Guide · Getting there

My Son Sanctuary from Hoi An or Da Nang: distance, bus and tickets

The towers stand inland, in a closed valley with no town around them. You need a guided trip, a shuttle or your own wheels, plus cash for the gate. Here is how each works.

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Editorial team, mysonsanctuarytour.comUpdated October 24, 2026Reading time about 6 minutes23 sources

The tour behind this guide My Son Sanctuary dawn or afternoon trip from Hoi An 4.9 (3,411 reviews) 4 to 5 hoursHotel pickup in Hoi AnEntrance ticket paid on the day from$16per person Check availabilityCancel without charge until 24 hrs before pickup

What you need to know

01Distance: 45 km from Hoi An and 68 km from Da Nang, says the site's board.¹
02Drive: About an hour by van from Hoi An.
03Shuttle: From $4, 2.5 hours on site, no guide.
04Ticket: 150,000 dong for foreign visitors on the board's notice dated 1 January 2019, paid in cash.²
05Hours: Open from 06:00 to 17:00 every day, holidays included.³

How far the towers are, and how long it takes

The My Son Sanctuary distance from Hoi An depends on who measures it. The site's own management board gives 45 km from Hoi An's ancient town and 68 km from Da Nang city, while the national tourism authority puts the temples 40 km from Hoi An.¹ ⁴ The difference is the route and the starting point, and either way it is a real drive, not a short hop.

In time, plan on about an hour each way from Hoi An. The tourism authority calls it an hour's drive, and the guided trips list the van leg at 1 hour.⁵ From Da Nang it takes longer; one operator asks Da Nang guests to make their own way to its Hoi An meeting point, about 45 minutes away.

The towers stand in a closed valley ringed by mountains, and the site's board now gives the address as My Son village, Thu Bon commune, Da Nang City, although UNESCO still describes it as part of Quang Nam Province.⁶ ⁷ There is no town at the gate, so whatever you choose, arrange your way back before you set off.

The shuttle day

Hoi An to the towers and back by bus

8:00 AM

Meet the driver

At the Hoi An meeting point, between 8:00 and 8:15 AM.
9:15 AM

At the sanctuary

Buy your ticket in cash and walk in.
9:45 AM

First hall show

The board's first daily performance in its hall.⁸
12:00 PM

Back to the bus

Meet the driver at the My Son ticket booth.
1:00 PM

Back in Hoi An

Drop-off between 1:00 and 1:30 PM.

A guided trip with hotel pickup

Most visitors go with a guided small-group trip, because it solves the transport, the timing and the explaining in one booking. The trip this site recommends collects you free from your hotel anywhere in Hoi An town and out to the beach, drives you to the site, guides you for about two hours and brings you back.

Its dawn option leaves at 5:30 AM and has you back between 10:30 and 11:00 AM; its afternoon option leaves at 12:30 to 1:00 PM and ends at about 5:30 PM. It starts from $16, with 3,411 reviews averaging 4.86, and the booking stays refundable right up to the day before the towers.

What it does not include is the gate ticket: the listing asks you to bring cash and buy it on the day. Our comparison of the tours sets out the other options, including trips with a boat back and a pairing with the Marble Mountains, if you want more from the same pickup.

Distances

How far My Son is from the cities

Distances from My Son as the site's management board gives them; the tourism authority puts Hoi An at 40 km.¹ ⁴

Ways to get there

Tour, shuttle or a booked ticket

Option	From	Guide	Time on site	Price
Guided trip, dawn or afternoon	Hoi An	English	About 2 hours	from $16
Shuttle bus	Hoi An or Da Nang	None	2.5 hours	from $4
Van & boat tour	Hoi An or Da Nang	English, Vietnamese	2 hours	from $15
Booked entry ticket	Own transport	Audio guide	Your choice	from $7

From each GetYourGuide listing; the entrance fee is extra on the guided trip and the shuttle, and paid in cash at the gate.

