Hoi An
Hoi An survived the war because it had already failed: the river silted up, the trade moved north, and the town became too unimportant to bomb. What is left is a port four cultures built.
Hoi An in a nutshell
Hoi An: what to expect
A 15th–19th-century trading port that survived the war intact, UNESCO-listed in 1999. Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and Portuguese merchants kept permanent warehouses here, and the Ancient Town is the layering of those communities on one grid of streets
It escaped the American war essentially undamaged, which is why there is anything left to list. The port had silted up by the 19th century and the trade moved to Da Nang; the town was too unimportant to bomb
On 1 July 2025 Quảng Nam province ceased to exist, merged into a new Đà Nẵng City as part of a national consolidation from 63 provinces to 34. Hoi An is now administratively part of Da Nang. Nothing on the ground changed; every address, guidebook and map still says Quảng Nam, [commercial: vietnamnews.vn, commercial: vietnam-briefing.com, commercial: tmgroup.vn]
Who Hoi An is for
First-timers to Vietnam
and our sources treat it as the country's easiest town: walkable, English-speaking, low-hassle
Food travellers.
It has three dishes that exist essentially nowhere else: cao lầu, bánh bao bánh vạc and cơm gà Hội An, and our sources call it the food capital of Vietnam
History travellers
for a merchant port that four cultures built and no war destroyed
Anyone who wants clothes made.
400+ tailors, and this is the reason a lot of people come
Cyclists and slow travellers.
Flat, small, and surrounded by rice paddies, beaches and villages within an hour's ride
Budget travellers
Our sources work to about €17 a day here
When to go to Hoi An
Dry season
February–August
the useful window. February to April is comfortable; May to August is dry but 33°+ by day.
Wet season
September–January
1,586 mm across five months, with October and November the peak. Flooding is normal rather than exceptional in this stretch.
- Full Moon Lantern Night. Electric lights go off across the Ancient Town, the streets close entirely, and paper lanterns are floated on the Thu Bồn. It is the 14th, the night before the full moon, not the 15th
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What not to miss in Hoi An
Photo by Nguyễn Anh Vũ via PexelsWalk the Ancient Town after dark on a lantern night
the 14th of the lunar month, when the electric lights go off, the streets close and paper lanterns go onto the river. It is the single thing the town is known for
Have something made.
Two fittings over 48 hours is the realistic timetable; the advertised 24-hour turnaround exists but our sources both warn that quality varies enormously between the 400 shops
The Japanese Covered Bridge
an 18th-century roofed bridge with a small temple built into its side, and the image on the 20,000 VND note
Cycle to An Bang Beach through the rice paddies
3 km, flat, and our sources rate the ride as highly as the beach
My Son
a UNESCO-listed cluster of Cham Hindu temples an hour west, built between the 4th and 14th centuries and badly damaged by American bombing. Go at opening; it is brutal by mid-morning
A basket-boat trip in the Cẩm Thanh coconut forest
round bamboo coracles through the water-palm channels. Genuinely local in origin and now heavily commercialised; the quiet operators are away from the main landing
The neighbourhoods of Hoi An
Ancient Town & Lantern Quarter
first stay
The UNESCO core: two-storey merchant houses in ochre and mustard, the Japanese Covered Bridge, Chinese assembly halls, tailors on every street and silk lanterns strung the length of the river. Closed to cars for most of the day and entirely on lantern nights. Requires the town ticket to enter the heritage sites.
The Japanese Covered Bridge, the assembly halls and lanterns on the river.
An Bang Beach & Cycling Routes
quieter stays
Three kilometres north-east through rice paddies: a broad sand beach with a strip of beach bars and seafood shacks, guesthouses and villas behind. The cycle route out is flat, shaded in parts and one of the genuinely good things to do here. Cửa Đại beach is a further kilometre south and has suffered badly from erosion.
A flat 3 km ride through rice paddies to sand and seafood shacks.
Cẩm Thanh (coconut forest)*
homestays
Four kilometres east, where the Thu Bồn breaks into water-palm channels. This is where the basket-boat trips run, and where a number of eco-homestays and cooking schools sit among the nipa palms. Not in our own data's neighbourhood list; a real stay-area now.
Basket boats through the water-palm channels where the Thu Bồn breaks up.
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Where to stay in Hoi An
Which zone you pick matters more than which property. The Ancient Town and riverfront for atmosphere and walking; An Bang for the beach and quiet; Cẩm Thanh for homestays among the palms
Ancient Town & Lantern Quarter
The UNESCO core: two-storey merchant houses in ochre and mustard, the Japanese Covered Bridge, Chinese assembly halls, tailors on every street and silk lanterns strung the length of the river. Closed to cars for most of the day and entirely on lantern nights. Requires the town ticket to enter the heritage sites.
