# Hoi An: map, what to do and when to go

The old merchant port on the Thu Bồn, with a lantern-lit old town, vegetable gardens, and a beach within bicycle reach

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Hội An: how do I get there from the airport?** The nearest airport is Đà Nẵng International (DAD), about 28 km to the north, roughly 40 minutes by car.
- **Hội An: do I have to pay to enter the old town?** Walking the streets of the old town is free; the ticket, bought at the old town's booths, gives access to the houses, halls, temples, and museums, which the Đà Nẵng tourism authority's 2026 schedule lists as open from 8:00 to 17:00.
- **Hội An: how many days should I stay?** I'd stay three days in Hội An: the first entirely in the old town, from the first hours of the morning to the lanterns of the night, the second by bicycle through the Trà Quế gardens, An Bàng beach, and the Bảy Mẫu palm forest, and the third for Mỹ Sơn early in the morning, getting back in time for one last walk through the center.

## The old town, from morning to lanterns
Early, before 8 a.m., walk along the still-empty Trần Phú and look at the Chùa Cầu from the outside, in the low light.
- Chùa Cầu
- Lune Center for the Performing Arts

## Phố cổ Hội An
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-pho-co-hoi-an
Cidade Antiga de Hoi An · Half a day or more
The old town is the whole ensemble, more than any single monument: narrow, deep merchant houses, with the shop at the front, the storeroom in the middle, and the family altar facing inward, double roofs of thin clay tiles, and facades painted yellow. Walking the streets is free; the ticket, bought at the old town's booths, gives access to the houses, halls, temples, and museums, which the Đà Nẵng tourism authority's 2026 schedule lists as open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are two tiers: 80,000 VND covers the covered bridge or the Quan Công temple plus two more monuments; 120,000 VND covers the bridge or the temple, one museum, and three more monuments. The ticket is valid for up to three days of your stay and also includes the day's traditional arts performances and the Japanese tea ceremony at the Japanese Culture Gallery (Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai 06, at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.); groups of eight or more get a free guide (conservation center notice, January 2026). From 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. in summer, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in winter, the streets are closed to motorbikes.
Check access

## Chùa Cầu
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-chua-cau
Cidade Antiga de Hoi An · Up to half an hour
The covered bridge, about 18 m long, crosses a small canal between Trần Phú and Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai. Tradition attributes its construction to Japanese merchants in 1593, and a small temple to the god Trấn Vũ was added at the north end, with its entrance in the middle of the bridge. The plaque Lai Viễn Kiều, the bridge for welcoming those who come from afar, was given by Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu in 1719. Renovations in 1817, 1865, 1915, and 1986 replaced almost all the Japanese features with Vietnamese and Chinese elements, and the bridge underwent a major restoration in 2023 and 2024. Look at the wooden statues at the two ends: monkeys on one side, dogs on the other. The bridge appears on the 20,000 VND note and is one of the two fixed visits on the ticket.
Check access

## Hội quán Phúc Kiến
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-hoi-quan-phuc-kien
Up to half an hour
The Fujian community hall, at Trần Phú 46, is the largest of the town's five Chinese halls. It began as a thatched Buddhist temple built by Vietnamese in 1697, was bought by Fujian merchants in 1759, and became an assembly hall in 1792. The green-tiled gate comes from a renovation in the 1970s; behind it, courtyards lead to the main hall, dedicated to Mazu, the protector goddess of sailors, and to the six Fujian ministers loyal to the Ming. It is an active place of worship, with daily offerings.
Check access

## Nhà cổ Tấn Ký
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-nha-co-tan-ky
Cidade Antiga de Hoi An · Up to half an hour
The Tấn Ký house, at Nguyễn Thái Học 101, is one of the merchant houses still lived in by the family, and the visit is usually led by a relative, with tea, in the front part. It shows the typical Hội An plan, a narrow and deep house, and the mix of influences: the crab-shell ceiling resting on three beams is Japanese-inspired, and Chinese poems inlaid in mother-of-pearl hang from the columns.
Check access

## Chùa Ông (Quan Công)
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-chua-ong
Cidade Antiga de Hoi An · Up to half an hour
The Quan Công temple, at Trần Phú 24, was built in 1653 by Minh Hương and Vietnamese residents to honor the Chinese general Guan Yu, a symbol of loyalty, to whom merchants prayed for trust in their dealings. The rear hall holds a statue of the general almost 3 m tall, red-faced and in a green robe, between his two attendants. The temple's festivals fall on the 13th and 14th days of the first and sixth lunar months. On the ticket, the temple is the alternative to the covered bridge.
Check access

