–>Mui Ne Vietnam Cost of Living
–>Mui Ne Vietnam Livability Factors
–>Mui Ne Vietnam Best Area to Stay, Cheapest Flights
–>Mui Ne Vietnam Things You Must See
–>Phan Thiet City Vietnam Local Life Tour
–>Mui Ne Beach Bar Walking Tour
–>Digital Nomads in Mui Ne Life and Food
–>Mui Ne Facts and History
Best Retire Cheap in Paradise Locations in the World
This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the Youtube channel for VagabondBuddha.com. This is my Mui Ne Vietnam Retire Early Cheap Guide.
I made a plan to retire early and travel the world. Sometimes God laughs when you make plans.
I left the USA in early 2007 and began traveling.
My retirement assets crashed with the world economy a few months after I left the USA. I hoped things would recover quickly, but they did not.
You see, I am not old enough to collect my social security yet. So I had to make another plan. There are many people like me that want to retire early and travel the world.
So I had the idea to retire internationally in paradise with a low cost of living. I needed to find a place where the income stream from my portfolio would sustain a beautiful life, even before my social security starts.
So I spent a decade looking for my favorite retire cheap in paradise location. I have been to 65 countries so far.
Here is a link to my research. There are 50 reports detailing my favorite retire cheap in paradise locations, all over the world.
You can use my reports to help find your retirement dreams on a budget or learn how I continue to travel the world for less than it costs to stay home.
I am presently on a retirement tour of SE Asia including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
The last 60 days we have been in Vietnam. Today, we are asking the question. Is this Mui Ne Vietnam retire early cheap guide your best shot at retiring in paradise?
Mui Ne Cost of Living*
|
Expense |
Cost |
Low |
Medium |
High |
| Airbnb/per month rate |
$22.00 |
0 |
14 |
30 |
| 1 Br Apt w/lease |
$15.00 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
| Hostel/per day |
$7.00 |
30 |
3 |
0 |
| High-End Restaurant |
$12.00 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
| Neighborhood Restaurant |
$3.00 |
30 |
44 |
48 |
| Food Cart |
$1.50 |
30 |
12 |
4 |
| Subway/Train/Metro |
$0.75 |
20 |
26 |
8 |
| Bus |
$0.75 |
20 |
10 |
0 |
| Taxi |
$3.50 |
6 |
10 |
20 |
|
Total |
Per Month |
$408.00 |
$769.00 |
$982.00 |
|
Total |
Per Day |
$13.60 |
$25.63 |
$32.73 |
*The above table includes only rent, 2 meals per day, and local transportation. I usually have oatmeal for breakfast in my room, so I don’t count that. For a full understanding of what it would cost you to live here, visit Numbeo.com Mui Ne and add any items you spend money on that are not included in the above table, such as snacks, alcohol, entertainment, etc.
There are web pages where people rent apartments in Mui Ne by the month ranging from about $700 to $2500 USD. But those are tourist prices for people who stay for a month or so. Locals would be unwilling to pay these prices, and so should you if you decide to live here long term.
If you decide to move here for a few months or years, walk your favorite neighborhoods and look for rental signs. If you are frugal like me, you will be able to find a furnished 1 bedroom apartment in the range of $250 to $500 per month, depending on how “western” a home you need. Your utilities including Internet will be around $100 per month, averaged.
Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.
So use this Mui Ne Vietnam retire early cheap guide as a resource for your retirement primer.
Here is a free report explaining, “How The Cost of Living Table Works.”
Mui Ne Livability Factors
Walkability: Medium. In social media (including hotel booking websites), foreigners refer to Mui Ne as a long beach (dotted blue line above). However, Mui Ne is a small community (25,000 people) in the red circle to the right on the above Google Map. The locals understand this confusion so they don’t bother to correct people anymore. Most of the tourists hang out on the 11km beach they call Mui Ne, shown as the dotted blue line to the left of Mui Ne. The tourist beach (100 hotels, restaurants, shopping) takes 2 hours to walk, so it is not walkable. But the circle on the right (Mui Ne) and the circle on the left (Phan Thiet City) are walkable. The tourist beach is where tourists relax and the two cities are where locals live. The beach is not walkable but the two circled cities are walkable. Luckily there is a cheap local bus that goes along the tourist beach between the two cities (red circles), so you can check out everything for cheap. If you are in the tourist beach area, just flag the bus down as it approaches.
