7+ things to do during holiday in Hoi An: A 5-day peak-season guide
Things to do during holiday in Hoi An this September, where to go, when to go, and how to skip the crowds during the expected 5-day break (29/8 to 2/9).
Hoi An is about to get busy. National Day lands on a Wednesday this year, and once you add the weekend on both sides, most people are looking at a 5-day break, one of the biggest travel windows Hoi An sees all year. If you’re trying to figure out things to do during the holiday season here without losing half your trip to queues, this guide is built exactly for that. Every entry below comes with the practical details (times, prices, booking notes) so you can just show up and follow the plan.
Is Hoi An actually getting 5 days off this September?
For most state workers, yes. And it’s shaping up to be a big one.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed that civil servants and state employees get 2 official paid days off for National Day, September 1 and 2. But because of a day-swap arrangement that connects the holiday to the surrounding weekend, the real break runs 5 days straight: Saturday, August 29 through Wednesday, September 2, 2026 (Source: Vietnam Government Portal).
A couple of things worth knowing before you plan around this:
- This is the expected schedule for state agencies: Private companies aren’t required to follow it, though a lot of them do, so double-check with your own employer before booking flights.
- September 2 falling mid-week (Wednesday) is exactly why this turned into a long weekend instead of a single day off. Bridging it to both weekends made more sense for everyone.
- If your leave hasn’t been confirmed yet, book something with free cancellation first, then lock in tours once you know your actual dates.
Combine the holiday with Hoi An’s late-summer weather, hot but past the worst of it, and you get a near-perfect storm for crowds. Expect the Ancient Town, An Bang Beach, and the river to be full most evenings.
Read more: Is a holiday in Hoi An worth it? 7 reasons to visit
Why this particular week will be so busy
Three things are hitting at once: a national holiday, a weekend on each end, and weather that’s actually pleasant. That’s the kind of combo that pulls people in from Hanoi, Saigon, and Da Nang all at once, plus the usual international crowd that already has Hoi An on their list.
What that actually looks like on the ground:
- The Old Town gets packed from late afternoon onward, especially around the Japanese Covered Bridge.
- Restaurants that are normally a 10-minute wait become a 30 to 40 minute wait.
- Boat rides and lantern stalls can sell out by 7 to 8pm.
- Rooms, especially beachfront ones with a pool, go fast, because this is exactly the kind of weekend people book resort stays for.
None of that means skipping the trip. It just means you plan your day differently than you would on a random Tuesday in June. That’s what the rest of this is about.
7+ things to do during holiday season in Hoi An
Here’s what’s actually worth your time, with the specifics you need to just follow along instead of figuring it out on the ground.
1. Walk the Old Town at 7am, buy the ticket right
Everyone wants the golden-hour photo. During a holiday week, that’s the worst time to try it. Go early instead, between 7 and 9am, and you’ll get the same warm light on the yellow walls, empty alleys, and no line at the ticket booth.
One thing most guides skip: you don’t need a ticket just to walk the streets, eat, or shop. Walking, crossing the bridges, and browsing the night market are all free. You only need the paid ticket to step inside the 22 protected heritage buildings, things like Tan Ky House, Phung Hung House, or the Japanese Covered Bridge itself. The ticket costs 120,000 VND for foreign visitors and comes as a booklet of 5 tear-off coupons, so you pick 5 sites as you go. Buy it at one of the small yellow booths near the main entrances early in the day; during the holiday, lines at the booths start building by mid-morning. Kids under about 1 meter tall usually get in free.
Good picks for your 5 coupons: Tan Ky House (best-preserved merchant home), Phung Hung House, the Japanese Covered Bridge, one assembly hall (Fujian or Cantonese), and one museum of your choice.
Read more: 5+ facts about Hoi An that even repeat visitors don’t know
2. Ride a basket boat through the Coconut Forest
The basket boat ride out in Cam Thanh is on almost every “what to do in Hoi An” list, and for good reason, it’s fun, it’s fast (usually 20 to 30 minutes on the water), and the photos are great. It’s about a 15-minute drive or a longer bike ride from the Old Town. Normally you can just show up and haggle a price with a local boatman. During the holiday, slots fill by mid-morning and prices tend to creep up with demand, so book your basket boat tour a day ahead instead of hoping for the best on arrival.
3. Do a street food tour before dinner hour
Cao lau, banh mi Phuong, white rose dumplings, all worth it, but by 6pm during the holiday the good stalls have real lines. Run the food crawl late morning or early afternoon instead, around 10:30am to 1pm, and you’ll hit the same spots with no wait. A guided street food tour usually covers 5 to 6 stops in about 2.5 to 3 hours and adds a stop or two you’d never find scrolling reviews on your own, like a family-run banh xeo stall or a hidden cheese dessert shop.
street food
4. Spend a quiet morning at An Bang Beach
If the Old Town is all about looking at things, An Bang is where you actually stop and relax, and during a hot, crowded holiday, that trade-off matters more than usual. It’s about a 15-minute ride from the center. Mornings before 9am stay calm even on the busiest days; by noon, beach clubs and loungers fill up fast, so grab a spot early if you want a good one without paying for a reservation. A good rhythm for a multi-day trip: temples and markets one morning, beach the next, so you’re not templed-out by day three.
5. Release a lantern on the river after dark
This is the most photographed thing to do in Hoi An, full stop, and during the holiday, also the most crowded. Buy from a licensed stall along the riverbank (fixed price, around 10,000 to 20,000 VND; ignore anyone asking for more, and don’t buy from someone approaching you mid-street).
