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Are you a beach bum or an adventure lover? It does not matter that you are interested in a relaxing trip, a cultural trip or an adventurous one, Vietnam has it all. Owing to gorgeous natural landscapes, paradise beaches, dynamic cities and unique culture, Vietnam can offer you a vacation with various possibilities.

Things to do in Mui Ne

Many tourists arrive to Mui Ne without a clue of what the town is about. Most arrive on a southern Vietnam tour or as a stop-off on the tourist bus route running between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, stepping out of their vehicle with wide eyes and big ambitions for what is usually the first stop from Saigon. It’s easy to miss some of the best things to do in Mui Ne if arriving this way, as a great deal of your itinerary is often planned for you, leading you to soak up the grand, sweeping natural beauty of the town but missing some of the quiet and unique additions to one of Vietnam’s best beach resorts. The meteoric rise in the 1990s of the laidback fishing town to this highly-regarded position has seen the glazing over of some of its satellite attractions, meaning many go ignored by visitors keen to settle on the beach and refuse to budge for three days. This is also a fine Mui Ne activity, but if there’s any chance of you getting a little bored after three days of sun-tanning, take solace in the fact that the other highlights of Mui Ne can be explored within relatively close proximity to the beach. These are Incredible Asia Journeys’ top things to do in Mui Ne:Natural AttractionsMui Ne is all about natural beauty and it has the span of a south, east and west-facing coastline with which to display it proudly. 15km of this coastline is taken up by white-sand, earning Mui Ne one of the accolades for top beach destinations in Vietnam, but many of its natural attractions lie further inland, covering everything from the beautiful to the bizarre.The BeachesIt’s not a surprise that staking a spot of white sand under the shade of a swaying palm tree, setting up shop and relaxing for the duration of the day is one of the more popular things to do in Mui Ne. Mui Ne is blessed with some great beaches, and if you know where to go, your Vietnam beach holiday can be spent in the utmost paradise. The eponymous Mui Ne Beach is the town’s most popular, but not its best. The soft sands here still provide a comfortable seating platform to watch the windsurfers do their thing, but the beach’s ease of access is its undoing, flooding the coast with tourists and resorts claiming individual spits of sand. For true beach relaxation, it is worth making the effort to Mui Ne’s northeast coast where Suoi Nuoc (also called Long Son) lies in a straight line facing out onto the sea. Watching the sunrise from this east-facing beach certainly constitutes one of the top attractions in Mui Ne, and one not oversaturated with the same levels of tourists that Mui Ne Beach hosts.Red and White Sand DunesMui Ne might be one of the last places you expect to find two distinct deserts, but the popularity of these beautiful sand dunes speaks volumes. Occupying a position just off the main road, these inexplicable sand dunes look like a con at first. If you’ve heard of sand being imported to create some of the other of Vietnam’s best attractions, like Titop Island or Tuan Chau Harbour in Halong Bay, then you might think the same has been done here. In fact, the strong winds of Mui Ne are the reason these dunes exist, blowing sand around the cape where it settles in huge quantities.As the most conveniently accessible, the Red Sand Dunes are the most popular, with orangey-red sand that shines vividly under the Mui Ne sun. Like with most desserts, there isn’t much to do but admire the beauty, which is magnified during the magnificent daily sunset, turning the orange dunes into a gorgeous blood-red. The dunes are situated about 500m from the coastline and 20 minutes from the main town, so they receive a great deal of tourist interest.The most interesting thing to do in Mui Ne’s sand dunes is pretty much its only one; sand-sledding down the hills on what can loosely be described as a sled, but can much more accurately be described as a paper-thin piece of plastic with a string threaded through the top. They’re a cheap way of enjoying one of Vietnam’s best beach resorts, but most importantly, a great way of stopping children trying to push their homemade boards on you. Safety concerns about the boards are minimal, considering that they travel at about the same speed as a particularly languid camel, so give them a go, it might be a great introduction to the other adrenaline sporting activities in Mui Ne that we’ll mention later.The White Sand Dunes are a completely different story, offering a quieter atmosphere and receiving universal acknowledgement that these are the best sand dunes in Mui Ne. Their location a further 25km from the Red Sand Dunes make them much more relaxed, and they play the part of a Sahara-like landscape much better because of it. Of course, the Vietnamese approach to tourism still prevails, so the peace is occasionally