Internet: High. I have not had any issues with Internet in Vietnam including Youtube uploads, video streaming, or video calls over Skype or WhatsApp. Any limitations experienced have been when I have shared a router with too many other people. If you lived here, presumably you would have your own router.
Food: Medium. Vietnamese food is healthy and inexpensive. Tourist food is overpriced. You need to figure out where the locals are eating and eat there. We found an inexpensive place just across the street from where we were staying that was delicious, clean, and cheap (25k Dong, $1.20 USD per meal). It is listed as our favorite restaurant below.
Weather: High. The tourist season is from December through April when the average temperature in Mui Ne is 27C. The climate is hot and dry much of the year which creates the sand dunes that tourists love to visit. Annually, the highs range seasonally from 70F/21C in Dec to 81F/27C in March. Average lows (at night) range seasonally from 52F/11C in Jan to 63F/17C in Jun. The rainy season is April through October when at least some rain falls during 18 or more days of the month.
Things to Do: Low. Unless you are really into fishing, kite surfing, windsurfing, or beach lounging, there is not so much to do here.
Social Considerations: Medium. For Vietnamese speakers, the world is your oyster. Otherwise, complex communications will be limited to Expat relationships here. Many Vietnamese have learned tourist level English over the years but they are less likely to understand a prolific vocabulary, regional slang, or cultural nuances.
Expats: Low. There is definitely an Expat presence in Mui Ne but it doesn’t seem as complex or as organized as other places in Vietnam. There are 2000 members of Facebook Expat Mui Ne. This is a good place to go to ask specific questions that this report does not answer. Where do I find sauerkraut in Mui Ne?
Medical: Low. You will find medical care in Mui Ne, but you may need to fly to Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi in some cases for specialists and for more advanced medical and diagnostics and specialists. There is a fairly large general hospital with some advanced diagnostics and emergency medicine. Right-click the hospital link in your chrome browser to translate the page into English.
Visa Requirements: Low. Vietnam has been making changes to its visa programs over the last few years, and it is not as friendly to Americans and other preferred nations as it used to be. Currently, many passport holders are only being issued 30-day single-entry visas which must be obtained before entry to Vietnam. So, unless the rules become more favorable to foreigners, it might not be the best choice for long stays or retirement. But it is still one of my favorite countries in the world. Additionally, more changes are likely to be coming soon as the Tourism sector in Vietnam is still struggling in these post-pandemic times. At the time you read this, I suggest you view one of the websites that update the entry requirements every 30 days or so, or visit the Vietnam Embassy Webpage in your home country. I am usually already in SE Asia when I am going to Vietnam. The travel agents around SE Asia know how to get tourist visas with very little trouble. But if you decide you want to stay longer than a month or two, you should talk to a visa agent. I suggest using a visa agent recommended to you by ex-pats that are members of various Facebook Expat Groups.
Pollution: Medium. Phan Thiet is next door to Mui Ne. Phan Theit has a real-time air quality score today of moderate. Mui Ne is relatively new to the international tourist game and doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to the ocean water quality game. I did not find any data on ocean water quality testing here. However, some of the urban runoff appears suspect. In the non-tourist areas, there seems to be quite a bit of rubbish on the beach. Fish byproducts seem to be thrown directly into the ocean in the fish market areas.
Mui Ne Desirability Score: Low (for retirement). This is more of a place to visit and relax for a few weeks or months than a place to retire or live for extended periods. You might rate Mui Ne high if you are really into ocean fishing or wind sports such as kite surfing.
If you buy anything using below links to flights, tours, or accommodations, you pay nothing extra, but we will earn a small commission that helps pay for our travel expenses. So please use the links in this Mui Ne Vietnam retire early cheap guide.
Best Area to Stay in Mui Ne
Since I am suggesting Mui Ne for a temporary beach visit, I am suggesting accommodations with that purpose in mind.
