Hoi An: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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From the fifteenth to the nineteenth century Hoi An, which Europeans called Faifo, was one of the great ports of Southeast Asia, where Chinese, Japanese and European ships traded silk, porcelain and spices. Then the river silted up, trade moved to Da Nang, and the town was left almost untouched — which is why it survives. Two hours; one ticket covers several old houses and halls.

A short history of Hoi An

Hoi An was a port of the Champa kingdom, and between the 15th and 19th centuries it became one of the most important trading ports in Southeast Asia, visited by merchants from China, Japan and Europe. Japanese merchants built the covered bridge, now the symbol of the town, in the 1590s, and the Chinese built assembly halls there according to their places of origin. In the 19th century the river gradually silted up, the ships moved to Da Nang, and the town was forgotten. Thanks to this the old wooden houses were preserved, and in 1999 Hoi An was declared a World Heritage Site.

The ten best sights in Hoi An

1
Japanese Covered Bridge
The bridge on the banknote; busy by day, lovely at night
2
Phung Hung House
A merchant’s house of 1780
3
Cantonese Assembly Hall
A dragon fountain in the courtyard
4
Tran Phu Street
The main street of the old town
5
Museum of Trade Ceramics
Pottery from the trading port and shipwrecks
6
Fujian Assembly Hall
The temple of the sea goddess
7
Quan Cong Temple
A temple of 1653 to a Chinese general
8
An Hoi
The riverbank of lantern boats
9
Kim Bong Village
The carpenters who built the old town
10
Tra Que Village
Herb gardens to cycle through

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Tours in Hoi An →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Hoi An:

Free walking tours in Hoi An

The old trading port

Japanese Covered Bridge · Built around the 1590s by the town’s Japanese community, with a small temple inside, it joined their quarter to the Chinese one. A legend says it pins down a monster whose thrashing caused earthquakes in Japan. It appears on the twenty-thousand-dong banknote.
Phung Hung House · A merchant’s house of 1780 built of hardwood on eighty columns, mixing Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese styles. Every autumn the river floods the old town, and the family has a trapdoor in the upper floor to lift the goods out of the water.
Cantonese Assembly Hall · Each Chinese community built its own assembly hall as temple, club and hostel for its merchants. The Cantonese hall of 1885 has a courtyard fountain of a dragon wrapped in coloured porcelain.
Museum of Trade Ceramics · In an old wooden house, pieces of the porcelain and pottery that passed through the port, from China, Japan, Thailand and the Middle East, many recovered from ships wrecked off this coast.
Fujian Assembly Hall · The largest of the assembly halls, of the merchants from Fujian, dedicated to Thien Hau, the goddess of the sea who protected sailors. Giant coils of incense hang from the ceiling, each burning for weeks with a prayer tied to it.
Quan Cong Temple · A temple of 1653 to Quan Cong, a Chinese general of the third century who became a god of loyalty and good business, with a life-size statue of his red-faced figure and his white horse.

Lanterns and the river

At dusk the old town closes to motorbikes and lights thousands of silk lanterns, and boats on the Thu Bon river carry candles in paper lanterns. On the full-moon night each month the town switches off its electric lights. Ninety minutes, from sunset.

Central Market · Hoi An is famous for its tailors, who can measure you in the morning and have a suit or a dress ready the next day. Many work from the cloth hall of the central market, where bolts of silk and wool are stacked to the ceiling.
Tran Phu Street · The main street of the old town, of yellow-walled shophouses with dark wooden fronts. Look for the marks painted on walls and posts showing how high the floods have reached — some above head height.
Japanese Covered Bridge · At night the bridge is lit and reflected in the canal, and the crowds of the day thin out. It was carefully restored and reopened in 2024.
An Hoi · Across the bridge on the islet of An Hoi, women sell small paper lanterns with candles to set on the river for luck, and boatmen row visitors out among them.
Night Market · A street of stalls hung with hundreds of silk lanterns in every colour, sold folded flat to carry home, beside food stalls of grilled skewers and sweet soups.
Kim Bong Village · By day, a short ferry across the river reaches the carpenters’ village whose families built and still repair the wooden houses of the old town, and carve boats and furniture by hand.

