After arriving in Mui Ne yesterday and making the most of the day by visiting the Champa temple complex, I woke up very early in the morning for my tour of Mui Ne’s famous white and red sand dunes. I booked my tour locally for VND 300,0000 (₹950/$13/€10) but you have plenty of options from online platforms like Viator. Most tourists do the sunrise tour but you also have sunset tours.
I was picked up at 4:30am from my hotel and the SUV that picked us up, would go around picking up the other guests
We filled up fuel first before heading out to the sands
We were supposed to be at the white sands for the sunrise… but I could see the sun already creeping up in the distance
It took about 45 minutes to reach Bao Trang desert, which is the white sand dunes
Once we arrived at the White Sands parking area, each of us were divided individually and seated on ATV quad bikes.
I arrived in the coastal town of Mui Ne in the afternoon. Mui Ne is located just outside Phan Thiết city. It’s a sleepy little resort town but Mui Ne is getting more popular on the Vietnam tourism trail, largely thanks to its unique attractions. I had booked a tour to see the sand dunes tomorrow but today, before the sun set, I decided to make the most of my time and visit a the Po Shanu Cham Towers.
I hailed a Grab bike taxi and negotiated with the driver, who agreed to take me there, wait and drive me back to Mui Ne for 70,000 VND (₹220/$3/€2.5).
I sat on the back of the bike and did my best to photograph and take videos as we drove
This looked like a nice spot and I decided to stop by on the way back
We were on what looked like a brand new highway
A lot of new property developments coming up in Mui Ne
It really looks like Mui Ne only recently developed as a major tourism destination. I saw a lot of construction activity in Mui Ne along the coastline — new hotels, resorts, and housing projects.
The ride to Ba Nai Hill, where the Cham towers are situated, took less than 15 minutes. Once we arrived, I had to pay for parking.
Entry tickets cost 15,000 VND (₹45/$0.65/€0.50). Timings are from 6:45am to 5:30pm.
A map at the entrance
There are three towers still standing and the place is also referred to as the Champa temple complex because the towers house symbols of Hinduism — Yoni & Lingam in one, a Nandi bull statue in another, and Agni (fire god) in the third.
After spending the last few days exploring Ho Chi Minh City and going on day tours outside of the city, I decided to take a break from the city and visit the coastal town of Mui Ne.
I had purchased my bus ticket to Mui Ne from this travel agent near Bui Vien street, which is from where the bus departs
I paid 150,000 VND (₹475/$6.5/€5.2) for the ticket to Mui Ne. Oddly enough, I bought my return ticket from Mui Ne back to Ho Chi Minh City… and paid 130,000 VND for a similar bus -_-
We got on the highway to exit Ho Chi Minh City
This is Saigon river
The journey from Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne is over 4 hours long with a stop in between for a break.
