Hoi An Travel Guide: Things To Do & Where To Stay (2026)
TRAVEL
Central Vietnam’s coastline has no shortage of stops, but Hoi An is the one people build entire trips around rather than simply passing through. When I first arrived in Hoi An, I immediately understood why it’s so famous. I instantly fell for the charming streets, colourful lanterns, and relaxed atmosphere.
This Hoi An travel guide covers what actually matters for planning a visit: the best things to do in and around the Ancient Town, where to stay depending on whether you want to be close to the action or near the beach, and a few tips to help you make the most of your time here.
If you’re also visiting nearby Da Nang, check out my Da Nang Travel Guide for more ideas on where to stay and what to do.
Where To Stay In Hoi An
One of the best things about staying in Hoi An is that you can find beautiful mid-range and luxury hotels at surprisingly good prices compared with many other countries. Here are the areas and hotels I’d consider for different types of trips and budgets.
Ancient Town: Best For Walking To Everything
Staying inside or right at the edge of the Ancient Town puts you within walking distance of the ticketed sites, the tailors, and the evening lantern crowds, though it also means the most noise and foot traffic of any area on this list.
Luxury: Anantara Hoi An Resort: a riverside heritage property right by the Ancient Town, blending colonial-era architecture with genuinely comfortable, modern rooms.
Mid-Range: Hoi An Historic Hotel: a well-rated four-star option within easy walking distance of the main sights, popular for its consistency and value.
Budget: La Charm Hoi An Hotel: on the edge of Old Town, a genuinely good-value pick for travelers prioritizing location without resort pricing.
Riverside: Best For A Quieter Walk To The Same Sights
Just across the Thu Bon River from the Ancient Town, the riverside area trades a few minutes of walking distance for noticeably more peace and quiet once the evening crowds set in.
Luxury: Little Riverside Hoi An A Luxury Hotel & Spa: a stylish riverside hotel in the heart of Hoi An, offering elegant rooms, a spa, and a rooftop pool overlooking the Thu Bon River
Mid-Range: Laluna Hoi An Riverside Hotel & Spa: right on the water with a pool and garden, a short walk or free bike ride from the bridge into town.
Budget: Silk River Hotel & Spa: a solid four-star option directly on the Thu Bon River, east of the Old Town in a quieter stretch.
An Bang Beach: Best For A Relaxed Seaside Stay
An Bang suits travelers who want beach mornings and Old Town evenings without choosing one over the other, given the easy fifteen-minute bike ride between the two.
Mid-Range:
AIRA Boutique Hoi An Hotel: another An Bang favorite just off the beach, popular for its boutique styling and pool.
Linh Seaside Villa: steps from the sand, in the middle of An Bang's cluster of restaurants and cafés.
Budget: Under The Coconut Tree Hoi An Homestay: a genuinely affordable, well-reviewed homestay a short walk from An Bang's beach bars.
Cua Dai And Ha My Beach: Best For A Full Resort Experience
North and south of the Ancient Town respectively, Cua Dai and Ha My are where Hoi An's biggest, most resort-style properties sit, better suited to travelers prioritizing beachfront comfort over walkability into town.
Luxury
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai: Hoi An's top luxury address, on Ha My Beach, with villas, multiple pools, and a genuinely five-star price tag to match.
Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa: a long-established beachfront resort on Cua Dai, more accessible than the Nam Hai without losing the full-resort feel.
Mid-Range
Palm Garden Beach Resort & Spa: a family-friendly beachfront resort on Cua Dai with a strong spa and pool setup.
Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort: an eco-conscious resort blending river and beach access, a step down in price from the area's top-tier properties.
Things To Do In Hoi An
Hoi An is easy to love, with its lantern-lit Ancient Town, nearby beaches, and plenty of things to see and do. Here are the places and experiences I think are worth adding to your Hoi An itinerary.
Wander The Ancient Town
Start here, ideally in the early morning before the day-trip buses from Da Nang arrive. The Ancient Town's yellow, French colonial-era buildings, narrow lanes, and riverside cafés make it one of the most walkable historic centers in Vietnam, and the Japanese Covered Bridge, small but genuinely iconic, sits right at its heart.
Catch The Lantern Festival
On the 14th night of every lunar month, the Ancient Town switches off its electric lights entirely, and the streets glow from silk lanterns alone, with candles set adrift on the Thu Bon River. It's free, requires no ticket, and simply means being in the old town from around 7pm. The biggest, most crowded editions fall during the Tet lunar new year period in January or February, so a quieter monthly festival might actually suit you better if crowds aren't your thing. Even outside festival nights, a lantern boat ride on the river after dark is worth doing at least once.
Get Custom Tailoring
Hoi An is one of the best places in Southeast Asia to get clothing made to order, with several hundred tailor shops across town. A suit, dress, or ao dai typically takes 24 to 48 hours from first fitting to finished garment, so start this early in your stay rather than your last day, and budget at least one extra fitting into your schedule. Yaly Couture, Bebe Tailor, and A Dong Silk are among the most consistently recommended for visitors who don't speak Vietnamese, and most shops expect roughly a 50% deposit upfront, with the balance due once you're happy with the final fit.
