Matt and Sharon Ward recently spent a few days in Mui Ne, Vietnam. Here’s what they had to say about their stay from a his and hers perspective…
The 5-hour bus journey up the east coast of Vietnam from Saigon was packed full of near misses, a distinct lack of seats, and a police pullover. The driver appeared to be more focused on speaking on his mobile than the safety of the passengers and we could both see the headlines about two British backpackers being involved in a road accident. After what could only be described as the worst travel experience of both our lives, we finally arrived at the Zenora Beach Resort, Mui Ne.
His Guide:
The first thing to do after our eventful bus journey was to dump our bags in our room and head down to the pool for a swim to help us unwind. Our resort appeared to be very quiet and felt like paradise compared to our previous accommodations. But due to the price, and being on a budget, we decided to only stay here for a couple of nights, before moving next door to the cheaper option, Austria House Backpackers.
The next few days were spent relaxing by the pool, topping up our tans, watching the kite surfers on the beach, reading and taking strolls along the beach and main street. We agreed that Mui Ne would be one of the places that we did very little, as we hadn’t had time to relax too much on the trip so far.The thought of getting back on one of those buses was keeping us in Mui Ne for longer as we tried to come up with a plan going forward. We decided that we would take a bus inland to Dalat and then we had the options to fly onward from there.
For our final day we booked ourselves on a half-day trip via the helpful owner of our backpackers. An American style jeep picked us up with a driver and our first stop was the Fairy Streams. We were warned about kids who might try and take us on tours and then demand money in return. As soon as any children approached us, I was very vocal in saying ‘Thanks, but no thanks!’ I found the stream walk to be a bit boring as there wasn’t really anything to see. We were told that there was a waterfall at the end, but that wasn’t the case.
From here we visited the Fishing Village and then the White Sand Dunes where we tried our hand at sledging down the dunes. This was either designed for kids or we had put a little weight on, as we didn’t go very fast or far! We had a laugh trying though. We then moved onto the Red Canyon and our final stop of the day was at the Red Sand Dunes, which was a perfect location to take photos of the sun setting, before we headed back to our hostel to dispose of all the leftover sand.
I really enjoyed our stay in Mui Ne and my highlights were trying crocodile curry and the sand dune visits. If you’re interested in kite surfing, then this is the place for you.
Her Guide:
Our hotel was located on the beach with its own pool and our room had views of the ocean, it almost seemed worth the hair raising journey! We decided to have a quick swim before venturing out to explore the small resort, which was a long street of bars, restaurants and shops with kite surfing schools. The following day we relaxed on our sun loungers enjoying the sea breeze and sound of the waves crashing against the steps leading to the sea. We did little else except read, soak up the sun and watch the kite surfers gliding across the water.
We were dreading the bus journey to our next destination, which should have been Nah Trang so we decided to think of a new route, which wouldn’t include an exhausting and deadly road expedition. As there was no airport in Mui Ne or Nah Trang we planned out a new route from Dalat, which would include another 4-hour bus journey into the mountains but was the nearest town with an airport. We booked our tickets and enjoyed our last day in Mui Ne with a sand dunes excursion.
The day began with the Fairy Stream before heading on to the Fishing Village and then the White Sand Dunes. We paid $1 to hire a plastic sheet each, which we used to sledge down the dunes. Sadly, neither of us were any good and it was a slow, painful process getting to the bottom of the sand dune and more exhausting trying to run back up. It didn’t take long for us to give in and returned to our driver who took us to a Red Canyon before stopping at the Red Sand Dunes for sunset. It was an enjoyable day and at only $8 each it was great value for money.
Once back at our hostel we emptied sand from our pockets and every other conceivable place, showered and made our way out for a disappointing dinner at Bamboo Bamboo.
Mui Ne was a lovely beach town and if you like to Kite surf, then it is the ideal location for you. The bus journey there was the only downside and unfortunately the only way out is another bus journey. Our days were filled with plenty to do and the sunset on the red dunes was really beautiful.
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