How to visit My Son Sanctuary, Vietnam

My Son Sanctuary is an ancient temple complex that’s a popular attraction for visitors to Vietnam.

As I was keen to visit all the UNESCO heritage sites in Vietnam, my sister, Lou, and I headed to My Son Sanctuary during our stay in Da Nang. However, deciding on the most economical way to organise our trip to My Son was quite hard, and I don’t feel like the internet is overflowing with practical information on how to visit.

Therefore, I’ve written this guide to help you plan your own visit to My Son Sanctuary.

About My Son Sanctuary

My Son Sanctuary is a complex of temples and shrines, dating to the 4th to 13th centuries, in Central Vietnam.

Way back in the first millennium, South Vietnam, as well as parts of Cambodia and Laos, formed Champa. The Cham people were Hindu and built many temples to honour their gods.

My Son Sanctuary is possibly the most well known and biggest example of a Cham temple complex. Here, you’ll find over 70 towers built in groups over many centuries. Their red sandstone and distinct architecture are iconic.

There are other places to see Cham shrines in Vietnam, like the Po Nagar Temple in Nha Trang or the Cham Towers in Quoy Nhon, but My Son is arguably the most impressive!

Where is My Son?

My Son Sanctuary is located in Central Vietnam, around 25 km from Hoi An and 35 km from Da Nang as the crow flies.

As it only takes 1 hour to drive from Hoi An to My Son Sanctuary, people often visit from there. It makes sense. To be honest, I think if My Son was further away from such a popular town, it would be a much less popular destination!

Nowadays, My Son Sanctuary’s location slightly inland, surrounded by hills and jungle, makes it a peaceful retreat from the city (when the tour groups aren’t there, at least…).

Many stages of growth

My Son is thought to have been used continuously by the Cham people from the 4th to 13th centuries. As you might expect from a temple complex that’s been used for such a long time, there have been several stages of building and rebuilding.

As such, the oldest buildings date back to the 9th century. Anything older than that has been replaced or hasn’t survived.

History buffs will love the opportunity to spot the development of the architecture in My Son for themselves, with modifications to the shrines over time reflecting their age.

Now just ruins

Given the oldness of the buildings, most of what remains of My Son Sanctuary is just ruins. However, factors other than age have also been at play.

My Son Sanctuary lies close to the path of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was used as a supply line for North Vietnamese soldiers heading south during the Vietnamese-American War. As such, it ended up becoming a base for Viet Cong soldiers, and was heavily bombed by the Americans.

Walking around My Son, the impact of this bombing is very obvious. Certain areas of the complex was heavily bombarded, most notably in Complexes E and F. This resulted in the removal of whole structures, and you can still see the bomb craters at the site.

Nowadays, some of the temples are propped up with metal beams or covered with a protective roof, most obviously in Complex F.

Rediscovery

My Son Sanctuary ceased to be used by the 15th century. It appears to have been largely forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1898 by M. C. Paris.

Since then, My Son Sanctuary has been significantly restored and protected with progressively higher designations. It’s now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been extensively studied.

The modern Cham people

Champa may not exist, but that doesn’t mean the end of the Cham ethnic group. 

As the Champa kingdom converted to Islam in the 17th century, most members of the modern Cham community are Muslim. You’ll find members of the Cham community throughout South Vietnam and Cambodia.

Nowadays, the Cham ethnic group is officially recognised as one of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.

Ratings

As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that I can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit. Those are the scores you see at the top of the page!

This is how My Son Sanctuary rated:

• Safety: 5/5 – My Son Sanctuary felt very safe. Possibly the only problem is that the monuments and paths are made of sandstone, so they can get slippery.
• Accessibility: 4/5 – it is fairly easy to reach My Son, but you might need to take a taxi. It’s also pretty easy to visit.
• Enjoyment: 5/5 – it’s an amazing site which is very interesting to visit! I wouldn’t class it as a must-see when in Vietnam, but it’s pleasing all the same.
• Value: 3/5 – My Son Sanctuary is a bit more expensive than other similar sites in Vietnam. As it’s a 1 hour drive from nearby tourist destinations, the transport to My Son also doesn’t work out cheap.

Overall score: 4.25/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.

More: how I rank destinations using the Everywhere Ratings system

How to get to my Son

To get to My Son Sanctuary, you’ll first need to get to a nearby city, like Hoi An or Da Nang. (Of course, if you have a vehicle, you can stay much closer to My Son if you desire!)

From My Son Sanctuary, you have a couple of options: renting a scooter, joining a tour, or taking a shuttle bus or taxi.

By tour

Possibly the most popular option for visitors to My Son Sanctuary is to take a tour. For these, you’ll join a larger group, and a guide will take you around the site. It’s a great option for those who want to hear more about the history of the site as they go along, but not so great if you value independence and flexibility, as you probably won’t have much time to explore it on your own.

