Last updated: October 2026. Written by the 365Aplus Travel team in Hanoi, a local tour operator that runs shore excursions from Vietnam's cruise ports every season.
Short answer: Cruise ships in Vietnam mainly call at Ha Long (for Ha Long Bay and Hanoi), Chan May (for Hue), Tien Sa in Da Nang (for Hoi An), Cam Ranh (for Nha Trang, while Nha Trang port is closed for repairs), Phu My (for Ho Chi Minh City) and sometimes Saigon city centre, Quy Nhon and Phu Quoc. The big thing most guides don't tell you: several ports are 1.5 to 3 hours from the famous city, each way. Your docking hours matter more than the brochure.
We wrote this because we keep getting the same emails every season. "Can we do Hanoi and Ha Long Bay in one day?" "Is Saigon worth it from Phu My?" "Hue or Hoi An?" So here are our honest answers, port by port, including the parts that are not so pretty. If a trip is too much driving for too little time, we will say so, even when it's one of our own tours.
Vietnam cruise ports at a glance
Times below are one way, by private car or coach, on a normal day. Add time in rush hour, in heavy rain, and on public holidays like Tet.
| Port | Nearest famous place | Drive time (one way) | Our honest take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ha Long | Ha Long Bay / Hanoi | Bay: on the doorstep. Hanoi: 2.5–3 hrs | Stay for the bay. Hanoi only on a long or overnight call. |
| Chan May | Hue / Da Nang / Hoi An | Hue 1h20–1h30. Da Nang ~1 hr. Hoi An 1h40–2 hrs | Pick one: Hue OR Hoi An. Not both. |
| Tien Sa (Da Nang) | Da Nang / Hoi An | Da Nang centre ~20 min. Hoi An ~45 min | The easiest port in Vietnam. Lots of options. |
| Cam Ranh (for Nha Trang) | Nha Trang | 60–75 min | Fine for half a day in Nha Trang. Check your berth. |
| Phu My | Ho Chi Minh City / Vung Tau | HCMC 1.5–2 hrs. Vung Tau ~1 hr | Saigon is doable on a full day. Short call? Go to Vung Tau. |
| Saigon (Nha Rong – Khanh Hoi) | Ho Chi Minh City | Minutes | Lucky you. Smaller and mid-size ships only. |
| Quy Nhon | Quy Nhon beaches, Cham towers | Tender, then short drives | Quiet and real. Expedition and small luxury ships. |
Sources for the drive times: our own guides and drivers, cross-checked with cruise line excursion notes (Holland America, Princess) and port guides published in 2026. Roads change, so treat them as a guide, not a promise.
Ha Long port: Ha Long Bay or Hanoi?
Short answer: If it's your first time and you have a normal day call, stay in Ha Long and get out on the bay. Hanoi is 2.5 to 3 hours away each way, so a Hanoi day means 5 to 6 hours sitting in a vehicle.
A cruise ship in Ha Long Bay. The bay is right there. Hanoi is not.
Ha Long is where most ships call in northern Vietnam. The international cruise port is about 10 minutes from Ha Long City, and Ha Long Bay, the UNESCO site with the limestone islands you've seen in every photo, is right there. Ha Long expects around 90 international cruise calls and about 150,000 passengers in 2026, so on busy days the bay boats and caves get crowded. Going early helps a lot.
What we'd actually do with a 7–8 hour call:
- Ha Long Bay Dream Cruise from Ha Long Port. The classic. Boat out among the islands, Thien Cung Cave, a floating village. About 7 hours port to port. If you only do one thing here, do this.
- Ha Long Heritage Tour. For people who have already cruised the bay before. Fish market (smelly, loud, fantastic), the Quang Ninh Museum, Long Tien Pagoda. About 6 hours.
- Ha Long City Tour from the port. Local life near the port, low effort.
- Helicopter sightseeing from Ha Long port. Not cheap. But if your knees don't love stairs into caves, this is the bay from the best angle with almost no walking.
- Yen Tu Mountain day trip. Cable car and a sacred Buddhist mountain. Good for people who've "done" the bay.
So when is Hanoi worth it? When your ship stays overnight, or the call is 10+ hours and you really, really want to see the capital. Then look at Hanoi Sightseeing Full Day from Ha Long Port (around 10 hours) or, better, the Hanoi and Ha Long Bay 2 Days 1 Night. We'll be straight with you: on a normal day call, many people who choose Hanoi tell us afterwards that they mostly remember the bus.
