My Son UNESCO Site & Fresh Rice Noodle Making Class from Hoi An

Make phở noodles by hand, then taste what you built

A full-morning class combining a guided walk through My Son Sanctuary (a UNESCO World Heritage Site of ancient Cham brick temples) with a hands-on lesson in making fresh rice noodles at a family home, plus a traditional Cham dance performance and a 30-minute boat trip on the Thu Bon River. Pickup from Hoi An or Da Nang hotels is included. The tour runs 6 hours and ends with lunch featuring your handmade phở.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each

1. My Son Sanctuary4h · entry included
2. Thu Bon River1h · entry included

My Son tour and noodle making

• Hotel pickup at 7:30 AM
• Walk around My Son Sanctuary
• Watch traditional Cham dance
• Lunch at local family home
• Learn to make fresh rice noodles
• Taste handmade phở noodles
• Boat trip on Thu Bon River
• Return to hotel by 1:30 PM

The experience

Your guide picks you up at 7:30 AM and drives you to My Son Sanctuary, where you'll spend two hours walking among brick towers and temples built between the 4th and 13th centuries. The morning light is clearest then, and the site has fewer visitors. Your English-speaking guide explains the history and symbolism of each structure (what the Champa Kingdom built here and why), while you move through the ruins. Around 9:30 AM, you watch a traditional Cham dance performance: local dancers in period costumes, accompanied by traditional instruments, showing you how this culture expressed itself centuries ago.

At 11 AM you leave the ruins and head to a local family home, where the real work begins. You'll learn to make fresh rice noodles from scratch: the silky strands that give phở its texture. Your instructor walks you through each step: how rice flour and water become dough, how that dough becomes sheets, how those sheets become the noodles you'll eat. You make them with your own hands, and afterward you taste your phở, built from ingredients you just prepared. This is not a demonstration. You're doing the work.

On the way back to your hotel, you have 30 minutes on a traditional wooden boat on the Thu Bon River: time to sit, breathe, and watch the water before you're dropped off around 1:30 PM. The whole day is arranged: pickup, transport, the guide, entrance to My Son, lunch, and the noodle lesson. You don't book a separate boat or negotiate with drivers at the dock.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off in Hoi An (or Da Nang with the Da Nang option).
• air-conditioned vehicle and English-speaking guide.
• entrance ticket to My Son Sanctuary.
• hands-on rice noodle-making class at a family home.
• lunch featuring your handmade phở.
• traditional Cham dance performance.
• 30-minute boat trip on the Thu Bon River.

Options for this experience

2 options

Early morning My Son tour - departing from Hoi AnGuide in English · 07:30Pickup and drop-off from Hoi An; pickup is included

Early morning My Son tour - departing from Da NangGuide in English · 07:30Pickup and drop-off from Da Nang; pickup is included

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 07:30

AgesAdult (18 to 59 years) · Senior (60 to 70 years) · Youth (13 to 17 years) · Child (5 to 12 years) · Infant (1 to 4 years): free

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearbyNot recommended with heart problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Simply Vietnam Travel

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to move beyond watching: making the noodles yourself, tasting them fresh, and understanding how phở actually comes together is what separates this from a standard temple tour. The early start and fixed schedule mean you see My Son before the crowds arrive, and everything (transport, the guide, the meal, the boat) is arranged so the morning holds together without you organizing pieces of it.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (13 to 17 years); Child (5 to 12 years); Infant (1 to 4 years): free.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What exactly do I make during the noodle-making class?

You make fresh rice noodles. The soft, silky strands that are the signature ingredient in phở. Working step-by-step with instruction, you transform rice flour and water into noodle sheets, then taste your finished phở afterward.

How early does the pickup happen, and can I book from Da Nang instead of Hoi An?

Pickup is at 7:30 AM from your hotel lobby. You can book from either Hoi An or Da Nang. The Da Nang option includes an extra charge for the longer drive.

What is the Cham dance performance, and when does it happen?

A traditional Cham dance is performed at 9:30 AM at My Son Sanctuary. Local dancers wear period costumes and perform with traditional instruments, showing cultural expressions passed down through generations.

How much time do I spend actually walking around My Son?

You walk through the ruins for about two hours in the morning, when the light is best and the site is less crowded. Your guide explains the history and symbolism of the brick temples and towers built between the 4th and 13th centuries.

Is lunch included, and what will I eat?

Yes, lunch is included at the family home where you make the noodles. You eat phở made with the fresh rice noodles you prepared yourself.

What happens on the boat trip back to Hoi An?

On the Thu Bon River, you have a peaceful 30-minute ride on a traditional wooden boat, taking in river views and fresh air before returning to your hotel around 1:30 PM.