Hoi An Travel Tips
Best Vehicle to Rent for One Day in Hoi An: 2026 Prices & Honest Picks
One day in Hoi An, four honest choices — and the answer depends on whether you hold a licence and whether the beach is on your list. Real 2026 rates from our own shop, no guesswork.
The best vehicle to rent for one day in Hoi An is an automatic scooter for most people, an electric bike if you have no licence, and a bicycle if you never plan to leave the Ancient Town and the rice fields. Everything else is a detail — and this page walks through those details with real prices.
№ 01How far things actually are
Almost every argument about vehicles in Hoi An disappears once you look at the distances. Nothing on a normal one-day list is far. The question is not whether a bicycle can reach the beach — it can — but whether you want to spend forty minutes of your single day pedalling in the afternoon heat.
| From the Ancient Town to | Distance | Scooter | Bicycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tra Que Vegetable Villageherb farm, 35.000₫ entry | 3 km | 8 min | 15 min |
| An Bang Beachthe busy, fun one | 4 km | 10–12 min | 15–20 min |
| Cua Dai Beachquieter, more space | 4.5 km | ~10 min | 20–25 min |
| Cam Thanh coconut forestbasket boats, ~100.000₫ total | 5–6 km | 10–15 min | 25–30 min |
| Thanh Ha pottery villagewest of town | ~4 km | 10 min | 20 min |
Add them up and a full Hoi An day is roughly 20 to 30 kilometres of riding. That is a pleasant morning on a scooter and a genuinely hard day on a bicycle in July. It is also why we rarely recommend a car for one day — you would spend most of it looking for somewhere to park.
№ 02One-day prices at a glance
These are our own 2026 rates at 84 Phan Chau Trinh, per 24 hours, two helmets included. Dollar figures are rounded and move with the exchange rate.
Our per-day rate drops once you go past three days, and drops again by the week. If there is any chance you will keep the bike a second day, say so when you book — it is usually cheaper to book two days up front than to extend on the morning of day two. First booking also takes 10% off with code HOIANIT10.
№ 03Every option compared
Four realistic choices for a single day. The column that matters most for a one-day trip is the last one.
| Vehicle | Per day | Licence | Best for a one-day trip when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic scooterHonda Vision, Air Blade | 120–180K≈ $4.7–7 | Yes1968 IDP + home licence | You want the whole list — Old Town, a village, a beach, sunset, dinner — without rushing |
| Electric motorbikeVinFast, 50 km/h | 200K≈ $8 | No | You have no licence but still want the beach and the countryside in the same day |
| 50cc scooterSYM Shark, KYMCO Like | 200K≈ $8 | No | You want a petrol bike with no licence and no charging to think about |
| Bicycle or e-bicycleCity bike, pedal-assist | 50–100K≈ $2–4 | No | Your day is the Ancient Town, cafés and the rice paddies — and you are happy to skip the far beach |
If someone has one day and a licence, I put them on a Vision and stop worrying. If they have one day and no licence, the electric bike does the same day just as well — it only loses on the long rides, and you are not doing a long ride today.— Anh Khoa, born and raised in Hoi An
№ 04Pick by who you are
Automatic scooter — 120.000₫ to 180.000₫
Twist and go, nothing to change, light enough to walk backwards out of a tight parking space. A Vision will do the Ancient Town at 8am, Tra Que by 10am, lunch at An Bang, the coconut forest in the afternoon and be back for the lanterns with fuel to spare — and a full tank for that day costs less than a coffee at a riverside café.
If you have never ridden anything before, this is still the one to take, but take it slowly and stay off the main road to Da Nang. We do a two-minute test ride with you in a quiet lane before you sign anything. Browse the full motorbike range or go straight to the Honda Vision.
Electric motorbike — 200.000₫
The quiet answer, and the one we hand over most often to travellers who arrive without an International Driving Permit. It is silent, it has no clutch and no gears, and the range comfortably covers a Hoi An day of 25 to 30 kilometres. Two people fit properly, which a bicycle never solves.
The trade-off is honest: it is slower to recover if you drain the battery, so we send you out fully charged and tell you where to stop if you go further than planned. See the electric range or the VinFast e-bike.
