There are many options for fun and interesting day trips from Hoi An or Da Nang. Depending on how much time you have, you may even decide that some of them are worth an overnight, or even a multi-day stay!
During the six months we spent living in Hoi An, we enjoyed several day trips and a couple of wonderful overnight trips in the region.
We have shared a few of our experiences of the Hoi An day trips you might be considering in our post about the best things to do in Da Nang with kids. These include the Marble Mountains and Son Tra Mountain, both of which we spent a half-day exploring. And, of course, you can choose to take a day trip to Da Nang from Hoi An if you wish!
We’ve also shared 19 amazing things to do in the ancient town of Hoi An (a UNESCO World Heritage site). These include attending a cooking class, visiting traditional villages, taking a ride in a basket boat, and more.
In this post, we’re highlighting five awesome ideas for day trips (or longer) that you could take from either Hoi An or Da Nang, Vietnam, to make the most of what this beautiful region has to offer.
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1. Day trips from Hoi An: Vinwonders
Vinwonders is an amusement and water park near Hoi An. There is another Vinwonders located in Nha Trang, further down the Vietnamese coastline, and another on Phu Quoc Island.
The theme park in Hoi An opened in 2018 and is guaranteed to be a fun day out for kids and adults alike. Colin and Ayla spent a full day there with several “big kids” from Hub Hoi An Co-working space, and they all had a great time.
The riverside setting has been modeled from Hoi An’s old town, and there’s no shortage of things to do. Ride the roller coasters in the theme park, go crazy on waterslides in the waterpark, or check out the crafts village or river safari.
You can buy tickets from GetYourGuide or Klook. There is a cheaper option if you want to visit the theme park in the evening, from 5 pm onwards. Many of the other attractions will be closed at this time, so if you want to make the most of everything that is on offer, get there as early as you can.
2. Day trip, overnight visit, or multi-day trip to the Cham Islands
The Cham Islands are a group of 8 islands located off the coast of Hoi An. It’s only recently that the largest inhabited island has been opened for tourism. Half of the island is still occupied by the military.
You can opt to travel by speedboat to reach the island in about 20-30 minutes, or take the daily ferry, which takes about 1.5 hours. Since we have a baby, we opted for the latter.
Alternatively, you could arrange a day trip to the Cham Islands with one of the tour companies in Hoi An. We like to “go slow” and do things independently most of the time, but tours are certainly an option.
The ferry docks at the larger and more touristy of the island’s villages. You can stay at this village, or jump on another smaller boat (or motorbike) to head about 5km east to the smaller village. The smaller village offers a bit more local authenticity, so this was where we stayed.
In the small village, there are just two main lanes, a couple of restaurants, and a few homestays. The beaches are a bit rocky and apparently not quite as good as the beaches in the big village, but we wanted to try the quiet village life.
Bring your passport for your Cham Islands visit!
Our biggest tip about visiting the Cham Islands is to BRING YOUR PASSPORT! Haha, don’t make the same mistake we did. I thought we wouldn’t need them, and I had an ID card to show the home stay.
However, an ID card was not acceptable. The accommodation providers told us that the military checked and signed everyone in to the village, so we couldn’t stay there. I was therefore assigned the job of heading up to the military base, and hoping they wouldn’t make us swim back to Hoi An.
I showed them color copies of our passports, which we store in the “cloud” and can access when needed. This was apparently not acceptable. However, they decided to let us stay for one night instead of the two we had booked because we clearly couldn’t get back without a boat!
I later found out that people with a Chinese passport cannot stay in the smaller village at all. Apparently, we would have been fine in the larger village without our passports. We were told that the accommodations wouldn’t require a passport, and the military wouldn’t have checked us there.
So we could have stayed in the larger village for the second night. However, with our little people, extreme heat, and the possibility that we wouldn’t find anywhere and would miss the boat back, we settled for one night!
3. Hoi An to Hue day trip (or stay overnight!)
The train trip from Hoi An to Hue was on our list of experiences to have while we were living in Hoi An, and we were stoked to be able to visit with a few extra family members in tow! Hoi An and Hue are 126km apart, so it’s certainly possible to add this trip to your itinerary of day trips from Hoi An.
Based on the train times and the fact that we like to slow travel (especially with little people in tow!), we decided to stay for two nights. You could easily catch a bus or drive from Hoi An as well.