Three ways in

Guided, by shuttle or ticket only

Hoi An: My Son Sanctuary Early Morning/Sunset w. Champa Food

This page's pick

Guided trip

Hotel pickup in Hoi An

Pickup: 5:30 AM or 12:30 PM
Guide: English
Price: from $16

See the option

Cheapest

Shuttle bus

Hoi An or Da Nang, no guide

Leaves: 8:00 AM
On site: 2.5 hours
Price: from $4

See the option

Da Nang: My Son Sanctuary GetYourGuide Exclusive Ticket

Ticket only

Entry ticket

Booked ahead, own transport

Valid: Your chosen date
Audio guide: Eight languages
Price: from $7

See the option

Decision helper

Which way in suits you?

Find your situation and the best match

I want everything arranged I want the lowest price I am staying in Da Nang I have my own transport I want a guide but not a tour

A guided trip

Our pick collects you from your Hoi An hotel and guides you for about two hours.

The shuttle bus

The shuttle costs from $4 and leaves Hoi An at 8:00 AM.

A tour with Da Nang pickup

The van and boat tour lists pickup in Hoi An or Da Nang.

A booked ticket

Entry on your chosen date with an audio guide, from $7.

The board's guided route

About 60 minutes; one guide ticket covers 1 to 5 visitors.⁹ ¹⁰

The shuttle bus, for going on your own

The cheapest organised way in is the Hoi An to My Son bus, a shared shuttle with an English-speaking driver and no guide. It costs from $4 and has 481 reviews averaging 4.75. You meet the driver in Hoi An at 8:00 to 8:15 AM and reach the sanctuary at 9:15 AM.

You then have 2.5 hours to explore on your own, meet the driver again at the My Son ticket booth at 12:00 PM, and are back in Hoi An between 1:00 and 1:30 PM. The operator asks you to bring cash for the entrance fee, because cards are not accepted, and to wear comfortable clothes and bring a hat, an umbrella and water, as there is a lot of walking.

The shuttle suits independent travelers who have read up, or who want to pay for one of the site's own guided walks at the gate. The board runs a standard guided route of about 60 minutes, and a group of 1 to 5 visitors needs just 1 guide ticket.⁹ ¹⁰ The board's rules in force from 1 February 2026 keep that guide ticket at 100,000 dong.¹¹

Map

From the coast at Hoi An to the temple groups of My Son

First the drive inland from Hoi An and Da Nang airport, then the valley itself, where the tower groups stand a short walk apart.

Map of central Vietnam with Hoi An Ancient Town, Da Nang International Airport and My Son Sanctuary inland to the south-west — Hoi An to My Son

Map of the My Son valley with the brick tower groups A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H along the Khe The stream — The temple groups

1
Hoi An Ancient Town
A small trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries near the mouth of the Thu Bon, on the World Heritage List since 1999.¹² ¹³ ¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
2
Da Nang airport
About 29 km from Hoi An Ancient Town; shuttle vans to Hoi An leave hourly from 5am to 11pm.¹⁵ ¹⁶
In Google Maps ↗
3
My Son Sanctuary
Open every day from 06:00 to 17:00; the site's board puts it 45 km from Hoi An and 68 km from Da Nang.³ ¹
In Google Maps ↗
4
Groups B, C and D
The tower groups where the show "Echoes of My Son" is staged on the 15th of every month.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
5
Group G
A performance is held here at 9:00 and again at 14:45.¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
6
Group H
Cham folk singing on the slope below the group every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.¹⁹
In Google Maps ↗
7
Groups E and F
Tower E1 gives its name to the ancient style, the first in the line of building styles found at My Son.²⁰
In Google Maps ↗
8
Group A
Group A lends its name to the My Son A1 style, one of the later styles in the sanctuary's sequence.²⁰
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you set off

Money

Cash for the gate ticket, cards not accepted
Your voucher and ID if you booked entry

Timing

Arrive well before closing time
Your ride back arranged in advance

For the walk

A hat and sunscreen
Water
Comfortable shoes

Cost calculator

Price the trip for your group

Enter your group size to compare a tour, the shuttle and a booked ticket.

