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3 Days in Hoi An: Itinerary 2026
Start at the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge (opening 7am, free entry) and wander the lantern-lined streets of the Old Town. Visit the Tan Ky Old House (101 Nguyen Tha… 🏯 Day 1: Old Town Highlights
Start at the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge (opening 7am, free entry) and wander the lantern-lined streets of the Old Town. Visit the Tan Ky Old House (101 Nguyen Thai Hoc, 8am-5pm, 50,000 VND) and the Assembly Hall of the Fujian Chinese Congregation (46 Tran Phu, 8am-5pm, 50,000 VND). Break for lunch at Cao Lau Ba Be (21 Thai Phien, 10am-8pm, 40,000 VND per bowl). In the afternoon, explore the Hoi An Central Market (6am-6pm) and take a short walk to the Thu Bon River waterfront.
🚲 Day 2: Countryside and Beaches
Rent a bicycle (30,000-50,000 VND per day) and cycle 5 km to the Tra Que Vegetable Village (entry 50,000 VND, 6am-6pm) to see local farming. Continue 4 km east to An Bang Beach for a swim and seafood lunch at The Deck House (7am-9pm, mains from 120,000 VND). On the way back, stop at the Thanh Ha Pottery Village (entry 50,000 VND, 8am-5pm) to try your hand at the wheel. Return to town by 5pm to avoid cycling in the dark.
🍜 Day 3: Food and Culture
Begin with a cooking class at Red Bridge Cooking School (Thon 4, Cam Thanh, 8:30am-1pm, $35 USD) that includes a market tour and boat ride. Afternoon visit the Hoi An Silk Village (28 Nguyen Tat Thanh, 8am-5pm, 150,000 VND) to learn about traditional silk production. For dinner, try the white rose dumplings at White Rose Restaurant (533 Hai Ba Trung, 10am-9pm, 60,000 VND per plate). End the day with a lantern boat ride on the Hoai River (30,000 VND per person, 6pm-9pm).
🚶 Getting Around Town
Hoi An's Old Town is pedestrian-friendly, so walking is the best way to explore the narrow streets. For longer distances, use a bicycle (30,000-50,000 VND per day) or a motorbike taxi (Grab or Mai Linh, 20,000-50,000 VND for short trips). Taxis are available but scarce during peak hours; expect to pay around 50,000 VND for a 3 km ride. From Da Nang Airport to Hoi An, a private car costs about 350,000-450,000 VND and takes 45 minutes.
🌙 Evening Activities
Every evening from 6pm to 9pm, the Old Town transforms with lanterns and night markets. Stroll along the Hoai River and release a flower lantern (10,000 VND) for good luck. The Hoi An Night Market (Nguyen Hoang, 5pm-11pm) offers street food like banh mi Phuong (2.5 USD) and grilled squid. For a quieter evening, catch a traditional water puppet show at the Hoi An Theater (548 Hai Ba Trung, 7:30pm, 100,000 VND).
💰 Budget and Costs
A comfortable daily budget for Hoi An is around 800,000-1,200,000 VND (35-50 USD) per person, covering meals, transport, and entry fees. Street food meals cost 30,000-60,000 VND, while mid-range restaurants charge 100,000-200,000 VND per dish. Many attractions offer combo tickets: the Old Town ticket (120,000 VND) includes five heritage sites. Accommodation ranges from 300,000 VND for a hostel to 1,500,000 VND for a boutique hotel.
☔ Weather and Packing
Hoi An has a tropical climate with a dry season from February to August and a wet season from September to January. The hottest months are June to August, with temperatures reaching 35°C (95°F), so pack light clothing, sunscreen, and a hat. Bring a raincoat or umbrella if visiting between October and December, when flooding can occur. Comfortable walking shoes are essential for cobblestone streets.
good breakdown overall, covers the bases. one thing i'd add is about timing your trip around the lunar calendar, the 14th and 15th of each lunar month is the full moon lantern festival when they kill all the electric lights and the whole Old Town runs on lanterns and candles only. its genuinely magic but also means every hotel and restaurant is packed, so book ahead if those dates land in your window.
on the motorbike taxi thing, Grab works fine but honestly the xe om drivers hanging around the market will do the same trip for less if you negotiate, just agree the price before you get on.
the one thing nobody mentions, the tailor shops. Hoi An is famous for custom clothing and you can get a suit made in 24 hours, but the quality varies wildly. Yaly on Nguyen Thai Hoc is the expensive safe bet, the smaller shops on Le Loi are cheaper but hit or miss. If you're getting anything made, do it day 1 so you have time for fittings.
The itinerary covers the main stops well, but I'd flag one timing issue. The Old Town gets genuinely packed from about 4pm onward when the day tours arrive, so if you want photos of the Japanese Bridge or the yellow walls without a hundred people in frame, go before 8am. I stayed near Nguyen Thai Hoc and was out by 6:45 most mornings, had whole streets to myself.
On the bicycle day, the route to Tra Que is flat and easy but the stretch along Hai Ba Trung toward An Bang has some aggressive motorbike traffic. I'd cut through the rice paddies instead, turn off at the sign for Tra Que and follow the smaller lanes east. Adds maybe ten minutes but it's all shade and you pass water buffalo.
For the cooking class, Red Bridge is fine but you're paying mostly for the boat ride and the setting. If you actually want to learn the techniques, the smaller family-run classes in Cam Thanh or out toward the Tra Que village are half the price and you get more hands-on time. I did one at a place called Thuan Tinh and we made four dishes from scratch, no group of twenty.
