My Son Sanctuary

My Son Sanctuary tickets and tours: which one to book

My Son lies in a wooded valley about 40 km southwest of Hoi An, and almost everyone visits it as a half-day trip from there or from Da Nang. If you have your own transport, you simply buy a ticket at the visitor centre, which includes the electric buggy to the temple groups and the Cham dance performance near the entrance. The tours on offer vary mainly in timing and transport. Early-morning departures leave Hoi An around 5 or 6 am to reach the ruins before the heat and the coach groups, often with breakfast or a Vietnamese baguette and coffee included.

Standard morning and afternoon tours go by minibus and some return by boat along the Thu Bon river, which adds a calm hour and a stop at a riverside village. Sunset trips reverse this, finishing with a cruise in the evening light. There are also cycling and motorbike tours, cheap shared shuttle buses that cover transport only, and private cars that combine My Son with the Marble Mountains or continue over the Hai Van Pass to Hue. A small-group early-morning tour with a guide is the best value: the ruins are quiet, and the guide explains the bomb damage and the Cham history that the signs only hint at. Check whether the ticket is included, as cheaper shuttles often leave it out.

Visiting My Son Sanctuary: what to see and how to behave

My Son was the main religious centre of the kingdom of Champa, a Hindu culture that ruled central Vietnam for centuries. The kings of Champa built temples here from about the fourth century to the thirteenth, dedicated above all to Shiva, worshipped as Bhadreshvara, the protecting lord of the dynasty. The first structures were wooden; the brick towers you see today date mostly from the seventh century onwards. More than 70 temples once stood in the valley, but a large part of the site was destroyed by US bombing during a single week of the Vietnam War, and craters still pock the ground between the groups. The ruins are scattered in clusters that archaeologists have labelled with letters.

From the buggy stop, the path leads first to groups B, C and D, the best preserved and partly restored with Indian help, where you see the typical Cham kalan, a square brick sanctuary with a stepped tower, alongside gatehouses and libraries. Look closely at the brickwork: the Cham laid fired bricks so tightly, without visible mortar, that how they did it is still debated. Sandstone carvings of dancers, lions and Shiva lingas survive in places, and a small museum in group D shelters loose sculpture. Group A, once crowned by the tallest tower, is now mostly rubble, while groups G and E are worth the short extra walk. Stay on the marked paths, as unexploded ordnance has been cleared only from the visited areas. Bring water and a hat; there is little shade.

My Son Sanctuary: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The site opens at about 6 am and closes in the late afternoon, and the dance show near the entrance runs several times during the day. Arrive at opening time if you can. The valley is still misty, the stone is at its most atmospheric, and you will have the towers largely to yourself for an hour before the day trips from Hoi An arrive at around 9 am. By midday the heat in the enclosed valley can be oppressive.

Late afternoon is the second-best option. The dry season from February to August is the easiest time to visit, with May to August very hot. The rainy months from September to December bring typhoons and floods to central Vietnam and can close the road or the site for days. Allow two hours on site and about four to five hours for the round trip from Hoi An. Combine My Son with the river trip back, or with the Marble Mountains on the way to Da Nang.