Hoi An is a famous tourist city in central Vietnam. One of the best times to visit it is in the evening when it becomes so beautiful (with thousands of lanterns), vibrant, atmospheric, and fascinating. The best night is when the Lantern festival occurs. So now, let’s HoiAn Day Trip Company reveal the best things to do in Hoi An Vietnam at night.
You may also like: Best Things to Do in Hoi An, Vietnam
• Content by Tam Le, founder of HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD
• Designed by Giang Cong Minh, co-founder of LS E&C LTD and his team
• Photo by Dang Cong Loi, Dao Xuan Son, Tam Le & others
Stroll around Hoi An Ancient Town
Nobody wants to miss a visit to the Hoi An Old Town in the evening when it’s most beautiful and stunning. Different from the daytime, after the sunset, this heritage town becomes such colorful, lightful, romantic, and brilliant thanks to thousands of lanterns hanging in the street or at night markets. Sure, it provides many photo opportunities. On the river, there are plenty of shimmering floating water lanterns, making the town even more attractive. These lanterns are traditionally released to bring people’s wishes to the Buddha or heaven. Additionally, all roads inside Hoi An Ancient Town are without motorbikes and cars during the night, so it’s really safe.
We recommend sightseeing the Hoi An Old Town and its historical/cultural sites before watching lanterns. It’s needed to buy a ticket to enter the Japanese Bridge, Chinese assembly halls, old houses, museums, etc. See more information & details
See also: Hoi An Half Day Walking Tour with Traditional Art Performance
Boat Ride on Hoai River & Release Lantern
One of the best ways to enjoy the gorgeous beauty of Hoi An at night is going on a sampan boat ride along the Hoai River. This river runs through the oldest part of the town, so from the boat, visitors can have the best views to look at, photograph or make videos. The ride is a great idea to escape from the heat and crowds on streets. On it, people love lighting candles and releasing flower paper lanterns to the river, to let it float and make wishes. Of course, there are many photo/video opportunities. Now, the total duration is 15 mins and the price is 150,000-200,000 VND/boat. See full information & details
The best time to do a lantern boat ride at Hoi An is around sunset when not too many people queue up for the turn. Additionally, the light conditions are better than evening (not too dark) to take beautiful pictures of the town, lanterns, boats, etc.
See also: Hoi An Evening Tour with Lantern Boat Ride
Eat & Shop at Hoi An Night Market
The Hoi An Night Market is the largest and the oldest night market in Hoi An. It includes over 150 food and souvenir stalls, stretching along a 300-meters-long walking street Nguyen Hoang. They open from 5:30-6 pm until 9:30-10 pm everyday. At food stalls here, it won’t be too hard to find mouth-watering grilled pork skewers (wrapped by rice papers, raw vegetables), grilled living seafood, Cao Lau noodles, Mi Quang noodles, Banh Mi sandwich, local rice cakes and dumplings, grilled rice paper, sweet bean soup, so on. Lantern shops at this market are just perfect to take beautiful photos, and buy traditional foldable lanterns. Things to buy here are abundant and reasonably-priced (bargaining needed if feel the stuff is too expensive). See more information & details
This night market is just a short walk from the Japanese Bridge (center of the Hoi An Ancient Town), making it so easy and convenient to go to. All tour itineraries to Hoi An in the evening have this place.
The Hoi An Night Market gets crowded during the evening, therefore visitors need to protect personal belongings carefully, to avoid pickpocketing (although rarely happens). If worry about food cleanliness, consider trying street food for stalls and vendors here.
Watch Teh Dar Show – Vietnamese Bamboo Circus
At night, there are some amazing shows and performances to watch in Hoi An. One of them is Teh Dar Show, an internationally rewarding show produced by the Lune Production, a highly reputable producer in Vietnam. It’s also known as ‘bamboo circus show’ by tourists. Within one hour, well-trained artists will tell the audience stories about the love, life, and culture of tribal communities who live in Vietnamese highlands. They wear their own traditional costume, speak their own language, and use admirable dancing/performing/aerobic techniques to let the audience go from one surprise to the other. Plus great music and sound that are blended between over 10 different tribal instruments, this show is definitely worth watching. Viewers don’t stop clapping their hands in the end! So, it’s one of the best things to do in Hoi An at night. See more information & details
Make a ticket reservation for this show as soon as possible. Tickets are often sold out during the holiday season or on weekends. Number of seats is just 299.
Celebrate Hoi An Full Moon Lantern Festival with Locals
Every full moon night, on the 14th day of the lunar month, the Lantern festival takes place in Hoi An. This cultural event originates from the tradition in which locals hang lanterns (especially red) on the holiest day of the month, to bring good luck to their family. By the river, they also release paper lanterns to make wishes. Over time, the tradition becomes a monthly festival. Today, it attracts so many locals and visitors who come to admire thousands of lanterns, celebrate the full moon, and participate in folk games or other fun activities. No doubt, because of cultural values, striking beauty of colorful lights, vibrant atmosphere and activities, the Lantern festival is one of the best things to do in Hoi An at night. See more information & details
The differences between Hoi An within the Lantern festival from common nights are no using electric lamps, attendance of numerous local people, folk games & performances.
