After a disastrous two days riding down from Dalat with food poisoning, we were relieved to finally make it to Mui Ne. Mui Ne is famed for its water sports, particularly kite surfing, and a fantastic beach. Unfortunately, I was still far to weak to wield a sports kite, so we spent a relaxing two days discovering Mui Ne's other delights.
Location
Mui Ne is a long sweeping bay that extends west of Mui Ne town. The entire length of the bay is lined with resorts, restaurants, bars and other local businesses. There is so much development that the ocean can barely be seen from the adjacent coast road.
We stayed slap bang in the middle of the strip, at Sea Winds Resort (£16 for a double/twin). The resort was lovely and quaint, each room has a small patch of garden outside, complete with hammock. A great spot to recover.
What beach?
On our first evening in Mui Ne we went to check out the beach. It took us a while to find the sand. Since resorts line every inch of the coast, beach access is obstructed. When we eventually did find a place to sneak through, we were bitterly disappointed. There was no beach!
Mui Ne's beach is fast falling victim to coastal erosion. High tide now engulfs most of the public beach, and resorts lay claim to the surviving pockets of sand. Mui Ne's reputation as a 'beach town' may be in jeopardy.
The next day we headed back to the beach at low tide. Sure, now there was a beach, but it was nothing to write home about. We spent a couple of hours reading and relaxing before the weather turned.
Delicious mango bought from the ladies behind
Fairy Springs
One of Mui Ne's offerings is Fairy Springs; a fresh water spring which seeps from the sand dunes, cutting a spectacular path through the dunes as it flows down to the sea. We went paddling up the stream to see what it was all about.
Trying to start an avalanche
Strolling down the stream