3 Days in Hoi An: Lanterns, Tailors, and Ancient Town Magic

Hoi An is the trip everyone says they love about Vietnam — and they’re not wrong. It’s a UNESCO-listed Ancient Town, car-free in the historic core, lit at dusk by hundreds of silk lanterns, ringed by tailor shops that turn a fabric pick into a fitted suit in 24 hours, anchored by a noodle dish (cao lau) that you literally cannot order anywhere else in the world. It’s also walkable, kid-friendly, slow-paced, and 30 minutes from a quiet beach.

Three days is the right length. Two days feels rushed, four days runs out of new things to do. Here’s how to spend it.

Hoi An’s lantern aesthetic starts every evening around 5:30 PM as the sun drops — the Thu Bon River fills with paper-lantern boats and the Ancient Town’s streets glow in red, yellow, and blue silk.

Why Hoi An is Different

Three reasons most Vietnamese cities feel chaotic and Hoi An doesn’t:

1. Car-free Ancient Town — the historic core (about 15 city blocks along the Thu Bon River) closes to cars and scooters during the day. You walk. With kids, this is unprecedented in Vietnam.
2. Aesthetic consistency — the Ancient Town is UNESCO-protected since 1999, so the yellow-stucco buildings, blue shutters, and red tile roofs are tightly preserved. No glass towers. No neon signs (mostly).
3. Slow tempo — Hoi An doesn’t have museums you have to rush through or temples that close at 4 PM. The activities are wandering, eating, getting clothes made, taking a cooking class. The pace is the point.

Day 1: Arrival + Ancient Town Walk + Lantern Evening

Morning — Arrive in Hoi An

From Da Nang, Grab is 30 minutes ($10–15). From Da Nang Airport, the private shuttle is $20–25. There’s no airport in Hoi An. Drop bags at your hotel — Ancient Town hotels and An Bang Beach resorts are the two main bases (covered in Where to Stay below).

Afternoon — Order Your Custom Clothes (Day 1 is the deadline)

Hoi An has 400+ tailor shops in a town of 100,000 people. The good ones turn around a custom suit or dress in 24–48 hours — meaning your Day 1 order is your Day 3 pickup.

This is the most time-sensitive thing in Hoi An. Tailors need at least 24 hours, ideally 48 hours, to make custom clothes. If you want anything tailored — suit, dress, ao dai, shirts — you order today, get fitted tomorrow, pick up Day 3.

Reputable tailors (not exhaustive — there are 400+ shops in town):

• Be Be Tailor — mid-range, fast, excellent for shirts and dresses; expect a 24-hour turnaround
• Yaly Couture — pricier ($150–250 for a suit) but consistent quality; English-speaking staff
• A Dong Silk — silk specialist for women’s dresses + ao dai; turnaround 24h
• Bao Khanh Tailor — mid-range, kid-friendly (will make small ao dai for under-10s for ~$30–50)

Prices to expect (2026):

• Custom dress shirt: $25–50
• Custom dress: $40–100
• Custom suit (2-piece): $150–350
• Custom ao dai: $40–80

What to bring: a photo of the style you want (Pinterest screenshot, fine), or just pick from the in-shop catalog. They take measurements on the spot.

Late Afternoon — Ancient Town Walk

After ordering clothes, walk the Ancient Town. The main sights:

• Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau) — 18th-century bridge, the postcard shot
• Tan Ky Old House — 200-year-old merchant home, beautifully preserved
• Quan Cong Temple — the most photogenic temple in town
• Phuc Kien Assembly Hall — Chinese-Vietnamese fusion temple with dragon fountains
• Hoi An Central Market — vendors and food stalls along the river

Hoi An has a heritage ticket ($5) that covers entry to 5 sites. Worth it if you’ll see at least 3.

Evening — Lantern Dinner + Boat Ride

The 30,000-VND boat rides on the Thu Bon River are the kid-magnet of Hoi An. Vendors paddle small boats out from both banks; pick one with paper lanterns already lit. Float a wish lantern downriver.