One thing the guide skips: cash. Most of the small vendors, the lantern sellers, the market stalls, they're cash only and the ATMs in the Old Town run dry by evening, especially on weekends. Bring enough dong or hit an ATM in the morning.
solid writeup. one thing i'd add on the Old Town ticket, those 120k tickets are technically valid for 24 hours but nobody checks the date, ive used the same one across two days before and no one blinked. also the Japanese Bridge was under heavy restoration for ages, worth checking if its fully open again before you build your morning around it.
for food, skip the fancy spots and just eat at the little stalls in the Central Market, the cao lau and mi quang there are like 30k and better than most restaurants. banh mi Phuong gets the crowds but honestly Madam Khanh (the Banh Mi Queen) on Tran Cao Van is just as good and way less of a wait.
Things to Do in Hoi An (2026)
The UNESCO-listed Ancient Town is the heart of Hoi An, and in 2026, entry costs 120,000 VND (about $5) for a ticket that includes five heritage sites. Start at the icon… 🏮 Explore the Ancient Town
The UNESCO-listed Ancient Town is the heart of Hoi An, and in 2026, entry costs 120,000 VND (about $5) for a ticket that includes five heritage sites. Start at the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge, then wander through the old merchant houses like Tan Ky House at 101 Nguyen Thai Hoc, open daily from 8 AM to 5 PM. Insider tip: buy your ticket after 4 PM to avoid the midday heat and catch the town's magical lantern glow at dusk.
🚴 Cycle Through Rice Fields
Rent a bicycle from your hotel for around 50,000 VND per day and pedal into the countryside. A favorite route is the loop to Tra Que Vegetable Village, just 3 km north of the Ancient Town, where you can join a farming tour for 200,000 VND. Continue to An Bang Beach for a swim and fresh seafood lunch at one of the beachfront shacks. The flat terrain makes it easy for all ages.
🍜 Savor Local Street Food
Hoi An is a food lover's paradise, and you cannot leave without trying Cao Lau, a noodle dish unique to the town. Head to the Central Market at 19 Tran Phu Street, open from 6 AM to 6 PM, for a bowl at around 30,000 VND. For the best banh mi, join the queue at Banh Mi Phuong, 2B Phan Chau Trinh, which opens at 6:30 AM and sells out by early afternoon. Insider tip: go before 11 AM to beat the crowds.
🛶 Take a Basket Boat Ride
In the coconut palm waterways of Cam Thanh, about 5 km from the Ancient Town, you can ride a traditional basket boat. Tours cost about 150,000 VND per person and last 45 minutes, including a fun spinning demonstration by local rowers. Book directly with a village operator rather than through a hotel to get a better price. The best time is early morning or late afternoon when the light is soft.
🏮 Join a Lantern Making Class
Hoi An's lanterns are famous, and you can make your own at workshops like Lantern Making Class at 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc. Classes run daily from 9 AM to 8 PM and cost around 250,000 VND for a 2-hour session. You'll choose your fabric and frame, and the instructor will guide you step by step. It's a perfect souvenir that folds flat for packing.
🌙 Experience the Night Market
Every evening from 5 PM to 11 PM, the Nguyen Hoang Night Market along the Thu Bon River comes alive with stalls selling crafts, clothing, and street food. It's the best spot to try grilled skewers and fresh fruit smoothies for under 50,000 VND. Insider tip: bring small bills, as vendors rarely have change for large notes. The market is a 5-minute walk from the Japanese Covered Bridge.
🏖️ Relax at An Bang Beach
Just 4 km from the Ancient Town, An Bang Beach offers a relaxed vibe with sunbeds and umbrellas for rent at around 100,000 VND per day. The water is calm from May to September, making it ideal for swimming. For lunch, try the fresh grilled squid at one of the family-run restaurants like The Deck House at 39 Nguyen Phan Vinh. It's a great escape from the town's heat.
🎨 Discover Local Art Galleries
Hoi An has a thriving art scene, with galleries like Art Space at 40 Nguyen Thai Hoc showcasing contemporary Vietnamese artists. Most galleries are open from 9 AM to 9 PM and offer original paintings, lacquerware, and sculptures. You can often meet the artists in person and learn about their techniques. Prices range from $20 for small prints to several hundred for large canvases.
solid list but nobody ever mentions the tailors. thats the actual reason a lot of people stay in Hoi An longer than planned. Yaly on Nguyen Thai Hoc and Ba Ri on Tran Hung Dao are the two i keep going back to, a tailored linen shirt runs about 600k to 900k and takes 2 days with a fitting in between. if ur short on time theres usually a 24h option but you pay more and the fit is hit or miss.
also worth knowing, most of these tailor shops close for Tet and the few weeks around it so if ur coming late Jan or early Feb check first. i showed up once expecting same day service and half the street was shut
good writeup, covers most of the essentials. one thing i'd add is the ticket thing works differently than people expect, its 120k for 5 sites but you can only visit each site once, so plan which merchant houses you actually wanna see instead of just wandering in randomly.
for food, skip the busy spots and go to the banh xeo stalls on hoang dieu street around 5-6pm, they set up on the sidewalk and its like 20k for a crispy one with herbs. way better than the tourist restaurants along the river.
also if u rent a bike, check the brakes before u ride off, some of the hotel rentals are pretty beat up and the roads out to tra que have motorbikes flying past
the cao lau at central market is solid but honestly the best bowl i've had is from a little stall on tran phu near the corner with hoang dieu, no sign just a woman with one pot, 25k and she's usually sold out by 10am
one thing the guide missed: most of the ancient town tickets are technically single entry per site, so if u want to revisit the same merchant house the next day u need a new ticket. nobody really enforces it hard but worth knowing
also for the basket boats, cam thanh gets packed with tour groups around 9-10am, go at 7am and u basically have the waterways to urself