Hoi An itineraries

Basket boats and lanterns

The day trip from Da Nang. Basket boats in the coconut palms first, the midday heat spent inside old houses and assembly halls, then a lantern on the river at dusk and the night market before you head back.

Farms, beach and My Son

Sleep on the edge of the old town. Day one is a bicycle out to the herb village and An Bang beach, back for the lantern lanes at night; day two is an early run to the My Son ruins, the pottery village, and the Memories show before a late flight.

Cooking, coconut forest, Golden Bridge

Base yourself at a riverside resort east of the old town. Day one is assembly halls, museums and the night market; day two a market-to-boat cooking class, the coconut forest and a cafe in the middle of the paddies; day three up to the Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills, one last cao lau, and the airport.

Festivals & seasons

• 1 — Full Moon Lantern Night (monthly)
• 2 — Tet, Vietnamese New Year
• 3 — Nguyen Tieu, first full moon
• 3 — Dry season begins, the good months
• 5 — Hoi An–Japan Cultural Exchange
• 6 — The hot months
• 8 — Thanh Ha pottery guild festival
• 8 — Hoi An Creative Week
• 9 — Mid-Autumn Festival (Tet Trung Thu)
• 10 — Rainy season and floods
• 12 — The cool winter

Souvenirs

• Silk lantern, folding
• Tailored suit, dress or ao dai
• Silk scarves and bedding
• Thanh Ha pottery, clay whistles and small cups
• Reaching Out crafts, tea cups and silver
• Local honey, coffee and jam
• Vietnamese coffee beans and a phin filter