Mui Ne has long been considered a Vietnamese resort for Russians. Yes, yes, this place is so popular among the residents of the Russian Federation that even shops, cafes and restaurants duplicate their signs and menus in Russian, and cinemas there even show Russian films. Don't believe it until you're convinced. :)
I came to Mui Ne from Dalat. What transport can be used to travel from one city to another, I will tell you further. So let's go! :)
Car
One of the ways to travel from Dalat to Mui Ne is by car. You can rent it over the Internet on one of the sites similar to. If you have not found current offers, then you can simply contact the reception of the hotel where you live and order a car right there.
A trip from Dalat to Mun will take four hours or more.
Although the cities are located at a distance of 155 km from each other, however, it will not be possible to accelerate well for several reasons:
- there are speed limits - 50 km / h;
- the roads are narrow, and, in most cases, you will have to drive along serpentine roads, there are many sharp turns.
By the way, if you decide to travel on your own by car (after all, you can rent a car directly with the driver), then you should first issue a temporary driver's license at the local department. Of course, most companies providing rental services often turn a blind eye to the lack of such rights. But, in the event of an accident or stop by a road inspector, there can be big problems. Therefore, it is better to follow the rules and contact the local driving department in advance. Among the documents that require, there must be the rights of the Russian Federation and international (the text is translated into Vietnamese), a photo, a completed application form and a passport.
Bus
If we talk about public transport, then there is only one option - the bus. There is no railway connection between these cities. I once thought that traveling by bus in Vietnam was not an option. For some reason, I associated them with a large crowd of people, stuffiness and the like. However, when I myself used the services of local carriers, I realized that I was wrong.
There are wonderful buses from Da Lat to Mui Ne from The Sihn Tourist.
They leave from the Dalat bus station, which is located far from the city center.
The easiest way to get there from the hotel is by taxi. There are several windows at the bus station where you can check information about available flights. In this case, it is better to write the question on a piece of paper, which will make life easier for you and the bus station employee. :)
By the way, some hotels also provide information on available flights to a particular city. Ask on occasion.
The duration of the trip is four hours. Not very long, but a TV set showing funny Vietnamese films or beautiful landscapes outside the window will help pass the time.
Prices
The cost of a bus ticket from Dalat to Mui Ne is 99,000 dong (4.5 US dollars).
Purchase
You can buy tickets as follows:
By the way, if the purchase was carried out online, then upon registration you receive only a voucher, which can then be exchanged for a ticket at the company's office. The Sihn Tourist's address is on the web page I linked above.
Outcome
I got to Mui Ne from Dalat by bus. Renting a car is not my option, I don't have a driver's license yet, so I had to use public transport.
I was satisfied. The bus, although it was full, was not stuffy in the cabin.
After the start, water was distributed free of charge. Good service.
The road from Phan Thiet to Da Lat
Despite the fact that we left Phan Thiet quite early, it seems that it was not even 9 in the morning, halfway to the city of Dalat we both were really exhausted. I must say that traveling to Vietnam is not an easy one. Perhaps this is the most difficult route we have ever had. Almost the entire road from Phan Thiet to Dalat was very difficult, as it ran along a mountain serpentine.
The road from Phan Thiet at number 28 is very interesting and so beautiful that it will take your breath away! Almost all of it is deserted, from time to time local motorcyclists rushed past us, who looked back at us in amazement.
We drove past small mountain villages located almost on the slopes of the mountains, around impenetrable forests, and on one side of the mountain, opposite from our road, we saw a narrow waterfall that originates from the top of the mountain! Unfortunately, there were no entrances to it, they photographed it from afar. There were no gas stations all the way along the road, it's good that we filled a full tank.
On the way, we stopped at a small town in the Di Linh mountains to take a break and eat. We took rice with meat and eggs for 25,000 dongs, had a snack and realized that the further path was simply impossible. Suddenly, such a wild fatigue came over me that I did not dare to continue my journey to Dalat. The husband admitted that he was also tired. Although we drove, at first glance, nothing at all - some 90 km! And there are only 77 km left. In reality, the mountain road is very tiring. To be honest, sometimes there are moments when it seems to me that traveling in Vietnam on a motorcycle is the last thing in my life, so I get tired. Usually such gloomy thoughts overtake me in the evening, when fatigue knocks down and there are no other thoughts, except how to get to bed quickly. The mountain town of Di Linh is very small, but very neat, well-groomed, with stunning nature around.
Based on our condition, we decided to spend the night at Di Linh, since there are more than enough Nha Ngi hotels in Vietnam. In the first one that came across, they bargained from 300,000 dongs to 250,000 per room. The room was just huge! Three-meter ceilings, TV, good Internet Wi Fi, hot water in the shower, refrigerator and, most importantly, that always captivates my husband - a balcony! To my surprise, why there is no air conditioning, the girl from the front desk replied that it is pretty cool here at night, so no air conditioner is needed. It turned out to be true! All night I wrapped myself in a plush blanket ...