There are many public tours departing from Hoi An. You can arrange a place on these tours online (e.g. by using Get Your Guide), on the operator’s website, or in person at one of the many tour agencies around the ancient town.

Personally I wanted to visit My Son from Da Nang, so I searched for a tour departing from here. However, I couldn’t find any. The only option would’ve been to take a private tour, which works out quite expensive! We decided to give this a pass.

By shuttle bus

An alternative option is to take a shuttle bus to My Son. By taking a shuttle bus, you’ll have set arrival and departure times, with a set amount of time to explore the site independently. This is a great and economical option, but you won’t have a guide or any flexibility if your trip takes more or less time than you think.

Shuttle buses exist from the tourist area of Da Nang and from Hoi An. However, if you travel from Da Nang, bear in mind that most shuttles will take you to join a larger group in Hoi An first, significantly adding to the travel time. Expect to pay around 200,000 dong ($8 / £6.50) for a return ticket from Hoi An, or 350,000 dong ($14 / £11) from Da Nang.

By taxi

The most convenient option is to take a taxi to My Son. It is the most expensive option, but if you are good at negotiation, or have a larger group, it can work out economical. Expect to pay around 750,000 to 1,000,000 dong ($31 to $41 / £25 to £33) to travel from either city.

Personally, when visiting My Son Sanctuary, we took a taxi. We got picked up from our hostel in Da Nang and dropped off at our hotel in Hoi An. At 900,000 dong ($37 / £29) it was far from a bargain, but it saved us having to visit it on a separate trip. Also, our driver waited for us for 3 hours, which was much longer than we’d get at My Son with either a tour or a shuttle bus!

Tip: I’d recommend organising your taxi through your hotel, particularly in Hoi An. They often have the best rates!

By renting a scooter

Experienced scooter riders might want to rent a scooter to get around. Considering scooter rental costs 100,000 to 150,000 dong ($4 to $6 / £3 to £5), compared to taking a tour or taxi, this option can work out much cheaper.

However, given the drive is 1 hour each way from Hoi An and Da Nang, and may involve navigating the city centre depending on where you’re staying, I wouldn’t recommend it if you are new to riding scooters.

Do you need to take a tour?

When thinking about how to best visit My Son Sanctuary, you might be thinking whether it’s worth taking a tour. There are definitely benefits and drawbacks to this.

I didn’t take a tour and was mostly reliant on the signs you see around the site. In reality there’s only one or two signs per group of temples, giving basic information on each of them. It’s better than nothing, but true lovers of history will be dissatisfied by the depth of information.

By contrast, a tour guide would give you a lot more information. We were a bit jealous of the groups with guides as it felt like they got to know My Son Sanctuary more deeply!

That being said, you don’t need to take a tour to get more information on the sites. It’s also possible to hire a guide just after you get off the shuttle bus, or to hire an audio guide.

A tour would mean you only get a couple of hours there with only a short amount of independent exploration; that definitely suits some people more than others.

Personally, for me it was the right decision to travel independently. For others, a tour group will be much better!

Practical information

• Cost (as of November 2023): a ticket to My Son Sanctuary = 150,000 dong ($6 / £5) per person
• Guide (as of November 2023): audio guide = 75,000 dong ($3 / £2.50); tour guide = 100,000 ($4 / £3)
• Open: 9 am to 5 pm

Arrival

When you arrive, you or your taxi will park up in the car park. Beside the car park, there’s a stand where you can buy your entrance ticket.

To enter My Son Sanctuary, you’ll need to take a shuttle bus from near the car park, to the entrance to the site. The shuttle bus stop is a two minute walk from the car park. On the way, you’ll pass a small museum with My Son artefacts and information: worth checking out if you want more of a background to the temple complex.

At the shuttle bus stop, you’ll board a golf buggy which drives you around 3 km to the entrance of the site, taking 5 to 10 minutes. The shuttle bus is free and included with your ticket.

By the way, we’ve thought long and hard about WHY you actually need a shuttle bus for this journey; the road to My Son is paved and drivable, after all. Our best reasoning is that there’s no space to park cars at the end, but who knows?

Inside the temple complex

The shuttle bus will drop you off close to the temple complex. From it, there’s a circular path which takes you past all the temples.

The temples are split into groups numbered A to H along the main path. Be careful not to miss out K as this is not on the maps but is quite impressive!

If you follow the path in an anti-clockwise direction, straight after the first temple you will see a comparatively modern hall. This has multiple dance and music performances every day, which last for 20 minutes and are included in your ticket. Be sure to check the times for this when you buy your ticket.

Conclusion

My Son Sanctuary is an interesting temple complex that’s worth a visit if you’re coming to Hoi An or Da Nang. For historians or architectural buffs, it’s a must-see; but people who aren’t into these things but just appreciate a nice temple will like it too!

Is My Son Sanctuary on your bucket list? Let me know in the comments!