Vietnam

Hoi An

Hoi An's lantern-lit old town is Vietnam's prettiest stage set, and the food lives up to the scenery: cao lầu noodles made — so legend insists — with water from one ancient well, white rose dumplings and bánh mì that food writers cross continents for.

Best forFoodies · Couples · Culture seekers
In April31°C · 9 rainy days · sea 26°C
Ideal stay3–4 nights
Approx. flying time~15h 35m from Los Angeles

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Hoi An, Vietnam Open in Google Maps Powered by Geoapify · © OpenStreetMap contributors · © OpenMapTiles

CurrencyVNDVietnamese dong
LanguageVietnamese
Local time16:246h ahead of the UK
PlugsType A / CBring an adapter
Drive on theRightOpposite to the UK
Dialling code+84

Why go

A trading port that fell asleep for a century, Hoi An kept its wooden shophouses, Chinese assembly halls and Japanese bridge intact, and now lights the lot with silk lanterns after dark. The old town is closed to cars, small enough to cross in twenty minutes and dense with tailors, food stalls and river boats. Beyond it lie rice paddies, herb villages and a long stretch of sandy coast.

Give it three or four nights so you can split time between the old town, the beach and a day out to the Cham temple ruins inland. February to April is dry and comfortable; October and November bring heavy rain and periodic street flooding. The town has commercialised hard, so escape the central lanes by bicycle in the afternoon and come back once the tour groups have gone.

Ideal stay: 3–4 nights
The vibe: Lantern-lit, low-rise, unashamedly pretty

From our guides

Take a market-and-cooking class along the river, then cycle to An Bang beach to earn dinner. Order at Bánh Mì Phượng early; the queue is long for good reason. February to April is mild and dry.

Featured in Ten tropical escapes where the food is half the point

Things to do

Japanese Covered Bridge

A roofed sixteenth-century bridge with a small shrine inside, guarded by stone dogs and monkeys. It appears on the country's banknotes for a reason.
Assembly halls

Chinese merchant communities each built their own ornate hall, with painted gates, incense coils and courtyards. The Fujian one is the most elaborate of the group.
Lantern full-moon night

On the fourteenth night of each lunar month, electric lights in the old town go off and the streets run on lanterns and candles floated down the river.
Cao lau and white rose

Thick noodles with pork and greens, said to need water from a particular local well, and translucent shrimp dumplings. Neither travels beyond this town.
An Bang Beach

A flat four-kilometre cycle from the centre reaches a wide beach with loungers and seafood shacks. Best from March to August, when the sea is calm.
My Son Sanctuary

Brick Hindu towers built by the Cham kingdom from the fourth century, set in a jungle valley an hour inland. Go at opening time to beat heat and coaches.

Getting there

Fly to
Da Nang (DAD)

Nearest airport to Hoi An, about 23km away as the crow flies.
Then
To Hoi An

About 45 minutes by car or taxi south from Da Nang (DAD) to Hoi An. Hotels arrange transfers and shuttle buses run the same route.
On the ground
Getting around

The lantern-lit old town is pedestrianised for much of the day and evening, so you walk it. Bicycles are the local currency, and An Bang beach is a flat 20-minute ride or a short taxi hop.

Public transport: A public bus runs between Da Nang and Hoi An, and taxis and ride-hailing cars are plentiful. Within town, nothing beats a bicycle.

Flights

Los Angeles Hoi An, Vietnam

Flying from

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Roughly 15h 35m in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices.

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Flight times are estimates; prices open on Google Flights.

When to go

Daytime highs run from about 24°C in January to 34°C in June. Driest in March and April; wettest in October, with rain on about 29 days. The sea is warmest in August at around 31°C, coolest at 24°C.

The year at a glance — pick a month for detail

April31° · rain 9 days · sea 26°Hot with rain most weeks.

Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis).

Where to stay

Boutique hotels, garden resorts with pools and a large supply of family homestays. Beachside villas near An Bang, and very few international chain names in the old town itself.

Best base overall
Minh An, the Old Town

Sleeping inside the lantern-lit grid means the market, the tailors and the riverside are all on foot. It empties of day trippers by nine, though rooms are small and mostly heritage rather than modern.
Find stays in Minh An, the Old Town
Best with children
An Bang Beach

Four kilometres from town, a proper beach with shallow water, beach restaurants and villas with pools. Free shuttles or bicycles cover the gap, but evenings feel cut off from the old town.
Find stays in An Bang Beach
Best value
An Hoi

Just over the bridge from the Old Town, a dense strip of small hotels and guesthouses at lower prices, with the night market on your doorstep. Consequently it is the noisiest option.
Find stays in An Hoi
Quietest
Cam Thanh

Rice paddies and coconut palms east of town, where homestays and small resorts sit among the water-coconut canals. Charming and rural, but you will cycle or taxi everywhere after dark.
Find stays in Cam Thanh

Worth knowing before you book: Floods are normal from October to December and can close the old town for days. Check the season, and confirm whether your hotel runs a beach shuttle.

Search everything else in Hoi An by budget. These are indicative budget bands in GBP per night for two people, not live quotes or guarantees of hotel type. Check your dates, guests, taxes and final price on Booking.com.

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Good to know

Old town ticket: A single ticket covers entry to a set number of heritage houses, halls and museums, and is checked at the edges of the pedestrian zone.
Tailoring: Allow at least two full days for fittings if you want clothes made, and bring a photograph of exactly what you want. Rushed orders disappoint.
Flooding: The river regularly rises into the old town between October and December, when boats replace bicycles on some streets. Check forecasts before booking those months.
Getting there: Da Nang has the nearest airport and railway station, around forty-five minutes away by road. The coastal Hai Van pass north of it is worth the detour.
Cycling: Most accommodation lends bicycles free, and the countryside is flat. It is by far the most enjoyable way to reach the beach and the herb villages.