My Son Sanctuary near Hoi An

How much is the My Son ticket and what does it include?

Foreign visitors pay 150,000 VND; Vietnamese citizens pay 100,000. Children under 5 go free, and kids aged 5–15 need a 30,000 VND service ticket, which is really their shuttle fare. The official My Son ticket website and Da Nang's tourism department list the same prices.

The ticket covers every open temple group, the site museum by the gate, the electric shuttle up the valley and back, and the Cham dance shows. There's little else to pay for inside, apart from drinks and lunch at the cafés near the entrance.

You can buy at the ticket office from 6 am or on the official My Son ticket website, which takes Visa, Mastercard, JCB, UnionPay and Vietnamese bank QR codes; online tickets can't be refunded. Foreign cards work in hotels and bigger restaurants, but small cafés and drivers want cash dong, so carry some. Many tours from Hoi An don't include the entrance fee — ask before you pay.

What is My Son Sanctuary?

My Son was the holy valley of the Champa kingdom, where kings built temples to Shiva for more than nine centuries. There was never a town here — only shrines, priests and royal tombs. The valley is about two kilometres wide and boxed in by hills, which gives it the feel of a hidden green amphitheatre.

King Bhadravarman I built the first temple in the late 4th century and dedicated the valley to Shiva as Bhadreshvara. Wooden shrines gave way to brick tower-temples carved with gods, dancers and sea monsters. French scholars surveyed the ruins at the turn of the 20th century, and Henri Parmentier sorted them into groups labelled with letters.

Be realistic about scale: this isn't Angkor. Many towers are now heaps of brick, the standing ones are modest in height, and the finest sculpture was moved long ago to the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang. What My Son does well is atmosphere — moss on red brick, birdsong, and the sense of standing where Champa worshipped some 1,500 years ago.

What to see

• Groups B, C and D — the heart of the valley, with nearly thirty structures and the tallest towers still standing. It's the easiest place to read a Cham temple: sanctuary tower, gate tower and offerings hall.
• Group A — the valley's main sanctuary, recently restored by Indian conservators. Look at how tightly the bricks were fitted.
• Temple B1 — the only one built of stone; its heavy sandstone base survives.
• Group G on its low hill — five structures restored in 2003–2013, with the dance stage nearby.
• Groups H and K: H sits on a slope, while K is the gate at the start of the path to the central temples.
• Tower E7 — the lone tower on the lawn by the forest in our photo; the rest of Groups E and F is largely unrestored.
• Cham dance shows — short performances with drums and apsara dancers. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 am and 2:45 pm there's also Cham folk singing on the slope by Group H.
• The site museum by the gate — maps of the valley, excavation photos and carved fragments. Worth 15 minutes before you board the shuttle.

Is a tour worth it, and what about sunrise?

Tours leave from both Hoi An and Da Nang, since My Son now falls under Da Nang city. Hoi An is closer — about an hour — while central Da Nang is 75–90 minutes each way. Small-group tours start at around $30 without the entrance ticket (unofficial); private tours cost more but let you pick the time.

A guide genuinely adds something here: signage is thin, and without the story of Shiva, lingas and Cham styles the towers start to blur. Going alone? Save a map of the groups before you leave and start in the centre, at B, C and D.

A 'sunrise tour' simply means arriving for the 6 am opening. Hills ring the valley and the sun appears late, so don't expect a sunrise view — but the cool air and empty paths are worth the alarm. The boat back on the Thu Bon is pleasant but slow, and in the heavy-rain months of October and November it may not run.

My Son, the Ancient Town or the Cham Islands?

Prices and hours: My Son's official site and the Da Nang Department of Tourism. With two days in Hoi An, do My Son on the first morning and the Ancient Town that evening; save the islands for a calm sea.

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How to do it right

• Start with Groups B, C and D in the centre, then walk up to Group G in time for a dance show.
• If you're passing through Da Nang, see the Museum of Cham Sculpture first — it holds the altars and gods that once stood in these temples.
• Have lunch at the cafés by the gate or back in Hoi An; there's little worth stopping for on the way.
• Rest after lunch and keep the evening for the lanterns of Hoi An Ancient Town.
• In the rainy season the brick is slick and the lower groups get muddy — wear shoes with real grip.
• If you've already done Angkor and time is short, it's fine to skip My Son and spend the day at An Bang Beach instead.

Questions