Getting to Mui Ne from Saigon
There are several ways to get from Saigon to Mui Ne
1) Taking a Coach - This is the cheapest and most direct way but it would be a very long journey, typically 5 - 7 hours depending on the traffic. There would be a toilet break in between, but if you hate dirty toilets, then it would quite torturous. The only good thing is that they send you straight to your hotel in Mui Ne, so it saves cost from the different mode of transport
2) Taking a train from Saigon Train Station to Phan Thiet Train Station. This is the nearest train station to Mui Ne, it is about 20km, and Taxi fare would be around 200,000VND. Next Nearest station from Mui Ne is Bin Thuan, but it is much further from Mui Ne, 40km, so taxi fare would be more expensive as well. However, there is only 1 train from Saigon to Phan Thiet daily and it is very very early at 650am. Quite a tiring journey where you have to get up early. At least the train is comfortable and only takes 4 hours.
Buying train tickets - Online via agent, which they would send it straight to the hotel. Most convenient option as the train website is only in Vietnamese and it is quite hard for foreigners to buy. Another option is to travel to the train station to buy, but that would depends on the time and cost to travel one day in advance to purchase it. For me, it cost at least 20SGD for return taxi and I would rather pay abit more for an agent.
3) Taking a taxi/Mini Van - most expensive option, which comes up to about 70-100USD. Most convenient option and flexible timing. It would be worth it only when you have a few friends to share with.
Saigon train Station
The train station is very simple and only a few gates and trains. Not as complicated as those in big european cities. Not many people speak english so it is quite hard to communicated and very frustrating at times.
After the 4 hours train ride, we have arrived at Phan Thiet Station. It is also a very simple station - just a ticket office, some chairs and a stall selling snacks and drinks.
Taxi are plenty at train arrival timings , so there's no worries of getting a taxi to the hotel in Mui Ne. I purchased only a one way ticket from the Train agent as it is rather expensive. Bought the return ticket from the ticket office which is much cheaper. ID is needed, so it took quite some time to get the ticket. By the time we have finished purchasing the tickets, we were the last few people at the train station, and were treated like VIPs by the Taxi Coordinator. He offered to carry the luggages, so was quite impressed when it was like a chaos 10 minutes ago.
Accomodation: The Cliff Resort and Spa
Paid $222 for 2 nights at one of the most basic rooms, which is about $55/person/day. It's one of the more upscale resorts in Mui Ne. Couldn't really tell from the pictures on the booking website, but when I arrived, I was quite impressed with the hotel exterior and welcome service.
Most taxi drivers will know this "the lif" which they can't pronounce it correctly. After awhile, I just got used to it and wasn't so afraid that they didn't know the place.
Beautiful view from the room, with partial Sea View!
Welcome drinks and towels
The view is awesome from the restaurant, and I'm glad I chose this hotel!
The pool was one of my fave hangout place. The weather was so hot I just decided to spend the day dipping in the pool. This is my favorite part of the pool - shaded, drinks available and the latest hit musics.
Dinner at the restaurant. Price is quite reasonable and the food is good! Ordered the pan fried pork chop with fish sauce and I love the sauce. It's one of the local produce of Mui Ne so I decided to give it a try - sweet and salty, quite yummy! Relaxing and not too cluttered except for the noise from the gala dinner.
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