A day-by-day plan, with a 5-day version
Three full days is the sweet spot for Hoi An: enough for the Old Town at its quietest, one big day trip, one half-day trip and two lantern-lit evenings, without rushing. Here is the plan we would follow, with timings, and how to stretch it to five days.
Stay in or near the Old Town if this is your first visit: you can walk to the river at dawn and after dark, which is when Hoi An is at its best. An Bang and the beach area are 5 km away and quieter, but you will rely on taxis or bicycles every evening. Almost every tour below includes hotel pickup in Hoi An, so either works.
Arriving by plane? See our guide on getting from Da Nang to Hoi An.
Be in the Old Town by 7 am. The yellow merchant houses, the Japanese Covered Bridge and the Chinese assembly halls are almost empty and the light is soft. Buy the Ancient Town ticket at one of the booths and use it on two or three historic houses and assembly halls. Breakfast on a bowl of cao lau or a banh mi, then a phin-filter coffee by the river.
Head 5 km out to the Cam Thanh coconut forest for a basket boat ride. If you would rather do more in one booking, pick a cooking class that includes the basket boat; the all-in-one class with coffee and lantern making covers three Hoi An classics in an afternoon.
Walk back into town at dusk, when the lanterns come on. Take a 15-minute wooden-boat ride and set a paper lantern on the water, then cross to the night market on An Hoi island. If your dates include the 14th day of the lunar month, check our lantern festival calendar: that is the night to be here.
Give the second day to the big one. Ba Na Hills is about 65 km from Hoi An; a tour picks you up around 7:30 to 8 am and brings you back in the late afternoon. Going early matters: the Golden Bridge, held up by two giant stone hands, gets very busy from late morning.
Weather backup. If the forecast shows heavy rain, swap Day 2 and Day 3. My Son and the Old Town cope with showers far better than a mountain-top theme park.
The early-morning My Son tour leaves around 5 am and gets you to the Cham temple ruins before the heat and the tour buses. You are back in Hoi An before lunch.
End with an evening food tour, or with the large outdoor Hoi An Memories Show on the river island.
Ordering clothes? Start on Day 1, not Day 4: fittings take two or three days. Our Hoi An tailors guide explains how.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Town at 7 am | Basket boat or cooking class | Lantern boat ride, night market |
| 2 | Ba Na Hills & Golden Bridge (full day) | Easy dinner | |
| 3 | My Son at sunrise | Marble Mountains or beach | Food tour or Memories Show |
| 4 | Hue via the Hai Van Pass | Old Town | |
| 5 | Cham Islands (Mar–Sep) or bike tour + tailor | Farewell dinner by the river | |
The best-rated version of each activity in the plan, with live prices on GetYourGuide.
The most popular way to see Ba Na Hills from Hoi An or Da Nang. Hotel pickup, the long cable car up the mountain, the Golden Bridge held by giant stone hands, the French Village and Linh Ung pagoda, with a guide handling the queues. A long but easy day.
Check availability
Reach the Cham temples of My Son before the heat and the crowds (or in the soft evening light), with a guide, breakfast or snacks with Champa flavours and a traditional dance performance. The best-rated way to see the UNESCO site from Hoi An.
Check availability
An all-in-one half day: basket boat, a Vietnamese cooking class, a coffee-making lesson and a lantern-making workshop with a lantern to take home. Ideal if you have only a day or two and want the classic Hoi An activities in one booking.
Check availability
A short wooden-boat ride on the river past the lit-up Old Town, ending with a paper lantern you set on the water. Book it for the full-moon lantern nights or any evening; it is the one experience almost every visitor to Hoi An does.
Check availabilityTwo days covers the Old Town, a basket boat or cooking class and one day trip (Ba Na Hills or My Son). Three days lets you do both big trips without rushing.
Stay in Hoi An for atmosphere, the Old Town and lantern evenings; most day trips pick up in both towns. Da Nang suits travellers who want a city beach and nightlife.
Do the weather-dependent trip (Ba Na Hills or the Cham Islands) early in your stay, so you can move it if it rains. My Son and the Marble Mountains work in most weather.
Not comfortably. They are in opposite directions and each takes half a day or more; keep them on separate days.