The lanterns come on around 5:30 PM in January. Dinner at a riverside restaurant (Morning Glory Restaurant, Mango Mango, or any of the open-air spots on Bach Dang Street) — order cao lau (Hoi An’s signature noodle dish), white rose dumplings, and fried wonton.

After dinner, walk down to the river and hire a lantern boat — small rowing boats with 5–10 lanterns lit on the bow. Vendors take you on a 20-minute float down the river while you light paper wish-lanterns and set them into the water. Cost: ~30,000–60,000 VND per person.

Kids will not stop talking about this. Worth booking even if it’s touristy.

Day 2: Cooking Class + An Bang Beach

Morning — Cooking Class

Most Hoi An cooking classes start with a guided morning walk through Hoi An Central Market, then move to a riverside kitchen for 3–4 hours of cooking. You eat everything you make.

A cooking class is the single best activity in Hoi An. The structure is the same across most operators:

1. Market tour — 45 minutes through Hoi An Central Market with the chef, learning about Vietnamese ingredients (herbs, fish sauces, noodles)
2. Boat to the kitchen — short ride down the river to a kitchen in a garden setting
3. Cook 4 dishes — typically pho, fresh spring rolls, banh xeo, and one main course
4. Eat what you made — long lunch

Reputable operators:

• Red Bridge Cooking School — the original, sets the standard, $30–35 adult, $20 kids
• Morning Glory Cooking School — runs out of the restaurant downtown, slightly cheaper
• Vy’s Market Restaurant + Cooking School — chef-driven, larger menu of dishes covered

Kid-friendliness: cooking classes are surprisingly kid-magnet — kids love the market tour (huge tropical fruit, live fish), the boat ride, and the hands-on cooking. Most operators have kid-sized aprons. Best for ages 6+.

Book ahead by 1 day; classes fill, especially in dry season.

Afternoon — An Bang Beach

An Bang is cleaner and quieter than the Da Nang beaches 30 km north. Beach bars rent bean bags and umbrellas for 100,000 VND/day including drink minimum — much cheaper than the hotel chairs.

An Bang Beach is a 15-minute Grab or bike ride from Ancient Town. Quieter, cleaner, and less developed than Da Nang’s My Khe — just a row of laid-back beach bars and a few beachfront homestays.

Best beach bars:

• Soul Kitchen — beach bar + restaurant, bean-bag lounges with drink minimum
• An Bang Beach Hideaway — quieter, end-of-strip
• Sound of Silence — coffee + light meals, less crowded

The water in early January is mid-70s°F — cooler than Phu Quoc. Kids can swim but it’s more “wade and play” than “spend hours in.” Bring towels; beach-bar showers are limited.

Evening — Light Dinner + Walk Home

Back to town by 17:00. Slow evening — bike ride along the Thu Bon River, light dinner at any of the Banh Mi Phuong family branches (the legendary Bourdain-blessed banh mi cart’s offspring), maybe a coffee at Mia Coffee or Hill Station Cafe.

Day 3: Tailor Pickup + Day Trip

Morning — Pick Up Custom Clothes

Pick up your tailored clothes from Day 1. Try everything on at the shop. Alterations are usually free if you ordered a substantial piece (suit, dress) — flag any fit issues immediately, they’ll adjust in 1–2 hours.

Late Morning — Choose Your Day Trip

Two distinct options:

(A) My Son Ruins (45 min west by Grab/tour, $5–15 entry) The My Son Sanctuary is a Cham Empire ruin complex — Vietnam’s Angkor Wat, but smaller and quieter. Tower-temples from the 4th–14th centuries. Best in the morning (cooler, fewer tour buses). Allow 3–4 hours including transit. Great for adults; mixed reception with kids under 10 (some kids find it dull).