More options: all Ha Long shore excursions and Hanoi shore excursions.
Chan May port: Hue or Hoi An?
Short answer: Choose one. Hue (imperial history) is 1h20 to 1h30 away. Hoi An (old trading town, lanterns, tailors) is 1h40 to 2 hours away. Trying both in one port day means close to 7 hours of driving, and you'll see neither properly.
First steps on the pier. At Chan May, if you go on your own, the taxi gate is about 750 m away.
Chan May sits between Hue and Da Nang, and it's growing fast. The port handled 46 cruise calls and about 131,500 passengers and crew in 2025, and expects close to double that in 2026. But here's the honest bit about the port itself: there is no terminal building, no ATM, no public wifi and no taxi rank inside. There are a few stalls on the quay selling drinks and coffee. If you go on your own, the outer gate where taxis wait is about 750 m from the ship, on a flat road with no shade. Bring a hat. From October to December bring a light rain jacket too, central Vietnam's rainy season is real.
Ngo Mon, the main gate of the Imperial Citadel in Hue. About 1h20 to 1h30 from Chan May.
How to choose:
- Go to Hue if you like history, palaces, royal tombs, the Perfume River. Our Hue Imperial Citadel and Perfume River tour is the one most first-timers pick (about 8 hours). If you'd rather see rice fields and how people actually live, try the Hue Authentic Village Tour.
- Go to Hoi An if you like walking, food, shopping for tailored clothes and photos. Hoi An Ancient Town tour. It works from Chan May but it's a long drive, honestly it's easier from Tien Sa.
- Golden Bridge (the one with the giant stone hands): Ba Na Hills from Chan May, about 1 hour to the car park and then a long cable car. Ba Na is a theme park on a mountain. Some people love it. Some find it a bit fake. Both are fair.
- My Son Sanctuary: ruined Cham temples in the jungle. Less famous, fewer crowds, very hot at midday.
The Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills. Go early, it gets busy fast.
Short call (under 7 hours)? Don't push for Hue. Da Nang or the lagoon at Lang Co are the realistic choices. Want to drive the Hai Van Pass for the views? It adds about 30 minutes versus the tunnel, and in rain or sea fog you see... fog. We'll check the weather that morning and tell you honestly.
More: Hue shore excursions.
Tien Sa port (Da Nang): the easy one
Short answer: Tien Sa is Da Nang's main port, about 10 km from the city centre. Marble Mountains is around 25 minutes away and Hoi An about 45 minutes, so even a 6-hour call gives you a proper day.
If your ship docks at Tien Sa instead of Chan May, good news. This is the most relaxed port day in Vietnam. Our favourites:
- Marble Mountains and Hoi An. Caves and pagodas inside a limestone hill in the morning, Hoi An old town in the afternoon. About 9 hours. There are steps at Marble Mountains, quite a lot of them.
- My Son Sanctuary and Hoi An. Two UNESCO sites in one day. Long (about 10 hours), only for long calls.
- Hoi An Farming and Fishing tour. Basket boats in the coconut palms, a vegetable village. Families like this one, kids especially.
- Hoi An cooking class. You go to the market, you cook, you eat what you cooked. Simple and it works.
A cave temple inside Marble Mountains. Expect steps, some of them steep.
A note on "shopping stops". Some reviews of Hoi An trips, on different travel sites over the years, complain about being taken to a stone or jewellery shop and losing tour time. It's a fair complaint. Ask any operator before you book, including us, whether there are shopping stops in the program. Ours are only there if you ask for them.
More: Da Nang shore excursions and Hoi An shore excursions. Weather questions? Read our best time to visit Da Nang.
Nha Trang: your ship probably docks at Cam Ranh
Short answer: Nha Trang's own port has been closed for repairs since September 2024, and big cruise ships now berth at Cam Ranh, about 60 km south. Plan 60 to 75 minutes each way to Nha Trang city.
Two ships at Cam Ranh, not Nha Trang. From here it is about an hour to the city.
This one catches people out, because a lot of websites (yes, our own Nha Trang tour page too, we're updating it) still say "from Nha Trang port". Some mid-size ships tender passengers to a marina near the city instead. Check the berth in your cruise documents, then tell us, and we'll time the day around it.