interrupted by the dune buggy tours that roar over the vast sand mountains, but visitors can seek reprieve at the beautiful Lotus Lake, a genuine oasis in a 100% natural landscape.Fairy StreamWading through opaque brown water might not sound like one of top things to do in Mui Ne, but you’ll change your mind upon setting eyes on the town’s Fairy Stream, whimsically named and beautifully presented. Like the sand dunes, this is another of Mui Ne’s popular attractions that sets heads scratching, mostly because of the strange rock formations rising either side of the traversable canyon containing ankle-high water. Visitors walk through the water and look at the rocks, which sit in a statuesque harmony with the solidified sand hills and verdant scrubs that have also found a home here.The brown water running through the canyon is made up of red clay, turning the riverbed into a soft surface and one that is quite comfortable to walk through. Tours of the stream usually take about 45 minutes, giving you ample opportunity to saunter through the water at your own pace, admiring the geology and taking some very vivid snaps.Hon Rom and Mui Ne BayHarking back to the days when Mui Ne was a sleepy fishing village, large swaths of Hon Rom act as sort of a time capsule, freezing a small part of Mui Ne in the era before it became one of Vietnam’s best resort towns. Its rugged beach is dotted with a huge mass of fishing boats, continuing the tradition that established Mui Ne before the arrival of 5-star hotels. It’s hard to move for the wild scrub and basket boats that fleck the beach here, but the beauty is raw and it’s hard to find a more natural attraction in Mui Ne than this small peninsula.At the similar but more popular site of Mui Ne Bay, colourful fishing boats get an audience of camera shutters clicking, as the picturesque scene that they create in a small, craggy cove is one of the lasting images of Mui Ne for tourists who visit it. The bay is viewed from a cliff above, where tourists can snap it from its best angles, watching the lazy activity on fishing boats that have sadly become largely obsolete because of the vast difference in income that tourism brings overfishing. Still, they hark back to the same placid atmosphere bestowed by Hon Rom, one that was universal in the city until recently.Architectural AttractionsGiven that Mui Ne was a town founded by a collection of relaxed fishermen, it was never going to be one of the top architectural powerhouses of Vietnam, and grander buildings can indeed be found in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Nevertheless, there is a certain quaint charm to some of the buildings of the town and, like with most of the best things to do in Mui Ne, they have a whimsical touch of the bizarre about them.Rang Dong Wine CastleBy bizarre, we’re talking about the gigantic Wine Castle, built to look like a traditional European castle but more probably based off a Google image of a Disney-inspired child’s drawing. 200,000 VND ($9 USD) will get you a tour of the castle, giving you a chance to see the inner workings of the large cellars and also a chance to taste 5 wines, all from the Napa Valley in California. In fact, there is not much of a Vietnamese vibe to this European-style castle housing American wines, but the architecture and the scenery around the hill that it finds itself on definitely make it one of the more interesting things to do in Mui Ne.Po Shanu Cham TowersOn the border with Phan Thiet, the city neighbouring Mui Ne to the west, stand the Po Shanu Cham Towers, two stubborn relics of the Champa civilisation who used to occupy large sections of southern Vietnam. The Champa empire was mercilessly destroyed in the early 19th century by Vietnamese emperor, Minh Mang, but their legacy still stands from the 9th century, when Po Shanu were constructed to celebrate Hindu gods. Along with similar towers at My Son Sanctuary (Hoi An) and Po Nagar (Nha Trang), Po Shanu provide an excellent historical highlight of Mui Ne and a reminder that the town was not always so laidback and care-free.Mui Ne ChurchThe uniqueness to Mui Ne’s architectural attractions continues with Mui Ne Church, a beautiful church with European roots, built in a very Vietnamese style. Reminiscent of Phat Dien Cathedral in Ninh Binh, this church’s large front is built of several tiers, coloured immaculately in sandstone-orange and featuring some curved, tiled roofs sporting universal emblems of a dragon. Other churches in the area such as Rang Church, are less Asian in their make-up, but are still comprised of the same sandstone colour and spotless presentation.Linh Long TempleJust over the road from Mui Ne Church, you will find a religious building rooted much more in native Vietnamese and Buddhist principles, characterised best in the 25m statue of the reclining Lady Buddha. Another tall, upright statue of the Lady Buddha looks out to sea from Linh Long Temple, granting safe passage for the fishermen under her watch as they sail out of Mui Ne Bay. There are more grandiose Buddhist temples in Vietnam, but Mui Ne’s is colourful, charming and ornate, with a verdant garden creating the most