Hoi An
Timber merchant houses along the Thu Bon, a wooden Japanese bridge, Cham towers in the hills upriver, villas on Ha My Beach and the Da Nang runway about an hour up the coast.
- Arrival
- Da Nang International · DAD
- To the town
- About 40 to 60 minutes by car
- Private jets
- Handling at DAD, around the clock
- Best time
- January to July
The city
A river port that kept its timber.
For four centuries Hoi An traded with China, Japan and later Europe from its quays on the Thu Bon. The trade moved on and the town stayed as it was: 1,107 timber-frame buildings in tight rows, their backs to the river where goods were once unloaded, with pagodas, family chapels and a wooden Japanese bridge. UNESCO listed it in 1999.
The dry months run from January to July. February to April is mild, with afternoons of 26 to 30 °C; May to July is hotter and very humid, the sea close to 30 °C, and August is as hot with a little more rain. From September the rains come in hard, and October alone brings half a metre.
- The Ancient Town Narrow streets of timber houses, pagodas and family chapels, laid out with their backs to the river for loading cargo.
- The Japanese Bridge A wooden bridge with a small pagoda on it, a reminder of the years when Japanese ships traded on this river.
- My Son Brick tower-temples of the Champa kings in a mountain basin upriver, raised over nine centuries and listed by UNESCO.
Arriving
Fly to Da Nang, drive south.
The nearest runway is Da Nang International, about 30 km up the coast to the north, and the drive takes 40 minutes to an hour depending on traffic and the hotel.
- Hong Kong 1 h 35
- Phuket 2 h 10
- Kathmandu 3 h 50
- Mumbai 5 h 10
- Paris 12 h 55 long-range jet
When to go
January to July.
Warm in every month, with a long dry spell from January to July. February to April is the gentlest stretch; May to July is hot and very humid, and August is as hot with slightly more rain, about 100 mm. The rains arrive in September and last to December; October alone brings over 500 mm.
- 25° J 92 23°
- 26° F 32 23°
- 28° M 30 24°
- 30° A 34 25°
- 32° M 56 27°
- 33° J 99 29°
- 33° J 90 29°
- 33° A 104 30°
- 31° S 297 29°
- 29° O 526 28°
- 27° N 363 26°
- 26° D 206 24°
Where to stay
On Ha My Beach, by the river and above Bai Bac.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
-
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai A hundred villas by Reda Amalou in a line along the sand, forty of them with plunge pools and the largest with five bedrooms.
-
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort Rooms stepped down a forested cliff to a bay of its own at Son Tra, and home to the city's only starred restaurant.
- Namia River Retreat Villas on the riverbank two kilometres from the Ancient Town, built around rest and wellbeing.
Where to dine
The best tables on the coast.
From the MICHELIN Guide Vietnam 2026 for Da Nang, which has no Hoi An section, and Fodor’s Hoi An guide; prices are Fodor’s bands where shown.
- La Maison 1888 One Michelin star French contemporary ₫₫₫₫ InterContinental Danang, Son Tra
- Nén Danang MICHELIN Green Star Seasonal tasting menu Ngu Hanh Son, Da Nang, about 20 km north
- Le Comptoir MICHELIN Guide French Son Tra, Da Nang, about 25 km north
- NAYUU Fodor’s Japanese omakase $$$$ Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Ha My Beach
Elsewhere in Vietnam
More reasons to come.
- Hanoi The Old Quarter, its lakes, and the French opera house.
- Ha Long Bay Thousands of karst islets in the bay, seen from a junk.
- Da Nang The airport for the central coast, and the beaches of its bay.
- Ho Chi Minh City The former Saigon, with its old post office and crowded streets.
- Phu Quoc Pepper farms, fish-sauce houses and long west-facing beaches.
Flying to Hoi An?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.