What's worth seeing: the Po Nagar Cham towers (still used for worship, so cover shoulders and knees), Long Son Pagoda with the big white Buddha, the market, seafood by the beach. Nha Trang is a beach city, it's not Hue. Go in with that expectation and you'll have a nice relaxed day.
Po Nagar Cham Towers. Still a place of worship, so cover shoulders and knees.
More: Nha Trang shore excursions.
Phu My port: is Saigon worth it?
Short answer: Yes, if you have a full day (8+ hours) and you're OK with 3 to 4 hours of driving in total. Phu My is 70 to 90 km from central Ho Chi Minh City, 1.5 to 2 hours each way, and the drive back in the afternoon is usually the slow one. On a short call, go to Vung Tau instead.
Phu My is a working cargo port. Saigon is still 1.5 to 2 hours away from here.
Phu My is the deep-water port where big ships calling at "Ho Chi Minh City" really dock. It's in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, not in Saigon. That surprises a lot of people on the gangway.
Saigon Central Post Office, a stop on most city tours from Phu My.
Our honest options:
- Ho Chi Minh City History and Culture Tour, about 8 hours. Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, Ben Thanh Market. It's the "I came to Vietnam, I want to see Saigon" day.
- Cu Chi Tunnels from Phu My. Wartime tunnels. Very interesting, very cramped. If you're tall or don't like small spaces, you can watch from outside, nobody will push you in.
- Cu Chi Tunnels and Saigon city in one day. Possible. Long. Only on a long call.
- Vung Tau Coastal Escape. About 1 hour away. Christ the King statue on the hill (around 800 steps, you've been warned), Bach Dinh villa, seafood lunch by the sea. Less famous, much more relaxed.
- Long Tan and Nui Dat old battlefield. For Australian and New Zealand guests mostly. Quiet, respectful and very meaningful for some families.
- Mekong Delta from Phu My. Boats, coconut candy, fruit. A long day, but people who do it usually love it.
Cu Chi tunnels. Tight, hot, and nobody will push you in.
One more honest tip: if your ship offers a shuttle bus to the city, it drops you in the centre and that's it. That's fine if you like walking around on your own in heat and traffic. If not, a guided excursion is less stress.
Christ the King in Vung Tau, about 1 hour from Phu My. Around 800 steps to the top.
More: Ho Chi Minh City shore excursions and Vung Tau shore excursions.
Saigon city port (Nha Rong – Khanh Hoi)
Short answer: Smaller and mid-size ships (roughly 300 to 1,100 passengers) can sail up the Saigon River and dock at Nha Rong – Khanh Hoi, a few minutes from District 1. If that's you, skip the long transfers and enjoy the city.
With the city on your doorstep you can do things big-ship passengers can't fit in: a cyclo ride through Chinatown, the Cu Chi Tunnels plus city highlights without the extra 3 hours on the road, or a Mekong Delta river day. Overnight in port? Look at the 2 days 1 night Saigon program.
Quy Nhon, Phu Quoc and Hai Phong
Short answer: These are smaller cruise stops. Quy Nhon gets expedition and small luxury ships that anchor offshore and tender guests in. Phu Quoc is building up its cruise ports. Ships also call at Hai Phong on some northern itineraries.
We don't have fixed public tours for every one of these yet, and we're not going to pretend otherwise. What we do is plan a day around your ship's hours. Send us the ship name and date and we'll come back with a real proposal, not a copy-paste one.
Vietnam visa for cruise passengers (read this before you sail)
Short answer: There is no visa on arrival at Vietnamese seaports. Unless your passport is on Vietnam's visa exemption list, you need an e-visa before you sail, or your cruise line has to arrange it for you.
The practical bits people get wrong:
- The e-visa is tied to the entry port you choose. For Phu My, choose Vung Tau seaport, not Ho Chi Minh City. For Tien Sa, choose Da Nang. For Ha Long, check whether your cruise line wants Hon Gai. When in doubt, ask the cruise line, they know.
- Single or multiple entry? If your ship visits several Vietnamese ports in a row, a single-entry e-visa is usually enough. If the ship leaves Vietnam (say to Thailand or Cambodia) and comes back, you need multiple entry.
