My Son Vietnam – Hoi An’s Champa Ruins

Everything you need to know about the ruins of My Son Vietnam.

Getting To My Son Vietnam Hoi An Ruins

Cautiously riding down the chaotic roads of Hoi An on a rented, slightly-scratched, automatic Honda scooter, we exit one UNESCO World Heritage Site and make our way towards another – My Son Vietnam.

Less than 50km from the picturesque port city is a collection of Champa ruins nestled amongst the mountains in a geological basin of the Quang Nam province in Central Vietnam.

Compared to the iconic temples of Angkor, or the ancient city of Ayutthaya, My Son, Vietnam is not quite as extraordinary.

Still, these monuments are dramatically unique, and as such are somewhere that should not be skipped from your Southeast Asia itinerary.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 due to its historical and culture significance, the Champa city of My Son Vietnam was an important complex that was occupied from the 4th to the 13th centuries.

The source of the sacred Thu Bon River lies right in the heart of the basin and flows out to the South China Sea, through the town of Hoi An.

This made it a strategically defensible location and is the main reason why it became the dominant city for the Cham people. The Champa Kingdom was established in 192 AD, with an agricultural-based economy.

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Getting To My Son Vietnam Hoi An Cham Vietnam

With its spiritual origins stemming from Indian Hinduism, statues and stelae of Vishnu, Shiva and and Krishna can be found throughout the complex. Influences of Buddhism can also be seen in some of the newer structures.

Many people from the Cham culture eventually became Muslims and were pushed out of the region (there is a Muslim Cham population that can now be found in Cambodia).

There are 8 groups of temples found throughout the complex, and 71 standing monuments. Unfortunately My Son was heavily bombed during the Vietnam / American War and received substantial damage after the Viet Cong moved in and used the complex as a military base.

Since the temples were built of bricks with no mortar, reconstruction from the damages has been easily undertaken. Now the main groups are reminiscent of how they appeared centuries ago – if a little overgrown in places.

Visitors who make the hour-long journey from Hoi An, or the further trip from Da Nang, can thoroughly explore the groups of temples.

At the entrance of the site is a decent museum, filled with artefacts, detailed information in Vietnamese and English, and old images of the temples before the war. The museum is definitely worth a visit when heading to My Son, Vietnam.

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My Son Vietnam Ruins Cham Culture Unesco Hoi An Vietnam

How To Visit My Son Vietnam

There are three ways to reach My Son Vietnam:

  • A guided tour from Hoi An or Da Nang
  • Rented taxi
  • Motorbike/scooter

The guided tours are very cheap, but there is a reason for this; A day trip on a guided tour booked through an agency may take as long as 6 hours, but you are often only give one hour at the temples themselves.

This is because the drivers make a stopover at their ‘friend’s’ restaurant halfway into the one hour drive. You are then given a long briefing once you reach My Son Ruins, before being sent off for a relatively short amount of time to visit the complex.

In our opinion, this should be considered a last resort.

My Son Vietnam Ruins Temple Cham Culture Unesco Hoi An Vietnam

A rented taxi is another great alternative to taking a trip out to My Son Vietnam. However this could be quite expensive if there is only one or two of you heading out to the ruins.

You will need to pay for a return trip, plus the driver’s time spent waiting.

Our preferred method is (surprise surprise) going by your own motorbike or scooter. You can rent one from Da Nang or Hoi An for about US$5 (100’000 Vietnamese Dong), and fuel from Hoi An should cost you about $3-4 for a return trip.

Doing this independently allows you the option of leaving when you want, spending as much time at the ruins as you please, and of course the choice of stopping off anywhere else between Hoi An/Da Nang and My Son Vietnam.

Perhaps take a trip out to the beach after the ruins?

My Son Vietnam Ruins Temple Cham Culture Unesco Hoi An Vietnam

How To Get To My Son Ruins From Hoi An By Motorbike

  • Make your way to Hung Vuong – the main road heading out of Hoi An.
  • Once you ride under a highway bridge, take your first left onto a large two-lane road, split by a median strip.
  • Turn left (south) onto Route 1A
  • Follow 1A about 7km until you merge with Highway 1. Take extra caution on these roads as they are notoriously dangerous and busy.
  • Stay on Highway 1 for about one kilometre or so, then turn right where the large sign for My Son is.
  • Continue on road 610, following the signs for My Son Vietnam. The ruins are about 30km from the Highway 1 turnoff.
My Son Vietnam Ruins Cham Culture Unesco Hoi An Vietnam

