It must have been after midnight when we finally arrived in Mui Ne at our hostel. We were knackered and eager to get to bed before our big day that was coming up. The tour we booked meant we were getting picked up at 4am and would be dropped back to our hostel around 5pm. After a few hours of sleep, our alarms were buzzing and it was time to throw some clothes on, pack our bags and get out the door.

Our first stop was the White Sand Dunes which we hoped to get to for a 6am sunrise – luckily our driver put his foot on it so we didn’t miss out. WOW! It was so incredible and made the whole lack of sleep situation far better! The skies were beautiful, and the land looked incredible. There we were stood on the whitest of white sand dunes in the middle of Vietnam whilst the sun came up. I felt like I was in the middle of a desert. It was an incredible feeling and some of the best views I’ve ever seen. I’m a big believer of going on the early tours when not many people are around – you can always sleep, you can’t always see a beautiful sunrise!

After the sun had risen, the tourists began to flood in, and there went the tranquil views! So it was time to get noisy ourselves! Quad biking over the sand dunes!? YES! I love an adrenaline rush and quad biking over the sand dunes sounded like a great idea to me, even if there was a Vietnamese man sitting rather close behind me on the bike!

Adrenaline out the way and back in the car, we headed over to the Red Sand Dunes. Now I wasn’t convinced that we needed to go to both the white and the red sand dunes, but apparently we did. I’m glad we did! We went from the whitest glowing sand to this beautiful burnt orange coloured sand. I’ve never seen anything like it! We walked up and down the sand dunes and admired the views for miles. The sun was glaring now, our shoulders were out, and we were ready to sit back in the car for 40 minutes to reach our next location. (walking up & down sand dunes is very tiring!) Next stop: Fairy Stream.

Before we left for the trip, the Fairy Stream was probably what I was most excited for. I probably should have done my research first though. Yes, it was great, but it 100% was not what I expected! We were dropped of at a random little shop and quickly told to walk through and keep going until we got to the stream. After a few wrong turns, we found where we were meant to be heading and made it to the Fairy Stream.

The Fairy Stream was a beautiful, orangey, muddy, stream surrounded by the most incredible cliffs that had the most vibrant orange and cream colours and layers throughout. For me, the cliffs were the highlight of the Fairy Stream. On a side note, please be aware there is a small petting zoo (chained up monkeys and snakes) and ostrich riding. Please do NOT visit these cruel and disgusting places.

The final stop on the trip was to the fishing village. Here we saw hundreds of locals hard at work. The sea was full of fishing boats, and what looked like round bath tubs (I’m pretty sure they weren’t bath tubs). The beach was full of men and women gutting and preparing the fish to be sold. This is where you have the opportunity to buy some fresh fish to take home and cook! It was fascinating to see the way they worked. However, after not too long, the smell of fish became slightly overpowering and we had to make our move.

Before heading to Vietnam, I had never heard of Mui Ne. However it was one of the best places I visited in Vietnam with so much to see and do. Although this was a long day, it is one that I will always remember, and probably one of my favourite days in Vietnam. That being said, we did spend the whole of the next day relaxing and being lazy on the beach. It was a well deserved break!