Chan May Cruise Port: Hue, Hoi An & the Hai Van Pass

Chan May is a cargo wharf on an empty stretch of central Vietnamese coastline, and there is genuinely nothing to do at it. A terminal shed, some souvenir stalls, and a parking lot full of coaches is the entire offering.

What makes it one of the best calls in Asia is what sits either side of it. Hue in one direction, Da Nang and Hoi An in the other, and the Hai Van Pass strung between them.

My quick take

You cannot do Hue, Da Nang, and Hoi An in one call. People try, and they come back having seen three parking lots and a lot of Highway 1.

Pick one and give it the whole day. Hue is about an hour and a half north, Da Nang about an hour and a quarter south, and Hoi An roughly two hours south, so the arithmetic decides itself once you commit.

My default is Hoi An, because a walkable UNESCO old town beats a long day of monuments when you only have one shot. My second choice is Hue, and I would only choose it if imperial history is the reason you booked the cruise.

If you have already done both, take the Hai Van Pass road to Da Nang and treat the drive as the attraction. It is the same logic as the choice at Phu My further south, where the road time is the real constraint and not the sightseeing.

The quick facts

• Where you land: Chan May Port, a commercial wharf in Phu Loc on the central coast, roughly midway between Hue and Da Nang. It is a working cargo port that also takes cruise ships, not a dedicated cruise terminal.
• Dock or tender: You normally dock alongside, which is a mercy given how long the transfers are. The bay is exposed, so a rough forecast in the autumn storm season can put the call at risk.
• Into town: There is no town, only a small pier area with stalls and taxis. Every real destination is a coach or car ride of at least an hour.
• Currency: Vietnamese dong, and you will want small notes for markets, lanterns, and street food. Cards are fine in Hoi An restaurants and hotels, less so anywhere with a plastic stool.
• Headline activity: The Imperial City of Hue, or the ancient town of Hoi An, both UNESCO listed. Choosing between two world heritage sites is a nice problem to have and still a real one.
• Accessibility: The pier is flat and easy, and everything beyond it is a coach with steps. Hue’s citadel is huge and gravelly, and Hoi An’s old town is largely traffic free but heavily cobbled.

The pier, the coach lineup, and the visa paperwork

Chan May was built for cargo, and the cruise experience reflects that with admirable honesty. You come down the gangway onto a quay, walk past a shed, and find yourself among the coaches within a few minutes.

There is usually a modest stall market by the terminal selling conical hats and lacquerware. It exists purely because a few thousand people a day need somewhere to spend fifteen minutes, and it should not be part of your plan.

Local taxis and drivers do wait at the port gate, and negotiating one is entirely possible. Fix the price and the return time before you get in, and remember that no independent driver is bound by the ship’s departure.

The paperwork matters here as much as at any Vietnamese port. Vietnam issues an e-visa valid for 90 days and multiple entries to citizens of every country, while thirteen nationalities including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and South Korea get 45 days visa free.

How a cruise line handles clearance varies by ship and by sailing, so do not assume it has been done for you. Start with the official Vietnam visa requirements page and then read your cruise documents properly.

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Getting around

There is no train station, no shuttle into a nearby town, and nothing walkable. Your options are a ship excursion, a private car arranged ahead, or a taxi haggled at the gate.

Ship tours are the safe play because the ship waits for them, and on a port where the return leg can take two hours that matters. They are also the only easy way to get a guide who can actually explain the Nguyen dynasty.

Private cars are cheaper for a group and let you build a route the ship will not sell you. A car with a driver for the day is the standard arrangement, and English varies wildly, so agree the stops in writing.

One detail worth knowing is that Highway 1 now runs through the Hai Van tunnel, which is fast and completely viewless. If you want the famous pass road with the switchbacks and the sea below, you have to ask for it specifically.

Inside Hoi An the old town is largely closed to cars, so you will walk. Inside Hue you will walk a lot too, since the citadel grounds are enormous.

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The stops I would actually spend time on

Read this list as three separate days, not one. Whichever direction you pick, the others are simply not happening.

