09:00–09:45
1Old Town Wander Walk
Start along Tran Phu and Nguyen Thai Hoc, the low yellow facades glow best in mid-afternoon light before the evening crowds arrive.
Trips planned by Robin · Hoi An, Vietnam
4 Days in Hoi An & Da Nang: Lanterns, Beaches & the Perfect Pair.
Four days in Hoi An divides itself naturally: one evening for the Old Town and its lantern-lit river, one slow beach day at An Bang, one day trip to the jungle-wrapped Cham ruins at My Son, and a final hands-on morning that starts in the central market and ends eating what you cooked. Everything except My Son is within a short walk or taxi of the Old Town, so this is a trip you unpack once for.
Robin planned this trip forFirst visitOld town & beachCoupleWalk + taxisBalanced paceEarly MarchChange these assumptions →
Planned by Robin
4 days · 18 stops
Every place is real, planned with the same verified data that Robin uses in the app. How these itineraries are made
4-day Hoi An itinerary at a glance
1Old Town lanes→Japanese Covered Bridge→Bánh Mì Phượng→lantern boat on the Thu Bon
2An Bang Beach morning→lantern-making workshop→riverfront sunset→Cargo Club
3My Son Sanctuary early→basket boats at Cam Thanh→Hải Café
4Central Market→market-to-table cooking class→one last Old Town wander
- Best for
- First-time visitors who want old-town atmosphere with a beach within reach
- Car needed
- No: everything is on foot or a short taxi, with one hired car morning for My Son
- Where to stay
- Between the Old Town and An Bang Beach, or in the lanes themselves
- Best months
- February to April; March has dry, warm days before the summer heat
- Pace
- Balanced
- Robin recommends
- Leave for My Son by 7:30 rather than 9:00; you will walk the ruins in cool air and be gone before the tour buses arrive
Your 4-day route
All stops, numbered by day order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
Day 1 · Thursday
Day 1: The Old Town, a banh mi, and lanterns on the river
Ease into Hoi An with the Old Town at its most atmospheric, narrow lanes, the Japanese Covered Bridge, and a lantern-lit river as evening falls. Save energy for a proper wander, not a rushed checklist.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
↓210 m · ~3 min walk
16:00–16:30
2Japanese Covered Bridge (Chùa Cầu) Sight
The town's 400-year-old icon, step inside to see the tiny shrine built into the bridge's north side.
↓870 m · ~11 min walk
18:00–19:00
3Bánh Mì Phượng Eat
Anthony Bourdain's favorite, the pork-and-pâté banh mi here is the local specialty done best, order it to-go and eat riverside.
↓430 m · ~5 min walk
19:05–20:35
4Lantern Boat Ride on the Thu Bon River
Hire a small wooden boat near the riverfront to float a paper lantern downstream, the whole Old Town glows from the water at dusk.
↓250 m · ~3 min walk
20:40–21:55
5Morning Glory Eat
Vy's flagship restaurant, try the white rose dumplings and cao lau, Hoi An's two signature dishes, in one sit-down meal.
Choose your first afternoon
If you land around middaykeep the open middle of the day as it is: check in, nap off the flight, and surface for the covered bridge as the light softens
If you arrive with energy to spendtake a preview swim at An Bang, ten minutes away by taxi, and keep tomorrow's beach morning for the full lazy version
If you want something made while you're hereuse the gap for a tailor fitting, Hoi An's other famous craft; a first measurement today means a finished piece before day 4
Ask Robin to personalize this day →
Day 2 · Friday
Day 2: An Bang Beach and a lantern of your own
A slower, sunnier day: An Bang Beach in the morning, then back into town for craft workshops and the golden hour over the Thu Bon before a lovely dinner at Cargo Club.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:00–12:00
1An Bang Beach Nature
A short taxi from town gets you to this laid-back stretch of sand, grab a beach chair at one of the beachfront cafés and swim before the midday sun.
↓8.1 km · ~13 min drive
12:21–13:21
2Hong Phuc Eat
A relaxed local spot for cao lau and fresh spring rolls before heading back into town.
↓380 m · ~5 min walk
14:30–16:30
3Lantern-Making Workshop Culture
A hands-on session in a family workshop near the market, you'll fold and wire your own silk lantern to take home.
↓160 m · ~2 min walk
17:00–18:00
4Sunset at the Riverfront Promenade
Walk the Bach Dang riverside path as the lanterns switch on and the light turns gold over the water, best bench is near the old market pier.
↓310 m · ~4 min walk
18:05–19:35
5Cargo Club Cafe & Restaurant Eat
A rooftop terrace table overlooking the river, order the eggplant claypot, a Hoi An classic done well here.
Day 3 · Saturday
Day 3: My Son's Cham ruins, then basket boats in the palms
The day trip day. My Son's jungle-wrapped Cham ruins in the morning (go early, before the tour buses and the heat), then something completely different in the afternoon: a basket-boat spin through the coconut palms at Cam Thanh.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:00–09:40
1My Son Sanctuary Sight
Go early by taxi (about 1 hour each way) to beat the heat and tour buses at these jungle-swallowed 4th-century Cham temple ruins.