Hostel: This is where young (at heart) partiers and kite surfers should stay if they can afford it. They also have private rooms in case dorms are not your thing.
High-End: This is where I would stay if money was burning a hole in my pocket and I wanted white sand Instagram photos to make my friends jealous.
Joe’s Garden and Cafe: This is where I would stay if you have a few dollars in your pocket and you want to relax with western food and music.
Where we stayed: Great price, great Internet, nice people, cool dog, breakfast included, near everything, but no sand beach in front and no pool. Walk east 500 meters to find the beach.
Mui Ne Cheapest Flights or Buses
We almost always get our cheapest flights on this Skyscanner. They have a web crawler that is constantly looking for the cheapest prices all over the world. As usual we found the cheapest flight to Vietnam on Skyscanner.
However, we took a sleeper bus from Dalat to Mui Ne which cost about $7 USD. It took about 5 hours. This Mui Ne Vietnam retire early cheap guide and our other resources will help ease you into early retirement.
If you would like to learn how to fire your boss and live in paradise for peanuts, grab a free copy of my EBook: How to Fire Your Boss and Travel The World
Mui Ne Vietnam Things You Must See
There are 4 things you must see in Mui Ne: Red Sand Dunes, White Sand Dunes, Fisherman Village, and Fairy Streams. The tour costs $5 USD and every hotel and tourist booth sells it.
If the above video of us taking the tour looks fun just ask anyone in Mui Ne how to sign up for the tour.
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Phan Thiet City Vietnam Local Life Tour
If the above video looks fun, you can take this tour for free. Just waive down the local bus anywhere along the beach road heading west towards Phan Thiet City. Jump off at the first stop on the below map. The bus was about $0.75 USD per person. Click ==>this link<== and then jump off and start walking when the bus gets near the first stop on the tour. Mui Ne (tourist beach) is a bit artificial in the sense that mostly only tourists actually live there.
Take this tour to see an example of everyday life where the locals live. This tour and this Mui Ne Vietnam retire early cheap guide should help you decide if Mui Ne is suitable for your retirement.
Mui Ne Beach Bar Walking Tour
If the above video looks fun, click ==>this link<== or the below Google Map and start walking.
- Coco’s Beach Resort
- Joe’s Cafe
- Jibe’s
- Dragon Beach Lounge
- Line Up Beach Bar
Digital Nomads Mui Ne Life and Food Experiences
Our Favorite Restaurant (Quán chay HOA SEN): $, Super cheap and very delicious Vegan food. 25k Dong ($1.15 USD).
Our Hotel Food (Tulip Restaurant): $$, Great veggie and meat options.
Joes’ Cafe: $$, Great atmosphere and food. Nice place to relax and listen to live music at night. You can also go to their pool during the day. Happy Hour 8am to 8pm, 2 for 1. Say hello to Joe for me. He is from the NE USA.
Grab a free copy of my Ebook. You will learn how to save and earn money living internationally.
Mui Ne Facts and History
Mui Ne and nearby Phan Thiet were traditionally just fishing villages, Until recently, they made most of their income in oil and gas and manufacturing fish sauce.
However, tourism is rapidly replacing the main sources of income. Since the 1990s, hundreds of hotels have sprung up in the area.
Over the last 5 years, sand erosion has become an issue on the east side of the Mui Ne (tourist beach) as sand is swept away.
Tourists come to see the beaches, the red and white sand dunes, the fishing villages, and the fairy streams. Mui Ne is also famous for winds that support the wind and kite surfers.
Europeans and Russians visit in the winter months and Australians visit in the summer months. Both escape their winter seasons, above and below the equator, respectively.
Before being assimilated into the Vietnamese culture, Cham people controlled this area from about 200 AD to 900 AD.
Before moving to Paris in the early 20th century, Ho Chi Minh taught at a school in Phan Thiet which we visit on our above Phan Thiet City Local Tour.
Tomorrow we head to Ho Chi Minh. Subscribe to read our retire cheap in Ho Chi Minh report.
To find out more about how we help people live or retire cheap in paradise, watch this video.
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This is Dan of Vagabond Buddha. Thank you for reading our Mui Ne Vietnam retire early cheap guide. The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?