Whether you choose train, car, or bus as your mode of transport, you’ll be able to take in the awe-inspiring beauty of Hai Van Pass, the stretch of road that this journey has become famous for. It’s so gorgeous that some people choose to take a day trip from Hoi An to the Hai Van Pass, without continuing on to Hue.
A river cruise along the Perfume River to take in the main sights of Hue
The Perfume River in Hue is a lovely setting for a spot of sightseeing. We walked down to the riverfront and asked one of the boats for a tour. They have standard trips that will take you to various locations along the river. Just decide on what you’d like to see, and negotiate a price.
Our boat first took us to Thien Mu Pagoda. It’s a Buddhist temple with beautifully landscaped gardens, which is set right on the riverbank. Part two took us back along the Perfume River to the Imperial City. Once the place of emperors and Royal families, it’s now one of the main tourist spots in this ancient town.
Hue is a lovely little ancient town, and we were really impressed by the gorgeous river, which seems to be well cared for. The ‘child-free’ members of our party also visited one of the tombs. We, however, spent the rest of our time there splashing about in the hotel pool:-)
4. Day Trip from Da Nang or Hoi An: Bana Hills
A French retreat until its destruction in 1954, the Bana Hills have been recreated to serve the modern-day tourist market. It’s definitely a unique, fun, and slightly quirky option to add to your list of day trips from Hoi An or Da Nang!
At almost 1500m above sea level, it’s a popular spot on the tourist trail, serving as a welcome reprieve from the heat. The morning was cool for us, but certainly not ‘cold’. The afternoon was warmer but still a little cooler than what we were used to!
The first entry point is the cable car ride, which is pretty spectacular. It’s easy to see how the network of five cable car routes has won a number of awards.
The first stop takes you to the famous (and also award-winning) Golden Bridge (the “hand” bridge). Guaranteed to be busy at any time of day, it’s still unique, and we thought it was a pretty cool sight.
We walked around all the attractions in the middle of here, including the large Buddha, wine cellar, and flower garden. There is also a funicular ride that covers this area.
Bana Hills French village, Fantasy park, and more!
Then we took another cable car to the top to see the French Village and for a short visit to Fantasy Park, the biggest indoor amusement park in Vietnam. We managed to convince little miss to get out of there so we could enjoy the more unique aspects of Bana Hills. There was a nice, scenic-looking roller coaster ride, but it was way too busy for us to want to line up for it.
You can also opt to stay the night in a Bana Hills hotel and eat in the French-inspired restaurants up there. Just don’t expect your gelato to taste anything like it does in Europe!
It’s certainly not a cheap day out (definitely the priciest attraction we went to in Vietnam), but the cable car ride itself is pretty amazing. We’re glad we got to visit before we moved on to our next adventure.
5. Day trip from Da Nang or Hoi An to Hot Springs Water Park
The Hot Springs Water Park is a lovely day trip from Hoi An. It’s just over an hour from Hoi An and is easier to reach from Da Nang.
Like many of the fun parks we’ve visited in Asia, it was pretty empty, really. Therefore, there were plenty of opportunities to ride the slides and take it all in. It’s nestled amongst hills and jungle and is a truly beautiful setting.
We paid the standard entry fee, which included plenty. As a family, it’s a bit hard to get through everything at some of these places. By the time feeding, changing, finding “lost” things, and all that is done, a standard ticket is usually fine for us!
We arrived at 10:30 am and spent the morning in the kids’ area with all sorts of water-play fun. There are pools, of course, and also a really cool indoor cave /tunnel that you can float around in. We also checked out the mud area and (cold) jacuzzi pool.
After a buffet lunch, we went to the main water park up top, where we enjoyed a giant-sized version of slides, a lazy river, and water play. Mum and Dad got to have a few turns on the “big kids” slides, even if Colin was 3kg over the weight limit for the most exciting-looking “dragon” slide!
We finished up with one of the short indoor “12d” movies. Also available for an extra cost are private mud baths, massages, and the like. These options might suit families with older kids, as well as single people and couples.
Other day trips from Hoi An, Vietnam
Local tour operators and hotels will offer you several other options for day trips from Hoi An (e.g., My Son Sanctuary). You could choose to do any of these as a private tour or independently.
We hope our day trip suggestions from Hoi An and/or Da Nang are helpful to you, and we wish you a wonderful stay in Vietnam!
If you’re planning a trip or traveling to other parts of Asia with your kids, we have lots more posts you might also want to read. Check out all our other Asia posts here.
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