Cù Mi Beach

Cù Mi Beach lies along the coast of Tân Thắng commune, Hàm Tân district, in southern Bình Thuận, in the gap between the heavily developed Mũi Né resort corridor to the north and the newer development zone around Hồ Tràm and Bình Châu to the south. The beach serves primarily as a working fishing community shoreline - colorful wooden boats are hauled up on the sand, nets are spread for drying, and the rhythms of the beach are determined by tides and fishing schedules rather than tourist seasons.

The landscape behind the beach is distinctive: rolling sand dunes interspersed with grassy wetland ponds, cattle grazing lazily on the sunlit hills, and sparse dương (casuarina) trees that, despite their thin coverage, cast surprisingly wide, useful patches of shade thanks to their broad canopies.

Development is minimal: a scattering of small food stalls sell basics like swim rings, water, and grilled seafood, alongside a few small guesthouses and restaurants in the nearby town, but there's no resort infrastructure on the beachfront itself. Tourist activity is minimal here - it's mostly local residents who come to swim, early morning and late afternoon, rather than a beach that sees organised tourism.

The sand is a mix of pale and golden tones, the water reasonably clear in the dry season, and the backdrop of low coastal hills adds definition to what is otherwise a flat coastline.

Cù Mi is on Highway 55, approximately 45-50km south of Phan Thiết and roughly 130-135km east of Ho Chi Minh City via Highway 1A to La Gi then Highway 55 south along the coast. By motorbike from HCMC the journey takes about 2.5-3 hours. From Mũi Né, Highway 55 south covers the distance in about 1.5 hours along the coast - this is the more scenic approach.

The final approach is distinctive and easy to miss: turn off Highway 55 onto the concrete road at Cù Mi parish (xứ đạo Cù Mi) in Tân Thắng commune, follow it for just under a kilometre, then park and walk a short village path before crossing a narrow wooden plank footbridge (just over a metre wide) to reach the beach. La Gi town (around 15-20km away) is the nearest urban centre with fuel stations, ATMs, and a wider range of accommodation.

A working beach with a genuine fishing community character - boats, nets, the smell of the sea and dried fish, local families using the beach in the late afternoon. The water is swimmable in the dry season. The beach stretches for several kilometers and the northern sections away from the boat-launch area are cleaner and quieter.

The dunes and wetland ponds just behind the beach are worth a short wander in their own right, and the scattered casuarina trees offer welcome shade despite their sparse coverage. Seafood in the nearby town is fresh and inexpensive - the catch comes in daily and the local restaurants cook it simply.

If you're looking for a beautiful beach to spend the entire day on, this probably isn't it. If you're looking for an undeveloped coastal stop with genuine fishing-village life, that's where Cù Mi becomes interesting.

Cù Mi is not a destination beach - it does not compete with Mũi Né on facilities or Phú Quốc on scenery. Its value is as a stopover on the coastal motorbike route between HCMC and Mũi Né, or as a base for travelers who want Bình Thuận coast access without the resort pricing and tourist-oriented atmosphere of the main Mũi Né strip.

The fishing community character is authentic and the absence of development is genuine rather than curated. If you're riding the coast north from HCMC, Cù Mi is the right place to stop for lunch and a swim before the final push to Phan Thiết.