What to Do in Mui Ne Between Kite Sessions: A Local's Guide

Hi everyone — Yuri Malykh here, a regular on Mui Ne kite winters and the travel lead at K1.

This is a short, practical guide to what is worth doing in Mui Ne between kite sessions. No padded introductions and no sighing over empty attractions — just the main spots and the small secret ones you only find out about after living here a couple of seasons.

What to see

Po Shanu Cham Towers

A pair of ancient ruins on a hill just outside Mui Ne. Unless you are seriously into history they are unlikely to blow you away, but you can take good photographs against genuinely old stonework. They come with a bonus, though: walk a little further along the hill and you reach an excellent viewpoint over the sea and Phan Thiet.

Entry: 20,000 VND (about $0.80).

The Fairy Stream

An absolute classic, especially if you have come to Vietnam with children. The Fairy Stream is a small river that has spent a few hundred years carving a canyon through red sand, producing some genuinely strange formations.

The whole point is walking barefoot up the streambed and enjoying the scenery. There are cafés along the way where you can sit in the shade with a Vietnamese coffee, which hits harder than any energy drink.

The most persistent explorers get a reward at the very end — a small waterfall.

Come early or late in the day: there is little shade and walking it in the midday heat is no fun at all.

Entry: officially 15,000 VND (about $0.60). Arrive early enough and you can walk in free.

The fishing harbour viewpoint

Another must-see that the local authorities keep improving year after year. The view over the boats is good at any hour, but the action is in the morning.

Get there around 6 a.m. and you can walk down the steps and watch the fresh catch being traded. Buying, though, is not recommended — even experienced visitors get short-changed and short-weighed.

The main drawback is the state of the road, which as of 2026 is still poor. Go by car taxi rather than scooter.

Chùa Thiện Quang Buddhist temple

An extremely peaceful place, and for some reason ignored by tourists. The monastery recently finished two handsome towers flanking a substantial statue of Lady Buddha (Guanyin).

You can wander in complete calm, climb to the top of the main building and look out over palm plantations and the surrounding houses. If you arrive dressed inappropriately for a temple, the staff will hand you a robe that looks like something out of Harry Potter. Very photogenic.

Free entry.

Ke Ga lighthouse and cape

A beautiful lighthouse built in 1899, about an hour's drive from Mui Ne. It stands on an island you can walk to at low tide; when the water is high, local boatmen will take you across. Negotiate with a smile and it costs very little.

On the island you can walk up to the lighthouse and scramble down the steep paths to the rocks. Unofficial tours to the top are occasionally offered for an extra fee, but that is the exception rather than the rule and the asking price is usually steep. It is a lovely spot even without going up.

The red sand dunes

A classic Mui Ne stop, and a minute's drive from our station. A small desert of vivid sand with a good view of the sea. The local ladies will descend on you immediately trying to rent you a sheet of plastic to slide down on — take one or don't. Entry is officially free, so ignore anyone who tells you otherwise.

Best visited in the morning on the way to kiting. Exploring dunes in full heat, or even in the evening, is hard work.

Ta Cu mountain and the Reclining Buddha

In the same direction as the Ke Ga lighthouse, and often combined with it into one long day trip. There is a lot here: a mountain temple, a cluster of religious buildings and what was once the largest reclining Buddha statue in Vietnam.

You can go up by cable car for an extra fee, or hike the jungle trail — roughly 40–50 minutes for someone in reasonable shape.

There is a small easter egg most visitors miss: the Tiger Cave. Calling it epic would be an overstatement, but it is worth a look. To find it: from the reclining Buddha, head right across the rocks — the path is usually visible from wear. Watch your footing; they are rocks, after all. Down by the ticket office there is a good local café serving rice at a sensible price.

• Entry: 20,000 VND (about $0.80)
• Cable car, return: 250,000 VND (about $9.50)

Less famous places

Miếu Bà Vàng shrine and the cape walk

Ten minutes by scooter from our kite station is a spot that, happily, is not a mass attraction and has therefore kept its atmosphere.

