ne is one of the stops as you travel the coast of Vietnam that is a bit of a ‘maybe’ on whether to check it out or not. More than just a beach?
Please Phone Ahead
We pitched up at the quiet beach resort in blistering midday heat, with no hotel booking – Mui Ne is one of the rare places you’re strongly recommended to prearrange your accommodation. But hey, it’s our usual procedure to choose somewhere with our own eyes rather than the (sometimes totally wrong) Lonely Planet guidebook or using something like Trip Advisor.
Round boats on the beach near Mui Ne.
The busy Vietnamese fishing boats
Trust-Worthy Trip Advisor?
After looking at several out-of-budget places, we settled into a cafe for lunch and resorted to a quick check of Trip Advisor…and Mui Ne Hills Guesthouse jumped out as it’s #1 top-rated B&B. Trip Advisor reviews and ratings can be misleading – we gave up using it for finding hotels after wasting hours and hours researching places and reading the most extreme, usually distorted feedback from people.
In this case, this guesthouse gets seriously positive ratings – almost ridiculously so – but we gave them a go. A quick call and 5 minutes later the owner Eric and his partner Long arrived on two scooters to ferry us to their guesthouse.
Mui Ne Hills Guesthouse
Nestled in the sand dunes above the town with impressive views out to sea, Mui Ne Hills Guesthouse is a boutique B&B with just a few sleekly designed rooms. There’s a welcoming pool and sun deck, sun-loungers and reception area. The bathrooms are open-plan with the bedroom – nice!
Everything about Mui Hills Guesthouse is welcoming, especially the pool and deck area
They could charge twice as much and it’d still be good value. It was $25 a night and we got a free upgrade. 🙂 The cool air from the elevated position is refreshing and combines perfectly with the hot sun. The gentle wind also blows the mosquitoes somewhere else so you can chill in peace – perfect.
On arrival we were given a welcome smoothy whilst Eric informed us of tours available to the near-by sand dunes, as well as the places to eat and drink. He turned out to be an awesome host – really making us feel at home – whilst implementing nice touches, such as providing complimentary smoothies as we lounged in the sun.
Red and White Sand Dunes
We hooked up with another couple staying at the guesthouse to visit the red and white sand dunes. The sand dunes were impressive, stretching and peaking far and wide, making you feel as if you’d transported from Vietnam to the Sahara.
White sand dunes
Red sand dunes
Sand everywhere
The four of us decided to hire body boards – more accurately a sheet of Perspex with something to grab onto at one end – and proceeded to launch ourselves down the steepest dunes, getting covered from head to toe in sand! The challenge seemed to be finding a steep enough slope in order to gain any momentum…and then having the guts to throw yourself head first down the sandy hill. Walking back up for another go was so impossibly tiring that the novelty soon wore off.
Body boarding on the dunes - a sandy and fun time
Fairy Springs
This was a pleasant walk up a small stream that has carved its way through the sand, revealing attractive colours and layers of sand. Along the way we met and were interviewed by a Japanese TV crew.
“How does the sand feel under your feet?”
“Err, it’s nice and soft.”
Should make for some great TV…
The Fairy Springs is worth visiting - the walk up the stream reveals beautiful sand colours and layers
Mui Ne Beach
The beach of Mui Ne has partially eroded at one end of the 5km coastline (some of the resorts are literally on the waters edge when the tide is in), but there is still a large stretch of clean, white sand in front of the 5 star resorts, where people still have room to chill under sun-loungers and watch kite-boarders tackling the waves up and down the coast. A nice beach.
The wind whipping in to the Vietnamese coast makes this a kite boarding hub
Summary of Mui Ne
Stay at Mui Hills Resort (before Eric opens his new bigger place next door and the vibe changes) and you’re in for some wonderful chill out time. The sand dunes are a must-see and the beach offers great windsurfing and kite boarding opportunities.
Cows on the road outside of Mui Ne
Fast food
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One Response to “Mui Ne”
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Will August 17th, 2011 @ 10:05 am |
Still loving the site, keep up the insightful reporting!! |
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