peaceful of peaceful atmospheres.Sports AttractionsFor enthusiasts, there are a few sports activities in Mui Ne, starting at maybe the world’s most placid sport and ending with an adrenaline-igniting one. Given Mui Ne’s location, it’s no surprise that most of these sports are water-based and luckily, can be done at the beach, with phenomenal views all around.GolfPhenomenal views are certainly the order of the day at the Sea Links Golf and Country Club. This full, 18-hole course is situated atop a cliff, overlooking the deep-blue ocean stretching to the horizon. Those looking for quiet activities in Mui Ne would fail to find exactly that at this golf club, as perfectly manicured lawns, rows of wind-rocked palm trees and excellently landscaped bunkers and ponds all contribute to a fantastic, meditative atmosphere and truly one of the more relaxing things to do in Mui Ne.KayakingSlightly more high-octane than golf, but certainly not a Mui Ne sports activity that will pop the blood vessels, kayaking is a great mix of serenity and sightseeing that is fun and possible for all ages. Paddling through the crowd of kite surfers on Mui Ne beach might not be as relaxing as kayaking should be, so the many resorts who offer it as an activity usually do so at Suoi Nuoc beach, or at least on the fringes of Mui Ne beach. These are one of the best things to do in Mui Ne for families, as kids love to let loose in the kayaks, while the older folk can keep an eye on them and admire the idyllic scenery at the same time.KitesurfingWhen it comes to kitesurfing, or kiteboarding, Mui Ne is the top dog in this part of the world. Its perfect, windy-but-not-too-windy conditions attract budding and established kitesurfers from all over, keen to come to the kitesurfing capital of Southeast Asia to demonstrate their flips and tricks in front of crowds of onlookers at Mui Ne beach. Of course, not everyone is an immediate pro upon turning up to the town, so several visitors opt to try one of the most fun activities in Mui Ne and sign up for kitesurfing lessons. These lessons usually take place in groups of 3 or 4 and last between 1 and 7 days, giving you a fun toe-dip in the ocean or the full adrenaline experience. Tours can be arranged by sauntering over to one of the kitesurfing shacks on Mui Ne beach and enquiring within.

How to get to Vietnam’s Golden Bridge

Vietnam Golden Bridge is one of a must in any Vietnam Holiday Packages.It says a lot about the newly built Golden Bridge in Da Nang, that international tourists are travelling from far and wide to witness this perfect blend of ground-breaking architecture and resplendent nature. What was designed to be a small part of the Sun World Ba Na Hills Theme Park, just outside of Da Nang, has exploded in popularity, inspired by viral videos of the gorgeous bridge and the ultimate Instagram-friendly pictures that it creates. As soon as they arrive, visitors to Vietnam are asking how to get to the Golden Bridge, and put it high up on their list of priorities in the country.The Golden Bridge is a 150-metre curved walkway hovering over the top of the descending mountains in the Ba Na Hills. The bridge is coated in gold and has two large, faux-stone hands that seemingly support it from underneath, pulling it out of the adjacent hills and cradling it before a magnificent, cloud-flecked view. Da Nang’s Golden Bridge may not be the most cultural or spiritual things to do in Vietnam, but it has quickly become of the coolest. This guide will help you get from many of Vietnam’s major hubs to the Golden Bridge in a variety of ways.How to get to the Golden Bridge from Da NangDa Nang is one of the best destination when you join in any Vietnam Tours besides the most popular destination of Vietnam - Halong Bay for taking a Halong Bay Cruises.The first hurdle, once in Da Nang, is to get to the Ba Na Hills that lie just outside it. You can expect about a 1-hour journey to get to the Golden Bridge from Da Nang city centre, requiring a drive, a cable car and a walk. Here’s a little step-by-step guide on how to get from Da Nang to the Golden Bridge.Step 1 – Get to the Ba Na FoothillsOnce you’re ready to head out, there are a number of options for getting to the bottom of the Ba Na Hills from Da Nang. There are several cable car stations that service the enormous area of the Ba Na Hills; the one you need to aim for is the Hoi An Station, which takes you directly to the Golden Bridge. The following options all cover the 25km between Da Nang and the Ba Na Hills, and should get you there in under an hour.Option 1 – TaxiAll of the taxis in Da Nang are now legally set at the same price per kilometre (though actual application of this is not total). Taxis are the most convenient option as this is a personalised service and can go at any time, but the price increase reflects that. By comparison, motorbike taxis remain unregulated, meaning that some bargaining must happen and quite a bit of trust must be placed before jumping on the back.Of the most reliable companies, Mai Linh, Dichungtaxi and Vinasun Taxi are among the best. You will see many of these on the streets of Da Nang, so either flag one down or request