Mui Ne - A Merry Beachy Christmas

After the bustling megacity of Saigon, it was time to hit Mui Ne on the coast and make a strange dream come true: spending a Christmas on a beach. While Mui Ne does not have the nicest beaches in the world (in fact, they are quite average), it still counts in my view.

In Mui Ne, I also met up with Amy, who I met in Antigua (Guatemala) last year and with whom I will be traveling through Vietnam for the next 5 weeks.

On our first day, we did what everyone comes to Mui Ne to do: visiting the big sand dunes by jeep and ATV - yes, Vietnam has big sand dunes. We were picked up in a light blue jeep, but first driven to a little stream that we walked in followed by a little photo session on the jeep - literally.

Afterwards, it was time to see the dunes and, oh my, they did not disappoint. We hopped on an ATV and raced through the sand dunes up to the highest point for a stunning view. We spent a bit of time there to soak up the atmosphere and views, before hopping back on the ATV and racing down the sand dunes - and jeeeeez... it felt like a rollercoaster as one sand dune almost felt like a vertical drop. It was pure fun!

The next day it was Christmas Eve. We spent most of our day lazing on the beach, before heading back, getting ready and driving to a beach club. Once arrived, we stumbled into an open birthday party, with free food, free cake, free shots and a big party. Maybe not the calm Christmas atmosphere we were expecting, but we had a great time partying on Christmas Eve - it is Jesus' birthday after all, so might as well celebrate with a bang.

On Christmas Day, we went back to the same beach club and enjoyed the day in 34 degrees sun with blue skies, warm waters and a beautiful sunset.

We spent a total of three days in Mui Ne, which might be 1-2 day too long, as there is not a lot to do (apart from the dunes), but Christmas on a beach was definitely an experience I will never forget.Read more