If you are visiting Mui Ne and wondering How many days are needed in Mui Ne, you are in the right place. In this article, I will share with you my opinion about how long to stay in Mui Ne and my recommendation for one to two days in Mui Ne.
Mui Ne is a popular beach town located in southern Vietnam, only 3-4 hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City. The most comfortable and convenient way to get to Mui Ne is taking a minivan bus where the driver will drop you off at your hotel in the popular Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Huynh Thuc Khang tourist strips.
Another peaceful way to get from Saigon to Mui Ne is by train. The train ride has beautiful scenery with options for choosing sleeper beds and seats. The train is ideal for slow travelers and for those who want to avoid road traffic.
Mui Ne is known for its warm climate, good beaches for swimming and wind usfring. Additionally, the town is known for its unique white sand dunes, red sand dunes, the Fairy stream, and colorful fishing village.
How many days in Mui Ne is enough?
Many people come to Mui Ne from Ho Chi Minh City for a weekend. These 1-2 nights allows them to relax at the resort, chill on the beach, and eat reasonably priced and fresh seafood.
In my experience, one to two days is a good amount of time to spend in Mui Ne for first-timers and those who are tight on time. Backpackers and travelers who travel around the country often spend a night or two in Mui Ne before heading to their next destination.
Basically, with one full day, you can see all major attractions, especially if you can wake up early from 4.30am for a sunrise tour. Within a day, you can visit the iconic White Sand Dunes, red Sand dunes, Fishing Village, Fairy Stream, Ta Cu Mountain and Po Shanu Towers.
In the late afternoon, you can relax at the beach or local beach bars/ restaurants such as Pineapple Mui Ne, Dong Vui Food Court, Seafood restaurants at Bo Ke, and many restaurants on Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Huynh Thuc Khang street.
If you want a more leisurely itinerary, you can spend one day visiting White & Red Sand Dunes, Fishing Village, Fairy Stream, and Po Shanu Towers. One day for Ta Cu Mountain and beach activities such swimming, windsurfing, or kitesurfing.
There are many attractions outside of Mui Ne if you have more time and you enjoy adventure. You can rent a scooter to explore more local attractions in Phan Thiet city, or drive a bit further away to Tien Thanh Beach and Ke Ga Light House area.
If you don’t want to do anything, Mui Ne is a great place to relax. Many foreigners came to this beach town and became expats or long term residents of this area.
In my first visit to Mui Ne, I spent two nights there and I was able to see the most things this beach town has to offer.
On my second visit to Mui Ne, I wanted to explore things at a slower pace, I spent 5 days in the town. I was able to rent a scooter and visit further attractions such as Phan Thiet and Ke Ga light house.
My recommendation for best Hotels in Mui Ne:
- Luxury: The Anam
- Mid-range: Bamboo Village Beach Resort
- Budget: Lac House
I stayed for 2 nights at May Bungalow on my first visit to Mui Ne. It was a good homestay for a budget traveler like me. They have spacious rooms with basic amenities including fan and air conditioning. The room has a small balcony with a table and two chairs. It has pool and garden views.
I think May Bungalow is good for its money; if you have a better budget, you can choose many other hotels and beachfront resorts within a more central location on Nguyen Dinh Chieu tourist strip.
How to Spend 1 to 2 Days in Mui Ne Itinerary
Day 1: White/ Red Sand Dunes, Fishing Village, Fairy Stream, Ta Cu Mountain, and Po Shanu Cham Towers
On the first day, you can spend time seeing the most iconic attractions in Mui Ne. The jeep tour will cover all of the famous attractions including the White Sand Dunes, Red Sand Dunes, Fishing Village, and Fairy Stream.
If you take group tours, which often include a group of 4-5 people, or hire a private driver. If you can drive a scooter, you can rent one to explore at your own pace. Visiting these major attractions in Mui Ne usually takes 4-5 hours, which is half a day.
If you want to explore as much as possible, start your day early in the morning for sunrise at the White Sand Dunes, around 4.30am. If you take this tour, you’ll finish the sightseeing tour by lunch time.
