Hoi An 6 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Six days is our 5-day itinerary , the Ancient Town, My Son, Da Nang, and the craft villages, plus a day on the water: the Cham Islands, a marine biosphere reserve offshore. Want Hue as well? See our 7-day itinerary .
Day-by-day at a glance
| Day | Focus | Est. spend (excl. hotel) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, Ancient Town free walk, lantern evening, tailor order | ~150,000-250,000 VND |
| 2 | An Bang Beach, Tra Que village, Cam Thanh basket boat | ~200,000-350,000 VND |
| 3 | My Son Sanctuary, cooking class | ~500,000-800,000 VND |
| 4 | Da Nang: Marble Mountains, Golden Bridge, My Khe Beach | ~500,000-800,000 VND |
| 5 | Cam Kim island, Kim Bong carpentry, Thanh Ha pottery | ~150,000-250,000 VND |
| 6 | Cham Islands (Cu Lao Cham) boat trip | ~600,000-900,000 VND |
Book these before you go
- A Cham Islands boat trip : seasonal and sea-dependent, check conditions before you commit the day.
- A Ba Na Hills and Golden Bridge day trip .
- A My Son sunrise tour .
- A tailor fitting slot : order on day one.
Day 1: Ancient Town, on foot
Morning: Fly into Da Nang International Airport and transfer to Hoi An, 30-45 minutes by Grab or taxi. Arrange your Vietnam e-visa beforehand through the official evisa.gov.vn portal only.
Afternoon: Walk the UNESCO-listed Ancient Town for free. The ~120,000 VND coupon booklet only buys entry to five of roughly 20 heritage sites.
Evening: The lantern-lit old town, amplified on the 14th of the lunar month. Order any tailoring tonight: two or three quotes, one test item first, a modest deposit.
Day 2: Beach, village, canals
Morning: An Bang Beach, the better-kept of Hoi An’s two beaches now that Cua Dai has visible erosion.
Afternoon: Tra Que herb village, then the calm, private version of the Cam Thanh basket boat.
Evening: Fitting for anything ordered on day one.
Day 3: My Son and a cooking class
Morning: My Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO-listed Cham Hindu ruin complex, on a sunrise tour. Much of it was damaged by US bombing over a single week in 1969.
Afternoon: Back in Hoi An, with time for the Central Market.
Evening: A market-to-table cooking class.
Day 4: Da Nang, the manufactured-spectacle day
Morning: The Marble Mountains, five marble and limestone hills with cave pagodas and a real stair climb.
Afternoon: Ba Na Hills by cable car, ending at the Golden Bridge, opened 2018.
Evening: My Khe Beach and the fire-breathing Dragon Bridge on a weekend evening.
Day 5: Cam Kim island and the craft villages
Morning: Cam Kim island, quieter and mostly bicycles and craft workshops, plus Kim Bong carpentry village on the same stretch of river.
Afternoon: Thanh Ha pottery village, then Reaching Out, a deaf-run crafts shop and tea house at 131 Tran Phu, for a genuine souvenir on the way back.
Evening: An early night before an early boat.
Day 6: The Cham Islands
Morning: Boat out to Cu Lao Cham, a marine biosphere reserve off the coast covered on Vietnam’s official tourism site , for snorkeling. Trips depend on season and sea conditions, so confirm the day before rather than assuming it runs.
Afternoon: Back in Hoi An by mid-afternoon, with time for any last shopping or a second look at the old town in daylight.
Evening: If this is your last night, transfer to Da Nang Airport the next morning, 30-45 minutes by Grab.
Is 6 days enough for Hoi An?
Yes, and it’s enough to add a genuine change of pace, water rather than streets and temples, without cutting anything from the five days before it. If Hue’s imperial city is also on your list, our 7-day itinerary fits it in as a long day trip.
Confirm the Cham Islands boat the evening before, not the morning of: sea conditions can cancel a departure with little notice, and you’ll want a backup plan for that day if it does.