Mui Ne is famous for its enormous red and white sand dunes. The white dunes are the more impressive, the near-constant oceanic winds sculpting the sands into wonderful Saharaesque formations. But as this is Vietnam (not deepest Mali) there's little chance of experiencing the silence of the desert.
Prepare yourself for the hard-sell as children press you to hire a plastic sledge to ride the dunes. Unless you're supermodel-light, it can be tricky to travel for more than a few meters this way.
Quad bikes and dune buggies also destroy the peace. Bizarrely, ostrich riding (from 100,000d) is offered as an activity, but we don’t recommend it due to animal cruelty concerns. Expect some litter too; periodically there's a clean-up, but the tide of plastic keeps returning.
You’ll need a 4WD to explore the dunes properly, but be careful to agree on an itinerary for the tour, preferably in writing. We hear complaints, particularly about ‘sunset tours’ that cut short with the sun high in the sky.
