Day Trips from Hoi An: My Son, Hue over the Hai Van Pass, Ba Na Hills, Cham Island, and Da Nang

The Cham temple ruins 40 km west, built between the 4th and 13th centuries by the Hindu kingdom that ruled this coast, are a UNESCO site of brick towers in a jungle valley, badly bombed in 1969 and partly restored. Half a day: leave at 7:00 to arrive at opening before the coaches and the heat, see the main groups B, C and D, watch the short Cham dance performance if it is on, and be back for lunch. Sunrise tours and boat-return tours down the Thu Bon are the pleasant variants. The My Son guide has the site itself.

Hue is 130 km north and the road there over the Hai Van Pass, the cloud pass between the central coast and the north, is the point: 20 km of hairpins with the sea below, the old French and American bunkers on the summit, and the Lang Co lagoon beyond. By motorbike pillion with an Easy Rider driver it is the best day in central Vietnam; by private car it is comfortable and stops at the same places. Hue itself needs four hours for the citadel and a tomb, so the day is 12 hours; better is one way with luggage, ending in Hue.

Ba Na Hills, an hour away, is the French hill station rebuilt as a theme park at 1,400 metres with the Golden Bridge held by giant stone hands; the cable car ticket is most of the cost and the crowd is largest from 10:00, so early departures matter. Da Nang's own sights, the Marble Mountains, Lady Buddha on Son Tra and the Dragon Bridge's fire show on weekend nights, make a half day. The Ba Na guide and Marble Mountains guide cover them.

Cu Lao Cham, 20 km offshore, is a marine reserve of eight islands reached by speedboat in 20 minutes from Cua Dai: snorkelling on the coral, a fishing village, a beach and a seafood lunch, from March to September when the sea is calm. Day tours run USD 30 to 50; the reef is modest by Thai standards and the trip is about the island. Closed by weather from October to February.

One spare day: My Son in the morning and the countryside by bicycle in the afternoon. Two: the Hai Van Pass to Hue, ideally one-way. Three: Ba Na or Cham Island by season. Private cars for two to four run USD 60 to 120 a day plus entries; group tours USD 20 to 45 per person. October to December is the rain, when My Son and the pass are often in cloud.