Sidequests from Hội An

Some places near Hội An you can do in a day and be home by dinner — those live on our Day Trips page. These are the other kind: the ones worth packing a bag for. Stay a night, or three. Go deeper than the day-trippers. These are the adventures we're glad we made time for — done first-hand, with kids, and written up honestly, the good and the hard parts both.

Huế

3–3.5 hours north · Stay 1–3 nights · With kids

The old imperial capital over the Hải Vân Pass — and far more fun with kids than the "palaces and tombs" reputation suggests. Natural waterslides in the jungle, an abandoned water park with a giant dragon, an immersive digital art museum, and honestly? Our kids' favourite thing was the mall. The history's worth seeing too (one tomb is a real wow) — you just pace it around the kid-wins. Too far for a day trip; give it a couple of nights.

Read the full Huế with Kids guide →

Tam Kỳ

90 minutes by motorbike · Best February–August · Stay a night or two · With kids

Vietnam's most overlooked coastal city, and almost no foreign traveller stops here. That's the appeal. A dawn fish market sold straight off the sand, 400-million-year-old black rocks you'll have nearly to yourself, a wetland full of birdlife, flamingo pedal boats, and a beach with no resorts on it. One of the best-value family stretches on this coast if you base yourself right. Go for the real Vietnam, not the polished one.

Read the full Tam Kỳ with Kids guide →

Cham Islands (Cù Lao Chàm)

15–20 km offshore · Best March–September · Cash/QR only · Day trip or overnight

You can do Cham in a day (it's on our Day Trips page too) — but it's good enough to stay. The best snorkelling within reach of Hội An, empty roads, a 250-year-old pagoda, and a forest-green island most visitors only see from a sun lounger. Skip the group tour, rent a scooter, and run your own pace. Stay over and you get the island after the day-boats leave.

Read the full Cham Islands guide →

More Sidequests

Coming Soon

  • The Hải Vân Pass & beyond | The great coastal mountain road, and the deeper runs north that deserve more than a day. Guide coming soon.

  • Bạch Mã | the mountains, the road less taken

Getting Around

For the shorter sidequests, a motorbike is our pick — the freedom to stop and follow a side road is half the point. For the longer runs (Huế especially) or with tired kids at the end of a big day, a car with a private driver is the easy, air-conditioned call, and affordable to arrange from Hội An. Longer adventures?

Skip the overnight buses with kids. Short daytime runs (like the Hội An–Da Nang bus) are fine, but the overnight sleeper buses on the long-haul routes are the ones we'd avoid with little ones: night driving here can be alarming — hard braking, aggressive overtaking, long hours in the dark — and it's not worth the risk to save a night's stay. For the longer sidequests, a car with a private driver or a daytime train is safer, calmer, and door-to-door.

On licences: anything 50cc or under — including 50cc-equivalent electric scooters — needs no licence at all in Vietnam. Anything bigger legally requires a home motorcycle licence plus a 1968 Vienna Convention International Driving Permit. Canadian, American, British, and Australian IDPs are 1949 Geneva and not valid here — ride a 110cc+ bike without the right papers and your travel insurance is void the moment you crash. Stay in the licence-free class and you're covered.

When to Go

The dry season (roughly February to August) is the safe window for anything coastal or island-based — calm seas, clear water. The wet season from September into December brings heavy rain and flooding, and coastal or boat trips can cancel for days. Inland sidequests like Huế work more of the year, but check the forecast before a long run.

Planning the Rest of Your Trip

Shorter on time? The Day Trips from Hội A page has the ones you can do and be home by bedtime. Staying close to base? The Hội An beaches guide covers the coast fifteen minutes from the Old Town.