↓11 km · ~16 min drive
12:00–13:00
2Local lunch near My Son Eat
A simple roadside com ga (chicken rice) stall on the return route, the real way locals eat after visiting the ruins.
↓24 km · ~29 min drive
15:00–17:00
3Cam Thanh Coconut Village Basket Boat Ride Nature
Spin and splash through the palm-lined water channels in a round bamboo basket boat, a favorite composed adventure just outside town.
↓3.2 km · a short ride
18:00–19:15
4Hải Café Eat
A long-running Old Town institution, the white rose dumplings and grilled fish here are consistently excellent.
Robin's tip. The com ga stalls on the My Son return road do one thing, Hoi An chicken rice, and do it perfectly. Point at what the table next to you has and you will not order wrong.
Day 4 · Sunday
Day 4: Market to table, then a slow goodbye
A gentle last day built around a hands-on morning at the market and a cooking class, then one final unhurried walk through the Old Town before you go, no rushing, no big sight, just Hoi An at its own pace.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:00–10:00
1Hoi An Central Market Shopping
Wander the produce and herb stalls at their liveliest hour, this is where your cooking class ingredients come from.
↓100 m · ~2 min walk
10:05–13:05
2Hoi An Cooking Class (Market to Table) Culture
A hands-on class pairing your market haul with a hoi-an-specific menu, cao lau, white rose, and banh xeo made by your own hands.
13:10–13:55
3Light farewell lunch (from cooking class) Eat
Eat what you made together at the class's riverside table, no separate restaurant stop needed.
↓540 m · ~7 min walk
14:01–15:31
4Old Town Wander (Farewell Walk) Walk
One last unhurried loop past the covered bridge and Tan Ky House, a quieter version of your first afternoon here.
Bucket-list foods in Hoi An
Cao lau
Hoi An's own noodle bowl: chewy noodles said to need local well water, smoky char siu pork, greens and crackling croutons. It exists properly only here.
On this trip: Morning Glory, day 1 dinner, and again done by your own hands in the day-4 cooking class
Banh mi, Hoi An style
Pork, pâté, herbs and chili in a baguette that shatters. The town's most famous queue is part of the experience.
On this trip: Bánh Mì Phượng, day 1, eaten riverside
White rose dumplings
Translucent shrimp dumplings pinched into petals, made from one family's guarded dough recipe and served all over town.
On this trip: Hải Café, day 3 dinner
Mi quang
The turmeric noodle dish of the wider province, brothy-dry with peanuts and rice crackers. This plan does not schedule it, so ask Robin to swap it into a lunch and it will.
Where to stay for this itinerary
Stay in The Old Town fringe (Cam Pho, along Hai Ba Trung) if…
- you want the lanes and the night market on foot without sleeping over the noise
- breakfast banh mi from Phượng's queue sounds like a morning ritual
Stay in The rice-paddy strip between town and An Bang if…
- you want a pool and green quiet between the two halves of this trip
- cycling to both the beach and the bridge appeals more than walking one and taxiing the other
Stay in An Bang Beach itself if…
- mornings in the sea matter more than evenings in the lanes
- you are happy taking a 10-minute taxi in for the lantern-lit nights
Before you go
Do you need a car or scooter?
No. The Old Town is pedestrianized at its heart, An Bang and Cam Thanh are short taxi hops, and My Son is best done as a hired car or small tour for the morning. Bicycles cover the town-to-beach stretch beautifully if you like to pedal.
What about Da Nang and the Marble Mountains?
Da Nang is your arrival airport, about 45 minutes away, and this plan deliberately stays in Hoi An rather than splitting the trip. The Marble Mountains sit right on the road between the two, so they slot naturally into arrival day, departure day, or a fifth day; ask Robin and it will re-thread the route around them.
What must be booked ahead?
The cooking class fills up, so book it a few days out. Lantern boats, the workshop and the beach need nothing; My Son just needs an early alarm and a driver arranged the evening before.
Is four days enough?
For the Old Town, the beach and My Son, yes, with room to breathe. A fifth day adds Da Nang's food scene and the Marble Mountains, or simply a second An Bang morning, which no one has ever regretted.
When do the lanterns actually glow?
Every evening from dusk; the riverfront is at its best in the hour after sunset. On the full moon the Old Town cuts electric light entirely for the lantern festival, worth planning around if your dates are flexible.
5–6 days
Have 5–6 days?
First, give day 1 a real morning
With arrival pressure gone, move the Old Town wander to 8:00 when the lanes belong to locals, and add Tan Ky House and the Fujian assembly hall before the bridge.
Day 5: Da Nang and the Marble Mountains
Climb Thuy Son's cave pagodas in the morning, then cross into Da Nang for its seafood and the Dragon Bridge; you are back in Hoi An for one more lantern-lit evening.
Day 6: the Cham islands or nothing at all
In calm season a boat runs to Cu Lao Cham for snorkeling and empty sand. Otherwise let the last day be An Bang, a massage and the river, which is its own kind of itinerary.
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