50cc petrol scooter — 200.000₫
Same legal freedom as the electric bike, but you refuel in thirty seconds at any roadside pump instead of thinking about charge. Plenty for An Bang, Cua Dai, Tra Que and Cam Thanh — we ride these to the beach constantly and have written a whole piece on whether a 50cc is too weak for An Bang and Ha My. Short version: it is not.
Where it genuinely runs out of ability is hills and highway speed. Do not plan the Hai Van Pass on one. For a single day around Hoi An, that limit never appears. See the 50cc range.
Bicycle or pedal-assist e-bicycle — 50.000₫ to 100.000₫
The right answer more often than people expect. Hoi An’s best hour is 6am to 8am, and a bicycle is the perfect vehicle for it — the Ancient Town is empty, the market is loading, and you can stop every hundred metres. The rice-paddy lanes north of town are flat, shaded in places and largely traffic-free.
Two caveats. Afternoon heat between roughly noon and 3pm is real, and on the full-moon lantern night bicycles are banned from the Ancient Town along with everything else. If you want the beach as well as the town, take the pedal-assist version — it turns the 4 km to An Bang into nothing. Browse bicycle rental, the city bike or the pedal-assist e-bicycle, and see our five mapped cycling routes.
Big scooter or adventure bike — 250.000₫ to 500.000₫
Worth it for exactly one kind of one-day trip: two people who ride at home and want to add the Marble Mountains or a coastal run toward Da Nang to the day. For a day inside Hoi An itself it is more bike than the roads ask for, and harder to park in the narrow lanes. If that is your day, take the Honda ADV 160.
№ 05The licence question, answered honestly
This is where most rental pages go quiet, so here is the plain version.
To legally ride a motorbike over 50cc in Vietnam you need either a Vietnamese licence, or an International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention together with your home licence. An IDP issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention — which is still what the United States and Australia issue — is not valid in Vietnam. Check which convention your permit was issued under before you assume you are covered; it is printed on the document.
- Anything 50cc or under needs no motorcycle licence in Vietnam — our SYM Shark and KYMCO Like sit here.
- Every electric bike needs no motorcycle licence, including the VinFast that does 50 km/h.
- Bicycles and pedal-assist e-bicycles need nothing at all.
- Helmets are compulsory for riders and passengers on anything motorised. We include two.
- Riding without the correct licence can void your travel insurance even if you are never stopped — which for most people is the bigger risk.
If you arrive without a valid permit, you have not lost the day. Both no-licence categories above will do everything in the distance table at the top of this page. We wrote the full detail on our motorbike rental page.
№ 06When the Old Town closes to vehicles
This one catches people out more than price ever does. Hoi An’s UNESCO-listed Ancient Town is closed to motorbikes and cars for a large part of every day. You do not ride through it; you park at the edge and walk in, which takes two minutes from Phan Chau Trinh.
| When | What is closed | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| 09h00 – 11h00 | Whole Ancient Town core | Motorbikes and cars |
| 15h00 – 21h00 | Whole Ancient Town core | Motorbikes and cars |
| Sundays & the 14th lunar day | Extended to 21h30 | Motorbikes and cars |
| Full-moon night | Pedestrians only | Bicycles banned too |
| Tran Phu, Nguyen Hue, riverside streets | 15h00 – 21h30, every day | Motorbikes |
Read practically: your vehicle earns its money in the gaps — early morning, late morning to mid-afternoon, and after 21h00. Those gaps are exactly when the beaches and villages are best anyway. Full breakdown in our guide to Ancient Town vehicle-ban hours, and note that walking the streets is free — the 120.000₫ heritage ticket is only for entering the old houses and museums.
№ 07A one-day route that works
This is the shape of the day we actually describe to people at the shop. It works on a scooter, an electric bike or a 50cc without changing anything. On a bicycle, drop step four.
- 06h30 — Ancient Town, before it wakes upRide in, park on Phan Chau Trinh, walk. Empty lanes, the market loading, and the light photographers come here for. You are out before the 09h00 closure starts.
- 08h30 — Tra Que Vegetable VillageThree kilometres north, 35.000₫ to enter, open 07h00–17h00. Twenty minutes of herb beds and a coffee. Full details in our Tra Que guide.
- 10h00 — An Bang BeachAnother kilometre and a half from Tra Que. Swim, take a lounger from one of the bars, eat seafood, wait out the worst of the heat here rather than on the road. See the route from town.
