Hoi An: the old town, the weather and getting there

Hoi An: a trading port that survived, and how to see it

Short answer

Hoi An Old Town was inscribed by UNESCO on 12 December 1999. It sits on the Thu Bon river about 28 km south of Da Nang, and it was a trading port from the 15th to the 19th century. The Japanese Covered Bridge is a 10 metre wooden bridge from the start of the 17th century.

Last checked: September 21, 2026

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The facts

	Figure
UNESCO inscription	12 December 1999
River	Thu Bon
Distance from Da Nang	About 28 km south
Trading era	15th to 19th century
Japanese Covered Bridge	10 m, built at the start of the 17th century
Wet season on this coast	September to December

Disclosure: VietSIM sells prepaid eSIMs for Vietnam. We sell no tours and no tailoring, which in Hoi An is worth saying out loud.

What is actually old

Hoi An was a major Southeast Asian trading port from the 15th to the 19th century, and merchants from several nations lived in their own quarters. Chinese assembly halls, Japanese influence, French shutters and Vietnamese shophouses all sit within a few hundred metres, which is not a theme and was not planned: it is what a working port accumulates.

Then the river silted up, trade moved north to Da Nang, and the town was left alone for long enough to become the thing people now fly in to see. UNESCO inscribed the old town on 12 December 1999.

The bridge

The Japanese Covered Bridge is 10 metres long, wooden, roofed, and dates from the start of the 17th century. It is the image on the tourist board posters and it is smaller than every photograph implies.

Go at seven in the morning. It will be almost empty, the light is better, and you will understand the scale in a way an evening crowd does not allow.

The water

The central coast’s wet season runs September to December, and Da Nang, 28 km away, records between 550 and 1,000 mm a month from September to November. The Thu Bon rises in that period and the old town has flooded in some years.

That is not a reason to avoid Vietnam in October. It is a reason not to build a Hoi An trip around October. The month by month picture for the whole country is in when to go to Vietnam.

Getting there

Da Nang airport is on the government’s list of international gates that accept an e-visa, and the town is about 28 km south of it. That is a short car ride, and buses run the route frequently.

The rail alternative is worth planning around: the leg from Hue to Da Nang runs under three hours through the Hai Van tunnels, which is covered in the Reunification Express, and the road options are in sleeper buses in Vietnam. Visa rules are in the Vietnam e-visa.

Staying the night

Day trips from Da Nang miss the only thing the town does that nowhere else does, which is the hour after sunset when the lanterns are lit and the river carries them. Stay over, walk out late, and eat cao lau, which is a Hoi An noodle and not sold anywhere else with the same name meaning the same thing.

What the phone needs for all this is in how much mobile data for Vietnam, and the plans are in the Vietnam eSIM store.

Questions

Why is the town intact?

Because the trade left. Hoi An was a Southeast Asian commerce hub from the 15th to the 19th century, with merchants from several nations settling their own quarters, and when the river silted and business moved to Da Nang the town stopped being rebuilt. UNESCO inscribed the result on 12 December 1999.

What is the Japanese bridge?

A 10 metre covered wooden bridge built at the start of the 17th century, and the single most photographed object in the country after the Ha Long karsts. It is small. People are often surprised by how small, which says more about photographs than about the bridge.

How do I get there from Da Nang?

It is about 28 km south, which makes it a short road transfer rather than a journey: a car booked in an app, a taxi, or one of the frequent buses. Da Nang airport is on the government's list of gates that accept an e-visa, so many people fly in and never see the city itself.

When does it flood?

The wet season on this coast runs September to December, and Da Nang next door records 550 to 1,000 mm a month between September and November. The Thu Bon rises in that window and the old town has flooded in some years. Boats appear in the streets and the photographs are extraordinary, but plans go with them.

Is the lantern thing worth it?

The lit lanterns along the river are genuinely the reason to stay overnight rather than day-trip from Da Nang, because the town looks entirely different after dark. Go early or late in the evening. The middle two hours are the crowded ones.