Central Vietnam: Hue, the Hai Van Pass and Hoi An

1. Day 1: Arrive in Hue

   Phu Bai International Airport to central Hue, then Dong Ba Market

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Hue
   Day 1 details

   Your trip starts at Phu Bai International Airport (HUI), about 15 km south of Hue, where we meet you and drive you to your hotel near the Perfume River. Hue was the capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen emperors from 1802 to 1945, and the river still divides the walled citadel on the north bank from the newer town on the south. Rest after the flight. In the late afternoon your guide meets the group for a short walk across the river to Dong Ba Market, the city's main market since the 19th century, where stalls sell conical hats, dried shrimp, sesame sweets and the fermented shrimp paste that flavours much of Hue's cooking. Then a welcome dinner together, with dishes the city is known for: bun bo Hue, a spicy beef noodle soup, banh khoai crispy pancakes and small steamed rice cakes. If your flight lands late, we meet you at breakfast instead.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Phu Bai International Airport (HUI)
   • Late afternoon walk to Dong Ba Market with your guide
   • Welcome dinner of Hue dishes

   Free time: Afternoon free to rest before the welcome walk

   

2. Day 2: Hue: the Imperial City and the Perfume River

   The Imperial City, the tombs of Tu Duc and Khai Dinh, then a dragon boat to Thien Mu Pagoda

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Hue
   Day 2 details

   We walk to the Meridian Gate for opening time, when the courtyards of the Imperial City are cool and nearly empty. The Complex of Hue Monuments is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and your guide takes you through the throne hall, the dynastic temples and what remains of the Forbidden Purple City, explaining what was lost in the fighting of 1968 and what has been rebuilt since. Late morning we drive into the hills south of the city to the tomb of Tu Duc, a lakeside park of pavilions the emperor used as a retreat while he was alive, then the tomb of Khai Dinh, finished in 1931, its inner hall covered in porcelain and glass mosaic. Lunch together at a garden restaurant, then the afternoon is free to rest. In the late afternoon a dragon boat takes us up the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda, founded in 1601, with its seven-storey tower in the low light. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Imperial City of Hue at opening time, with entry
   • Tomb of Tu Duc, with entry
   • Tomb of Khai Dinh, with entry
   • Dragon boat on the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda

   Easier option: Skip the tomb of Khai Dinh, the one with the most steps, and rest at the hotel before the boat.

   More active option: Walk the citadel walls and the quieter back lanes of the citadel with your guide after lunch.

   Free time: Early afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 3 km of walking inside the Imperial City and steps at Khai Dinh's tomb. Rain plan: February and March can be drizzly in Hue. In steady rain we keep the Imperial City and Tu Duc's tomb, drop Khai Dinh's tomb and take longer over lunch; the dragon boat has a roof and runs in light rain.

   

3. Day 3: Over the Hai Van Pass to Hoi An

   Hue to Lang Co, the Hai Van Pass and the Marble Mountains, then Hoi An

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Hoi An
   Day 3 details

   Today the drive is the trip, and the one longer road day of the week. We leave Hue after breakfast and follow the coast south to Lang Co, a fishing village on a sand spit between a lagoon and the sea. Then we climb the Hai Van Pass, the pass of the sea clouds, where a spur of the Truong Son range runs into the sea at almost 500 metres. It has long marked a climate line between the north and the south, and at the top stand the ruins of a gate built under the Nguyen emperors and a few wartime bunkers. Cloud often sits on the pass, so your guide watches the sky and picks the time; if it is hidden, we stay longer at Lang Co and take the tunnel. Seafood lunch together near Da Nang, a short stop at the Marble Mountains, then Hoi An by mid-afternoon. The evening is free to find your feet in the Old Town.

   Included

   • Transport from Hue to Hoi An with your guide
   • Lang Co
   • Hai Van Pass, weather permitting
   • Marble Mountains, Da Nang

   Easier option: Stay at the foot of the Marble Mountains while others climb the steps to the caves.

   More active option: Climb to the caves and viewpoints of the Marble Mountains.

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: Driving is split into three legs of about an hour each, with stops at Lang Co, the top of the pass and the Marble Mountains.

4. Day 4: Hoi An at dawn and the Old Town

   The Japanese Covered Bridge at first light, then the Old Town on foot

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Hoi An
   Day 4 details

   This is the morning to set an alarm for. At about 6 am the Japanese Covered Bridge, built by the town's Japanese merchants at the end of the 16th century and reopened in 2024 after a long restoration, is often empty, if it is open at that hour (we confirm it locally), and the yellow merchant houses along Tran Phu Street take the early light. Your guide walks the quiet lanes with anyone who wants to come, with time for photographs before the shops open. After breakfast we return for a guided walk of Hoi An Ancient Town, a port where Chinese and Japanese merchants traded until the 19th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with entry to a Chinese assembly hall, an old merchant house and the central market. Lunch together, with cao lau noodles, a dish the town is known for. The afternoon and evening are free: rest at the hotel, swim, or see one of the town's tailors.

