This three-day group tour (maximum 30 travellers) connects central Vietnam’s three defining destinations in a single arc. Day one is arrival and free time in Hoi An Ancient Town — the 15th-century merchant port whose lantern-lit streets and preserved trading houses earned UNESCO status in 1999. Day two pairs a morning at My Son Sanctuary — a 4th–13th century complex of Hindu Cham temples deep in a jungle valley, also UNESCO-listed — with an afternoon walking tour through Hoi An’s merchant quarter: the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Phuc Kien (Fujian) Assembly Hall, and a boat ride on the Thu Bon River with optional flower lantern release.
Day three drives north to Hue, Vietnam’s last imperial capital. The morning covers the Khai Dinh Tomb — the most ornate of the Nguyen royal tombs, a hillside fusion of Vietnamese and European baroque — followed by Thien Mu Pagoda on the Perfume River and the vast Imperial Citadel, whose Forbidden Purple City served as the emperor’s private residence. Lunch features traditional Hue royal cuisine before the drive back to Da Nang Airport.
Pickup from Da Nang Airport (transfers available 06:00–20:00) and transfer to Hoi An (approx. 30 minutes). Check in to Hoang Trinh Hotel (3-star) or similar. The rest of the day is free to explore at your own pace — the narrow lanes of the Ancient Town are a short walk from most Hoi An hotels. Wander the Japanese Covered Bridge, browse the tailor shops along Tran Phu Street, or take a table at one of the riverside restaurants for Cao Lau or White Rose Dumplings — two dishes found almost nowhere else in Vietnam.
Overnight: Hoang Trinh Hotel or similar (3-star), Hoi An.
After breakfast, drive 45 minutes into the jungle valley that shelters My Son Sanctuary — a UNESCO World Heritage complex of over 70 Cham Hindu temples built between the 4th and 13th centuries. Your guide walks you through the surviving tower clusters, explaining the Cham civilisation's centuries of rule over central Vietnam, their Hindu cosmology, and the significance of the Shiva lingam worship that shaped the site. Many towers were damaged in the Vietnam War; the contrast between intact and bombed structures is stark.
Return to Hoi An for the afternoon walking tour of the Ancient Town. Visit the Phuc Kien (Fujian) Assembly Hall — built in 1697 by the Fujian Chinese community and dedicated to the sea goddess Thien Hau — then continue through the merchant quarter past the old trading houses. End at the Thu Bon River for a short boat ride; at dusk, try the optional flower lantern release — a paper lantern set adrift on the river, a Hoi An tradition especially popular on the 14th of each lunar month. Dinner at a traditional restaurant in town.
Meals: Breakfast at hotel; Lunch; Dinner at traditional restaurant.
Overnight: Hoang Trinh Hotel or similar (3-star), Hoi An.
After breakfast, drive north to Hue (approx. 2.5 hours via the coastal road). First stop is Khai Dinh Tomb — the 12th and most elaborate of the Nguyen dynasty royal tombs, built 1920–1931 on a steep hillside. Unlike the earlier tombs' traditional Vietnamese garden style, Khai Dinh's is a deliberate fusion: reinforced concrete structure, European baroque towers, and interiors covered entirely in mosaics of coloured glass and porcelain fragments. Continue to Thien Mu Pagoda — the seven-storey Phuoc Duyen tower has stood on a bluff above the Perfume River since 1601 and remains the most recognised symbol of Hue.
After lunch featuring traditional Hue royal cuisine — the elaborate small-dish style developed for the Nguyen emperors — enter the Hue Imperial Citadel. The walled city, built from 1804, enclosed the entire royal court on the model of Beijing's Forbidden City. Inside, visit the Ngo Mon (Noon Gate), the Thai Hoa Palace (throne hall), and the Forbidden Purple City — the emperor's private residential compound, much of which was destroyed in the 1968 Tet Offensive and is still being restored. Drive back to Da Nang for airport drop-off (available until 20:00).
Meals: Breakfast at hotel; Lunch featuring Hue royal cuisine.