Boat rides that combine a short river cruise with the lantern release run roughly 150,000 to 300,000 VND depending on boat size and route. Book your slot for 4 to 5:30pm instead of the 7 to 9pm rush if you want the same experience minus the queue, or accept the crowd and go later for the fuller lantern-lit atmosphere.
6. Take a half-day out to My Son Sanctuary
If you’ve got a full free day in your 5, the My Son Sanctuary tour is worth the drive. It’s an old Cham temple complex about 40km out, roughly a 1-hour drive each way, and entry runs around 150,000 VND.
Go early: riders who arrive around 6 to 7am beat the tour coaches and get the main temple groups mostly to themselves, even during peak holiday season, because the site sits far enough outside town that day-trippers arrive later. Pair it with Marble Mountains on the way back and you’ve skipped the crowds entirely for a full day.
7. Book a cooking class in the morning
A cooking class that starts with a market visit is one of the better things to do in Hoi An if you actually want to remember what you ate instead of just eating it. Most run half a day (about 4 hours), start with a guided walk through a wet market to pick ingredients, and end with you cooking 3 to 4 dishes yourself, usually including white rose dumplings and a Hoi An-style pancake. Morning slots also dodge both the heat and the evening rush. A few tours combine it with the boat ride too, like this cooking class and basket boat tour, which is a solid way to fill one holiday morning with two experiences instead of one.
8. Watch the sunset from a rooftop instead of the bridge
Nobody puts this on the list, but it solves a real problem: everyone converges on the Japanese Covered Bridge at sunset, so photos there end up full of other tourists. A rooftop bar gives you the same golden light over the rooftops and river without fighting for a spot on the bridge itself. It also doubles as a built-in break between an active morning and a crowded evening in the Old Town.
Best times of day to dodge the crowds
If you take one thing from this whole article, make it this: shift your day by two or three hours from what feels normal.
- Old Town sightseeing: 6:30 to 9am, or after 9pm on the quieter nights within the week.
- Beach time: before 9am or after 4:30pm.
- Street food and markets: 10am to 1pm, ahead of the dinner rush.
- Boat rides and lantern releases: book 4 to 5:30pm instead of the 7 to 9pm peak.
- Museums and heritage houses: first thing in the morning; they’re small spaces, and they fill up fast.
That one shift is basically the difference between a holiday that feels stressful and one that feels like the Hoi An everyone posts about.
Where to eat without the wait
A few names get all the attention, but during this specific week, book ahead wherever you can; walk-in waits at the popular spots routinely hit 30 minutes or more. If you’re staying at a resort, eating one meal a day on property is a simple way to skip competing for tables twice. Binh Minh Restaurant and the Cham Beach Bar at Bliss Hoi An both cover Vietnamese and Western food without the town-center line.
Where to stay for the holiday
Rooms are the one thing you genuinely can’t fix once the holiday starts; availability just runs out. A beachfront resort a short ride from the Old Town gives you both sides of the trip: full access to the sightseeing, plus a pool and beach to retreat to when the afternoon crowd peaks.
Bliss Hoi An Beach Resort & Wellness sits right on the coast near An Bang, with a free shuttle into the Old Town, quiet mornings by the pool, easy access to everything on this list, and none of the Old Town hotel price tag. Rooms for the August 29 to September 2 window are already filling up. Check the holiday Packages page for current rates, or go straight to book now before the good ones are gone.
Still deciding if Hoi An’s the right call for this trip? This piece on whether a holiday in Hoi An is worth it lays out the reasoning in more detail.
A few practical things to sort out before you go
- Book your transfers both ways: Da Nang airport pickups get scarce on the first and last days of the holiday; arrange this ahead instead of hoping for a taxi at the curb.
- Carry some cash: Not every lantern stall or street food cart takes cards, and ATMs run dry faster than usual on busy weekends.
- Pack for heat and the odd downpour: Late August in Hoi An is warm, humid, and prone to short afternoon showers. Not sure what to bring?
- Buy your Old Town ticket early: It covers entry to 5 of the 22 heritage sites, and the ticket booths get long lines by mid-morning during peak days.
- Confirm your own holiday dates: The 5-day window is expected for state agencies; check with your own employer or school rather than assuming it applies to you automatically.
Read more: Hoian what to wear: A realistic packing guide for resort guests
Quick Answers: Things to Do During Holiday in Hoi An
Is Hoi An crowded during the September 2 holiday?
→ Yes. The expected 5-day break (29 August to 2 September 2026) is one of the busiest stretches of the year here, especially the Old Town and riverside in the evenings.
What are the best things to do in Hoi An if I only have one day?
→ Old Town at sunrise, street food mid-morning, beach in the afternoon, lantern release at dusk. That order covers the highlights while dodging the worst of the crowds.
Should I book a room now?
→ Yes. Beachfront resorts and central hotels tend to sell out their best rooms weeks ahead of this kind of holiday, and prices climb as the dates get closer.
Is the 5-day holiday guaranteed for everyone in Vietnam?
→ The 2 official paid days are September 1 and 2. The extended 5-day window (29/8 to 2/9) applies to state agencies through a day-swap, and many private businesses are expected to follow it, but it’s not automatic for every employer, so check your own.
Planning your Hoi An holiday? Check availability and book direct at Bliss Hoi An Beach Resort & Wellness before rooms for August 29 to September 2 sell out.
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