The White Sand Dunes, also known as Bau Trang in Vietnamese, is one of the major attractions in Mui Ne, besides the beaches. It’s one of the top places to visit in Mui Ne and Phan Thiet area.
I had experience exploring the White Sand Dunes by using a Jeep tour, a motorbike, ATV and walking, so in this article, I will share with you everything about the White Sand Dunes in Mui Ne.
What is special about the White Sand Dunes Mui Ne?
The White Sand Dunes are massive sand dunes with white fine sands and a large lake located right next to the dunes. It’s a beautiful place to take photographs, especially at sunrise and sunset.
The White Sand Dunes is also a popular place to try adrenaline activities such as riding the Quad bike up and down on the sand hills.
Vietnam has a tropical climate, so visiting a desert-like landscape like the White Sand Dunes is a unique experience, not only in Vietnam, but in Southeast Asia.
In the local dialect, “bàu” means a lake. Bàu Trắng was originally a large lake, but local residents later built a sand embankment across it to create a passage. As a result, the lake was divided into two parts: Bàu Ông and Bàu Bà.
Bàu Bà is a larger and deeper lake than Bàu Ông. Bàu Bà is around 70 ha, average depth about 5 m, and at its deepest point it can reach up to 19 m during the rainy season. Due to its location in between white sand dunes, Bàu Bà today known as the name “Bàu Trắng”.
See more:
Locations of Mui Ne’s White Sand Dunes
The White Sand Dunes is located in Hoa Thang area, around 40km north of Mui Ne. It takes around 40-60 minutes driving from your hotel in Mui Ne to the White Sand Dunes.
If you take a jeep tour, the tour agency will pick you up from the hotel and drop you off at the company that they’re associated with near the sand dunes.
There are few companies that operate services in the White Sand Dunes area such as Kieu Trang, Nhu Trung, Minh Thai, or U&Me. They are all located at the southern edge of Bau Trang lake.
If you drive to the White Sand Dune by yourself with a motorbike, I recommend putting “Du Lịch Sinh Thái Bàu Trắng Minh Thái” on the map. They are located right on the main road, and easily accessible without going to gravel roads.
If you put the White Sand Dunes on Google maps, you might not be able to find the right location. It can show you direction to the Red Sand Dunes, which you will pass when visiting the White Sand Dunes. It’s best to put the Vietnamese term “Bau Trang” on the map for the right direction.
The entrance ticket and the prices to ATV services of all of these companies are the same, so you can stop at any of those places at your convenience. All of them have similar facilities such as shops and restaurants with reasonable prices.
How to get to the White Sand Dunes Mui Ne
There are several ways to get to the White Sand Dunes such as the Jeep tour, private taxi, or motorbike. I personally took the sunrise jeep tour on my first visit and rented a scooter to get to the White Sand Dunes on my second visit to Mui Ne.
Sunrise and Sunset Jeep tour
The Sunrise and sunset jeep tour is one of the most popular tours in Mui Ne, especially for first-timers. You can find the tour at every accommodation in town from small family-run homestay to large resort.
This tour is great for first-timers because it’ll take you to all famous sights in Mui Ne which include the White Sand Dunes, Red Sand Dunes, Mui Ne fishing village, and the Fairy Stream.
The tour is cheap, only around 200k VND for a tour. It departs everyday, you can just book with the hotel the night before the trip. The tour will pick you up and drop you off from the hotel, so you don’t need to worry about how to get to the White Sand Dunes.
The tour usually includes a small group of 4-5 people and a driver. The driver will take you to places, letting you know how much time to spend in each place. You have to pay for other services such as entrance ticket, ATV rides if you use it, food and drink of your own.
Choosing the Sunrise or Sunset Jeep tour?
Sunrise and sunset are the best times to visit Mui Ne’s White Sand Dunes. I personally prefer the Sunrise tour because it’s often cooler and guarantees that the sun will rise up in the morning.
The downside of the Sunrise tour is that it starts very early in the morning around 4.30am. This will make sure that you will arrive at the dunes at sunrise around 5.30am.
Some people can’t wake up that early in the morning. During my tour, one person slept in and forgot the tour, which is understandable because of that early hour.
The sunset is a good time for everyone, but it’s still very hot and it’s not guaranteed that you can see the sun set most of the time like in the morning.
Rent a Motobike
You can consider renting a scooter to get to the White Sand Dunes. The scooter rental is very cheap in Mui Ne, plus it gives you flexibility to explore things at your own pace.
The road in Mui ne is relatively flat and in good condition, which is convenient to scooter riders. If you’re still interested in the scooter ride, but don’t know how to do it, you can consider taking the easy rider option, which seating back the local driver, and he’ll take you around.
If you search for Mui Ne easy riders, you’ll find some good local guys with good reviews. They’ll keep you safe and give you good local knowledge.
The motorbike rental shops can be found almost everywhere in Mui Ne. Many small shops are located on Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Huynh Thuc Khang street, which are the main tourist strip of Mui Ne.
