How much is the Hoi An old town ticket?

Foreign adults pay 120,000₫ (about $5) for a ticket that opens five of the town's heritage sites: old houses, assembly halls, museums and the Japanese Covered Bridge among them. Children under 1 m go free, and those up to 1.4 m pay a reduced fare. Walking the lanes is free; the ticket is for going inside buildings. Prices as listed by ticket sites in October 2026.

How many days do you need in Hoi An?

Two nights covers the old town, an evening by the river and a morning at a cooking class or the tailors. Three or four nights lets you add a beach day, a half day at My Son and a bicycle ride through the paddy fields. Many people end up staying longer than planned because the pace is slow.

When is the best time to visit Hoi An?

February to May is the safest window: dry, warm and calm. June to August is hot and sunny. September to December is the wet season, and the old town floods in most years, sometimes for several days. In late October 2025 the river reached 3.4 m, level with the 1964 record.

Is Hoi An still worth visiting after the 2025 floods and beach erosion?

Yes. The old town reopened within days of the October 2025 flood and its houses are used to the water. The beaches are the weak point: storms between 23 October and 3 November 2025 stripped about 8 km of coast between Cua Dai and An Bang, so check how the beach looks before booking a beach hotel.

Where should I stay in Hoi An?

Stay in or beside the old town if you want to walk everywhere in the evening. Stay near An Bang if you want a beach and a quieter base, bearing in mind the erosion. Cua Dai has resorts but little sand. Rice-field and river hotels north and west of town suit people who plan to cycle.

How far is Hoi An from Da Nang and how do I get there?

It is about 30 km and 40 to 60 minutes by road from Da Nang airport and the city centre. Most visitors go by taxi, hotel car or the public bus, and there is no airport or train station in Hoi An itself.

Are tailors in Hoi An worth it?

They can be very good value, but quality varies. Look closely at the finish of the sample garments, ask for a fitting after the first stitch-up, allow at least three days, and compare a couple of shops, including ones a few streets from the main tourist lanes.

Hoi An: Old Town, Beaches, Tailors & Where to Stay (2026)

What Hoi An is, and how long to give it

Hoi An is a former merchant port on the Thu Bon river in central Vietnam, about 30 km south-east of Da Nang. Plan two to four nights. The old town is small enough to cover on foot in a day, but the evenings by the river and the slow pace are why people stay.

Since 1 July 2025 the town sits inside an enlarged Da Nang city, which absorbed the old Quang Nam province. Addresses, signs and bookings still say Hoi An, and the nearest airport is Da Nang International, about 40 minutes away by road.

Yellow old town houses and boats along the Thu Bon river in Hoi An — Photo: P. Hughes, CC BY 4.0

The old town

Hoi An grew rich trading with China, Japan and the rest of South-East Asia, and the merchants spent their money on tiled houses, assembly halls and pagodas. A lot of it is still standing, which is rare in Vietnam. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you can still see why: low wooden shopfronts, yellow-washed walls, and lanterns in every doorway.

Much of the centre is closed to cars, and sitting by the river with a drink is as good a use of an hour as any museum. In the evenings the lanterns come on and the crowds arrive, so the early morning is the time for photographs.

The old town ticket

Foreign adults pay 120,000₫ (about $5, price listed by ticket sites in October 2026). The ticket opens five of the town’s heritage sites, chosen from around two dozen: old merchant houses, Chinese assembly halls, small museums, and the Japanese Covered Bridge that appears on the 20,000₫ note. Walking the streets, crossing the bridges and shopping do not need a ticket. Buy it at one of the booths around the old town, which are open from about 7.30 am until the evening.

The red and green gate of the Fujian Assembly Hall in Hoi An — Photo: Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0

The full-moon lantern night

Hoi An holds a lantern festival on the night of each full moon, and it costs nothing to join. Expect the river banks near the Japanese Bridge to be packed, and walk a few streets further for space.