Tips For Visiting My Son Vietnam

  • Leave either very early in the morning, or around lunchtime. Tour groups arrive at My Son Vietnam around 10.30am, and there will be hundreds of people wandering around the ruins. The complex actually felt more crowded than Angkor Wat in Cambodia or Chichen Itza in Mexico. Arriving outside of these times will give you better photo opportunities and make you feel less rushed. You may even end up with some of the temples all to yourselves – a beautiful experience.
  • Take water with you. It can get very hot out at the ruins, and there is no one selling any inside the sanctuary. Bottled water can be bought near the ticket office.
Crowds My Son Vietnam Ruins Cham Culture Unesco Hoi An Vietnam
Scores of tourists jump off the buses and crawl through My Son Vietnam. The best time of day to avoid the crowds are early morning and after lunch.
My Son Vietnam Ruins Cham Culture Unesco Hoi An Vietnam

How Much Does It Cost To Visit The My Son Temples

(All prices are in Vietnamese Dong unless otherwise stated)

  • Entrance Ticket – 100’000 (includes the My Son Vietnam Sanctuary and the Champa Museum)
  • Motorbike Parking – 5’000
  • Bottled Water – 15’000
  • Taxi Round Trip – US$30-50 (depending on your negotiating skills)
  • Organised Tour – 80’000 (excludes entrance ticket and food)
My Son Vietnam Ruins Cham Culture Unesco Hoi An Vietnam
The Cham Museum outside of the My Son Vietnam ruin complex.
My Son Vietnam Ruins Cham Culture Unesco Hoi An Vietnam
About the Author - Alesha and Jarryd

Hey! We are Alesha and Jarryd, the award-winning writers and professional photographers behind this blog. We have been travelling the world together since 2008, with a passion for adventure travel and sustainable tourism. Through our stories and images we promote exciting off-the-beaten-path destinations and fascinating cultures as we go. As one of the world's leading travel journalists, our content and adventures have been featured by National Geographic, Lonely Planet, CNN, BBC, Forbes, Business Insider, Washington Post, Yahoo!, BuzzFeed, Channel 7, Channel 10, ABC, The Guardian, and plenty other publications. Follow our journey in real time on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

12 thoughts on “My Son Vietnam – Hoi An’s Champa Ruins”

  1. Hi, thank you for the info; it’s definitely helped me to decide what to do. Could you maybe tell me at what time early in the morning I can arrive? When does it open and would you have some suggestions as to where I could find info about whether they are open to public the 1 st of January? Thank you, safe travels, I enjoy your site that I just found! Greets, Ganna

  2. I was just updating my story about My Son and found your post when I was doing some research. I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed the archaeological site as well. I don’t think it gets enough attention for what is a really significant bit of Vietnamese history. It would be easy just to spend your time in Hoi An and not venture out to the temples but it’s really worth the effort. I did one of the bus tours, which was fine, but wish I had gone at a quieter time like you guys to get some better shots.

  3. It’s easy to visit My Son from Hoi An (about 60km), but if you can rent a private car, the price is only 25-30$ (cheaper than taxi).

    Some tips: You can order standing guide there (price 5-10$, deal with them). And you should arrange time to see Apsara Dancing Show start 9:30am and 10:30am everyday.

    Update: Entrance fee for foreign people now is 150.000 vnd/pax

    • Thanks so much for the updated in formation Liem. We really appreciate it. 🙂

  4. It was a beautiful place. Visiting those old and historic monuments just loved it.

    • It really is awesome there!

  5. Another excellent post dudes. This place looks amazing. As always it’s nice to take a short break from my increasingly humdrum domestic confinement to travel vicariously with you. But I will return!

    • Cheers, Duncan. We anxiously await your return 😉

  6. Great post! I’m thinning about heading to Vietnam this spring, so this was super helpful. Although I don’t know if I’m brave enough to venture on a motorbike!

    • No problem, Emiko. If you aren’t feeling up for the motorbike ride, get a group of friends and rent a taxi. Definitely worth visiting My Son! Thanks for reading. Happy travels 😀

  7. Hi Lesh and Jazza,
    Excellent post, but unfortunately one day too late!
    I did not feel like doing the trip on a rented motorbike (it is quite a drive and I am not a very experienced driver) and My Son on a tour… was a zoo!
    Positive aspects: the guide was excellent, a wealth of knowledge and very motivated. We spent almost 2 hours there, which is a reasonable amount of time.
    But yes, arriving at 10:30 am, especially still during the time of Xmas / New Year, there were something like 15 to 20 buses full of tourists… So it was a 7 hours for 2 hours there, and it was like being on Time Square at rush hours!
    So renting a scooter would have been a much better option! I think anyway that you should skip all those tours in Vietnam, as they are awfully touristy (except where there are no alternatives, like Halong Bay, I guess).
    Cheers
    Gilles

    • Hey Gilles. Probably a good decision not to take a rented scooter if you aren’t too experienced. The roads weren’t that great, and traffic on Highway 1 is deadly. Despite the abundance of tourists, it would have been great to have a knowledgeable guide. We have avoided tours in Vietnam for the most part, except for a few exceptions that we have been invited on (which were all outstanding). We believe travelling this country independently, where you can, is the best way to explore Vietnam. On the bright side, at least you got to visit this beautiful UNESCO site! Happy travels, buddy. 😀

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