Events & Festivals
Hoai River Hoi An at Night: Boats, Lanterns & Prices
A hand-rowed boat on the Hoai River costs 170,000₫ for up to three people and lasts about twenty minutes. Everything else about the night — the lanterns, the market, the best place to stand — is below, with the prices actually posted at the booths.
Nobody comes to Hoi An for the Hoai River at night and leaves disappointed — but plenty of people pay twice what they should, board the wrong boat, or stand in the one spot where the photograph never works.
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№ 01The river, and why it looks like that
The Hoai is not really a river of its own. It is a narrow arm of the Thu Bon that curls past the southern edge of the old town, and it is the reason Hoi An exists at all — Japanese, Chinese and Portuguese ships moored along this water for three centuries when the town was one of Southeast Asia’s busiest ports.
What makes the night work is geometry, not decoration. The water is narrow enough that the lantern light from both banks meets in the middle, and still enough to hold the reflection. Widen the river by thirty metres and the whole effect would disappear.
The best twenty minutes are the ones just after sunset, when there is still deep blue in the sky. Full black behind the lanterns flattens everything. Sunset in Hoi An runs from about 17:15 in December to about 18:20 in June — be on the riverbank fifteen minutes before.
№ 02The boat ride and the floating lanterns
The boats are small wooden sampans, rowed by hand. Since the city regulated them in 2022 there are posted fares, life jackets and a ban on motors during the ride — which is why it stays quiet out on the water.
The fare is per boat, not per person, and that single fact is where most of the overcharging happens. Children count toward the five-person limit but are not charged separately. The route is short — roughly the stretch between the An Hoi Bridge and the Cam Nam Bridge — and takes fifteen to twenty minutes.
Buy at a booth, not from whoever approaches you
There are official kiosks along Bach Dang Street on the old-town bank and beside the An Hoi Bridge and night market on the other. Tickets are colour-coded by group size. If someone offers you a boat away from a booth, the price is whatever they decide it is.
Some listings still quote the older regulated fare of 150,000₫ and 200,000₫. Both figures circulate; the booths we checked are posting 170,000₫ and 220,000₫. Second: a lantern that costs 5,000₫ at a kiosk is routinely 10,000₫ to 20,000₫ from a seller who walks up to you on the bank. Neither is a scam — but knowing the floor price makes the conversation shorter.
You light the candle, make a wish, and lower the lantern onto the water from the side of the boat — not throw it. Sellers will offer to do it for you; you do not need help. Buy two or three rather than a dozen: the river is cleaned every night, and a smaller handful set down carefully looks better in a photograph than a scattered pile.
№ 03The night market across the bridge
Cross the An Hoi Bridge and you are on Nguyen Hoang Street, a three-hundred-metre pedestrian run with roughly 150 stalls. It is the loudest part of the evening and the cheapest place to eat.
| What | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Collapsible silk lantern | from 50,000₫by size | Folds flat for luggage |
| Grilled skewers | from 30,000₫ | Seafood and pork |
| Noodle bowls | 30–40,000₫ | Cao lau, mi quang |
| Fresh fruit plate | 25–30,000₫ | Cut to order |
| Sweets, ice cream | from 20,000₫ | Banh xeo, che |
| Drinks | from 20,000₫ | Beer, juice, water |
Stalls open around sunset and start packing up between 21:30 and 22:00. For a longer walk through what is worth eating there, see our Hoi An night market guide.
№ 04Lantern Festival nights in 2026
Once a lunar month, on the 14th night — the evening before the full moon — the old town switches its electric lights off. From about 18:00 to 22:00 the only significant light is the lanterns themselves, motorbikes are cleared from the core from around 17:30, and the river fills with candles.
| 2026 date | Lunar | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 26 August | 14 / 7 | — |
| Thu 24 September | 14 / 8 | Eve of Mid-Autumn — busiest of the year after Tet |
| Fri 23 October | 14 / 9 | — |
| Sun 22 November | 14 / 10 | — |
| Tue 22 December | 14 / 11 | — |
Alongside the lanterns there is bài chòi — a sung card game that UNESCO lists as intangible cultural heritage — usually played on the An Hoi side, with traditional music on the Bach Dang stage and calligraphers working in the assembly halls.
They are beautiful and they are crowded. Boats sell out, the bridges become slow-moving queues, and restaurants along the water need booking. If you want the river quiet, come on any ordinary Tuesday instead — the lanterns are lit every single night of the year, festival or not.