Guided tripHotel pickupfrom $16 Shuttle busNo guidefrom $4 Entry ticketOwn transportfrom $7

People 2

Total from$32

each from $16

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Each total multiplies a listing's lowest GetYourGuide starting price by your party size and shows it in your currency at today's ECB rate; the entrance ticket at My Son is paid on top, and checkout gives the exact sum.

Video

A day trip to the Cham temples: guide and tips

Until you tap play, the video stays unloaded.

Coming from Da Nang

If you are based in Da Nang, you have three good choices. A My Son Sanctuary tour from Da Nang with pickup is the simplest: the van and boat tour and the rice paper and boat tour both list pickup in Hoi An or Da Nang. The shuttle bus also runs from Da Nang, departing at 8:00 AM, with drop-off back there at 1:30 PM.

The trip this site recommends picks up in Da Nang too, but on the shared trips it charges 300,000 dong each way for that, or you can travel to its Hoi An meeting point yourself; its private option picks up in both cities directly. Weigh that fee against a tour whose Da Nang pickup is already in the price.

The shuttle has one more trick for Da Nang guests. A third option drives on from My Son to Hoi An for the afternoon and brings you back to Da Nang at 8:30 PM, so you see the towers and the old town in a single day without booking a second transfer.

The My Son Sanctuary entrance fee and opening hours

The site's management board sets the price. Its admission notice, dated 1 January 2019, lists the My Son Sanctuary entrance fee at 150,000 dong for foreign visitors and 100,000 dong for Vietnamese visitors, with entry and services included.² Several tour operators quote the same 150,000 dong and say it must be paid in cash.

There is also a ticket you can book ahead. One listing sells entry for a chosen date, valid any time during opening hours, from $7, with an audio guide in eight languages, though it has only 15 reviews so far. It asks you to show the mobile voucher and a valid ID at the entrance.

The gates open every day from 06:00 to 17:00, public holidays included, in summer and in winter.³ The booked-ticket listing adds that the last admission is 1 hour before closing. Inside, the board's performance hall stages shows daily at 09:45, 10:30, 11:15, 14:00 and 16:00.⁸

Timing your arrival at the gate

Whichever way you travel, think about the hour you arrive. The gates open at 06:00, and the national tourism authority recommends sunrise tours for the light and advises avoiding the harsh midday sun in the area.³ ⁴ ²¹ An early arrival also leaves time to walk between the tower groups without rushing.

If you want to see a performance, line up your visit with the board's timetable. Its hall stages shows at 09:45, 10:30 and 11:15 in the morning and at 14:00 and 16:00 in the afternoon, a performance is held at the Group G towers at 9:00 and 14:45, and Cham folk singing takes place on the Group H slope every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.⁸ ¹⁸ ¹⁹

On the 15th of every month the board also stages a show called Echoes of My Son at the B, C and D temple group.¹⁷ The shuttle bus arrives at 9:15 AM and leaves at 12:00 PM, which fits the morning shows; the guided dawn trip is on site from 6:30 AM, before the first hall show.

Taxis, scooters and arriving by air

You can of course reach the valley by taxi, ride-hailing car or rented scooter. Fares for those are agreed locally, so ask your hotel for a price, settle the waiting time in advance, and plan the return before you leave: there is no town at the site to find a ride in.

If you are flying in, Da Nang airport is about 29 km from Hoi An's ancient town, according to the national tourism authority.¹⁵ A car arranged by a Hoi An hotel costs a fixed 250,000 to 350,000 dong, a metered taxi upwards of 450,000 dong, and shuttle vans to Hoi An run hourly from 5am to 11pm.²² ¹⁶

The tourism authority's own sample itinerary arrives via Da Nang airport, spends the night in Hoi An and visits My Son on the following morning.²³ Give yourself that night: a dawn pickup after a late flight is a hard start.

Your morning