Private Hue to Hoi An Transfer via Hai Van Pass Sights

Lap An Lagoon

About an hour south of Hue, the road reaches Lap An Lagoon, a calm stretch of brackish water at the foot of the green Bach Ma mountains. Local families farm oysters here on lines of bamboo poles, and small fishing boats drift across a surface that often reflects the mountains like a mirror, especially in the morning. A paved lakeside path makes it easy to stretch your legs and take photos.

Your driver stops long enough for you to walk along the shore or have a coffee at one of the small lakeside cafés. It is a quiet, little-known spot that most buses rush past, and one of the advantages of a private car. In the early morning or late afternoon light, the lagoon is at its most photogenic.

Lang Co beach and fishing village

Lang Co is a small town on a narrow sandbar between the lagoon and the sea, with a long beach of fine pale sand lined with coconut palms and backed by mountains. The coast here is recognised among the most beautiful of its kind in the world, and the fishing village keeps a slow rhythm: boats pulled up on the sand, nets drying in the sun and fresh seafood sold in simple restaurants.

Stop for photos on the beach, a walk at the water's edge or an early lunch of grilled fish and squid, paid on site. From April to August the sea is usually calm and warm enough for a swim. The view of Lang Co from the first bends of the Hai Van Pass, with the lagoon on one side and the sea on the other, is one of the classic images of central Vietnam.

The Hai Van Pass

The Hai Van Pass, the Pass of the Ocean Clouds, climbs about twenty kilometres over a spur of the Truong Son mountains that drops straight into the sea. For centuries it marked the frontier between the northern Vietnamese kingdoms and the Cham kingdom to the south. At the summit, around five hundred metres high, stand the ruins of a fortified gate from the early 19th century and old bunkers left by French and American troops.

Since the tunnel below opened in 2005, trucks avoid the pass, leaving the winding road to travellers who come for the views. On a clear day you see the long coastline of Da Nang to the south and Lang Co to the north. Is a Hai Van Pass tour worth it? On a private transfer between Hue and Hoi An, it is the highlight of the journey. From November to February, clouds may hide the summit.

The Marble Mountains in Da Nang

After descending into Da Nang and following the coast road past its long beaches, you reach the Marble Mountains, a group of five limestone and marble hills rising from the flat land near the sea. Each is named after one of the five elements: water, wood, fire, metal and earth. Water Mountain, the largest, is honeycombed with caves, tunnels and Buddhist pagodas, linked by stone stairways and an elevator.

Inside the great cave, shafts of light fall through openings in the rock onto carved Buddhist statues, and from the viewpoints at the top you see the coast stretching towards Hoi An. Allow about an hour for the visit; the entrance ticket is paid on site. At the foot of the mountains, the stone-carving village of Non Nuoc has worked the local marble for generations.

Arrival in Hoi An

The last stretch from the Marble Mountains to Hoi An takes about thirty minutes, and your driver drops you at the door of your hotel. Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is famous for its wooden merchant houses, the Japanese Covered Bridge and its streets lit by silk lanterns at night, so arriving in the afternoon leaves time for an evening stroll.

If you are travelling in the opposite direction, the same route runs in reverse, with pickup at your hotel in Hoi An and drop-off in Hue, the former royal capital on the Perfume River. Many travellers ask how to get from Hue to Hoi An with sightseeing on the way: a private car with stops like these is the most comfortable answer, avoiding the tunnel and turning a transfer into a day out.