In the morning we allowed ourselves to get up a little later than usual, since only 77 km of the way to Dalat remained. We didn’t know that troubles had become as if our eternal companions on a trip to Vietnam.
In this post I will share with you some information about my trip to Dalat. I will tell you where in Mui Ne you can buy bus tickets, show pictures from the trip, and I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.
How much to go from Mui Ne to Da Lat
There is a well-established transport connection between Mui Ne and Dalat, there are no problems to get to the resort on your own.
But it should be remembered that Dalat is located in the mountains. It is for this reason that the time spent on the passage of 160 kilometers is a little more than usual, the bus will go for four hours, or even more
Much depends on the weather conditions, if there is a heavy fog in the mountains, then not every driver will drive headlong. Expect about 4-5 hours, as on the way there will be a mandatory stop for a driver change and a light snack, the Vietnamese cannot do without food.
Pay attention to this map of Vietnam, on it I indicated the location of Dalat and the nearest seaside resorts.
If you are coming from the center of Mui Ne, then the distance does not exceed 160 kilometers, you should take into account the location of your hotel in both Mui Ne and Dalat.
The flat part of the trip does not stand out in any way, but when you see the mountains outside the window, then your trip will sparkle with new colors. :)
If you have free time, then I highly recommend going from Dalat to Nha Trang (follow the link for all the attractions of this resort), stay there for a couple of days and then return. There is a very high probability that in Nha Trang you will stay until the end of your vacation. How to return from Nha Trang to Mui Ne , read the link.
Where to go to Da Lat
There are several options for visiting Dalat, from extreme (ride a moped) to ordinary (as part of a group excursion).
In this part of the post I will tell you about the most popular ones, at the end of the post read about my experience of traveling from Mui Ne to Dalat by local buses.
Bus from Mui Ne to Da Lat
This is the most common, cheap and quite comfortable way to get to the highlands of Dalat.
The price of the trip is 500 rubles (follow the link to find out the exact ticket prices), while the Vietnamese flavor is guaranteed to you. On the specified site, you should enter the names of cities in the Latin alphabet Mui Ne (Mui Ne), Dalat (Dalat), Nha Trang (Nha Trang), etc.
I choose this particular option, but it has its drawbacks:
- It is highly discouraged to travel along the route on evening flights, as it can simply be dangerous;
- Buses to Da Lat come either to their offices or to Da Lat bus station , so you have to get to the city center on your own or by taxi;
- We'll have to go with the Vietnamese, and this is a very specific audience.
Transfer from Mui Ne to Da Lat
This is ideal for a small company that has nothing to do with money.
What could be more comfortable than a taxi ride? Probably just a trip in a rented car, but in Vietnam there is driving problems with our driver's licenses (follow the link for all the details).
The average cost of a transfer from a hotel in Mui Ne to a hotel in Dalat does not exceed $ 90, follow the link to find out the exact price. If a large company is traveling, then in terms of each there is a sane amount.
Here are the main benefits of a taxi ride:
- The travel time is slightly less than the bus time (about 3 hours), but do not forget about the traffic situation and the weather;
- You are driven from door to door, there are no additional costs for a taxi to / from the bus station;
- And best of all, you can make stops on demand for rest, selfies, snacks, etc.
My experience of a bus trip from Mui Ne to Da Lat
After wandering in the evening along the only street, Mui Ne, passing it all and returning back, I realized that it would be difficult for me to spend more than one day in this tourist ghetto.
Having dined at a nearby restaurant, a myriad of people were eaten here, having bought a bus ticket to the mountainous Dalat, he moved to his hotel, for the rise was coming early.
The next morning started with a misunderstanding, at the hotel reception they were supposed to leave me a lunch box with food (I had to eat at least something on the way), but there was no food prepared for me. What a slovenliness I thought and went to the hotel restaurant, in full confidence that they did not have time to inform the reception, but there is no chef and do not know that they had to do something for me.
I swear out loud, but I walk away, otherwise it may come out so that while I figure out the fate of the food I miss the bus. The bus is more valuable and I stomp on the road in front of the hotel. At the appointed time, no one is there, ok I wait patiently, 15 minutes pass - no one, I start to get nervous, 30 minutes pass - no one, I am no longer nervous.
I wait another 15 minutes and go to the room to continue the interrupted sleep, I go in, I start to take my backpack apart, there is a knock on the door, I open “mister, are you going to Dalat?”. This is interesting, but I quickly get ready and the bus hastily leaves the sleepy Mui Ne.
