The best places to visit in Hoi An are the UNESCO-listed Ancient Town and its Japanese Covered Bridge, the lantern-lit riverfront at night, An Bang Beach, the tailoring streets, and the Tra Que countryside, with My Son Sanctuary as an easy day trip. Hoi An is the most photographed stop in Vietnam, a car-free heritage town on the Thu Bon river that most travellers reach from Da Nang, the central coast’s arrival airport. This guide covers what to actually do in Hoi An, how the Ancient Town ticket works, when the lanterns are at their best, and how to slot the town into a trip from India, including the one weather-season note that is worth planning around.
Hoi An in one paragraph
Hoi An earns the hype because it is a preserved 15th-to-19th-century trading port, not a rebuilt one. The Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1999 (UNESCO), a compact grid of ochre merchant houses, temples and a Japanese-built bridge that is closed to cars for much of the day. You come here to walk, eat, get clothes tailored and watch the town turn lantern-lit after dark.
Top places to visit in Hoi An
The top things to do in Hoi An cluster into five: the Ancient Town and its bridge, the lantern-lit river at night, An Bang Beach, the tailors, and the Tra Que countryside. Each is walkable or a short ride from the centre.
The Ancient Town and the Japanese Covered Bridge
The Ancient Town is the reason to come, and its emblem is the Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau). The bridge was built by Japanese merchants in the 1590s and reopened on 3 August 2024 after a roughly 19-month restoration (Asian Trails). Entry to the town’s heritage sites uses a ticket system that confuses first-timers: an international-visitor ticket costs 120,000 VND and works as a tear-off pass admitting you to five of the town’s designated heritage sites, valid 24 hours from purchase (Da Nang City Tourism). You can walk the lantern-lined streets freely; the ticket is for entering the old houses, assembly halls, temples and the bridge itself.
Lantern nights, the river and the night market
Hoi An is lantern-lit every evening, but the monthly Lantern (Full Moon) Festival is the atmospheric peak. It falls on the 14th day of each lunar month, the eve of the full moon, when the Old Town switches off its electric lights from roughly 6 to 10 pm, silk lanterns become the only illumination, and candle-floats drift down the Thu Bon river (Hoi An Day Trip). On any night, the riverfront and the night market across the water are the after-dark heart of Hoi An; on a festival night, get there before the lights go down.
An Bang Beach and the coast
An Bang Beach is Hoi An’s beach day, a relaxed stretch of sand roughly 4 to 5 km from the Ancient Town, lined with casual seafood shacks and loungers. It is a short cycle or Grab ride from the centre and pairs naturally with a morning in town and an afternoon by the sea.
Tailors and getting clothes made
Getting clothes made is a signature Hoi An experience: the town is packed with tailors who will make shirts, suits and dresses to measure. Set honest expectations before you commit. A good tailor needs 24 to 48 hours and one fitting to get it right, so leave time in your itinerary and do not order on your last evening. Quality varies widely between shops, so ask to see fabric and finishing rather than choosing on price alone.
Tra Que vegetable village and countryside cycling
For a half-day away from the crowds, Tra Que herb village and the rice paddies around Hoi An make for easy cycling and a genuinely good option for Indian families and vegetarians. Cooking classes here and in town are among the most popular activities in Hoi An, and they lean heavily on fresh vegetables and herbs, which makes them comfortable for veg travellers who sometimes struggle with Vietnam’s meat-forward street food.
Doing Hoi An from Da Nang
Hoi An has no airport of its own, so you arrive into Da Nang and either base there and day-trip, or stay in Hoi An itself. Da Nang to Hoi An is about 30 km, roughly 40 to 50 minutes by car or taxi, with a Grab or taxi transfer costing around 300,000 VND (Vinpearl). The honest split is the same one central-coast planners always face: Da Nang for beaches and logistics, Hoi An for atmosphere. If you want to compare bases and the wider central-coast plan, see our guide to places to visit in Da Nang . Many travellers stay in Hoi An and use it as the base for the region’s marquee day trip, My Son Sanctuary, a cluster of 4th-to-14th-century Champa Hindu temples and a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1999 (UNESCO), about 40 km and an hour away.
How long to stay, and the season to plan around
Two days is enough for Hoi An: one for the Ancient Town and its evening lanterns, one for the beach or the countryside. If catching a Lantern Festival night matters to you, plan around the 14th day of the lunar month, since the schedule shifts each month. One seasonal note is worth planning around: the central coast has a rainy, storm-prone window from roughly September to December, and Hoi An’s low-lying Ancient Town can flood by 1 to 2 metres in a bad spell (Vietnam Tourism). It is still visitable for much of that window, but build in buffer days and check the forecast. For the full month-by-month picture, see our guide to the best time to visit Vietnam .
Where Hoi An fits in a Vietnam route
Hoi An is the atmosphere stop on a central-coast leg, usually paired with Da Nang and often with Hue further north. For where it sits among the country’s other regions and how to build the wider trip, see our pillar guide to places to visit in Vietnam . For what the whole trip costs from India in INR, our Vietnam trip cost from India guide has the line-by-line breakdown.
Small town, big trip stakes
Hoi An is a small, gentle town, but it sits on a coast where a storm can rearrange a whole trip. The central-coast flood window is exactly the kind of risk travel insurance is built for: if severe weather grounds your Da Nang flight or forces you to cut the leg short, trip-delay and trip-cancellation cover can protect the money you have already spent on flights and hotels, for covered reasons including severe weather, natural disaster and carrier cancellation, among others. Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group, covers Vietnam under its Smart Travel plans; see travel insurance for Vietnam for what a Vietnam policy covers.
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FAQ
Q: How many days do you need in Hoi An?
A: Two days is ideal: one for the Ancient Town and its lantern-lit evening, and one for An Bang Beach or the Tra Que countryside. Add a half-day if you want the My Son Sanctuary day trip.
Q: Is Hoi An better than Da Nang?
A: They do different jobs, so most travellers do both: Da Nang for beaches and logistics (it is the arrival airport), Hoi An for atmosphere and heritage. They are only about 30 km and 40 to 50 minutes apart (Vinpearl), so you rarely have to choose.
Q: What is Hoi An famous for?
A: Its lantern-lit UNESCO-listed Ancient Town and its tailors. Hoi An is a preserved old trading port, inscribed by UNESCO in 1999 (UNESCO), best known for the Japanese Covered Bridge, made-to-measure clothing and the candle-floats on the Thu Bon river.
Q: When is the lantern festival in Hoi An?
A: Monthly, on the 14th day of each lunar month, the eve of the full moon, when the Old Town turns off its electric lights from about 6 to 10 pm and silk lanterns take over (Hoi An Day Trip). The date shifts each month, so plan around the lunar calendar rather than a fixed day.
