This page's pickDawn trip
Coffee, towers, Champa brunch
- Pickup
- 5:30 AM in Hoi An
- On site
- About 2 hours
- Price
- from $16
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Guide · Choosing a tour
My Son Sanctuary small group trip from Hoi An: the tours compared
Most trips to the Cham towers look alike at first glance. They differ in the hour they leave, what you eat, whether a boat brings you back and who pays the gate.
Check availabilityfrom $16 · cancel without a fee
Editorial team, mysonsanctuarytour.comUpdated October 24, 2026Reading time about 7 minutes23 sources
The short version
- 01Our pick
- The dawn trip with a Champa brunch, 4 to 5 hours, from $16.
- 02With a boat
- Rice paper making and the river, limited to 12, from $16.
- 03Cheapest way in
- A shuttle bus with no guide, from $4.
- 04Ticket
- Paid on the day on our pick: 150,000 dong for foreign visitors, per the board's notice dated 1 January 2019.1
- 05Opening hours
- Every day from 06:00 to 17:00, holidays included.2
What every trip from Hoi An has in common
Nearly all the guided trips work the same way. A van collects you from your hotel, drives inland for about an hour, and a guide walks you through the tower groups for two hours or a little more before you head back. The sanctuary itself opens every day from 06:00 to 17:00, public holidays included, so the tours squeeze into that window with an early wave and a second one after lunch.2
What you are going to see does not change with the operator. UNESCO counts 71 standing monuments in eight groups, set in a basin ringed by mountains that feeds the sacred Thu Bon river.34 The towers are fired brick with stone pillars and sandstone carvings of Hindu myths, and every guide will stop at the same few groups that the paths connect.5
So the choice is about the frame around the visit: the hour of the start, the food, whether a boat replaces the van on the way home, how big the group may grow, and whether the gate ticket is in the price. Those details decide whether you stand among the towers in soft early light or in the heat of the afternoon, and whether the day feels rushed or easy.
Dawn trips: early pickup, cool air, food afterwards
The trip this site recommends has an early morning option that picks you up at 5:30 AM with a Vietnamese coffee on the way. You reach My Son at 6:30 AM, spend about two hours with the guide, and sit down at 9:00 AM to a Champa brunch with a local mochi cake and fruit, vegan on request. You are back at your hotel between 10:30 and 11:00 AM.
A rival dawn trip starts even earlier, at 5:15 AM, and is on site from 6:20 to 8:30 AM. It adds a stop to watch rice paper being made, but that early option has neither the Champa dance nor the boat ride. Another dawn option leaves at 5:30 AM and serves its Champa food at 8:45 AM; its own notes say breakfast comes no sooner than 9:00 AM and suggest bringing a snack.
The national tourism authority itself recommends sunrise tours for atmospheric, golden photographs.6 Dawn suits travelers who sleep early, photographers and anyone wary of heat. It suits poorly anyone who struggles with a 5 AM alarm: the operator stresses that pickup times are precise and that a working WhatsApp number is needed.
Guest verdicts
Average rating of each trip
of 5
Side by side
Trips to the Cham towers from Hoi An
| Trip | Hours | Group limit | Reviews | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawn or afternoon, Champa food | 4 to 5 | 12 or 14 | 3,411 | from $16 |
| Rice paper, river boat | 5 to 6 | 12 | 2,130 | from $16 |
| Van & boat | 6 to 7 | 12 | 758 | from $15 |
| Morning or afternoon boat | 6 | 13 | 536 | from $15 |
| Plus the Marble Mountains | 4.5 to 7 | Not listed | 344 | from $22 |
| Shuttle bus, no guide | 1 to 13 | Not listed | 481 | from $4 |
From each GetYourGuide listing; prices are starting prices, and the gate ticket is extra where the listing says so.
Three ways to go
Dawn, river or on your own
This page's pick
With a river rideRice paper & boat
Village stop and the Thu Bon
- Pickup
- 5:15 or 7:30 AM
- Group
- Up to 12
- Price
- from $16
CheapestDecision helper
Which My Son trip fits you?
Pick the line that sounds most like you
The dawn trip
Pickup at 5:30 AM puts you on site at 6:30 AM, when the gates have just opened.2
An afternoon boat option
The van and boat tour cruises the Thu Bon from 5:15 PM.
A private option
Our pick's private option collects you in Da Nang as well as Hoi An.
The shuttle bus
From $4, with 2.5 hours at the site on your own.
The Marble Mountains pairing
4.5 to 7 hours with My Son first, then the caves.