(B) Cham Islands Snorkeling (boat day from Hoi An port, $30–50/person, weather-dependent) The Cham Islands are a 30-minute boat ride east — better snorkeling than An Thoi for adults, light hiking, beach lunch. Closed roughly Oct–March for rough seas, so January is borderline. Confirm 24 hours ahead.

(C) Just stay in town and do more of Hoi An Often the best answer. Hoi An has more cafes, art galleries, and quirky shops than you can do in 3 days. Reaching Out Tea House (silent, run by deaf staff), Coco Box (juice + tropical-vibe cafe), and the Hoi An Roastery are all worth an unhurried afternoon.

Evening — Final Hoi An Night

One last lantern-lit dinner. Walk the river one more time. Then either Grab back to Da Nang for an early flight, or stay one final night in Hoi An.

Where to Stay

Ancient Town homestays are the most atmospheric stays in Hoi An — narrow yellow-stucco houses converted into 6–8 room guesthouses, usually with a small courtyard pool and breakfast included.

Three distinct zones, three vibes:

• Ancient Town homestays — yellow-stucco buildings, blue shutters, walking distance to everything. $30–80/night with breakfast and often a small pool. Best for couples and small families. Top picks: Vinh Hung Heritage Hotel, Little Hoi An Boutique, Ha An Hotel.
• An Bang Beach resorts — quieter, beach-focused, slower pace. 10-minute Grab from Ancient Town. $60–200/night. Best for beach-priority travelers.
• Vinpearl Nam Hoi An — splurge resort 30 minutes south of town. Private beach, kids’ clubs, multiple pools. $200+/night. Best for multi-family groups who want resort amenities + day trips into Hoi An.

For a multi-family group: Ancient Town homestay villa (some homestays book the whole property for groups, $300–500/night for 6–8 people) is the best fit.

Food

Hoi An’s food is regional and specific — most dishes here you can’t get the “right” version of elsewhere:

• Cao lau — thick chewy noodles, sliced pork, herbs, crispy crackers. Only made with water from a specific local well. Try at: Cao Lau Thanh (Thai Phien Street), Central Market stalls.
• White rose dumplings (banh bao banh vac) — translucent shrimp dumplings shaped like white roses. Only one family in town makes the wrappers; all restaurants buy from them.
• Mi Quang — wide noodle dish from neighboring Da Nang but excellent in Hoi An too.
• Banh mi — Banh Mi Phuong (the Bourdain pick, queue out the door). Even the queue is worth it.
• Com ga — chicken rice, Hoi An style — eat at Ba Buoi.
• Fresh spring rolls + fried wonton — every restaurant has them; cooking classes will teach you to make both.
• Coffee — Hoi An Roastery (third-wave Vietnamese), Mia Coffee (riverside), Hill Station Cafe (best matcha in central Vietnam).

Pro Tips

• Tailor turnaround: 24h minimum, 48h ideal. Don’t arrive Day 3 expecting same-day suit pickup.
• Bike rentals: most hotels rent for $1–2/day. Hoi An is flat, traffic is light, biking is the best way around — especially Ancient Town to An Bang Beach.
• Skip the night markets unless you want to buy lanterns. The food is mediocre; the trinkets are overpriced.
• Avoid Saturday evening at the Japanese Bridge — it’s the most photographed spot in Vietnam and the crowd is the heaviest then.
• Mosquitoes are present, especially near the river at dusk. Picaridin 20% works better than DEET in humidity.
• ATMs in Ancient Town are scarce and some charge tourist fees. Pull cash from the larger banks (BIDV, Vietcombank) on the main road.

TL;DR

Day 1 = order tailored clothes (deadline!) + Ancient Town walk + lantern dinner + river boat. Day 2 = morning cooking class + afternoon An Bang Beach. Day 3 = tailor pickup + My Son or Cham Islands or unhurried town day + final lantern dinner. Stay in an Ancient Town homestay, bike everywhere, eat the regional specialties.

Photos: Pixabay (free for commercial use).