Tailors, cooking classes and lanterns

Hoi An is known across Vietnam for its tailors, who will copy a favourite shirt or make a suit or dress from a photograph. They are good value, but quality varies from shop to shop. Check the stitching and finish on the samples hanging in the shop, and try one or two further from the main tourist streets, where prices and pressure are usually lower. Leave time for fittings: three days is the practical minimum for anything complicated.

Several workshops teach Vietnamese cooking, and others show how silk lanterns are made, which makes an easy gift to carry home. The town is at its best when you stop trying to cover it: wander the lanes that are closed to traffic, visit a merchant’s house, then sit by the river.

A yellow-washed old town house beside the Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An — Photo: Steffen Schmitz (more photos), CC BY-SA 4.0

Beaches: An Bang, Cua Dai and Cham Island

Hoi An has two beaches within easy reach, both about 4 to 5 km from the old town: An Bang to the north and Cua Dai to the east. Neither is what it was. Storms between 23 October and 3 November 2025 stripped roughly 8 km of coast between Cua Dai and An Bang, toppled beachfront bars and left cliffs 6 to 7 m high behind some of them (VnExpress, 15 November 2025). Residents and the army piled up stone-filled barriers and sandbags to hold what was left. Ask your hotel how the sand looks before you book a stay for the beach.

Cham Island, a marine reserve offshore, is the better option for clear water and snorkelling. Boats leave from the Cua Dai area in the calmer months, and sea trips are often cancelled in the wet season.

My Son and day trips

My Son, the ruined Cham temple complex, sits about 45 km from Hoi An in a forested valley. It has its own entry fee, separate from the old town ticket (150,000₫ in October 2026), and it is best at opening time before the tour buses arrive. Many people also cycle through the rice fields and water-coconut villages on the edge of town, or combine Hoi An with a day in Da Nang, 40 to 60 minutes away.

Best time to visit and the flood season

The dry, easy months are February to May. June to August is hot and often sunny, with the beach at its best. The wet season runs roughly from September to December, and the old town floods in most years as the Thu Bon river rises. Shops and houses in the old town are built for it, and ground floors empty out when the water comes.

Flooding is usually a matter of days. The late October 2025 flood was an exception: the river reached 3.4 m, level with the 1964 record, and the streets were left under mud when the water fell (Tuoi Tre, 31 October 2025). If you travel between October and December, book a flexible rate, watch the forecast in the days before and keep an eye on typhoon warnings.

Where to stay in Hoi An

This page is the landing spot for a large number of older Hoi An hotel links, so a note on areas is more useful than a list that will date quickly.

In or beside the old town

Best for first visits. You can walk to dinner, to the river and to the lantern night, and a short walk gets you to the ticket booths. The lanes can be busy and noisy in the evening, but you save on transport. The streets north and east of the Japanese Bridge are the busiest.

An Bang

The beach village north of town has a relaxed, seaside feel, with small hotels, homestays and restaurants within a few minutes’ walk of the sand. It is a short bicycle or taxi ride to the old town. The beach has been hit by erosion, so check recent photos.

Cua Dai

Resorts line the road to the old river mouth. Cua Dai has long suffered from erosion, and some stretches now have little or no sand. It suits people who want a pool and a quiet room more than a beach.

Countryside and river hotels

Villas and homestays among the rice fields and along the river suit cyclists and people who like dawn walks. You will need a bicycle or a lift to reach the old town after dark.

Getting to Hoi An and moving on

Hoi An has no airport or railway station. Most visitors fly to Da Nang and drive south (about 30 km, 40 to 60 minutes). Da Nang station is on the north-south railway, so the Reunification line connects it to Hue and Hanoi, and the Da Nang page covers the city itself. Flights from Da Nang to Saigon take around 1¼ to 1½ hours; if you are flying on to the south, arriving at Saigon airport is the end of that journey.

For the rest of the country, see the Vietnam destinations index.