Hoi An by lantern light: the small port town that survived

It’s 5:47 a.m. on a misty morning in the central Vietnamese town of Hoi An and I’m cycling along the Thu Bon riverfront with the silk-lantern strings still hanging from the night before. A fisherman in a conical hat is throwing a circular net from a small boat. A monk is sweeping the courtyard of the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall. The shophouses — 200-year-old single-storey timber-and-stucco buildings, painted in the local Hoi An ochre — are still shuttered. For the next two hours I have one of the most beautiful small towns in Southeast Asia largely to myself.

Why I keep coming back

Hoi An was a major trading port from the 15th to the 19th centuries — Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese traders all settled here — until the river silted up and the trade moved to Danang. The town fell asleep, preserved its architectural fabric by accident, and was rediscovered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.

The central old town is a small grid of around twelve streets and one bridge (the Japanese Covered Bridge, 1593). The shophouses, the Chinese assembly halls, the small museums, the working tailors. The tailors are the unintended joke of Hoi An — somehow this UNESCO town became the world’s largest impromptu suit-and-dress-tailoring centre, with hundreds of shops promising same-day delivery.

Where to base yourself

Inside the old town in one of the small boutique guesthouses (the Anantara Hoi An Resort is the upscale riverside option; smaller homestays line the side streets).

Cam Pho or An Hoi island for a slightly quieter base just outside the central pedestrian zone.

Cua Dai or An Bang beach if you want to combine the town with a beach base. 4 km out, 10 minutes by bicycle.

What to actually do

Walk the old town between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m. This is the entire trip-defining experience. By 9 a.m. the tour buses arrive and the streets fill. The first two hours are quiet, atmospheric, and beautiful.

See the lantern festival. On the 14th day of each lunar month, the town turns off most of its electric lights and lights its 600 silk lanterns. People float small paper lanterns on the river. It’s stunning and also, by 8 p.m., genuinely crowded. Arrive at 6.

Visit at least two Chinese assembly halls. The Phuc Kien (Fujian), the Quang Trieu (Cantonese), the Hai Nan (Hainan). Each was a guild house for a community of Chinese traders; the ornate altars and ceramic dragons are extraordinary.

Get a piece of clothing made. I know — it sounds clichéd. It’s also one of the lasting tactile pleasures of a Hoi An visit. Decent tailors: Yaly Couture, Bebe Tailor, Kimmy Tailor. Avoid the cheapest shops; budget around US$80–150 for a quality cotton or linen shirt, US$200–400 for a suit. 24- to 48-hour delivery is standard.

Cycle to An Bang or Cua Dai beach. Beach hire bicycles are standard at most guesthouses, no charge or a few dollars a day. The cycle is flat, 10 minutes through rice fields. The beach has fresh-seafood shacks. Best in the morning or late afternoon.

Take a cooking class. Hoi An’s Chinese-Vietnamese-Cham mixed cuisine includes specific local dishes — cao lau (a unique noodle with crackling, herbs, and pork), banh mi Hoi An (the proper baguette tradition, often cited as Vietnam’s best), white rose dumplings. Red Bridge Cooking School is the long-running classic; classes start with a market visit.

Where to eat

Banh Mi Phuong — The Anthony Bourdain endorsement made this one famous; the queues are real and the sandwich is still very good. ฿35,000 dong. Bale Well — A 30-year-old family banh mi and banh xeo (savoury rice pancake) shop in the old town. Family-style menu. Cao Lau at Thanh Cao Lau — One of the better Cao Lau shops; eat at the small plastic-stool tables. Morning Glory — Touristed but with reliably good local dishes; useful if you have only one dinner. Mango Mango — Modern Vietnamese fine dining on the riverfront. The Market Hall — Hoi An’s covered market; the small food court at the back has dozens of working stalls for ฿20,000–40,000 dong meals.

When to come

February to April, or September to early November. Pleasant temperatures, lower rainfall.

May to August is hot (35°C+). October and November have heavier rains and occasional Thu Bon flooding.

The Lantern Festival, on the 14th day of every lunar month, is the iconic experience; check the lunar calendar and book accommodation early.

Practical notes

• Visa: As Hanoi — e-visa or visa-on-arrival.
• Money: Vietnamese dong. Card accepted at hotels and restaurants; cash for street food.
• Transport: Bicycle and feet. The old town is car-free during pedestrian-only hours.
• Tailoring: Budget 48 hours minimum from first fitting. The first fitting will need adjustments; insist on a second fitting before paying.
• Tickets to the old town: A combined-attraction ticket (around 150,000 dong) gives entry to a selection of the assembly halls and merchant houses. The ticket is required during the day for entry to the central section.

A final thought

Hoi An is one of the most successful UNESCO preservation projects in Southeast Asia and one of the most-photographed small towns. The success has had the predictable consequence: by day, the central streets are a slow procession of tour groups and selfie-takers. By 7 p.m., during lantern festivals, the town is a slow river of phones held above heads.

The town is still worth coming for, but the experience is heavily dependent on timing. The dawn streets, the rainy afternoons, the bicycle to the beach, the off-festival evenings — these are when Hoi An delivers what it promises. Spend three or four nights. Cycle. Eat banh mi Phuong. Have one piece of clothing made if you’re so inclined. Drink Vietnamese coffee at 6 a.m. on a riverside bench. The town has been doing this for four hundred years. It can still do it well, if you arrive at the right hours.