Play Traditional Bingo Game ‘Bai Choi’
In Vietnamese language, Bai Choi means ‘card(s) and hut(s)’. It’s a type of bingo game that is unique to the central region of Vietnam, including Hoi An. Visitors can find this folk entertainment in the playground by the river and An Hoi Bridge. Every night, here locals will sit in bamboo huts or on the floor mat, with three cards to start the game. The leader shakes a tub containing many cards, to let one of them fall out and then tell players what it is. He/she also sings, dances or performs other arts to stir up the atmosphere. The winner is one who has three cards matched. In 2017, Bai Choi was recognized to be Unesco intangible cultural heritage of humanity. We believe that playing it is one of the best things to do in Hoi An at night. See more information & details
Game leaders speak basic English, so if possible, visitors should play Bai Choi with a local friend or guide. It’s needed to pay for a participation, around 20,000 VND/time/person.
Evening Walking Food Tour in Hoi An
Evening is the best time to see and try local dishes in Hoi An. This city has a long history as an international trading port, so no surprises that its cuisine is special and has influence from many cultures. Within a couple of hours within Hoi An evening walking food tour, visitors will follow a local guide to restaurants, stalls and vendors where famous dishes are sold. There, he/she tells stories about their origin, history, name’s meaning, how to make, how to eat by a local, and flavours. By that, visitors can know much better about them. Of course, eating and taking pictures can’t be missed! See more information & details
Visitors should book an evening walking food tour in Hoi An guided by a local foodie who loves sharing about the food.
Party at Bars along Nguyen Phuc Chu Street
Along Nguyen Phuc Chu Street, the riverside road near the Hoi An Night Market, visitors will see many bars and pubs. During the night, a live music show occurs.
Try Delicious Street Food in Hoi An
In and around Hoi An’s old quarters, there are many delicious foods sold by local vendors on the street at night. These dishes are cheap, safe to eat and some of them are really worth trying. There are yummy banh uot thit nuong (grilled pork skewers, wrapped by rice paper with raw vegetables, dipping sauce), banh xoai (‘mango cake’), banh trang nuong (grilled rice paper), banana pancake, che sweet soup, bo la lot (grilled beef wrapped in banana leaf), chuoi nep nuong (grilled banana sticky rice), black sesame soup, fetal duck egg, snails, banh mi sandwich, mi quang noodle, cao lau noodle,…See more information & details
See also: Hoi An Street Food Walking Tour
Play Vietnamese Folk Game of Breaking Pots
Around the Hoi An Old Town or near the Hoi An Night Market, visitors may meet crowds encircling a playground where locals play folk game of breaking pots. To play, the player will hold a stick and find the way to use a stick to one break a clay pot while he/she is blindfolded. This rule is simple, but when can not see anything, players feel harder to go in the right direction to pot or hit them. They can listen to the instructions from other people, but sometimes it’s right and sometimes it’s wrong. We recommend participating if visit the Hoi An Ancient Town, especially during its Lantern festival. See more information & details
Players need to pay to join this traditional game. The cost is about 20,000 VND/person/time.
Watch Hoi An Memories Show – Vietnam’s Best Show
The ‘Hoi An Memories’ show is Vietnam’s largest outdoor art visual performance. During one hour, nearly 500 professional artists will bring an amazing spectacle and a memorable time to the audience. History of the town from beginning to when it became a port, typical images (ao dai dress, lantern, boats, etc) are well told or recalled through performing arts, beautiful live music and modern lighting system. If like photography, numerous wow moments will be seen to catch. It’s not wrong to say that watching the Hoi An Memories show is one of the best things to do in Hoi An. See more information & details
Visitors should check the weather forecast in advance before book Hoi An Memories show because the seating area is outdoors. In holiday season or weekends, a prior ticket reservation is a good thing to do.
HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD has a discount for those who want to book over 2 Hoi An Memories Show tickets. Contact us directly via whatsapp +849680009827 for further details.
Visit Hoi An Memories Land (formerly Hoi An Impression Theme Park)
On an island on Thu Bon River, the Hoi An Memories Land (formerly Hoi An Impression Theme Park) is a stunning attraction in Hoi An at night.
Take Cruise Boat to Moonlight Bridge
The Moonlight Bridge spans a small branch of Thu Bon River in Hoi An. It’s the shortest road to Hoi An Memories Land (a theme park) from the city. This bridge is more famous due to its special design that is inspired by the full moon. At night, when the lamps are lit up, it becomes such impressive and perfect for taking pictures. The best ways to see/photograph the Moonlight Bridge is walking to its top or taking a cruise boat to it. If choose the boat to go, on the way, visitors can see buildings and bridges along the river and below the bridge, it’s time to release water lanterns to make wishes. No doubt, this boat ride is one of the best things to do in Hoi An at night. See more information & details
Walk along Bach Dang Street
Bach Dang street is one of the most beautiful streets in Hoi An. Thanks to being bounded by the Hoi An Old Town on one side and the Hoai River on the other side, it becomes so romantic and splendid at night. If possible, come here in the sunset when the river water turns into a golden color, and lanterns are lit up, the scenery will be extremely impressive to see, photograph, and to save. When it’s dark, people release lots of lotus lanterns, and then the river is so charming thanks to shimmering floating lanterns. Looking for great memories when traveling? don’t forget to walk along Bach Dang street in Hoi An!
Dine Out at Restaurant With a View
There is a river running through the oldest part of Hoi An city. During the night, it looks vibrant, sparkling and fairy thanks to a plenty of boats going on it and floating water lanterns which people release. So, many visitors like going to a restaurant by the river, take a table with a view to it and then dine out with a brilliant view. We advise finding out your own favourite restaurant soon and make a reservation there (with an exact time) to have the best experience. For couples, this is one of the most romantic and the best things to do in Hoi An at night.
