10 Best Things to Do in Hoi An, Vietnam
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Hoi An rewards a slower pace than most first-timers plan for: the Ancient Town alone deserves a full day, and the best half-day trips (My Son, Da Nang) sit close enough that rushing them defeats the point. These 10 picks cover the in-town classics, the signature evening experience, and the day trips worth building a whole itinerary around. See our full Hoi An guide for how to fit them into 2 to 7 days.
10 things to do, at a glance
| Pick | Type | Price | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Town heritage walk | Old Town core | Free to walk; ~120,000 VND coupon booklet for sites | 2-3h |
| Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau) | Landmark | Covered by the coupon booklet | 15-20min |
| A lantern evening or the Full Moon Festival | Evening/monthly event | Free to wander; ~20,000-50,000 VND per floating candle | 1-2h |
| A tailor fitting | Bespoke clothing | ~$50 shirt to $100-150+ suit | 3-5 days, multiple fittings |
| A cooking class and market tour | Class | ~$15-30 | 3-4h |
| My Son Sanctuary | UNESCO day trip | Entry plus tour cost | Half day, ~1h each way |
| Da Nang: Marble Mountains and Golden Bridge | Day trip | Entry fees plus transfer | Full day |
| An Bang Beach and Tra Que village by bike | Beach and village | Free to cheap bike rental | Half day |
| Cam Thanh basket-boat ride | River village | ~90,000 VND-plus per person | 1-1.5h |
| Cu Lao Cham boat trip | Island reserve | Varies by operator, seasonal | Full day |
The Ancient Town: the Japanese Bridge, the assembly halls, and the coupon ticket
Start with the Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau), an 18th-century icon that appears on the 20,000 VND banknote. It was recently and visibly restored between 2022 and 2024, and opinions differ on whether the brighter wood looks right next to the older patina around it, go see it and judge for yourself. From there, the coupon booklet (roughly 120,000 VND, verify current price) is a set of 5 tickets redeemable at any 5 of the town’s 20-plus heritage sites, including the grand Phuc Kien (Fujian) Assembly Hall, the Cantonese and Hainan halls, and 200-year-old merchant houses like Tan Ky and Phung Hung that are still lived in today. Walking the streets themselves costs nothing.
A lantern evening on the Thu Bon
Lanterns are Hoi An’s signature, and you don’t need to time your trip around a special date to see them: any evening, the Old Town glows under paper lanterns, and vendors along the riverbank sell small floating candle lanterns to send downstream. The amplified version is the Full Moon Lantern Festival, held monthly on the 14th day of the lunar month, when street electricity is cut and the effect is far more dramatic. Check our festivals and events guide for upcoming 2026 dates.
Get a tailor fitting
Hoi An’s roughly 400 tailor shops are a real reason to visit, but the “24-hour bespoke suit” pitched on the tourist strip is a myth, genuine bespoke work needs 3-5 days and at least one in-person fitting. Get two or three quotes, order a single test item first, photograph the agreed fabric, and pay only a modest deposit, around 20%, before committing to a full order.
My Son Sanctuary and a cooking class
My Son Sanctuary , a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999, is a cluster of Cham Hindu temple ruins about 40km and roughly an hour from town. Go early, both for the heat and because a week of bombing in August 1969 left craters and partial structures that are easier to appreciate before the tour buses arrive. Book a My Son sunrise tour to get ahead of both. Back in town, a market tour and cooking class, book one here , is the easiest way to turn cao lau and banh xeo from things you eat into things you understand.
Beyond the Old Town: Da Nang, the beach, and the water villages
A day trip north to Da Nang covers the Marble Mountains (a stair climb through caves and pagodas) and Ba Na Hills, home to the giant stone Golden Bridge, held up by two enormous hands and opened in 2018. Closer to home, cycle out to An Bang Beach and the Tra Que herb village, or take a Cam Thanh basket-boat ride through the water-coconut palms, the touristy version can feel like a boat traffic jam with a staged spinning “dance,” so ask your guide about a calmer, less-crowded departure time. For a full day on the water, Cu Lao Cham, a marine UNESCO Biosphere Reserve just offshore, adds snorkeling and quieter beaches.
Is the Old Town ticket worth buying?
Only if you want inside the sites. Walking Hoi An’s lantern-lit streets, crossing the Japanese Bridge, and browsing the markets cost nothing at all; the roughly 120,000 VND coupon booklet only matters if you want to step inside the assembly halls, museums, or historic houses.
How much time should I give the Ancient Town itself?
A full day, minimum. Between the heritage walk, a tailor fitting, and an evening lantern stroll, the town alone fills a day easily, before you’ve even left for My Son or Da Nang. Our Hoi An day trips guide breaks down how the outlying trips stack against each other.