Mui Ne Activities

Golf

Together, Mui Ne and Phan Thiet are set to become the new golf capitol of Vietnam.

• The Docking Bar Mini Golf
  7 Nguyen Dinh Chieu
  (062) 384-7589
  www.forestrestaurant.com
  Stylish new mini golf course in a natural setting made to resemble terraced rice paddies surrounded by minority stilt houses with thatched rooves. The overal impression is that you are not playing a kid's game, but rather miniaturized version of professional golf.
• Ocean Dunes Golf Club
  1 Ton Duc Thang
  (062) 382-3366
  This renowned 6725-yard, par 72 links course was designed by Nick Faldo, and offers 18 challenging holes of golf beside Doi Duong Beach and the Novotel Hotel. The course is set in a natural landscape where local wildlife is still present.
• Sea Links Phan Thiet Golf Course
  (062) 374-1741
  www.sealinksvietnam.com
  The first 9 of 18 planned holes of this Links are now open. The 270-degree views of the coast from the dunes above Mui Ne are spectacular. Villas, shopping center, hotel and golf club are also under development.
• See also Binh Thuan Sports

Cooking Classes

There's a new cooking school located at Sunshine Beach behind C2Sky Kitesurfing. It's the first to open in Mui Ne, and the only one that I'm aware of in Vietnam to be located right on the beach! Learn to cook Mui Ne banh xeo (Vietnamese pancakes), hot rice-paper springrolls, seafood salad, sauces and more.

Learn the secrets to preparing a great Vietnamese dish on this half-day cooking tour in Mui Ne. Your Mui Ne cooking tour will begin with a quick walk through the popular Ham Tien market, where you will learn more about the various ingredients including vegetables, fruits and Vietnamese herbs and spices that go into a Vietnamese dish. It's then onto the Mui Ne cooking school center- A Taste of Vietnam for your hand's on cooking lesson followed by a chance to try your new creation. Vietnamese food is healthy, simple to cook and downright delicious. This half day cooking tour in Mui Ne will provide you with a hands-on lesson on how to shop for, cook and eat authentic Vietnamese food.

Your Mui Ne cooking class will be held in a beautiful beach garden, where you can enjoy your cooking and eat your dishes with a refreshing sea breeze.

The Vietnamese cooking class is held in small groups (2 to 10 people) to enhance interactivity with the head chef. You will have one cooking station per person.

Note! Mui Ne Cooking school will be closed from: 1st May until 15th of September 2010. Open for bookings on the 16th September 2010! You can still make booking confirmations for after the 16th of September via email (atasteofvietnam@gmail.com)!

Tour Highlights:

• Learn the secrets of Vietnamese cuisine
• Cooking class at A Taste of Vietnam- Mui Ne Cooking School.
• Tour the Ham Tien Market and learn about Vietnamese ingredients before you start your cooking class
• Enjoy a scrumptious Vietnamese lunch

Tour and Pricing Options: please contact Liz at 091.665.5241 or email: atasteofvietnam@gmail.com

Departure Time:

• Option 1 with market tour : 9:00am
• Option 2 without market tour: 13:30 pm
• Duration: 3,5 hours (approx.)
• Confirmation for this tour will be received at time of booking

Inclusions:

• English speaking Vietnamese guide
• Vietnamese cooking class
• Step-by-step recipe booklet to take home
• Vietnamese dishes to eat with Vietnamese fruit drink

Spa/Salon

Several resorts offer great spa facilities, and independant spas are opening all the time.

• Our Pick: Forester Spa
  65 A Nguyen Dinh Chieu
  (062) 374-1317
  www.forestrestaurant.com.
  Aromatherapy, Massage, scrubs and baths. Highly trained masseuses. Beautiful jungle tree house atmosphere. Best value.
• Our Pick: Tam Spa
  (062) 374-1114
  9A Nguyen Dinh Chieu
  Brought to you by the owners of the popular Forester Spa, Tom provides all the basic treatements: massage, wraps, exfoliations, baths, and great relaxation.
• Seahorse Spa
  Seahorse Resort
  Km 11, Nguyen Dinh Chieu
  (062) 384-7507
  www.seahorseresortvn.com.
  Massage, exfoliation and facial treatments, oil massage for sunburn.
• Victoria Phan Thiet Beach Resort & Spa
  Km 9, Phu Hai
  (062) 381-3000
  www.victoriahotels-asia.com.
  Full range of massage treatments. Very private.
• Binh Thuan Province Association of the Blind
  Blind Massage Center
  56/1 Huynh Thuc Khang, Ham Tien
  www.hoinguoimubinhthuan.org
  Opening in late November.