your hotel reception to arrange one on your behalf. Getting from Da Nang to the Golden Bridge is much more of a breeze this way, with a slightly quicker travel time but a heavily increased price. Expect to pay 300,000 – 350,000 VND ($13 - $15 USD) each way from the city centre in a normal 4-seater taxi, or around 400,000 – 450,000 VND ($17.25 – $19.50 USD) for a 6-seater SUV. Taxis will wait for you at the bottom of the hill and return you to your hotel afterwards if you can negotiate a higher price for them to do so. Minibuses can be booked for bigger groups, but bookings must be made prior to the date of travel and costs can vary more.Option 2 – Private Car or Self-DriveFor the most freedom on your way from Da Nang to the Golden Bridge, you can contact one of Da Nang’s many car rental companies and arrive at the Ba Na foothills in style. Alternatively, if you feel like travelling the Vietnamese way, you can rent a motorbike within the city and take the scenic drive yourself. Motorbike rental companies like Da Nang Bikes and Hidden Land Travel abound in Da Nang because of the popularity of taking a hog along the Hai Van Pass, so options are plentiful and great deals can certainly be found.Option 3 – Join a tourThe comfort and convenience of an organised daytrip to the Ba Na Hills from Da Nang makes this option a great one for families. These sorts of tours cover everything involved in the return trip to the Golden Bridge from Da Nang, including transport from your hotel to the Ba Na Hills, entrance fee, lunch and a guided tour of some of the Ba Na Hills’ most sought-after attractions, before the return to your hotel in the afternoon.  The tour will cost about ($60 to $75) with added extras around Da Nang varying between different tour options. Step 2 – Board the Cable Car Once arrived at the bottom of the Ba Na Hills, proceed through the entrance to purchase a ticket for the park. Tickets are 750,000 VND ($33 USD) for an adult and 600,000 VND ($26.50 USD) for a child between 1m and 1.3m in height. Children taller than these specifications are charged the same as adults and children shorter cost nothing to enter. Walk through to the Hoi An Station, where the longest cable car in the world awaits.Queue for the pod and step in when it arrives. The cable car ride from Da Nang to the Golden Bridge is about 17 minutes and arrives at the ‘Marseilles Station’. Along the way, its passes above gorgeous verdant scenery and provides excellent views down below to Da Nang’s My Khe Beach and the urban expanse of the city. Also along the way, it shatters many of the previously held Guinness World Records for cable cars, such as the greatest elevation change from floor to top and the greatest distance between two cable pylons.Step 3 – Head out onto the Bridge From the circlular arrival room of the Marseilles Station, you can exit directly onto the Golden Bridge and begin your walk along its 150 metres of wooden walkways, flanked by lavender and coated from the bottom and the handrails in a royal gold. After getting your pictures of the fabulous bridge, its magnificent hands and the uncompromised view of Da Nang with its beach and mountains from high above, you can take in the rest of the Ba Na Hills at your leisure. There are a multitude of activities for you to enjoy before you take a cable car back from any of the stations to the entrance of the park, and onwards to Da Nang via your return transport.How to get to the Golden Bridge from Hoi AnDa Nang and its southern neighbour of Hoi An are very well connected and a drive between the two only takes about half an hour. This means that getting from Hoi An to the Golden Bridge is only a slightly longer journey than going from Da Nang. The drive will take about 70 minutes if going by car and slightly longer by motorbike. From the bottom of the Ba Na Hills, take the cable car up to reach the Golden Bridge. Here are some of the options if coming from Hoi An:Option 1 – Shuttle BusFewer shuttle buses operate this route, but you will still be able to find a great deal at the travel agents around Hoi An. The increased distances mean that the shuttle bus will not only follow a different schedule, but will cost a little more. Expect around 200,000 to 250,000 VND ($8.50 to $10.90 USD) per person for a return trip from Hoi An to the Ba Na Hills.Option 2 – TaxiThe same reliable travel companies of Mai Linh, Dichungtaxi and Vinasun Taxi all operate from Hoi An as well as Da Nang. Prices are a little more expensive to reflect the extra mileage required in getting from the Ancient Town to the Ba Na Hills. Expect prices of about 575,000 to 725,000 VND ($22.80 to $31.50 USD) for a regular 4-seater that you can book through your hotel or by waving one down outside the pedestrianised Ancient Town.Option 3 – Private Car or Self-DriveAs in Da Nang, many car rental companies in Hoi An sell the services of their experienced drivers. Of these, Travelocity is one of the more trusted ones, while thrill-seekers looking to incorporate the beautiful coastal road connecting Hoi An and Da Nang can do so on a self-driven motorbike. Option 4 – Join a TourFor an all-inclusive and stress-free day trip