## Bảo tàng Gốm sứ Mậu dịch
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-bao-tang-gom-su-mau-dich
Cidade Antiga de Hoi An · Up to half an hour
The Museum of Trade Ceramics, at Trần Phú 80, occupies a restored wooden house built around 1858 and displays pieces from Persia, China, Thailand, and India found in the region, proof of the old port's reach. The display cases are simple; what is worth it is climbing to the upper floor and walking through a whole old house, with its inner courtyard and a balcony over the street. It counts as the museum visit on the 120,000 VND ticket.
Check access

## Hội quán Quảng Triệu
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-hoi-quan-quang-trieu
Up to half an hour
The Cantonese community hall, at Trần Phú 176, near the covered bridge, was built in 1885. It has a quiet courtyard with statuary and, at the back, a garden with a ceramic dragon fountain. For anyone who has already seen the Fujian hall, it is a variation on the same theme.
Check access

## Chợ Hội An
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-cho-hoi-an
Up to half an hour
The central market, at Trần Phú 19, at the east end of the old town, brings together fish, vegetables, and herbs in the morning and a food court with stalls serving local dishes, such as cao lầu and mì Quảng, next to stalls with general Vietnamese food. Some stalls serve tourists with English menus and others serve rice and sides to the people who work there; tourist prices tend to be higher, so ask before you order.
Check access

## Sông Hoài
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-song-hoai
Up to half an hour
The arm of the Thu Bồn that runs in front of the old town is where the town gathers at dusk. Silk lanterns light up on the facades of Bạch Đằng and on An Hội island, boatmen offer short rides in which you release a paper lantern on the water, and the river fills with people. On the 14th night of each lunar month, since 1998, the town switches off the electric light in the old town between 5 and 10 p.m. and lights only lanterns, with music and traditional games such as bài chòi. If you take a boat, agree on the price before boarding and ask for a life jacket.
Check access

## Chợ đêm Hội An
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-cho-em-hoi-an
Up to half an hour
The night market takes over Nguyễn Hoàng Street, on An Hội island, just past the bridge over the Hoài River. It is stalls of lanterns, crafts, and snacks, with prices aimed at visitors. It works well as a route between the riverfront and dinner, not as an outing in itself.
Check access

## Làng gốm Thanh Hà
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-lang-gom-thanh-ha
Hội An Tây · One to two hours
The potter village of Thanh Hà lies on the bank of the Thu Bồn, about 3 km west of the old town, and took shape in the 16th century. The potters still throw pieces by hand on a foot-driven wheel, without a mold, and the technique is a national intangible heritage of Vietnam. Today production is mostly decorative. The village charges an admission of 35,000 VND and is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (2026 schedule of the Đà Nẵng tourism authority). The riverside path is an easy bicycle ride.
Check access

## Làng rau Trà Quế
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-lang-rau-tra-que
One to two hours
The village of Trà Quế grows herbs and vegetables in beds between the town and the sea, about 3 km northeast of the old town. Visits offer a chance to follow the work in the garden, with a conical hat and a watering can, and some of the town's cooking classes pass through the village. The village charges an admission of 35,000 VND and receives visitors from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (2026 schedule). Go in the morning, when the farmers are in the fields, and continue by bicycle to An Bàng beach.
Check access

## Rừng dừa Bảy Mẫu
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-rung-dua-bay-mau
One to two hours
The Bảy Mẫu palm forest, in Cẩm Thanh, covers more than 80 hectares of nipa palm, the brackish-water palm of the Thu Bồn river mouth, inside the Cù Lao Chàm-Hội An biosphere reserve. The ride is in the thuyền thúng, the round bamboo basket boat of the fishermen, through narrow canals; the boatmen usually spin the basket and show net fishing. The area has charged admission since 2017 (30,000 VND on the 2026 schedule of the Đà Nẵng tourism authority, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and was a base of resistance in the war, listed as a provincial relic in 2007.
Check access

## Biển An Bàng
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-bien-an-bang
Hội An Tây · Half a day or more
An Bàng is the beach of a fishing village a few kilometers north of the old town, with pale sand and relatively calm sea in the dry season. Seafood restaurants and cafés sit on the sand, and the atmosphere is quieter than at the Đà Nẵng beaches. From October to December the waves grow and swimming becomes dangerous.
Check access