Afternoon trips and the boat back to Hoi An
The afternoon trips trade the early alarm for a later start. On our pick you are collected between 12:30 and 1:00 PM, reach the towers at 2:00 PM, watch a Cham performance, and around 4:00 PM either board a boat on the Thu Bon River or ride the bus straight back, depending on the option. The day ends in Hoi An at about 5:30 PM.
The boat is the main reason people choose an afternoon. A tour by van and boat leaves at 1:30 to 2:00 PM, boards the river at 5:15 PM and has you back by 6:00 to 6:30 PM. Another afternoon option serves banh mi on a boat from 4:00 to 5:30 PM; its operator warns that from November to February evenings come sooner and the boat can be dim and cool.
Expect warmer air and more people at the site in the afternoon. The national tourism authority advises avoiding the harsh midday sun in the area, and the hall shows at the sanctuary run at 14:00 and 16:00 as well as in the morning.78 If a sunset on the water matters most, read our comparison of the sunrise and late trips before you choose.
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.
1Hoi An Ancient Town2Da Nang airport3My Son Sanctuary
4Groups B, C and D5Group G6Group H7Groups E and F8Group A
- 1Hoi 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 1999.91011
In Google Maps ↗ - 2Da Nang airport
About 29 km from Hoi An Ancient Town; shuttle vans to Hoi An leave hourly from 5am to 11pm.1213
In Google Maps ↗ - 3My 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.214
In Google Maps ↗ - 4Groups B, C and D
The tower groups where the show "Echoes of My Son" is staged on the 15th of every month.15
In Google Maps ↗ - 5Group G
A performance is held here at 9:00 and again at 14:45.16
In Google Maps ↗ - 6Group H
Cham folk singing on the slope below the group every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.17
In Google Maps ↗ - 7Groups E and F
Tower E1 gives its name to the ancient style, the first in the line of building styles found at My Son.18
In Google Maps ↗ - 8Group A
Group A lends its name to the My Son A1 style, one of the later styles in the sanctuary's sequence.18
In Google Maps ↗
Checklist
Before you book a trip
01
Check in the listing
- Is the gate ticket included or paid on the day?
- Dawn or afternoon option
- Free pickup area, and the fee from Da Nang
- Group limit and guide language
02
Have ready
- Cash for the ticket at the gate
- A WhatsApp number that works at pickup
- A date you can still cancel for free
Cost calculator
Price the trip for your group
Enter your group size to compare the three main ways in.
People
Total from$32
each from $16
Check availabilityfree cancellationEach 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
Champa temples near Hoi An: a day-trip vlog
Until you tap play, the video stays unloaded.
Small group, private car or shuttle only
Group size is where the listings differ most clearly. On our pick the dawn trip runs with 2 to 12 people and the afternoon trip with 2 to 14, and solo travelers can always join. The boat and rice paper tour is limited to 12 participants, the van and boat tour to 12, and the morning or afternoon boat tour to 13.
If you would rather not share, a My Son Sanctuary private tour is the answer. Our pick lists private or small groups, and its private option picks you up in both Hoi An and Da Nang, while the shared trips charge 300,000 dong each way from Da Nang. A private trip means the van and the guide are for your party alone, so the pace and the photo stops are yours to set.
At the other end is the shuttle bus. It costs from $4, leaves Hoi An at 8:00 to 8:15 AM, gives you 2.5 hours on your own at the site and has you back by 1:30 PM, with a driver but no guide. It suits travelers who have read up beforehand, or who plan to book one of the guided walks the site's own board offers at the gate.19
Combined days with the Marble Mountains
Some travelers want more than one sight from a single pickup. A My Son Sanctuary and Marble Mountain tour does exactly that: one well-reviewed option visits the towers and then the Marble Mountains, with coffee and a Mi Quang noodle meal, in 4.5 to 7 hours from $22. Its second option drops My Son entirely and pairs the Marble Mountains with Monkey Mountain instead, so pick the right one when you book.
The listed itinerary for the combined day shows 2.25 hours at My Son, the same time the single-site tours give it, so the towers are not cut short. What you give up is the slow end of the day on the river: this pairing lists no boat, and the second half of the day belongs to a different landscape altogether.
Choose the combination if you are short of days in central Vietnam and want both sights done in one outing. Keep My Son on its own if the towers are the reason you came, if you want the cool early hours, or if you would rather spend the afternoon in Hoi An itself.
Food, the ticket and what is in the price
Read the inclusions line by line, because the cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest day. On our pick the coffee and the Champa brunch come with the early option only, the boat only with its specific afternoon option, and the Cham performance with the afternoon option. The rival dawn tour serves breakfast with the rice paper visit, and the noodle tour serves Quang noodles at 11:30 AM.
