Spa & Massage in Mui Ne
No holiday is complete without a good long session relaxing in a spa, enjoying an oil or traditional massage and other luxurious treatments. There is a good range of spas in Mui Ne and Phan Thiet, both in hotels and in day spa centres.
The Sailing Club Lotus Day Spa is set in tropical gardens. Treatments may be enjoyed alfresco in the open-air hut or in the spa room. The spa is a part ofthe Sailing Club, a boutique beach resort at 24 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Ham Tien, Mui Ne.
Tel: 0252 3847 440.
Victoria Phan Thief Beach Resort & Spa offers a yariety of spa treatments in any of six payilions right next to the beach. The payilions reflect the romantic design ofthe entire resort, which is designed along the lines ofa traditional Vietnamese country house. It is nine km from Phan Thiet.
Tel: 0252 3813 000
Seahorse Resort & Spa has a long list of massage treatments and facilities including malePandanus Resort and female steam rooms and saunas, plus – for the ladies – facials, waxing, make up, hair styling, pedicure and manicure. The resort is at Km 11 , Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet.
Tel: 0252 3847 507
Kite Surfing in Mui Ne
Mui Ne Beach is a 10-mile-long stretch of white sand beach on Vietnam’s southeast coast. Once little more than a sleepy fishing village on the South China Sea, Mui Ne is now lined with resorts large and small. Many of these outfits cater to kite surfers and windsurfers drawn by the area’s steady seasonal winds and the huge swells generated by typhoons off the Philippines — attributes that led Lonely Planet to dub Mui Ne “the adrenaline capital of southern Vietnam.”
Kite Surfing Centers
Several of Mui Ne’s beachside hotels have wind sports centers offering equipment rentals and kite surfing lessons, and additional outfitters operate off the main drag. The better-established beach-based centers include Jibes (windsurf-vietnam.com), located next to Full Moon Resort; Windchimes (windsurfing-vietnam.com) at Saigon Mui Ne Resort; and Storm Kite Center (stormkiteboarding.com), which is associated with Mia Resort Mui Ne. All three outfits employed IKO-certified instructors at the time of publication, as well as “beach boys” who will set lines, pump kites and launch and catch them for clients. The beach boys appreciate a small tip at the end of the day.
Conditions
Kite surfers at Mui Ne enjoy side-offshore winds from the northeast during peak wind season, October through May, and from the southwest during the rest of the year. The surf is especially heavy from August to December — typhoon season in the western Pacific — and surf lines are typically closed-out and may be challenging to navigate for beginning kiters making their way out to smoother water. Ask the staff at your kite center for advice on the best way to time your launch between sets.
Getting There
Vietnamese authorities require U.S. citizens to present a valid passport with at least six months remaining, as well as a Vietnamese visa obtained before entry. You can obtain a tourist visa in person or by mail from a Vietnamese embassy office in the U.S., or in person in major cities abroad — Bangkok, for example. You will need to surrender your U.S. passport to the consulate until the visa application is approved. No airlines fly directly from the U.S. to Vietnam, but Vietnam Airlines offers flights to Ho Chi Minh City from several major U.S. airports with stops in cities such as Singapore and Taipei. Many Asian carriers offer flights from major Asian hubs as well. From Ho Chi Minh City, the easiest way to access Mui Ne is via open-tour bus; the national rail line does not pass through Mui Ne.
Considerations
Kite surfing is a high-risk sport that can result in injury or death. Potential problems include being dragged or slammed into obstacles by an overpowered kite, getting tangled in kite lines, or equipment failures due to improper rigging. Do not attempt to kite surf without first taking lessons from a qualified instructor. The nearest hospital to Mui Ne is in the city of Phan Thiet, about 20 minutes away.
Swimming in Mui Ne
Swim at one of several nearby beaches, or in swimming pools offered by most resorts. Please keep in mind that healthy beaches change seasonaly. Part of the year, Mui Ne Beach is steep and the water is deep. The rest of the time the beach is broad and shallow.
Half the year the current is east to west, and the other half of the year the current goes in the opposite direction. In November and December it cam be very windy and the waves are very rough in late afternoon. Swim with great caution at this time and beware of strong rip currents.
Also watch for careless kiteboarders who may not see you. It is best to swim in the morning or late afternoons to avoid them.
Jellyfish are mostly seasonal. When the water is calm, clear and warm, watch for them spawning in shallow water. Jellyfish tend to be an all-or-nothing phenomenon in Mui Ne.
White it is very beautiful, we really can not recommend swimming at Ganh Beach (Suoi Hong), behind Mui Ne Village proper, because the rip tides are too strong and unpredictable. There are many stories of local children drowning.
The yearly Le Fruit Triathlon is held in Mui Ne on June 1, and includes swimming, running and mountain biking.
Golf in Mui Ne
Now you can golf your way down the Ho Chi Minh Trail… but prepare to stop and spend a lot of time in Mui Ne and Phan Thiet, which are set to become the golf capitols of Vietnam.
Mui Ne and Phan Thiet are becoming a hot spot for golfers. The first international club to open, in 1996, was the 18-hole Ocean Dunes Golf Club.
It was designed by Nick Faldo who remarked, “lt has the feel and the playability of early Scottish seaside courses [but] in a tropical climate.” The club is at 1 Ton Duc Thang, Phan Thiet.
The second course is the Sea Links Golf Course which so far has nine out of a planned 18 holes. The course is part ofa large complex, under construction since 2006. When complete in 2009, this will include a five-star hotel, swimming pools, tennis courts, restaurants and entertainment facilities.
Tel: (+84-28) 39 30 4083