## Biển Cửa Đại
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-bien-cua-ai
One to two hours
Cửa Đại is the beach closest to the old town, about 5 km away, next to the river mouth. Since 2000 it has been losing sand, with retreats of up to 100 m in some stretches, and it lives with walls, sandbags, and pumping to rebuild the strip; the waves of October to December 2024 damaged the coast again. The road to it also leads to the speedboat pier for Cù Lao Chàm.
Check access

## Lune Center for the Performing Arts
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-lune-center-for-the-performing
Up to half an hour
The Lune company's theater, at Nguyễn Phúc Chu 01A, on An Hội island, presents acrobatics and dance with bamboo poles and baskets and themes from Vietnamese life, in a hall of about 300 seats, so the cheaper seats also have a good view. It is an expensive outing by the town's standards: Wikivoyage listed 700,000 to 1,600,000 VND per adult in December 2024. Titles, times, and prices change; check the schedule and buy from the company's website or box office.
Check access

## Hội An Memories Show
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/hoi-an/#g-lugar-hoi-an-memories-show
Half a day or more
At the Hội An Memories theme park, on an island in the Thu Bồn east of the old town, a large-scale night show tells the story of the port, with more than 500 performers on a 25,000 m² stage. Before the main show there are smaller performances scattered around the park. According to the 2026 schedule of the Đà Nẵng tourism authority, the park opens from 4 to 9 p.m. and closes on Tuesdays; park entry costs 100,000 VND, and the show costs 600,000 to 1,200,000 VND depending on the section. Anyone who prefers the real town can leave it for another trip.
Check access

**Hội An: how do I get there from the airport?**
The nearest airport is Đà Nẵng International (DAD), about 28 km to the north, roughly 40 minutes by car. From the terminal, the simplest way is a taxi or a ride-hailing car (Grab), with the price seen in the app before you get in; Wikivoyage listed 300,000 to 500,000 VND by taxi in November 2023, and a fixed price agreed beforehand usually comes out cheaper than the meter. There are also shared vans that hotels book. Inside the old town, from 9:00 to 21:30 in summer and from 9:00 to 21:00 in winter, the streets are reserved for pedestrians and bicycles.

**Hội An: do I have to pay to enter the old town?**
Walking the streets of the old town is free; the ticket, bought at the old town's booths, gives access to the houses, halls, temples, and museums, which the Đà Nẵng tourism authority's 2026 schedule lists as open from 8:00 to 17:00. There are two tiers: 80,000 VND covers the covered bridge or the Quan Công temple plus two more monuments; 120,000 VND covers the bridge or the temple, one museum, and three more monuments. The ticket is valid for up to three days of your stay and also includes the day's traditional arts performances and the Japanese tea ceremony at the Japanese Culture Gallery (Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai 06, at 9:30 and 16:30).

**Hội An: how many days should I stay?**
I'd stay three days in Hội An: the first entirely in the old town, from the first hours of the morning to the lanterns of the night, the second by bicycle through the Trà Quế gardens, An Bàng beach, and the Bảy Mẫu palm forest, and the third for Mỹ Sơn early in the morning, getting back in time for one last walk through the center. With two full days you can see the old town without rushing and do the bicycle outing, leaving Mỹ Sơn out; less than that reduces Hội An to a night of lanterns and misses what surrounds it. Between March and August, with calm seas, a fourth day for Cù Lao Chàm makes sense for anyone who likes snorkeling.

**Hội An: how do I visit Mỹ Sơn?**
The sanctuary of the kings of Champa lies 43 km by road from Hội An. It is open daily from 6:00 to 17:00, and the ticket for foreigners costs 150,000 VND; from the parking lot, a free electric car covers the roughly 2 km to the ruins. Leave Hội An before 6:00 to arrive in low light and ahead of the groups, by car with a driver or on a tour; the visit takes the morning, and the trails are slippery in the rain.

**Hội An: when is the best time to go?**
February to April; May to August stays dry but hot, with average highs of 33 to 34 °C at the Đà Nẵng station, and from September to January it rains, with the peak and the Thu Bồn floods in October and November.

**Hội An: can I rent a motorbike?**
Renting a motorbike calls for care: according to Wikivoyage, a foreigner can legally ride only with a temporary Vietnamese license or with an International Driving Permit accompanied by a valid home-country license for motorbikes, and most rental scooters are over 50 cc, which requires that license. Before renting, check whether your travel insurance covers motorbikes. For the vegetable gardens, the potter village, and the beaches, the bicycle is the town's transport: the terrain is flat, many hotels lend them, and shops rent them by the day.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 2 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/hoi-an/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/hoi-an/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/hoi-an.md