Villages, the coconut forest and My Son

Around Hoi An are herb gardens, a coconut forest of round basket boats, beaches and, in the hills, the temple city of the Cham kingdom. A full day, by bicycle and car.

My Son · From the fourth to the thirteenth century the Cham kings built brick temples to the Hindu god Shiva in this jungle valley, with bricks fitted so finely that nobody is sure how they were bonded. In 1969 American bombing destroyed many of them; the craters are still there.
Tra Que Village · A village of herb and vegetable gardens between the town and the sea, whose farmers fertilise the beds with seaweed from the lagoon, which gives the herbs of Hoi An their famous fragrance. You can cycle through and join a cooking class.
Bay Mau Coconut Forest · A forest of water coconut palms on the river delta, where boatmen in round bamboo basket boats spin visitors through the channels. In the American war the forest sheltered Viet Cong fighters.
Cua Dai Beach · The beach where the river meets the sea, badly eaten by erosion in recent years; sandbags and breakwaters now protect the hotels behind it.
Cham Islands · A group of islands about twenty kilometres offshore, a marine park and a world biosphere reserve since 2009, where plastic bags are banned and snorkellers swim over coral gardens.
Night Market · Back in the old town for the lanterns at dusk, and a bowl of cao lau, the noodle dish found only in Hoi An.

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Getting to Hoi An and getting around

Da Nang Airport · Forty-five minutes by taxi or shuttle

Cheap eats in Hoi An

Hoi An has three dishes of its own: cao lau, thick chewy noodles with pork, herbs and crisp crackers; white rose, delicate shrimp dumplings shaped like flowers; and its banh mi, the Vietnamese baguette stuffed with pâté, meats, pickles and herbs, which many call the best in the country. A banh mi or a bowl of cao lau costs about a dollar.

Central Market · Cao lau at the market stalls
Tran Phu Street · Banh mi shops of the old town
Night Market · Grilled skewers and sweet soups
Tra Que Village · A cooking class in the gardens

Museums in Hoi An

The old town is itself a museum, with merchants’ houses, assembly halls and small museums on one combined ticket.

Museum of Trade Ceramics · The porcelain trade
Phung Hung House · A merchant’s house
My Son · The Cham temples

Nature and day trips near Hoi An

A river delta of rice fields, coconut palms and herb gardens between the hills and the sea.

Bay Mau Coconut Forest · Basket boats
Cham Islands · Snorkelling in the reserve
Tra Que Village · Cycling through the gardens

Things to do in Hoi An with kids

With children: spinning basket boats, floating lanterns on the river and cycling through the fields.

Bay Mau Coconut Forest · Spinning basket boats
An Hoi · Float a lantern
Cua Dai Beach · A beach afternoon

Holy places in Hoi An

Chinese temples to sea goddesses and generals, a Japanese bridge-temple and the Hindu sanctuary of the Cham.

Fujian Assembly Hall · The sea goddess
Quan Cong Temple · The red-faced general
Japanese Covered Bridge · The temple on the bridge
My Son · Shiva’s valley

Nightlife in Hoi An

Hoi An’s nights are lanterns, the river and quiet bars along the water.

An Hoi · Riverside bars
Night Market · Lanterns and stalls
Japanese Covered Bridge · The bridge lit at night

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Frequently asked questions about Hoi An

What is there to see in Hoi An?

The top sights in Hoi An are Japanese Covered Bridge, Phung Hung House and Cantonese Assembly Hall. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Hoi An?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Hoi An without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Hoi An?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Hoi An, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The old trading port.

How do you get to Hoi An and get around?

The main ways are Da Nang Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Hoi An, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Hoi An that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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