My Son Sanctuary Day Trip: A Group of 19 in Vietnam

A My Son Sanctuary day trip is the morning I build a central Vietnam stop around when a group wants more from Hoi An than the lantern streets. Ibrahim’s group — 19 friends from Australia — spent ten days with us in late October, from Saigon to Hoi An to Ha Noi and a night on Ha Long Bay, and the day they went out to the old Champa temples is the one their camera loved.

Every photo the group sent us comes from that one day, so this post walks through My Son with their pictures, then sets out the rest of the ten-day plan around it.

Ibrahim’s group trip at a glance

Travellers: a group of 19 adults from Australia
Route: Ho Chi Minh City & the Mekong Delta → Hoi An & My Son Sanctuary → Ha Noi → Ha Long Bay (one night on board) → Ha Noi
Trip length: 10 days, in October
Trip style: guided group days with an English-speaking guide; domestic flights, transfers, hotels and entrance tickets arranged
Highlights: Cu Chi Tunnels, a Mekong boat trip from My Tho, the Champa temples of My Son, a rice paper workshop, the Temple of Literature, an overnight Hera Classic cruise with Titop Island and Sung Sot Cave

Why a My Son Sanctuary day trip suited a group of 19

With a big group, I look for days that work for everyone at once. Not everybody wants a cooking class, but almost everybody likes something very old with a good guide explaining it. My Son is that kind of place. It is a valley of brick temples built by the Champa kingdom, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, about an hour’s drive inland from Hoi An.

It also gave the two Hoi An nights a shape: a free afternoon after the flight in, My Son the next day, and a free morning before the flight north.

Ideal pacing: Days 1–3 Saigon, Cu Chi and the Mekong · Day 4 fly to Da Nang, drive to Hoi An · Day 5 My Son · Day 6 fly to Ha Noi · Day 7 Ha Noi city day · Days 8–9 Ha Long Bay overnight cruise · Day 10 home.

Three nights in Saigon: Cu Chi and the Mekong

The group’s flight from Australia landed at Tan Son Nhat just after six in the morning. A driver met them and took them to the Alagon City Hotel & Spa in the city centre, and the rest of that first day was theirs to rest.

Day two covered the big city sights with their guide: the Reunification Palace, the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the War Remnants Museum. In the afternoon they drove about 60 kilometres to the Cu Chi Tunnels, finishing with tea and cassava, the plain food the guerrillas lived on during the war.

Day three went south to My Tho. They visited Vinh Trang Pagoda, then took a boat out to the orchards for tropical fruit, folk music played by local families, a bee farm with honey tea and a coconut candy workshop. Our Mekong Delta travel guide has more on the river towns.

The My Son day, in the group’s own photos

On day four the group flew from Saigon to Da Nang around midday and drove on to the Handana Boutique Resort in Hoi An. Day five started at eight, when their guide collected them at the hotel for the drive out to My Son.

Travellers riding a green electric cart under a covered shelter at My Son — From the gate, electric carts carry visitors along the shaded track to the temple area.

The plan gave them about two hours at the site: enough to walk the main temples gently, hear the history and watch a traditional Champa performance. The photos show a bright, sunny morning, with the red-brown brick standing out against a clear blue sky.

Group of Australian travellers in front of a Champa brick temple at My Son Sanctuary — Part of the group in front of one of the main brick temples, with a carved stone pedestal on the left.

My Son sits in a bowl of green hills, and that setting is half of what makes it feel so quiet.

Three travellers sitting on brick temple steps at My Son with green hills behind — Three of the group resting on the brick steps of a temple platform, with the forested hills behind.

After the temples, the minivan stopped at a local house where a family makes rice paper by hand. The group gathered round to watch the batter spread thin over a steamer, then had a go at making their own. Lunch was at another local stop on the way back, and the afternoon in Hoi An was free.

A local woman making rice paper on a wood-fired steamer while the group watches — The rice paper workshop: a thin round of batter on the steamer while the group looks on.

Tour group seated at a long lunch table in a yellow-walled restaurant near Hoi An — Lunch on the way back to Hoi An, at one long table so the whole group could sit together.

If Hoi An is on your list, our Hoi An travel guide has ideas for the free afternoons and evenings.

Ha Noi in two halves, with a night on Ha Long Bay

Day six had a slow morning in Hoi An, then a transfer to Da Nang airport at half past twelve for the flight to Ha Noi. The group checked in to the Champton Hanoi Hotel for a free evening.

Day seven was the full Ha Noi city day. Their guide started at Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake, then the Ho Chi Minh complex and the One Pillar Pagoda. The plan normally includes the Museum of Ethnology, but their city day fell on a Monday, when it is closed, so the plan swapped in the Vietnamese Women’s Museum. After a Vietnamese lunch came the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, and Hoa Lo Prison. More on these sights is in our Ha Noi travel guide.

Tour guide taking a selfie with the group of 19 on their coach — Their guide with the group on the coach.

On day eight the group could leave their big bags at the hotel and take only a small one. They drove about two and a half hours to Tuan Chau Marina to board the Hera Classic Boutique Cruise. The afternoon took in Titop Island, for the climb to the viewpoint or a swim, and kayaking or a bamboo boat around Luon Cave. In the evening there was a sunset gathering on the sundeck and a class making floating rice cakes.

The next morning started with tai chi on deck, then a visit to Sung Sot Cave before an early buffet lunch and the return to the marina. By the afternoon they were back at the same Ha Noi hotel. Day ten was an early transfer to Noi Bai airport for the flight home. Our Ha Long Bay travel guide compares cruises if you are choosing one.

Tips from Ibrahim’s group trip

Go to My Son in the morning. The site is open and has little shade. An eight o’clock pickup means the walking is done before the strongest midday sun.
Bring a hat and water. Plenty of hats show up in the group’s photos, and for good reason.
Check museum closing days. Some Ha Noi museums close on Mondays. A good plan has a swap ready, as this one did.
Split Ha Noi around the cruise. Sleeping in the same Ha Noi hotel before and after Ha Long means you only take a small bag on board.

Want a trip like this one?

The route is very close to our Best of Vietnam 10-day tour — the same Saigon, Cu Chi, Mekong, Hoi An, My Son, Ha Noi and Ha Long stops, only run from south to north. Message me, Lan, and I’ll fit it to your dates and the size of your group.

Over to you: have you walked among the temples at My Son, or tried making rice paper by hand? I’d love to hear how it went — tell me in the comments below. Thank you!

Quick FAQ from Ibrahim’s group trip

How long do you need for a My Son Sanctuary day trip from Hoi An?

Plan on most of a day. Ibrahim’s group left Hoi An at eight, had about two hours at the temples, then stopped at a rice paper workshop and for lunch, and were back in Hoi An for a free afternoon.

Is a 10-day Vietnam itinerary workable for a large group?

Yes, if you keep the hotel changes low and fly between regions. This group of 19 used two domestic flights, stayed in four hotels and spent one night on a Ha Long Bay cruise.

If a My Son Sanctuary day trip is on your wish list, or your group of friends is planning ten days across Vietnam, get in touch with My Viva Tour. I’d love to plan it with you, from the first quiet day in Saigon to the last early ride to Noi Bai.