If you’re really adventurous and short on time, you can spend the rest of your afternoon visiting Ta Cu Mountain, which is located one hour drive from Mui Ne. This is best to do by hiring a private driver. You can visit Po Shanu Towers along the route. I paid 1 mil VND for the return trip.
First stop: The White Sand Dune
We arrived at the White Sand Dune after a 45 minute ride just at the sunrise. The driver dropped us off at one of the companies that offer ATVs services at the sand dunes.
At the entrance of White Sand Dunes, they sell the ticket for Quad Bike/ ATVs where the staff will take you to one of the sand’s hills to watch the sunset. The ticket was 800k VND for an ATV ride.
I bought the ticket, and the driver took me to one of the hills. I spent some time there taking photos, enjoying the scenery and sunset. When I want to leave, I show the ticket for one of available drivers there (in the same company), they will take you to the next stop near the Bau Trang lake.
You spend some time at the lake, then show the ticket for another driver to go back to the entrance area. You must keep the ticket without all the time to be able to get back to the quad bike.
The white sand dunes are massive and impressive. It’s a unique attraction not only in Vietnam but in Southeast Asia. The vast white fine sand, the peaceful lake, and the golden sky create Instagrammable photos and videos.
The ride on the quad bike was like a roller coaster for me. The driver goes up and down the hill very fast. It was a thrilling experience, and it is a must try for tourists who enjoy adrenaline activities. The ticket is expensive compared to Vietnamese standards but it’s well worth a try.
On the road back to Mui Ne, the jeep drove along the beach road, offering stunning views of the ocean. The driver asked if we wanted to stop to take photos with the jeep and the sea, but we said that we wanted to skip it.
Second Stop: The Red Sand Dune
The red sand dunes are the second stop on my jeep tour. When driving from Mui Ne to White Sand Dune, the jeep already passes the Red Sand Dunes, but we only stop on the way back.
The red sand dunes have a red kind of sand, and it’s not as impressive as the white ones. It has a view of the ocean. There aren’t any ATVS or quad bike services operated at the red sand dunes. There are just a few vendors selling drinks and snacks on the slope of the hill right next to the main road.
We spent 15 minutes here wandering around and taking some photos. If you go to the red sand dunes by scooter, you can park your scooter at the parking area across the road. The ticket is 5k VND for motorbike.
Third Stop: Mui Ne fishing Village
Mui Ne Fishing Harbour is located on Huynh Thuc Khang street, which is only a few minutes drive from the Red Sand Dunes.
The Mui Ne Fishing Harbour is very colorful, packed with rounded wooden boats. You can observe locals selling fresh catches at the market here. It’ll take around 15-20 minutes to walk around, taking photos, and watch locals working.
The fourth stop: The Fairy Stream
The last destination of the tour is Fairy Stream, which is actually a cool place to visit. The Fairy Stream is located right on Huynh Thuc Khang street, a few minutes drive toward the city center of Mui Ne from the Fishing Village.
The Fairy Stream is free to visit. It’s a nice place to walk along a 1.2km long stream, surrounded by nature and the red sand mountain. You walk bare foot along the long shallow stream and enjoy the scenery.
If you walk to the end of the stream, it takes around 30 minutes including some stopping time for taking photos and admiring the scenery.
The best spot is at the middle of the stream where you can see the high mountain with red sand, the stream, and the lush greenery. It creates beautiful photos. There are cafes, restaurants, and souvenir shops along the way if you want to buy souvenirs and have a drink.
Lunch Break
I came back to my homestay around 10am. I rested a bit and had lunch. After that, around 12pm, my driver picked me up to go to Ta Cu Mountain. It is a 1 hour drive passing through Phan Thiet city.
Afternoon: Ta Cu Mountain and Po Shanu Cham Towers
In the afternoon, if you’re tired after sightseeing in the morning, you can rest and spend the afternoon chilling at the hotel’s pool or at the beach. The beaches are good spots for swim, and windsurfing. If you’re not into windsurfing, it’s still a great spot to see windsurfers performing at the beach.