from Hoi An to the Ba Na Hills, the premier option would be a guided tour. These are one-day tours that cover all transportation, entrance fees and meals, with a English language tour of all of the theme park’s attractions, including the Golden Bridge. From Hoi An, you can join our Vietnam Golden Bridge One Day Group Tour with the best-offered price.How to get to the Golden Bridge from HueThough they were segregated for thousands of years by the Truong Son mountains between them, modern engineering has now meant that crossing between Hue and Da Nang is an immensely popular thing to do and one of the top unmissable Vietnam experiences. This is entirely because of the beauty of the Hai Van Pass, a 21km road snaking through the mountains that livens up immensely any trip from Hue to the Golden Bridge in Da Nang.Option 1: Self-DriveMany Vietnam group tours feature the stunning drive of the Hai Van Pass in their itineraries, but taking the road under your own power is another experience altogether. This is one of the best ways to get to the Golden Bridge, as at least half an hour of the drive will be over the Hai Van Pass. Even before this, the road from Hue is flanked by many moments of beauty, created by lagoon-side roads and views of Bach Ma National Park and the Truong Son mountains.Given the beauty of the Hai Van Pass and the destinations that it leads to. On the way, a stop-off at the Golden Bridge is actively encouraged and helps to justify the 625,000 VND ($27.10 USD) price tag. Of course, there are various other sites between Hue and Hoi An, such as Bach Ma National Park, Tra Son Peninsula and the Marble Mountains, to make the trip worthwhile.Option 2: Private CarA professional and personal driver is another way to see both the beauty of the Hai Van Pass and the Golden Bridge. Car Rental companies provide the service for around 1,350,000 VND ($58.60 USD), meaning that you can sit back and enjoy the plethora of soaring mountains, hidden beaches, gushing waterfalls and the never-ending ocean on the way from Hue to the Golden Bridge.Option 3: TrainAt just 3.5 hours, a train trip between Hue and Da Nang is a perfectly viable option to visit Vietnam’s Golden Bridge. The Reunification Express runs five services daily for about $17 and all of which will cut across the beautiful Hai Van Pass, still affording you those fantastic views of Mother Nature at her best.How to get to the Golden Bridge from HanoiAlmost 800km separate Hanoi from Da Nang, meaning that anything other than a flight would be a fairly arduous journey. Flights between the two cities occur very frequently, which means that getting from Hanoi to the Golden Bridge can certainly be easier than Vietnam’s geography would suggest.Option 1: FlightEasily the most convenient and cheapest option to visit the Golden Bridge from Hanoi, flying via any of the budget airlines can see you land in Da Nang just one hour after leaving the capital. Jetstar and VietJet provide many daily services from Hanoi for as little as 700,000 VND ($30 USD), while flights on Vietnam Airlines can set you back about 1,380,000 VND (60 USD). Of course, prices vary a lot with flights so check them regularly, but they usually remain surprisingly low, meaning that you are never far from Vietnam’s Golden Bridge, anywhere in the country. A taxi from Da Nang airport will complete the journey in about half an hour.Option 2: Sleeper TrainThe Reunification Express service connects the entire country with a reasonably reliable network of trains. With a much longer travel time of around 16 hours, and a higher cost of about $62 for a soft bed in a 4-bed cabin, there aren’t many reasons to choose the train from Hanoi to the Golden Bridge over a flight, but some people enjoy the experience, not matter how long or pricey.How to get to the Golden Bridge from Ho Chi Minh CityHo Chi Minh City is further away from Vietnam’s Golden Bridge than Hanoi, but the two are still well-connected, such is the impressive state of Vietnam’s cross-country transportation system. True thrill-seekers can take a bike up from Ho Chi Minh City to the Golden Bridge, but with an itinerary plan of a couple of weeks, you would be forgiven for wanting to get there with a bit less of the effort, time and money requirements.Option 1: FlightAgain, a no-brainer when it comes to going to the Golden Bridge from Ho Chi Minh City is via plane. Costs are not much different than from Hanoi despite the extra 800km of flying, and prices can easily be found for as cheap as 1000,000 VND ($45 USD) to Da Nang for budget airlines and about double for Vietnam Airlines, the national carrier. The journey takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to Da Nang airport, from where a 30-minute taxi ride will take you straight to the base of the Ba Na Hills.Option 2: Sleeper TrainThe Reunification Express from the capital of the south takes about 17.5 hours and covers about 950km to Da Nang Railway Station. From here, the 25km journey via taxi to the bottom of the Ba Na Hills will take the overall cost to about 1,850,000 VND ($80 USD).When you are in Vietnam you may wish to join in more tours. Check it out at Vietnam Group Tours.