   Included

   • Optional, early: dawn photo walk to the Japanese Covered Bridge with your guide, about 6 am
   • Guided walk of Hoi An Ancient Town
   • Hoi An Old Town entry ticket
   • A Chinese assembly hall, an old merchant house and the central market

   Easier option: Sleep in and join the group after breakfast.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: Please keep tripods off the Japanese Covered Bridge.

   

5. Day 5: My Son at opening, then An Bang beach

   Hoi An to the My Son sanctuary and back, then An Bang beach

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Hoi An
   Day 5 details

   An early start for My Son, about an hour west of Hoi An in a green valley under Cat's Tooth Mountain. From the 4th to the 13th century the kings of Champa built brick temples here, most of them to the Hindu god Shiva. Many were destroyed by bombing in 1969, but the groups that survive, with their carved brick and sandstone, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We arrive as the gates open, while it is cool and before the day groups, and your guide explains how the Cham builders laid brick with almost no visible mortar. Back in Hoi An by late morning for lunch together. The afternoon is free on An Bang beach, about 4 km north of the Old Town: we drive you there, you rent a lounger at one of the beach cafes, swim or walk the sand, and the vehicle brings you back in the late afternoon. Or stay in town if you prefer.

   Included

   • My Son sanctuary at opening time, with entry and your guide
   • Transfer to An Bang beach and back

   Easier option: See the first temple groups and wait in the shade at the site cafe while others walk to the far group.

   More active option: Cycle back from An Bang to Hoi An through the rice fields, about 5 km, on a rented bicycle.

   Free time: Afternoon free at the beach or in town; evening free

   Activity: About 2 km of walking at My Son on dirt paths with some steps. Swim only where the beach flags allow it.

6. Day 6: Tra Que cooking class and the river at dusk

   Hoi An to Tra Que village by bicycle, then the Thu Bon River

   • By boat
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Hoi An
   Day 6 details

   After breakfast we cycle about 3 km out of town to Tra Que, a vegetable village between two rivers known for its herbs and greens, grown in beds fertilised with seaweed from the lagoon. A local host walks you through the gardens, you help with watering and planting, then cook dishes such as banh xeo crispy pancakes and fresh spring rolls in an open kitchen and eat them for lunch. We ride back before the midday heat, and the afternoon is free to rest, swim or collect tailoring. At dusk we meet at the river: a small rowing boat takes the group out on the Thu Bon as the lanterns come on along both banks, and you can set a candle lantern on the water if you like. Then a farewell dinner together in the Old Town, the last evening of the trip.

   Included

   • Bicycle ride to Tra Que vegetable village
   • Garden visit and cooking class with lunch
   • Rowing boat on the Thu Bon River at dusk
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Ride to Tra Que in the vehicle instead of by bicycle.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: The bicycle ride is on flat lanes, about 3 km each way.

   

7. Day 7: Depart from Da Nang

   A free morning in Hoi An, then north along the coast to Da Nang International Airport

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 7 details

   The last day is yours, with no early start. Breakfast at the hotel, then the morning is free until your airport transfer: a last walk through the Old Town before the day visitors arrive, a coffee by the river, a final fitting at the tailor, or a swim. If you want one more outing and your flight leaves in the afternoon or evening, your guide can arrange a half-day basket boat trip in the water coconut palms at Cam Thanh, just outside the town. We drive you about 30 km north along the coast to Da Nang International Airport (DAD) in good time for your flight. Flights after about midday are the easiest; for an earlier flight we arrange an earlier transfer. Many guests continue south to Ho Chi Minh City or north to Hanoi from here.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Da Nang International Airport (DAD)

   Optional experiences

   • Basket boat trip at Cam Thanh. For afternoon or evening flights.

   Free time: Morning free

Wildlife and weather: February and March are mild, often grey and sometimes drizzly in Hue, and the best months for walking. April is warm and mostly dry. May is hot, often above 30 C by midday, which is why the plan starts early and keeps the afternoons free. The sea at An Bang is calmest from about April. Hue and Hoi An get most of their rain, the risk of typhoons and, in some years, river floods in Hoi An Old Town from September to December.

• Hue2 nights
• Hoi An4 nights