Miếu Bà Vàng is a small shrine on a cliff overlooking the waves of Malibu beach and a little island. The last 200 metres of road are rough but passable. After visiting the shrine itself, leave your bike at the parking area and walk out along the cape. There are dozens of places to simply sit on a rock and watch the waves break while fishing boats pass in the distance.

Free entry.

The viewpoints by the wind turbines

The wind farm was only built a few years ago, but young Vietnamese visitors from other cities adopted it as an attraction immediately. Wind turbines are genuinely imposing objects up close, and standing under the blades is worth doing once.

There are good sea views here too. If you are short on time this is the one to skip, but with a couple of spare hours it is worth the ride — if only to see how different everyday local life is from the tourist strip.

Small cafés sometimes operate near the turbines, serving coffee and the famous kumquat tea.

Where to eat in Mui Ne

Khue 259 Pho Ga Bo

I will skip the restaurants that have marketed themselves heavily to tourists — you have probably heard of them already, and you likely know the Bo Ke seafood strip too.

What is worth mentioning are the couple of places that do no tourist marketing at all but that every local knows.

The best pho bo in the village, and open 24 hours.

Khue 259 Pho Ga Bo — the number is the street address (people usually search for "Pho 259"), but any taxi driver knows it. It is a round-the-clock pho joint that is almost never empty. You will find border guards eating breakfast by the platoon and fashionably dressed teenagers filming TikToks over a bowl of soup.

The soup is genuinely good. Beef or chicken broth, 40,000–50,000 VND (about $1.60–2.00). You can add breadsticks, two kinds of meat and, if you are feeling adventurous, chicken feet.

Breakfast at the market

There is no better place to try a large number of authentic Vietnamese dishes and snacks in one go than Ham Tien central market, early in the morning.

Most of the vendors are cooking exclusively for locals. Just turning up and watching is interesting in itself. Arrive around 7 a.m. — by 10 most stalls are packing up, and by midday only the tourist-facing fruit and souvenir sellers remain.

The oyster garage (XaLa Quan)

My biggest secret. Almost no tourists know this place, which is probably the only reason you can still order fresh oysters here at 5,000 VND each (about $0.20). There are no tables — it is takeaway — but the owner always provides utensils and sauces. Grab oysters and clams and take them to the beach, your hotel or the wind-turbine viewpoint for a ridiculously cheap dinner.

I was sceptical for a long time: the place opens only at 5 p.m. and the owner tips a mound of oysters onto an electric grill right by the road. I did not risk it — until I noticed how constantly locals pulled in for orders. I tried the grilled ones first, then risked the raw. Around fifteen orders in, all fine. To be safe, order them cooked: baked in cheese or with onion. If you want local oysters without Moscow prices, this is the place.

Best sunset spots in 2026

Finally, the sunset shortlist. These change — places close, new ones get built.

• Coconut ice cream on plastic stools right by the water at Sea Links beach — look for Cafe Kem Teen. Any of the neighbouring cafés works too.
• A view with a cocktail: the roof of the Mana hotel. The cocktails are average and the prices are not, but the view earns it.
• Coastal character: the Miếu Bà Vàng cape mentioned above. You can settle onto the rocks right at the tip — just don't get lost on the way back.
• Wine and elevation: Cargo Remote. Set back from the sea, so the view takes in both the palm groves and the water. The best seats are directly above the bar and there are few of them, so arrive early. Prices are slightly above the Mui Ne average, but so is the quality.
• The fishing promenade, near Kingston Hut: finished in 2024 and excellent at sunset. Sit on the concrete railing or pick a place to your taste. It is only 1,200 m long, so walking the whole thing is easy. You will also see fishing life up close — nets and tackle being repaired right next to the cafés.

Afterword

I hope this kiter's-eye view of the local sights makes your visit more interesting. There is plenty to see beyond kitesurfing in Mui Ne — the trick is not being afraid to turn off the main road into the fishing backstreets, which is where the real character hides.

Have a great trip and great sessions. See you at the best surf station in Mui Ne — K1.

About the author — Yuri Malykh, honorary rider at our station and a professional travel blogger quoted by leading Russian media. He has written for the Aviasales blog and appeared on Artemy Lebedev's podcast. More Vietnam travel guides are on his English-language site, Guidesandstories.com.