I was short on time, and wanted to explore as much as possible, so I spent my afternoon visiting Ta Cu Mountain. I arranged the taxi driver with my homestay from the day before.
Ta Cu Mountain
Ta Cu Mountain is the highest mountain in Binh Thuan province. Here you see a huge lying Budda statue, several pagodas, encounter some wild animals, and enjoy stunning views of its surroundings. You can hike to the top to reach the pagoda complex, but it’s gonna be difficult during the hot day.
I visited Ta Cu Mountain in early May, it was extremely hot and humid. And I visited the worst time of the day, mid day; but I’m glad that I took the cable car. Still requires many steps and staircases to see different areas and statues of this complex. I think you can spend 2-3 hours in this area.
Po Shanu Cham Towers
On the way back to Mui Ne, the driver took me to Po Shanu Cham Towers. It was a small complex containing three towers that dated back to the 8th to early 9th century.
It has stunning Cham architecture, which can also be found in many other places in central and south Vietnam like Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, and My Son.
Beach Time and Dinner
In the late afternoon, I spent some time on the beach, visiting Pineapple Beach bar, then using Grab to the central area of Nguyen Dinh Chieu street. There are many beachfront seafood restaurants and bars where you can enjoy dinner.
Be sure to try Dragon fruit (Thanh Long), which is a local speciality grown in the region. It is sweet, fresh, and delicious than other dragon fruit that I ate elsewhere.
If you want nice clean cheap food, make sure to check out Dong Vui food court. They have Vietnamese food, Thai food, Indian food, and western food with reasonable prices.
Day 2: Take a kitesurfing/ windsurfing lesson, relax at the beach
If you see most things in Mui Ne on the previous day, you can spend your day two just relaxing at your resort’s pool and private beach area.
If you are into watersport, you can consider taking a kitesurfing or windsurfing course. There are lots of schools in town that offer lessons for all skill levels.
The best place to do windsurfing is at the beach running parallel with the lower part of Nguyen Dinh Chieu street. The beach is calmer in the morning and has stronger wind in the afternoon when I visited in May. I don’t do windsurfing, but I did enjoy watching the skilled suffering showing their skill.
Day 3: Phan Thiet City and Ke Ga light house
If you have spare time, you can ride a scooter, and if you want to explore, you can check out some local attractions in Phan Thiet City and drive to Ke Ga light house and Tan Thanh beach.
Phan Thiet City
Phan The city is located around 20 minutes drive from Mui Ne. Phan Thiet is home to the train station where people traveling by train from HCMC to Mui Ne will stop here first, then take an additional taxi to get to Mui Ne.
Phan Thiet has a more local atmosphere than Mui Ne. You can find authentic food in this city, and check out some local attractions such as Duc Thanh school (where Ho Chi Minh taught before heading abroad to find the way to save Vietnam from French colonialism).
The Phan Thiet Water Tower built from the French colonial period located next to Ca Ty river is also worth checking out. Then visit the Van Thuy Tu Temple if you have more time.
Ke Ga Light House
Ke Ga Light House is a popular local attraction located 1 hours drive from Mui Ne and 45 minutes drive from Phan Thiet. It is a lovely rocky islet with a light house built from the French colonial period.
The ride will pass Tan Thanh beach, which is a nice white sand beach, but was unfortunately covered by rubbish during my visit.
To reach the island, Hon Ba, where the Ke Ga Lighthouse is located, you need to rent a boat. My boat ticket is a 100k VND return trip, shared with another group.
Ke Ga Lighthouse was built by the French in 1899 with the materials imported from France. There are some 200 steps to climb to the lighthouse area.
See more:
You can watch my video about how long to spend in Mui Ne here:
Overall, within one to two days, you can see most attractions in Mui Ne. Popular sights such as White/ Red Sand Dunes, Fishing Village, and Fairy Stream can be easily seen in half to one day. If you want to venture a bit, you can consider taking a trip to Ta Cu Mountain. Otherwise, spend your days just relaxing on the beach, check out several beach bars, trying local fruits, or taking a kite/windsurfing lesson.