- 14h30 — Cam Thanh coconut forestFive to six kilometres back inland and east. A basket-boat ride is 45 to 60 minutes and roughly 100.000₫ all in. Best light of the afternoon. See the coconut forest guide.
- 17h30 — Sunset, then park upBack toward town along the river. Park outside the Ancient Town for the evening — from 15h00 to 21h00 you would not get in anyway — and walk the lantern streets on foot.
If you would rather follow a plan someone else has timed, we keep a full one-day Hoi An itinerary. And if you decide you do not want to ride at all, our guide on how to get around Hoi An covers Grab, taxis, xe om and cyclos with current prices.
№ 08Booking with Anh Khoa
We are a family shop at 84 Phan Chau Trinh, two minutes’ walk from the edge of the Ancient Town, with more than forty vehicles on the road. For a one-day rental the practical points are these.
- Free delivery anywhere in the Hoi An centre — we bring the bike to your hotel or homestay at the time you name.
- No deposit to hold a vehicle. You pay at the end, in cash, by card or through PayPal.
- Two helmets included, cleaned between rentals, plus a paper map.
- A two-minute test ride in a quiet lane before you sign anything — say if you have never ridden and we will change what we hand you.
- 24/7 roadside help. One message and we come to you; a flat tyre does not end your day.
- 10% off your first booking with code HOIANIT10, any vehicle, any length.
Tell us what your one day looks like
Message us with your hotel, the date, and whether you hold a licence. We will tell you which vehicle fits your day and the exact total — usually within a few minutes.
84 Phan Chau Trinh, Hoi An · +84 935 206 306 · info@hoianit.comFrequently asked questions
What is the best vehicle to rent for one day in Hoi An?
An automatic scooter such as a Honda Vision, at 120.000₫ to 180.000₫ a day, if you hold a valid licence. It covers the Ancient Town, the villages and both beaches without rushing. If you have no licence, an electric motorbike at 200.000₫ or a 50cc scooter at 200.000₫ does the same day legally. A bicycle at 50.000₫ is the best choice only if you plan to stay near the Ancient Town and the rice fields.
How much does it cost to rent a vehicle for one day in Hoi An?
From 50.000₫ for a city bicycle, 100.000₫ for a mountain bike or pedal-assist e-bicycle, 110.000₫ to 180.000₫ for a scooter, and 200.000₫ for an electric motorbike or a 50cc. Big scooters run 250.000₫ to 400.000₫. Rates are per 24 hours and include two helmets. Renting for several days brings the per-day figure down.
Do I need a licence to rent a motorbike in Hoi An?
For anything over 50cc, yes — either a Vietnamese licence or an International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention together with your home licence. A 1949 Geneva Convention permit, which the United States and Australia still issue, is not valid in Vietnam. Anything 50cc or under, and every electric bike, can be ridden without a motorcycle licence.
Can I ride a motorbike into Hoi An Ancient Town?
Not during the closed hours, which are 09h00 to 11h00 and 15h00 to 21h00 for motorbikes and cars, extended to 21h30 on Sundays and the 14th lunar day. On the full-moon night the core is pedestrians only and bicycles are banned as well. Tran Phu, Nguyen Hue and the riverside streets close to motorbikes from 15h00 to 21h30 every day. Park at the edge and walk in — it takes about two minutes.
Is a bicycle enough for one day in Hoi An?
It is enough for the Ancient Town, the cafés, Tra Que and the rice-paddy lanes. An Bang Beach is 4 km and takes 15 to 20 minutes each way, which is fine in the morning and hard work at 1pm in summer. If you want both the town and the beach on a bicycle, take the pedal-assist version at 100.000₫ rather than a plain city bike.
Electric bike or petrol scooter for one day in Hoi An?
If you hold a licence, a petrol automatic is cheaper at 120.000₫ to 180.000₫ and needs no thought about charge. If you do not hold a licence, the electric bike at 200.000₫ is the better answer because it is legal without one, quiet, and has more than enough range for a 25 to 30 kilometre Hoi An day.
Updated: July 2026. Rental rates are our own current prices at 84 Phan Chau Trinh and can move with season and stock — the product page always shows the live figure. Attraction fees, ban hours and distances were checked against Hoi An city information in July 2026 and can change; ask us on the day if a detail matters to your plan.
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