The gate ticket is the line most people miss. Our pick does not include it, and asks you to bring cash and buy it on the day. The management board's notice, dated 1 January 2019, lists 150,000 dong for foreign visitors, entry and services included.1 The noodle tour and the shuttle bus both say the same fee must be paid in cash, because cards are not accepted at the gate.
Pickup is the other variable. Our pick collects you free within Hoi An town and out to the beach, while the noodle tour has no hotel pickup at all and starts from a meeting point in town at 8:00 AM. Add the ticket and any transfer to the headline price before you compare, so that you set like against like.
Which trip to choose, and is it worth it
For most visitors staying in Hoi An, the early trip is the strongest choice: cool air, a guide, a proper meal afterwards and the afternoon free. Our pick does this from $16, with 3,411 reviews averaging 4.86. If you want the river as well and can live without the dawn light, the van and boat tour or the afternoon boat options make a longer, slower day.
Is My Son Sanctuary worth it if you have seen Angkor? The national tourism authority calls it one of the most important examples of Hindu influence in Southeast Asia and notes the comparison with Angkor Wat and Ayutthaya.20 UNESCO goes further and calls the monuments unique and without equal in the region.21 The towers are ruins, and the wars of the last century left deep scars, but that is part of their story.22
Whichever trip you choose, every one compared here can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before and reserved now with payment later. So you can pencil in a day and keep an eye on the forecast, since the rainy months in central Vietnam can change plans at short notice.23
Your morning
The Cham towers at dawn, back by eleven.
Hotel pickup in Hoi An, a guide, coffee and a Champa brunch; cancel free up to 24 hours before.
You ask,we answer.
What is the best time of day for a trip to My Son?
Early morning, for most visitors. The tourism authority recommends sunrise tours, and our pick reaches the site at 6:30 AM, before the heat.6
Is the entrance ticket included in the tour price?
Not on our pick. Bring cash for the ticket: the board's notice dated 1 January 2019 lists 150,000 dong for foreign visitors.1
How big are the groups on these tours?
Usually 12 to 14 at most. Our pick runs 2 to 12 people at dawn and 2 to 14 in the afternoon; the boat tours cap at 12 or 13.
Can I be picked up in Da Nang instead of Hoi An?
Yes, at a price. Shared trips charge 300,000 dong each way from Da Nang; the private option picks up there directly.
Which tour brings me back to Hoi An by boat?
The afternoon boat options. Our pick has an afternoon boat option; the van and boat tour boards the river at 5:15 PM.
Is there a cheaper way to reach the towers without a tour?
The shuttle bus. It costs from $4 and gives you 2.5 hours on site, but there is no guide.
Can I cancel a My Son trip if the weather turns?
Yes, up to 24 hours before. Each listing in this comparison refunds you in full until 24 hours before the start.
Sources
The sources for this guide
- 1My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Gia ve tham quan (Admission prices)↩
- 2My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Gio mo, dong cua va lich bieu dien van nghe (Opening hours and show schedule)↩
- 3UNESCO World Heritage CentreMy Son Sanctuary↩
- 4UNESCO World Heritage CentreMy Son Sanctuary↩
- 5UNESCO World Heritage CentreMy Son Sanctuary↩
- 6Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (vietnam.travel)Explore the global cultural and historical values of My Son Sanctuary↩
- 7Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (vietnam.travel)The best ways to explore the ancient town of Hoi An↩
- 8My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Gio mo, dong cua va lich bieu dien van nghe (Opening hours and show schedule)↩
- 9UNESCO World Heritage CentreHoi An Ancient Town↩
- 10UNESCO World Heritage CentreHoi An Ancient Town↩
- 11UNESCO World Heritage CentreHoi An Ancient Town↩
- 12Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (vietnam.travel)A traveller's guide to Vietnam's airports↩
- 13Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (vietnam.travel)A traveller's guide to Vietnam's airports↩
- 14My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Ve chung toi (About the site)↩
- 15My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Gio mo, dong cua va lich bieu dien van nghe (Opening hours and show schedule)↩
- 16My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Gio mo, dong cua va lich bieu dien van nghe (Opening hours and show schedule)↩
- 17My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Gio mo, dong cua va lich bieu dien van nghe (Opening hours and show schedule)↩
- 18My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Kien truc nghe thuat (Architecture and art)↩
- 19My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (official site)Quy dinh so luong khach/doan thuyet minh va so ve huong dan thuyet minh (Guided commentary rules, 20 January 2026)↩
- 20Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (vietnam.travel)Vietnam Highlights (recommended itinerary)↩
- 21UNESCO World Heritage CentreMy Son Sanctuary↩
- 22UNESCO World Heritage CentreMy Son Sanctuary↩
- 23Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (vietnam.travel)Weather and climate in Vietnam↩