№ 05An evening that actually works
- 17:00 — park and walk inLeave the bike outside the pedestrian zone before the barriers go up. The ticketed zone runs roughly 09:00 to 21:30 in summer, to 21:00 in winter.
- 17:30 — the An Hoi Bridge, facing the old townThis is the postcard angle, and it works best while the sky is still blue. Get there before the light goes.
- 18:00 — the boatBuy at a booth, fifteen to twenty minutes on the water, lanterns set down from the side. Earlier is calmer; later is brighter.
- 18:30 — walk Bach DangThe old-town bank, with the water on your right and the lit facades on your left. Slow, flat, and the best stretch of the evening.
- 19:30 — eat at the night marketCross the An Hoi Bridge. Skewers and a noodle bowl for under 100,000₫ a head.
- 21:00 — ride the empty lanesOnce the crowds thin, the streets just outside the core are yours. This is the part most visitors miss entirely.
The river is at its best on a normal night. The festival is for the photographs; the Tuesday is for the town.— Anh Khoa, dan Hoi An
№ 06Getting there, and where to leave the bike
The old town core closes to motorbikes during pedestrian hours, so nobody rides to the riverbank. What a bike buys you is everything either side of the evening — the beach at sunset beforehand, and the ride home at eleven when taxis are scarce and surging.
Anh Khoa Hoi An — 84 Phan Chau Trinh
We are a two-minute walk from the river, just outside the pedestrian zone. Leave the bike with us for the evening, walk down to the water, and pick it up whenever you finish — there is no closing time on that. Free hotel delivery in the centre, helmets and raincoats included.
- Electric bikes and 50cc — no licence needed, silent, and easy to park at the edge of the zone. See the e-bike.
- Bicycles — the old town is flat and the ride back along the river at night is the nicest part. Bicycle rental.
- A cyclo instead — if nobody in your group wants to ride at all. How the cyclos work.
- Going inside the heritage houses too? — that needs a separate ticket. Entrance ticket prices.
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Book the boat before 6pm sells out
Weekend queues at the lantern boat piers get long after sunset. Booking online locks a fixed price and skips the negotiation — and if you want to take a lantern home, a folding-lantern class (★4.9, 4,400+ reviews) makes a better souvenir than anything in the night market.
Staying out past the last taxi?
Tell us where you are staying and we will drop a bike at your hotel before sunset — no deposit paperwork, no closing time.
84 Phan Chau Trinh, Hoi An · +84 935 206 306Questions we get asked at the counter
How much is a boat ride on the Hoai River in Hoi An?
170,000₫ per boat for one to three passengers and 220,000₫ for four to five, with five the maximum. The fare is per boat, not per person, and children are not charged separately. Some listings still show the older regulated rate of 150,000₫ and 200,000₫.
Where do I buy floating lanterns and how much are they?
From about 5,000₫ each at the official ticket kiosks. Sellers walking the riverbank typically ask 10,000₫ to 20,000₫. You light the candle and lower the lantern onto the water from the side of the boat rather than throwing it.
What time do the boats on the Hoai River stop?
Boats run daily from around 16:00 until about 21:30, weather permitting, and do not operate during floods or typhoons. The best light is the twenty minutes just after sunset, while there is still blue in the sky.
When is the Hoi An Lantern Festival in 2026?
It falls on the 14th night of each lunar month, the evening before the full moon. The remaining 2026 dates are 26 August, 24 September, 23 October, 22 November and 22 December. Electric lights go off in the old town from roughly 18:00 to 22:00.
Do I need the Ancient Town entrance ticket to see the Hoai River at night?
No. Walking the riverbanks, crossing the bridges, riding a boat and eating at the night market are all free of the heritage ticket. The 120,000₫ ticket is only needed to enter the old houses, assembly halls and museums.
Can I ride a motorbike to the Hoai River?
Not into the core during pedestrian hours, which run roughly 09:00 to 21:30 in summer and to 21:00 in winter. Park just outside the zone and walk in — it is a few minutes on foot from anywhere on Phan Chau Trinh.
Updated July 2026 by Anh Khoa Hoi An, 84 Phan Chau Trinh. Boat fares, lantern prices and market hours are set locally and change without notice; the figures here were cross-checked against multiple current sources at the time of writing. Festival dates follow the 14th day of the lunar month — confirm locally if you are planning travel around one. Hoi An has been administered as part of Da Nang City since the merger with Quang Nam province in July 2025.
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