An Bang Beach & Cycling Routes
Three kilometres north-east through rice paddies: a broad sand beach with a strip of beach bars and seafood shacks, guesthouses and villas behind. The cycle route out is flat, shaded in parts and one of the genuinely good things to do here. Cửa Đại beach is a further kilometre south and has suffered badly from erosion.
Cẩm Thanh (coconut forest)*
Four kilometres east, where the Thu Bồn breaks into water-palm channels. This is where the basket-boat trips run, and where a number of eco-homestays and cooking schools sit among the nipa palms. Not in our own data's neighbourhood list; a real stay-area now.
What to eat in Hoi An
Thick chewy noodles, slices of char siu-style pork, greens, croutons and almost no broth. It exists only here: the noodles are made with lye water from local wells and cannot be reproduced elsewhere
Translucent rice-paper parcels of shrimp or pork, pinched into a rose shape and topped with fried shallot
Turmeric rice cooked in chicken stock, shredded poached chicken tossed with onion, herbs and lime, with a bowl of broth on the side
The Hoi An version is loaded with pâté, cold cuts and a house sauce; the town has a national reputation for it
Fresh draft beer delivered daily in kegs, drunk on plastic stools by the river
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Cultural highlights & etiquette
Do
- Buy the Ancient Town ticket. The money funds restoration of a town that is visibly under strain from its own popularity
- Allow two fittings and 48 hours for tailoring, and bring photographs of what you want
- Cover shoulders and knees in the assembly halls and temples
- Cycle rather than take taxis. It is what the town is built for and it is what locals do
Don't
- Don't buy the floating lanterns from children. our sources flag this as a standard guilt-sell; buy from the boat operators instead
- Don't assume the 24-hour tailoring promise. It is achievable and it is where the quality complaints come
- Don't accept drinks you did not watch being poured, and don't drink spirits at the cheaper bars, see Safety
- Don't drink the tap water
Daily budget in Hoi An
Budget
€17–22
Hostel dorm, market food, a rented bicycle, the town ticket
Mid
€34–50
Pool guesthouse or small hotel, restaurant meals, a tailored garment, tours
Comfortable
€85+
Riverside boutique or beach resort, spa, private guides, a full tailored wardrobe
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Fun facts about Hoi An
Cao lầu cannot be made anywhere else, and the reason is mundane rather than magical: the noodles need lye water from local wells. The famous claim that only Bà Lê well water will do is a myth Vietnam's own tourism authority debunks, the well water is mixed with other sources and could not supply the town's restaurants alone
One family holds the white rose dumpling recipe and supplies every restaurant in town. You are eating the same dumpling wherever you order it
The town survived the war because it had already failed. The Thu Bồn silted up in the 19th century, trade moved to Da Nang, and Hoi An became too unimportant to bomb, which is why a 15th-century port survives at all
The Japanese Covered Bridge is on the 20,000 VND note
Trà Quế herb village supplies the herbs used across the region, and its beds are still fertilised with algae dredged from the river
Quảng Nam province was abolished on 1 July 2025 in a national consolidation from 63 provinces to 34, and Hoi An now sits inside Đà Nẵng City
Local tips for Hoi An
No airport, no railway
and that is structural rather than incidental: it is why only 3.8% of trips start here and 4.7% end here. Everything arrives via Da Nang, 30 km north
A bicycle is the right vehicle.
The town is flat, most guesthouses lend them free, and the beach, the coconut forest and the herb village are all inside a 5 km ride
Rent a bike only if you ride
Our sources recommend it for My Son and the Hải Vân Pass and warns beginners off
Theft and bag-snatching
the everyday risks, from motorbikes, as everywhere in Vietnam
Flooding is the real hazard
the town's defining one, and it is getting worse. In late October 2025 the Thu Bồn at Câu Lâu peaked at 5.62 m, 0.14 m above the 1964 record; at the Hoi An gauge it reached 3.39 m, just under the record. Parts of the Ancient Town were submerged, and the town flooded again in late November 2025
Frequently asked questions about Hoi An
Three days is the consensus, and that is exactly what our own travellers typically do. More than a third of our travellers take four nights or more.
Yes: 120,000 VND for foreign visitors. It admits you to 5 of 22 heritage buildings and funds their restoration.
The 14th of every lunar month, the night before the full moon. Not the 15th.
Yes. October 2025 broke the 1964 record upstream and put water through the Ancient Town, and the town flooded again a month later. Late October to January is the window.
Allow 48 hours and two fittings. The 24-hour promise is real and is where the complaints come from.
The Ancient Town or riverfront for the town itself; An Bang Beach for quiet and sand.
Via Da Nang, there is no airport or station in Hoi An. Shuttle €3.50–5, taxi 300–400,000 VND, local bus #1 for 20,000.
Yes, and every source says so before recommending it anyway.
Cao lầu, white rose dumplings and cơm gà, three dishes that essentially do not exist outside this town.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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