Trip highlights
- 1Hoi An Ancient Town and Japanese Covered Bridge
- 2Custom tailoring
- 3An Bang Beach
- 4Vietnamese cooking class
- 5Full moon lantern festival (if timing aligns)
Daily spend
Where you're going
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In pictures
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Day-by-day plan
Arrival & Ancient Town
Monday, March 8
Est. spend
$80
per person
🌅 Morning
Arrive via Da Nang International Airport (DAD)
Da Nang International Airport
Hoi An has no airport of its own — most visitors fly into Da Nang and transfer by taxi, about 45 minutes south.
Pre-book a private transfer through your hotel for a fixed price rather than negotiating with airport taxi drivers.
☀️ Afternoon
Hoi An Ancient Town walking tour
Hoi An Ancient Town
A UNESCO World Heritage trading port frozen in time, with well-preserved 15th-19th century merchant houses, the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge, and narrow lanes strung with colourful silk lanterns.
Buy the Ancient Town entrance ticket, which includes access to several historic houses, assembly halls, and the Japanese Covered Bridge.
🌙 Evening
Lantern-lit evening and river boat ride
Thu Bon River, Hoi An
As night falls, the Ancient Town's streets glow with thousands of silk lanterns — a short boat ride along the Thu Bon River, releasing a floating paper lantern, is a beloved local tradition.
The lantern effect is most dramatic during the monthly full moon festival, when electric lights are switched off in the old town — check if your dates align.
🍽️ Meals
Airport or travel breakfast
Vietnamese · $5
Ancient Town lunch
Vietnamese · $6 · Try cao lau, a Hoi An specialty noodle dish found almost nowhere else in Vietnam.
Riverside dinner
Vietnamese · $18
Custom Tailoring & Cooking Class
Tuesday, March 9
Est. spend
$148
per person
🌅 Morning
Custom tailoring fitting
Hoi An tailor shops
Hoi An is famous throughout Southeast Asia for fast, affordable custom tailoring — suits, dresses, and shirts can typically be measured, made, and fitted within 24-48 hours.
Choose a tailor with strong recent reviews and bring reference photos of styles you like — quality varies significantly between shops.
☀️ Afternoon
Vietnamese cooking class
Hoi An cooking school
A hands-on class covering Vietnamese classics, often starting with a guided visit to the local market to select ingredients, followed by preparing dishes like fresh spring rolls and banh xeo.
Classes that include the market visit give better context on local ingredients than those that pre-package everything.
🌙 Evening
Dinner at My Café or Morning Glory
Hoi An Ancient Town
Two of Hoi An's most beloved restaurants for refined takes on regional Vietnamese cuisine, both founded by local culinary figures.
🍽️ Meals
Tailor shop area breakfast
Vietnamese · $5
Cooking class lunch
Vietnamese · $0 · The meal you prepare during the cooking class serves as lunch.
Morning Glory dinner
Vietnamese · $25
An Bang Beach & Tailoring Pickup
Wednesday, March 10
Est. spend
$74
per person
🌅 Morning
An Bang Beach
An Bang Beach, Hoi An
A relaxed, less developed beach about 4km from the Ancient Town, with soft white sand and a handful of laid-back beach bars and restaurants — a welcome break from sightseeing.
Rent a bicycle for the short ride from the Ancient Town — it's flat, pleasant, and avoids the cost of repeated taxi trips.
☀️ Afternoon
Tailoring pickup and fitting adjustments
Hoi An tailor shops
Return to your tailor for a fitting and any final adjustments to your custom-made items, typically ready within 1-2 days of the initial order.
Build at least one buffer day into your Hoi An stay beyond the initial fitting in case adjustments are needed.
🌙 Evening
Bicycle ride through rice paddies and dinner
Hoi An countryside
Cycle through the rural rice paddies just outside the Ancient Town as the sun sets, then return for a relaxed final-night dinner.
🍽️ Meals
Beach breakfast
Vietnamese · $5
An Bang Beach lunch
Vietnamese (seafood) · $14
Countryside dinner
Vietnamese · $25
Final Shopping & Departure
Thursday, March 11
Est. spend
$81
per person
🌅 Morning
Final lantern shopping and Central Market
Hoi An Central Market
A final morning shopping for handmade silk lanterns, conical hats, or final tailoring pickups, alongside a visit to Hoi An's bustling Central Market.
☀️ Afternoon
Final lunch and packing
Hoi An
A relaxed final lunch in the Ancient Town before transferring to Da Nang for departure.
🌙 Evening
Transfer to Da Nang Airport
Da Nang International Airport
Allow at least 2.5 hours before a domestic or international flight given the roughly 45-minute drive to Da Nang.
🍽️ Meals
Hotel breakfast
Vietnamese · $5
Ancient Town lunch
Vietnamese · $10
Airport food
Vietnamese/International · $12
Before you go
📅 Best time to visit
February–April offers warm, mostly dry weather, avoiding both the intense summer heat and the flood-prone late-year rainy season (October-November), when the Thu Bon River can rise significantly.
🛂 Visas
Many nationalities can obtain an e-Visa for Vietnam online in advance, or qualify for visa-free entry depending on nationality — check current requirements before travel.
💱 Currency
Vietnamese Dong (VND). Cash is preferred at markets, tailors, and street stalls; cards are accepted at larger hotels and restaurants.
🆘 Emergency numbers
police: 113
ambulance: 115
💬 Things you won't find in a guidebook
- Build at least one buffer day into your stay if planning custom tailoring — most orders take 24-48 hours, and fitting adjustments may need a second visit.
- The monthly full moon lantern festival, when electric lighting is switched off across the Ancient Town in favour of lanterns alone, is worth timing your visit around if possible.
- Renting a bicycle is the easiest and most pleasant way to reach An Bang Beach and explore the surrounding rice paddies — Hoi An's flat terrain makes this very manageable.
- Cao lau, a thick noodle dish found almost exclusively in Hoi An, is a genuine local specialty distinct from noodle dishes found elsewhere in Vietnam.
- Hoi An has no airport of its own — all visitors transfer via Da Nang, about 45 minutes away, so factor this into arrival and departure planning.
One thing worth not skipping
A 4-day trip to Hoi An, Vietnam without insurance is a gamble. Medical emergencies, cancelled flights, lost luggage — cover yourself before you leave.
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