Hoi An to My Son, Tam Ky and Quang Ngai in 2 Days and 1 Night: Stop Order and Where to End
The three groups of stops south of Hoi An run at different paces: My Son follows opening hours, Tam Ky suits a slow walk and Quang Ngai has boats on fixed times. The guide proposes a two-day order, flags gaps in the rate table and offers two endings, at Sa Ky or back.
Table of Contents (5 sections)
South of Hoi An there are three groups of stops that run at very different paces: the My Son sanctuary, the Tam Ky area with the Tam Thanh mural village and the Mother Thu monument, and then Quang Ngai with the Son My memorial and Sa Ky port for Ly Son island. Two days and one night can cover all three if you sleep in Quang Ngai and accept a fairly full first day. This guide gives a sensible order, the places where the rate table has no reference and two ways to end day 2.
What each group of stops asks of the schedule
My Son is a trip that follows opening hours. The temple complex lies in a closed valley with more than 70 Cham structures built over roughly nine centuries (from the 4th to the 13th century), according to the heritage site’s own page, and UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage site in 1999. The opening hours and show times are covered in the guide to the My Son sanctuary day tour by private car; here it is enough to remember that the site opens at 6:00, which is why My Son is the stop to place first on day 1.
Tam Ky holds two stops of a different character. The Tam Thanh mural village is a coastal fishing village about 7 km from central Tam Ky; the murals came from a Vietnamese and Korean community art project in June 2016, with about 70 paintings on about 100 houses, and more paintings and painted basket boats were added in a 2024 refresh (according to Vietnamese Wikipedia). The Mother Thu monument on Cam mountain was inaugurated on 24 March 2015; it is 18.37 m tall in granite and contains a 950 square metre memorial hall that lists the Heroic Vietnamese Mothers (Government news portal, 25 March 2015). One is a place to walk slowly and the other a place to stand quietly, so it helps to separate them with lunch.
Quang Ngai also has two rhythms: the Son My memorial is a place of remembrance, while Sa Ky port is a stop with fixed boat times. Details are under day 2.
Driving times in the rate table
| Stop | From Hoi An | From Da Nang |
|---|---|---|
| My Son sanctuary | about 40 km round trip, 3 to 4 hours waiting for the visit | about 45 km each way, 1 hour each way |
| Tam Thanh mural village | about 45 km, 1 hour | about 65 km, 1.3 hours |
| Tam Ky city | about 50 km, 1 hour | about 70 km, 1.5 hours |
| Mother Thu monument (Tam Ky) | no separate entry | about 60 km, 1.2 hours |
| Quang Ngai city | about 115 km, 2.2 hours | about 135 km, 2.5 hours |
| Sa Ky port | about 110 km, 2.2 hours | about 140 km, 2.5 hours |
These are one-way entries (My Son is a round-trip programme) used to plan the time budget. The rate table has no entry for My Son to Tam Ky or Tam Ky to Quang Ngai, so the total driving time of a day with several stops cannot be added up from the table; dispatch works it out from the real route when it receives your schedule. Rates for each leg are on the pages for a private car from Hoi An to Tam Ky, Hoi An to Quang Ngai and the Hoi An and My Son round-trip tour.
Day 1: My Son, Tam Ky, then the night in Quang Ngai
The suggested order puts My Son first, because the site opens at 6:00 and most of the visit is outdoors. After that you continue to Tam Ky, have lunch, visit Tam Thanh or the Mother Thu monument and drive into Quang Ngai late in the afternoon. If you choose only one stop in Tam Ky, choose by what you want: Tam Thanh suits groups who like walking and photography, while the Mother Thu monument suits a trip of remembrance.
An estimate of the Tam Ky to Quang Ngai distance from the table is only a subtraction of two entries that both start in Da Nang (135 km minus 70 km, about 65 km); it is a figure to picture the trip, not a measured distance. If day 1 has already grown long you can sleep in Tam Ky instead of Quang Ngai, but then day 2 has to carry the extra leg into Quang Ngai.
Day 2: Son My, then Sa Ky or back
The Son My memorial commemorates the massacre of 16 March 1968 and was ranked a special national monument in 2002; it stands beside Highway 24B, about 13 km north-east of the centre of Quang Ngai (according to Vietnamese Wikipedia). Public sources give different opening hours (about 7:00 to 7:30 until 17:00 to 17:30) and the site’s official page could not be reached on 1 October 2026, so confirm the hours before you go. This is a solemn place: dress modestly, allow unhurried time and do not plan to the minute with the car.
Sa Ky port is about 20 km from the centre of Quang Ngai; high-speed boats to Ly Son run from about 7:30 to 15:30 according to public travel sources, run by several companies whose timetables and tickets are set by each operator. Details are in the guide to the private car to Sa Ky port for Ly Son island.
Day 2 can end in two ways:
- End at Sa Ky: guests cross to the island by boat and the car finishes the trip at the port. The return after coming back from the island, and any change caused by the boat schedule, are not part of this programme and are confirmed separately.
- Return to Hoi An or Da Nang: use Hoi An to Quang Ngai at about 115 km and 2.2 hours (or 135 km and 2.5 hours from Da Nang), read in the opposite direction, as a base. If you must be back by a certain hour, count back from it and leave a margin for rests.
What to send so the schedule can be settled
- Your pickup in Hoi An or Da Nang (the car can drive through the gates of hotels and resorts to pick up and drop off), the planned overnight place and where day 2 ends.
- Your list of stops in order of priority, which can be dropped if you run late and whether you are going to Ly Son.
- The number of passengers, the number of suitcases and a 4, 7 or 16-seat vehicle.
The base rate table has no entry for the driver’s overnight stay, a waiting car or the return leg; these are quoted separately for your schedule. A trip needs a 20% deposit of the trip price; cancellation is free if you tell us at least 2 hours before the pickup time, and if later the terms are written in the confirmation. The service scope is on the page for multi-day car rental with a driver.
Frequently asked questions about two days and one night from Hoi An to My Son and Quang Ngai
Which province or city do Hoi An, Tam Ky and Quang Ngai belong to now?
Since 1 July 2025, under Resolution 202/2025/QH15, Quang Nam has merged into Da Nang city, so Hoi An, My Son and Tam Ky all belong to Da Nang city; Quang Ngai has merged with Kon Tum to form Quang Ngai province. Write pickup and drop-off addresses as they appear on your hotel confirmation.
Should Ly Son island be added to this two-day plan?
Only if you accept ending at Sa Ky port. The boats to the island are run by separate companies on fixed times, and the return from the island depends on the boat schedule, so this part is confirmed separately instead of being squeezed into the car schedule.
Is the Son My memorial suitable for young children?
It commemorates a massacre, with an exhibition listing the names and ages of victims and a room that screens a documentary. Decide by the age of your children; if it does not suit, Tam Thanh or another stop can replace it on day 2.
Is it better to stay the night in Tam Ky or in Quang Ngai?
Sleeping in Tam Ky makes day 1 lighter but moves the leg into Quang Ngai to day 2. Sleeping in Quang Ngai makes day 1 longer but leaves day 2 more time for Son My and Sa Ky. Send both options so dispatch can work out the driving time.
If we arrive at My Son early in the morning, when can we see a performance?
The site opens at 6:00 and the first show at the main performance hall is at 9:45, according to the site's official page (posted in 2019, checked on 1 October 2026). Because performances can be cancelled for operational reasons, confirm before you go and then decide whether to tour the towers first or wait for a show.
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