• Hoi An Ancient Town: Around 1,100 traditional wooden buildings on the original street plan, kept intact largely because the town went broke in the 19th century. It is the most purely enjoyable place on this coast and the strongest first pick.
• The Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An: Small, roofed, and photographed by everyone within ninety seconds of arriving. Go early or accept that you are in the picture too.
• The Imperial City, Hue: The Nguyen dynasty citadel, with its Forbidden Purple City, palaces, and gates, founded as the capital in 1802. Allow a full two hours inside and wear a hat, because shade is scarce.
• The royal tombs, Hue: The tombs of Tu Duc, Minh Mang, and Khai Dinh, scattered along the Perfume River south of the city. Khai Dinh is the gaudy concrete one and honestly the most fun.
• Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue: A seven tiered tower above the Perfume River, and a short, easy stop that most Hue tours include. The Austin car in the grounds carries a heavy story worth reading about first.
• The Hai Van Pass: The mountain road between Hue and Da Nang, with old bunkers at the top and the coast falling away below. Cloud sits on it often, so this is a gamble rather than a guarantee.
• Marble Mountains, Da Nang: Five limestone outcrops topped with pagodas and riddled with cave shrines, about fifteen minutes from Da Nang. There is an elevator for part of it, and plenty of steps for the rest.
• Cham Museum of Sculpture, Da Nang: The largest collection of Cham sculpture anywhere, in a small, calm, air conditioned building. It is an excellent hour and almost nobody on your ship will be there.
• My Son Sanctuary: Cham brick temples from the 7th to 13th centuries, about 40 kilometers from Hoi An. It is a serious add on from Chan May, so only attempt it if the ship is selling a long tour.

Fun fact: Hue’s complex was inscribed by UNESCO in 1993 as an outstanding example of an eastern feudal capital, laid out to cosmological principles along the Perfume River. The UNESCO listing for the Complex of Hue Monuments explains why the fortresses, temples, and tombs are all treated as one site.

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How I would plan the day

Decide north or south the night before, not on the gangway. The choice is not close once you accept that you are only getting one of them.

For a first visit, go south to Hoi An, leave early, and spend the middle of the day walking the old town and eating. Cao lau and white rose dumplings are local specialties and the reason to skip the buffet lunch.

For a history-first visit, go north to Hue, do the citadel properly, and add one tomb rather than three. Three tombs in an afternoon is how a great city becomes a blur of steps and heat.

If you want the Hai Van Pass, it pairs naturally with Da Nang and awkwardly with anything else. Ask whether the tour uses the pass or the tunnel, because the difference is the entire point.

Wet weather plan B is Da Nang, where the Cham Museum and the covered market keep you dry. Hue in heavy rain is genuinely miserable, since almost all of it is outdoors.

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A realistic word on accessibility

Getting off the ship is the easy part, since the quay is flat and level. After that the day is coaches with steps, and accessible vehicles are not standard here.

Hue’s citadel involves long distances over gravel, grass, and worn stone, with high thresholds in the old gateways. Hoi An is flatter and mostly pedestrianized, but the streets are cobbled and the shop entrances have steps.

If mobility is a concern, Da Nang is the kindest of the three, with wider sidewalks and a couple of good indoor sights. For ports that handle this better overall, see my roundup of wheelchair-friendly cruise ports.

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When to go, and the weather

Central Vietnam has a different rhythm from the north and south, and it catches you out. The driest, most pleasant stretch runs from around February to May, which is also when most itineraries call.

Summer is hot and bright, with highs climbing into the mid 90s Fahrenheit, roughly 35 Celsius, and humidity that makes the citadel feel twice as large. Winter is milder, in the 70s Fahrenheit or low 20s Celsius, and much wetter.

The awkward window is roughly October to January, when heavy rain and occasional flooding hit Hue and Hoi An. Hoi An’s riverside streets flood often enough that shops keep boats upstairs.

Pack a light rain layer, sun protection, and shoes that cope with wet cobbles. Vietnam’s official tourism guide to Hoi An is blunt about which months to avoid, which I appreciate.

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Quick answers

Can I see Hue and Hoi An on the same day?
No, not in any way that resembles seeing them. They sit in opposite directions from Chan May and roughly three and a half hours apart, so you would spend the day in a vehicle.

Is there anything at the port itself?
A terminal building, a stall market, and taxis. That is the complete list, so plan on leaving.

Do ships ever skip Chan May?
It happens, because the anchorage and approach are exposed to weather during the autumn storm season. Da Nang is sometimes substituted, so read the daily program rather than the brochure.

Is a ship excursion worth it here?
More than at most ports, because the distances are long and the ship waits for its own tours. If you go independent, build in a serious time buffer.

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The last word

Chan May is a nothing port attached to one of the richest stretches of Vietnam. The whole skill is refusing the temptation to see it all.

If your itinerary continues north, my Ha Long Bay cruise port guide covers the one Vietnamese call where the scenery starts at the ship’s rail. It is the opposite kind of day in every respect.

And if you are working out how a Southeast Asia itinerary hangs together, my Singapore cruise port guide covers the usual start or end point. Between them you can see where the easy days and the long ones fall.