• My Nga Beauty Salon
  Located in the Center of Phan Thiet. My Nga Beauty Salon delivers a pallet of beauty services, including: Skin Care, Cosmetics Massage, Spa, and Tattoo.
• Novotel Ocean Dunes Spa
  1A Ton Duc Thang
  (062) 382-2393
  novpht@hcm.vnn.vn.
  Large selection of massage treatments in a very private setting. Rooms smell amazing.
• Binh Thuan Province Association of the Blind
  Blind Massage Center
  32 Hai Thuong Lan Ong, Phan Thiet
  www.hoinguoimubinhthuan.org

Hiking/Running

Mui Ne's gorgeous tropical beaches and the nearby White Sand Dunes all offer great hiking opportunities.

The yearly Le Fruit Triathlon is held in Mui Ne on June 1, and includes swimming, running and mountain biking.

Swimming

Swim at one of several nearby beaches, or in swimming pools offered by most resorts. Please keep in mind that healthy beaches change seasonaly. Part of the year, Mui Ne Beach is steep and the water is deep. The rest of the time the beach is broad and shallow.

Half the year the current is east to west, and the other half of the year the current goes in the opposite direction. In November and December it cam be very windy and the waves are very rough in late afternoon. Swim with great caution at this time and beware of strong rip currents.

Also watch for careless kiteboarders who may not see you. It is best to swim in the morning or late afternoons to avoid them.

Jellyfish are mostly seasonal. When the water is calm, clear and warm, watch for them spawning in shallow water. Jellyfish tend to be an all-or-nothing phenomenon in Mui Ne.

White it is very beautiful, we really can not recommend swimming at Ganh Beach (Suoi Hong), behind Mui Ne Village proper, because the rip tides are too strong and unpredictable. There are many stories of local children drowning.

The yearly Le Fruit Triathlon is held in Mui Ne on June 1, and includes swimming, running and mountain biking.

Scuba Diving and Snorkeling

The Best diving in Binh Thuan Province (or all of Vietnam for that matter) is at Ca Na Beach, 2.5hrs northwest of Mui Ne. The water is clear, the coral reefs are pristine, and the whole area as bursting with marine life. One thing Ca Na is lacking is very many tourists and the resorts to contain them. Vietnam Scuba has a very "for Koreans, by Koreans" diving establishment there. The website has some English, but we have not confirmed if anyone on staff speaks English fluently. Click here to read more about the scuba diving potentials at Ca Na Beach and the Hon Cau-Vinh Hao Proposed Marine Protected Area. Though all but undiscovered, Phu Quy Island Proposed Marine Protected Area also has a potential for scuba diving and snorkeling in coral reefs (but beware of sharks!).

From time to time, shipwrecks are discovered and salvaged off the coast of Binh Thuan Province. In the summer of 2004, three tonnes of coins and a cannon were discovered off Ham Tan District. Divers salvaged the coins from an ancient ship after finding a string of old shekels. Both the coins and the cannon were dated from 1822, during Minh Mang's reign, according to officials in Binh Thuan. The most notable shipwreck salvage is know as the "Binh Thuan Shipwreck" (full article coming soon).

Kiteboarding, Windsurfing & Surfing

Mui Ne Beach offers the best place in Vietnam or Cambodia for Kiteboarding and Windsurfing. Mui Ne Beach's hottest new activity now is kitesurfing, and our beach is shaping up to be the kiteboarding center of S.E. Asia. We have waves year-round and the best weather in all of S.E. Asia (and the lowest rainfall in all of Vietnam). Every day is a perfect day for kiteboarding in Mui Ne. Visit our Mui Ne Kiteboarding page for more.

Mui Ne Night Life

The Mui Ne nightlife has picked up in recent years. For a selection of bars, cafes, breweries, pubs, an ecasino and dance clubs, click here.

Shopping

Shopping in Mui Ne has vastly improved over the last few years. You can now find all the topical souvenirs available elsewhere in Vietnam, and a few local specialties too. Click here for more on shopping.

Mui Ne Cultural Arts

• Forest Restaurant (Cham)

The forest restaurant has a variety of unique cultural displays and demonstrations, including a Cham ceramic weaving demonstration, and one of the country's only examples of the nearly-extinct mountain "bamboo music". Cham ceramics and textiles are often on display, and live Cham music and dance shows are frequent.

Binh Thuan Province Festivals

Local officials estimate there are as many as 50 folk festivals celebrated within the Province. Each is associated with a tradition and belief of local ethnic communities. Many are associated with a specific ethnic group, and many are only celebrated locally. Visit our Binh Thuan Festivals page for more information.

Further Reading

• Binh Thuan Sports