The bus went through Phan Thiet, then there was only one stop, something like for a snack and to go to the toilet and again on the road. The bus itself was slightly better than a regular regular bus in terms of comfort and a little worse than tourist minivans, but it performed its function regularly.
On the part of the road where the road turned from a flat to a mountain one, there was one more stop, but very strange. The driver stopped, turned off the engine and waited, what he was waiting for not to understand. About 5 minutes later, a bass, painted in the same way and of the same brand, parked on the opposite side of the road, the carriers changed places and the trip continued, everyone went where they came from and arrived.
Outside the window, the weather and landscape were changing very rapidly, after chatting with fellow travelers, I learned from an Englishman (who is not the first time going to Dalat
) disappointing weather forecast, rain and cool. Right behind me sat a couple of elderly Vietnamese with perfect English, the secret is simple, they have been living in California for 20 years already, so in their old age they decided to visit relatives, they fully confirmed the Englishman's forecast and noticed that I would not be very comfortable in shorts.
We enter the city and really the weather is straight to say St. Petersburg, gray gloomy sky, it is raining and cold. The bus took us all to some guest house and right at the exit, the cunning Vietnamese handed out business cards and a map of the city (on the other side of the map, naturally, advertising excursions).
Killed by the weather I go to see what the guesthouse is and what the prices are. For $ 5 they offered only a bed in the common compartment, for $ 15 a clean but small room, I obviously don't like it, I'm going to wander around the city.
One thing I can say, if you are going to Dalat, take warm clothes, they will come in handy here.
Arriving in Dalat, we first of all decided to immediately take tickets in Mui Ne. But it turned out to be not as easy as we thought. At the Dalat bus station, bus tickets could not be taken. Local bus companies in Mui Ne and Phan Thiet do not operate buses. We were told so at the box office, at least.
Fortunately, the office of Sinkafe (a well-known tourist transport company) was literally a few steps from the hotel where we rented a room. We bought tickets to Mui Ne in Sinkaf for 319 thousand dongs for one and calmed down.
A few days later, having enjoyed the mountain Dalat and slightly froze in it, we left for Mui Ne. The Dalat - Mui Ne road was very beautiful and very tiring. I understood why many companies preferred not to ride on it and not hit the buses. In places it seemed that we were not driving along the road, but along a forgotten mountain path. The bus was old and barely pulled up the hill, sometimes practically stopping, wheezing heavily and waddling over another pit.
The views outside the window slightly compensated for the difficult road, but when the sea finally appeared outside the window, we were terribly happy. End of the road! Instead of the declared 4 hours, we drove almost 6.
And now - Mui Ne! The Sinkafe office is located behind Boke, on the other side of the "Russian beach". We stumbled into the hotel across the street and were very surprised when they offered us a room for three for $ 20. We heard a lot about the fact that MUI ne is not at all the same, that he has become expensive and show-off, that there are only Russians here, and in general there is nothing to do.
Impressed by the "eyewitness accounts", we expected to pay at least 30 bucks a day for the hotel. But encouraged by the first named price, we went to look further. They did not stay in that hotel opposite the Sinkafe. The rooms were only on the first floor, and it smelled strongly of dampness.
We found housing quite quickly, on the first line by the sea, with a Vietnamese owner who lived right there a meter from the guesthouse. It was new, clean and bright, with large beds and a wide porch. All this beauty was worth $ 16.
The sea was very close. I can't say that the beach was super. But you need to understand that Mui Ne is not Phu Quoc, there are generally tense beaches here. Although we later found absolutely amazing beaches some distance from the center of Mui Ne. I will definitely write about them.
As for the prices in Mui Ne ... We got the cheapest vacation in Mui Ne. Food is inexpensive, there is little entertainment, and those excursions that are either free or very inexpensive. But a lot of time for bike rides to the dunes and distant beaches. And if you don't feel like going anywhere, you can just sit by the sea and watch the kiters. Or play billiards at a nearby cafe. Or sit on the porch of your guest house and chat with neighbors about anything and everything.
Mui Ne reminded me of Goa. Probably the atmosphere. No one is in a hurry or fussing around. Everyone is relaxed and smiling, happy with life, themselves, warmth and the sea. Good!
True, all this concerns the place where we lived. Behind Boke. Boke is the promenade in Mui Ne. Where the "Russian beach" is more bustle, like Russian tourists, prices are higher and in general somehow not so. We were comfortable in our rogue district, where mostly foreigners settled in budget guesthouses, where you could eat in local Vietnamese cafes, and in the evenings love each other on a completely empty beach.
Phan Thiet turned out to be a very nice and bright town with a wonderful beach and cozy cafes with delicious coffee.
The days in Mui Ne flew by very quickly. The first few days were completely calm and no waves. And then, to the delight of kiters and surfers, the windy weather set in. But we were already getting ready to go. Saigon again, and then - home, home ...