The rental price is from 100k-200k a day, no need for a deposit. Make sure never give them your original version of your ID or passport. The copy of the passport is enough.
Most of the ride is along the beach road. In the Ham Tien/ Mui Ne area, you can start from Nguyen Dinh Chieu or Huynh Thuc Khang street. If you want to avoid the traffic, head to Vo Nguyen Giap Street, which has a bigger lane, and less traffic.
After Vo Nguyen Giap Street, you’ll pass the Red Sand dunes, continue on Xuan Thuy Street, passing The Beach Road on Mui Ne Bay, Hon Rom area, then reach the White Sand Dunes.
Entrance ticket, ATV price, and Opening Hours
Most companies operate tours at the White Sand Dunes open from sunset to sunrise. They open daily from 5am to 6pm.
The entrance ticket is 15k VND for adults and 7k VND for children. If you come with a motorbike, it costs 10k for parking. In addition to the entrance ticket, you will need to pay extra for services such as ATV rides or ostrich rides.
The price is ATV rental and services are quite high for Vietnamese standards. It’s 800k to 1mil VND depending on the type of ATV. You sit at the back of the driver. Each ATV can seat two people.
There are several sand hills on the complex, the driver will drive you to one of these hills, you spend your time there, and when you want to go to the next place, just show the ticket to another driver in the same company, which has the same uniform.
There are also jeep cars to the sand hills which can carry up to 8 people. The price is 800k VND per car. If you are with a group or families, you can consider this option to save money.
Things to do at the White Sand Dunes Mui Ne
Taking beautiful photos and videos for Titok and Instagram
The White Sand Dunes is a beautiful place to take Instagrammable photos and videos. It is a massive sand dunes with white find sands, many sand hills, a large clear blue peaceful lake, and golden ray of the sky at sunrise and sunset.
Many people take the pose on the jeeps, the ATVs/four-wheeled quadricycles, with the background of the vast sand dunes and the lake.
Try the ATV ride – Is it worth the money?
It’s a controversial topic whether to take the ATV/quads ride at the White Sand Dunes. The main problem is that the price for the ride is quite high compared to Vietnamese standards, around 800k within a 20 minute ride.
In my opinion, it’s still worth it to try the ATV ride at Mui Ne’s White Sand Dunes if you want to have some fun and thrilling experience. I did try the ATV ride the first time I visited the White Sand Dunes and it felt like a rollercoaster. It’s not for the faint of heart.
Walking to the White Sand Dunes – Is it possible?
On the second to the White Sand Dunes, I explored the place by walking. I saw several people walking around the sand dunes too, so it’s doable, and doesn’t take much time. It’s free and easy to walk on the sand at the White Sand Dunes.
I parked my motorbike at the parking area in front of Du Lịch Sinh Thái Bàu Trắng Minh Thái, which is one of the tour companies operating the White Sand Dunes area.
From the entrance I walked along the pine trees on the lake shore for around 5 minutes to get to another company called Du Lịch Triều Trang. From this company, I walked for around 5 minutes to the lake area.
Some ATVs drivers told me that it’s far away, but I ignored them, and said that I want to explore a bit on foot. I can come back for ATVs ride later.
You can see a small pavement road between the sand dunes if it’s not covered by the sand. I followed this pavement road for easy walking. I would say around 5-10 minutes walk to the lake and popular sand hill area depending on your starting location.
There are several hills on the sand dunes, but I only walk to the dunes near the lake which is easy and offers the same views as other hills. You can walk further if you want to explore.
Walking on sand at the White sand dunes is easier than walking on the sand at Mui Ne Beach. I didn’t feel tired walking at the White Sand Dunes. But if you decide to walk at the White Sand Dunes, I recommend that you visit early in the morning at sunrise to avoid the heat.
Sandboarding
You can do sandboarding for 50k VND per slide. This is also a fun experience at the White Sand Dunes. It’s much cheaper than taking the ATVs. You can take some good photos with it.
Taking the boat ride along the lake
The lake is peaceful and clean. It’s perfect for the photos with the combination of the white sand dunes. You can see local people fishing on the lake. Along the lake shore near the main road, there are lotus and lilies flowers, which adds another charm to the dunes.
Best time to visit Mui Ne’s White Sand Dunes
The best time to visit the White Sand Dunes is in the dry season from December to May. I visited the sand dunes in early May. The weather is great, with sun all day and no rain. The temperature is around 33°C-34°C.
The best time of the day to visit the White sand dunes is at sunset and sunrise. This time has cooler weather compared to the mid day, and beautiful scenery of the sun going up and down and the dunes.
While you can visit the White sand dunes at any time of the day, I recommend visiting it during mid day. It’s the worst time to visit, with extreme heat and the sun at its harshest.
So there you have it, everything you need to know when visiting the white sand dunes of Mui Ne. It’s something unique in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia, and is a must see when visiting Mui Ne.