- Use the official site: evisa.gov.vn. The government fee is around 25 USD for single entry and 50 USD for multiple. Agencies charge more for doing it for you. Apply at least 2 weeks before.
- Phu Quoc has its own visa-free rule for arrivals from abroad, but only if Phu Quoc is your only stop in Vietnam.
Rules change, and we're a tour operator, not an immigration office. Please double check with your cruise line and the official site. More detail in our Vietnam visa instructions.
Ship tours vs a local operator: the honest comparison
We're a local operator, so of course we'd like you to book with us. But here's the fair version.
The cruise line's own excursion has one big advantage: if the coach is late, the ship waits. That's real peace of mind, and for some people it's worth the higher price and the 40-person coach.
A local operator like us is usually better value, uses smaller groups or private cars, and can change the plan on the day. Too hot? We go inside. Ship arrived late? We cut the less important stop. The risk you carry is timing. So ask every operator, including us, exactly how they handle it. Our rule when we plan a shore day is to have you back at the pier at least 60 minutes before all-aboard, and our guides track the ship's schedule all day.
Neither choice is wrong. Pick based on how much you hate stress versus how much you hate crowds.
Travelling with a big group?
This is the part of our work we're proudest of. We handle large groups, cruise passengers, MICE and corporate groups, up to 5,000 guests, and often at short notice. That means enough coaches, enough licensed English-speaking guides, meals that are served on time for 300 people and entrance tickets sorted before you land. If you're a shore excursion manager or a travel agent looking for a ground partner in Vietnam, talk to us early, the busy dates (December to April) fill up.
Two ships, one morning in Ha Long. This is what moving thousands of guests looks like.
FAQ: Vietnam cruise ports and shore excursions
What are the main cruise ports in Vietnam?
Ha Long (north), Chan May and Tien Sa in Da Nang (central), Cam Ranh for Nha Trang (south central), Phu My for Ho Chi Minh City, and Nha Rong – Khanh Hoi in Saigon for smaller ships. Quy Nhon, Phu Quoc and Hai Phong receive some calls too.
How far is Chan May port from Hue?
About 60 to 65 km, or 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 by car each way. Some listings say "one hour", that's optimistic. Hoi An is further, around 1 hour 40 to 2 hours.
Can I visit Hue and Hoi An in one day from Chan May?
Technically yes, but we don't recommend it. It's close to 7 hours of driving in total. You'll spend the day in a car and see both places in a rush. Choose one.
How long does it take from Phu My port to Ho Chi Minh City?
1.5 to 2 hours each way, depending on traffic. The afternoon return is usually slower. Plan at least 8 hours in port for a Saigon day, or go to Vung Tau (about 1 hour) on a shorter call.
Can I see Hanoi from Ha Long cruise port?
Yes, but it's 2.5 to 3 hours each way. On a normal 8-hour call you'd get maybe 3 hours in Hanoi. We suggest Ha Long Bay instead, and Hanoi only for long or overnight calls.
Is Nha Trang cruise port open?
As of October 2026, Nha Trang port is still closed for maintenance and large ships berth at Cam Ranh, about 60 km south. Some mid-size ships tender to a marina near the city. Check your cruise documents.
Do cruise passengers need a visa for Vietnam?
Most do, yes. There's no visa on arrival at seaports. Apply for an e-visa at evisa.gov.vn before you sail, unless your nationality is visa-exempt or your cruise line handles it.
Are shore excursions in Vietnam wheelchair friendly?
Some are, many aren't. Caves, Marble Mountains and the Cu Chi tunnels have steps and narrow spaces. Each of our tour pages says "Wheelchair availability: Yes/No". Tell us about your mobility before booking and we'll be honest about what works.
What's the best time for a Vietnam cruise?
The main season is roughly November to April. Central Vietnam (Hue, Da Nang) gets heavy rain from October to December, and summer is very hot everywhere. See our best time to travel Vietnam guide.
Tell us your ship and port
Send us your ship name, port and docking hours. We'll reply within 24 hours with a plan that actually fits, and if the tour you wanted doesn't fit your time, we'll tell you that too.
One of our guides with guests at an incense village outside Hanoi.
- WhatsApp: +84 986 430 302
- Email: info@365aplustravel.com
- See every tour for cruise ship passengers, read what our customers say, or check our booking guide.
