Tours out of Ho Chi Minh City and across Vietnam
Central Vietnam
The Cham towers at first light, then Hoi An
A dawn start at the Cham sanctuary of My Son, beaten only by the gatekeeper, and then three nights in Hoi An with the busy hours left empty on purpose.
Overview
Two old ports of call, one thousand years apart
For more than a thousand years the Cham kingdom held this coast, and My Son was its sacred valley: a basin in the hills where kings built brick towers to Shiva from about the fourth century to the thirteenth. What survives is a set of temple groups in varying states of ruin, many of them hit by bombing in 1969. It is not Angkor, and it does not pretend to be. It is old, quiet and beautifully made, and it has one good hour a day.
That hour is the first one. The sanctuary usually opens its gates at six, and by half past eight the tour buses from Hoi An and Da Nang are unloading. We leave at a quarter past five so you are through the gate as it opens, with the mist still in the valley and the brickwork turning orange as the sun comes over the hills.
After that the trip slows right down. Three nights in Hoi An, one guided morning in the old town, and the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang on your way to the airport, where the carvings taken from My Son are kept.
- Length
- 4 days, 3 nights
- Start and finish
- Da Nang
- My Son
- About 1 hour from Hoi An
- Early start
- 05:15 on day 2
- Guide
- Days 2 and 3
- Best months
- February to April
Nights
Where you sleep
One base for the whole trip. My Son is close enough to do from Hoi An and be back for a late breakfast.
Day by day
Day by day
Day 1
Da Nang to Hoi An
Pick-up at Da Nang airport or station for the forty-five-minute drive to Hoi An. An afternoon to settle in and an early night, for a reason.
Day 2
My Son at opening time, back by river
The valley before the tour buses
Your guide and driver collect you at 05:15. The road inland takes about an hour, through villages that are already up. From the gate a shuttle takes you most of the way into the valley, and you walk the rest. Your guide takes you through the main groups in the order the light reaches them, explains how the towers were built and what stood where the craters now are, and lets you sit for ten minutes at the one that suits you.
Around 08:30, as the first buses appear, you leave. Instead of the road back, a car takes you to a landing on the Thu Bon river and a wooden boat carries you downstream to Hoi An for about an hour and a half, past sand islands and fishing nets, with breakfast on board. You are at the hotel by about 11:00, and the rest of the day is yours.
Day 3
The old town, early and late
A 06:30 walk with your guide through the old town while it is still empty: a merchant house, the covered bridge, an assembly hall, the market as the boats unload. The guide stays until about 10:00. After dark, the lanterns come on along the river and we suggest an evening on foot, eating in the small places the guide pointed out.
Day 4
The Cham museum, then onward
Check out mid-morning. On the way to the airport your driver stops at the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang, which holds the finest carvings recovered from My Son and other Cham sites. Allow an hour; it makes more sense now that you have seen where the pieces came from. Then the airport or the station.
Price
Price
| Travellers | Tier 1 — simple | Tier 2 — comfortable | Tier 3 — the good ones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travelling | from 525 | from 655 | from 1000 |
| 4 travelling | from 430 | from 540 | from 820 |
| 6 travelling | from 390 | from 485 | from 740 |
The private dawn departure, the guide and the river boat are the main costs beyond the hotel. Travelling with four or six people brings the per-person figure down noticeably, because the car and the boat cost the same whoever is in them.
Included
What is included
What the price includes
- Three nights in Hoi An at your chosen tier, with breakfast
- Private car and driver for every transfer
- English-speaking guide at My Son and in the old town
- Private boat from the Thu Bon landing to Hoi An, with breakfast
- Entrance fees at My Son, the old town and the Cham museum
What it does not include
- Flights and trains to Da Nang
- Lunches, dinners and drinks
- Visas, insurance and tips
Practical
Footwear, heat and the rains
The paths at My Son are dirt and gravel, uneven and muddy after rain; wear proper shoes rather than sandals. There is little shade once the sun is up, which is another argument for the early start. The sanctuary valley can flood briefly in the wettest months, and from September to December the whole central coast is in its storm season — the river boat is the first thing to be cancelled when the water is high, and we replace it with the car.
Hoi An’s old town floods in most Octobers and Novembers. If your dates fall then, we plan with it in mind.
Not for everyone
Who this does not suit
If you cannot face a five o’clock alarm, do not book this trip: My Son at eleven is hot, busy and a lesser place, and we would rather you skipped it. Travellers heading to Angkor later in the same trip may find one Hindu ruin enough, and Angkor is the one to keep. And if you want a guide in Hoi An every day, this is not built that way — the town is better on your own once you know where you are.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Why not visit My Son in the afternoon?
It is open in the afternoon, and some tours go late to avoid the morning rush. The light is good then too, but the heat in the valley is at its worst and there is no shade. The first hour is the best of the day.
Is there a dance show?
There is a Cham dance performance near the entrance at set times during the day. At opening time you arrive before it starts; you can stay for it if you like.
Can we do the boat both ways?
Upriver takes much longer against the current, so we drive out and float back. That is also the more comfortable way round.
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