Hội An in two days: old town, tailors, lanterns and the beach

Hội An is small, flat and best taken slowly. Two days is enough to see the old town at its quietest, have something made by a tailor, watch the lanterns come on along the river and still spend a morning at the beach. Here is a plan that leaves room for a nap in the heat of the day.

Day 1, early: the old town before the crowds

Set an alarm. Early in the morning the lanes are cool and nearly empty, the light is soft and the yellow walls are all yours.

• The Japanese Covered Bridge (Chùa Cầu): a small roofed bridge with a tiny temple inside, said to have been built by the Japanese merchants who lived here some four hundred years ago. It is on the 20,000₫ note. Check your wallet.
• The assembly halls (hội quán): built by Chinese merchant communities, each from its own home region, such as Fujian or Canton. Look for the incense coils hanging from the ceiling, the dragons and the carved wood.
• The old houses: wooden merchant houses with the shop at the front and the home behind, some still lived in by the same families.

Many of the historic sites need an old-town ticket, and one ticket covers several of them. Pick the ones you most want to see inside.

Day 1, late morning: see a tailor

Hội An has a tailor on almost every street. If you want something made, an áo dài, a suit, a summer dress, order it on day one so there is time for a fitting and changes before you leave. Our áo dài guide covers the fabric, the fittings and what to check.

Day 1, afternoon: hide from the sun

From midday the sun is hard and the old town fills up. Do what Hội An does: eat lunch, then disappear for a few hours. A pool, a nap, a café with a fan.

Day 1, evening: lanterns on the river

As it gets dark, the lanterns come on across the old town and along the Thu Bồn river. Walk the riverside, cross the bridge to the night market, and if you like, take a small boat out and set a candle lantern (hoa đăng) on the water. If you are here on the 14th night of the lunar month, the eve of the full moon, the old town dims its electric lights and lets the lanterns shine. More in our guide to Hội An’s lanterns.

Day 2, morning: bikes, herbs and the beach

Borrow or hire a bicycle and ride out of town through the rice fields.

• Trà Quế herb village: a few kilometres out of town, on the way to the sea. Families grow basil, mint, lettuce and more in neat green beds, and their herbs end up on plates all over Hội An. Go while it is still cool.
• An Bàng beach: keep riding until you reach the sand. A swim, a fresh coconut, a lounger in the shade.

Day 2, lunch: cao lầu

Ride back into town for cao lầu, the chewy, golden noodles you will hardly find anywhere else, with sliced pork, crunchy croutons and the same kind of herbs you just saw growing. The story behind them is in our cao lầu guide.

Day 2, afternoon: the last fitting

Pick up your clothes, try them on one last time, and take a slow final walk through the old town as the lanterns come on again.

Good to know

• Heat. Summer is hot and humid. Start early, rest at midday, carry water.
• Bicycles. Hội An is flat and made for them. Many hotels lend them. Keep to the right, ride slowly through the old town and lock up when you stop.
• Floods. The old town sits right on the river, and floods can reach its streets around October and November. If you travel then, keep your plans loose and check the forecast.

Do it with a local

Two of our experiences fit neatly into these two days. On the morning of day one, the Áo Dài Fitting & Photo Walk takes you to the cloth market to choose silk and get measured by a tailor, then walks you through the old town in your áo dài with a local photographer, before the crowds. And at Lantern Making with a Family you bend bamboo, stretch silk and light your own lantern with a third-generation lantern maker by the Thu Bồn river, with a cao lầu snack at the workshop.