Take A Cooking Class
Hoi An has a strong claim to being Vietnam's cooking class capital, and most classes follow the same satisfying structure: a walk through the Central Market to pick ingredients, often followed by a stop at Tra Que vegetable village, before a hands-on session preparing local dishes with a chef. It's one of the better ways to understand central Vietnamese cuisine, which is genuinely distinct from what you'll find in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
Cycle To Cam Thanh And Ride A Basket Boat
Hoi An is flat, compact, and incredibly easy to explore by bike. Cycling through the rice fields, local villages, and peaceful countryside around Cam Thanh is a great way to see a quieter side of the area away from the busy Ancient Town. You can also combine the ride with the famous basket boat experience through the water coconut palms. It’s touristy but genuinely fun, especially when the locals start spinning the boats around for a laugh. I highly recommend joining a cycling tour to make the most of the experience.
Relax At An Bang Beach
An Bang, about five kilometers from the Ancient Town, is Hoi An's main beach: clean sand, generally safe swimming, and a strip of beach bars and seafood shacks without the high-rise development you'll find further south. It's not walkable from the Old Town, but a bicycle ride or short taxi gets you there in fifteen minutes, and sunset is the better time to go over the midday heat.
Day Trip To My Son Sanctuary
About 45 kilometers southwest of Hoi An, My Son is a cluster of red-brick Cham Hindu temples dating from the 4th to 14th centuries, set in a jungle valley and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its own right. The site opens early and closes by late afternoon, and leaving Hoi An around 6am gets you there ahead of the mid-morning tour buses from Da Nang, while the temple groups are still quiet. Entrance runs around 150,000 dong and generally includes an electric shuttle from the gate and a traditional Apsara dance performance.
Eat Your Way Through Town
Cao lau, thick rice noodles with pork and herbs, is Hoi An's signature dish and genuinely can't be replicated elsewhere, since the water used for the noodles is said to come specifically from local wells. Banh mi here holds its own against Hanoi and Saigon's versions, and white rose dumplings, delicate shrimp dumplings shaped to resemble the flower, are a Hoi An original worth seeking out at a proper sit-down spot rather than a tourist-facing stall.
How The Ancient Town Ticket System Works
The ticket system can be confusing for first-time visitors, so it’s worth understanding before you arrive. You don’t need a ticket to walk around Hoi An Ancient Town. The streets, riverside, and Japanese Covered Bridge are free to explore. A ticket is only needed to enter specific heritage sites, such as old merchant houses, assembly halls, and museums.
The ticket costs 120,000 VND (around $5) and includes five coupons, which you can use at any five of roughly 22 heritage sites. It’s valid for 24 hours and you can choose the sites as you go. My Son Sanctuary has a separate entrance ticket. You can buy the Ancient Town ticket from any of the 11 official yellow ticket booths around the historic area.
Getting To Hoi An
Da Nang International Airport is the nearest gateway, roughly 40 minutes by car or taxi from central Hoi An, and it's Vietnam's main entry point for central coast travel, with regular domestic flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City plus a handful of direct international routes. There's no train station in Hoi An itself, the nearest is in Da Nang, so travelers arriving by rail transfer the same way as those flying in.
Best Time To Visit Hoi An
January through August is the more reliable window, dry and warm, with May to August running hot enough for genuine beach weather, sometimes above 36°C in July and August. October through December brings the wet season and a real flood risk, the Thu Bon River regularly rises enough to inundate the Ancient Town's ground-floor streets, sometimes knee-deep, so it's worth avoiding this window if you can, or at least going in with flexible plans if you can't.
How Many Days Do You Need?
Two nights covers the Ancient Town, a lantern evening, and a beach afternoon at a reasonable pace. Three to four nights lets you add tailoring with proper fitting time, a cooking class, and the My Son day trip without feeling rushed. Many travelers combine Hoi An with Da Nang and Hue into a five to seven day central Vietnam circuit, given how close together they sit.
FAQs
Do I need a ticket to enter Hoi An Ancient Town? No, walking through the streets is free. A ticket, 120,000 dong for five heritage sites of your choice, is only required to enter specific old houses, assembly halls, and museums.
How many days should I spend in Hoi An? Two nights covers the essentials. Three to four nights is better if you want proper time for tailoring, a cooking class, and a My Son Sanctuary day trip.
Where should I stay in Hoi An, the Old Town or the beach? The Old Town or riverside area if walkability to the sights matters most, An Bang Beach if you want an easy mix of both, and Cua Dai or Ha My if a full beach resort experience is the priority.
What is Hoi An famous for? Its lantern-lit Ancient Town, hundreds of tailor shops offering custom clothing in 24 to 48 hours, and dishes like cao lau that genuinely can't be replicated outside the region.
Is Hoi An walkable? The Ancient Town and immediate riverside are very walkable. The beaches, An Bang, Cua Dai, and Ha My, require a bicycle, scooter, or short taxi ride.
What's the best time of year to visit Hoi An? January through August, with the driest, most reliable weather. Avoid October through December if you can, when the wet season brings a real risk of flooding in the Ancient Town.
Final Thoughts
Hoi An was one of those places I understood the hype about almost immediately. I had an instant crush on the lantern-lit streets, charming old houses, and relaxed atmosphere, and I can easily see why so many travellers end up staying longer than planned.
I hope this Hoi An travel guide gives you a better idea of what to see, where to stay, and how to make the most of your time here. Whether you visit for a few days or use Hoi An as a base to explore the surrounding area, it’s a place I’d definitely recommend adding to your Vietnam itinerary.
Check Out My Other Vietnam Guides: