Things to do in Phan Thiet
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Phan Thiet
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry and windy season, best beach weather and most reliable kite wind.
Optimum months, sunny and less humid, also peak prices and booking pressure.
Rainy season shoulder, short heavy afternoon showers and sunny mornings.
Domestic summer peak, big resorts fill with Vietnamese families on weekends.
Wettest and roughest months, flash floods, erosion and a often unswimmable sea.
What's on
- Tet late Jan to mid Feb, lunar
Lunar New Year, resorts fill, prices peak and many small restaurants close for days.
- Kate Festival Usually early October, on dates set by the Cham calendar
Cham ancestor festival starting at the Cham towers including Po Sah Inu.
- Nghinh Ong Festival 16th to 18th day of 8th lunar month, biennial
Whale and Quan Cong procession with dragon dances through central Phan Thiet.
- Cau Ngu Festival at Van Thuy Tu summer lunar months, often June
Fishermen festival at Van Thuy Tu temple praying for safe voyages and full nets.
- Mid-Autumn Festival 15th day of 8th lunar month, Sep or Oct
Huge handmade lantern procession through central Phan Thiet near Duc Thanh School.
Best things to do in Phan Thiet
White Sand Dunes
Vast white dunes above a lotus lake that feel like a desert beside the sea, best empty at sunrise.
Red Sand Dunes
Small rust coloured dunes on the main road that work as a free sunset stop with sled rental.
Fairy Stream
A barefoot wade through a shallow stream in a canyon of red and white sand cliffs.
Mui Ne Fishing Village
A working harbour of round basket boats and a dawn seafood market on the sand.
Po Sah Inu Cham Towers
Small ancient Cham brick towers on a hill with the best cheap panorama over the harbour.
Van Thuy Tu Temple
Fishermen temple holding a huge historic whale skeleton at the centre of whale worship.
Duc Thanh School
Preserved school where Ho Chi Minh taught in 1910, a small shady site in the city centre.
Phan Thiet Market
The city central market at its best before 9am, for fish, dragon fruit and stall breakfasts.
Where to stay in Phan Thiet
Ham Tien
first trip, all round base
Main resort strip with the widest beach at its western end and the densest restaurants.
Phu Hai
couples, golfers, quiet resort days
Quieter, greener western end with larger resorts above small coves.
Mui Ne
families, sunrise starts, backpackers
Fishing village end close to the dunes and Fairy Stream, a drive from Ham Tien dining.
Think twice about
- Far eastern Huynh Thuc Khang seawall stretch
Long sections have no beach, only a seawall, sandbags and a busy road, and feel dead at night.
- Tien Thanh and NovaWorld
Self contained resort city with almost nothing local to walk to without a car.
- Phan Thiet city centre as a beach base
A real working city with no resort beach, so a beach holiday based here means daily taxis.
Best restaurants in Phan Thiet
Vista Restaurant
The strip most reviewed restaurant, seafood and European dishes on a headland terrace.
Sandals Restaurant
Beachfront fine dining room long rated the best continental cooking on the strip.
El Latino
The long stay community Mexican, the best break from seafood in a seafood town.
Dong Vui Food Court
Open air court of independent kitchens where groups never have to compromise.
Vietnam Home Mui Ne
Family run Vietnamese cooking that residents and returning kiters actually use.
Joe's Cafe Muine
Cafe, bar and live music institution where a Ham Tien evening reliably works.
Bi Bo
Plastic table Bo Ke seafood at genuinely cheap prices if you confirm weight first.
Trinh Restaurant
Small family restaurant for home style Vietnamese seafood without the Bo Ke scrum.
Outdoor things to do in Phan Thiet
C2Sky Kitesurfing Vietnam
Long running kite school on the main teaching beach for full beginner courses in season.
Mui Ne Surf School
Local surf and SUP lessons at a tier below the kite schools, best on calm mornings.
Sea Links Golf Country Club
Hilly links style course across white dunes above the bay, defended by the sea wind.
PGA NovaWorld Phan Thiet
Two modern Greg Norman courses in one large stay and play complex south of the city.
Ta Cu Mountain
Forested mountain reached by cable car, with a pagoda and a huge reclining Buddha on top.
Ke Ga Lighthouse
French era granite lighthouse on a rocky island reached by a short boat ride off a quiet beach.
Hon Rom Beach
Wider and quieter beach beyond the village with real sand and local seafood stalls.
Best hotels in Phan Thiet
The Anam Mui Ne
Newest full luxury resort on the central strip with a real beach and top rated service.
Anantara Mui Ne Resort
Established five star resort with pool villas, a serious spa and direct beach frontage.
Sailing Club Resort Mui Ne
Boutique garden resort, formerly Mia, with a top beach bar and dining room.
Bamboo Village Beach Resort & Spa
Lush garden resort on the wide western beach and the safest mid range first trip pick.
The Cliff Resort & Residences
Headland resort with sea view residences, a clifftop pool and the Vista restaurant.
Victoria Phan Thiet Beach Resort & Spa
Calm colonial style bungalow resort on its own stretch of Phu Hai beach.
Pandanus Resort
Large Cham inspired garden resort on a wide beach near the fishing harbour.
Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne
Huge family resort with five pools, a lazy river, slides and a kids club.
Is Phan Thiet expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₫900,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₫2,200,000 a person |
| Splurge | ₫6,500,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- C2Sky Kitesurfing Vietnam: a few days ahead
- Mui Ne Surf School: a few days ahead
- Sea Links Golf Country Club: a few days ahead
- PGA NovaWorld Phan Thiet: weeks ahead
- Ta Cu Mountain: a few days ahead
- The Anam Mui Ne: weeks ahead
- Anantara Mui Ne Resort: weeks ahead
- Sailing Club Resort Mui Ne: weeks ahead
- Resorts sell out weeks ahead for late December to February, Tet and Vietnamese holidays.
- Kite lessons need days ahead in peak season and golf tee times days to weeks ahead.
Is Phan Thiet safe?
- Police on the dunes roads stop foreign motorbike riders without a properly endorsed licence.
- Rough windy sea with dumping shore break and no lifeguard culture, swim in the morning.
- Emergency numbers are 113 for police and 115 for ambulance.
Phan Thiet travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Bo Ke seafood priced per 100 grams quoted as if per kilo, with unconfirmed weights.
- White Dunes ATV rides presented as compulsory when walking is allowed.
- Eastern Ham Tien hotels selling a private beach where erosion left a seawall.
Getting around Phan Thiet: public transport and more
- Expressway buses and limousine vans from Ho Chi Minh City take about four hours and drop on the Ham Tien strip.
- Grab car and bike is the default inside the strip, with metered Mai Linh and Vinasun taxis as fallback.
- SPT trains run Saigon to Phan Thiet station, then about 30 minutes by taxi or bus to Mui Ne.
Who Phan Thiet suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Phan Thiet your trip
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