Hoi An sits on the flat delta of the Thu Bon River, and that single fact makes it the easiest town in Vietnam to explore by bicycle. Herb gardens, rice paddies, pottery kilns, a coconut-palm estuary and two beaches all lie within six kilometres of the Ancient Town, joined by narrow concrete farm lanes that cars cannot fit down.

Most guides to Hoi An cycling routes reuse the same round numbers. We rode the map instead: every figure below was measured on Google Maps directions from our shop at 84 Phan Chau Trinh in September 2026, and several of the old “classic” distances turned out to be wrong. The Tra Que and An Bang loop, often sold as 12 km, is 15.3 km if you return along the coast.

The 5 Hoi An cycling routes at a glance

All five start and finish at the Ancient Town. Distances are the measured loop; allow extra for wrong turns and detours down lanes that look interesting, because on these routes they usually are.

The Old Town rule: why a plain bicycle beats an e-bike

The Ancient Town closes to motor vehicles for most of the day — our Old Town vehicle restriction hours guide gives the working windows as roughly 09:00–11:00 and 15:00–21:00 (to about 21:30 in summer). Local press describes the ban more strictly, as motorbikes out from 9 AM to 9 PM with only residents allowed through at midday, so treat the daytime gap as something for locals, not visitors.

What matters for cyclists is who the walking street is for. The programme is written for pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles, which is why a push-bike and a cyclo can roll through at walking pace while scooters park outside. An electric bicycle has a motor, so it falls on the scooter side of the line: you leave it at a car park on the edge and walk in.

A two-dollar city bike can ride down Tran Phu at 4 PM. A hundred-thousand-dong e-bike cannot. That is the whole case for renting the cheap one if the Old Town is on your route.

Two practical notes. On full-moon nights (the 14th of each lunar month) the centre is packed and car parks fill before 17:00, so even with a bicycle it is easier to lock up outside and walk. And inside the walking street you ride at walking pace or you get off — the lanes are full of people looking up at lanterns, not at you. Our Vietnamese readers will find the same rules in giờ cấm xe phố cổ Hội An.

A second change since mid-2025 that trips up map searches: Hoi An’s old communes were merged into three wards and one commune. Tra Que, Thanh Ha and An Bang now sit in Hoi An Tay ward, Cam Thanh and Cua Dai in Hoi An Dong, and Cam Nam and Cam Kim in Hoi An ward. Google Maps already uses the new names, so an address that looks unfamiliar is usually just the new ward.

Route 1 — Cam Nam island warm-up

Do this on your first afternoon. It is short, impossible to get lost on, and it tells you whether your saddle height is right before you commit to anything longer. It is also the shortest of the Hoi An cycling routes that feels like the countryside.

1. 0 km — 84 Phan Chau Trinh.Ride east along Phan Chau Trinh, then turn south on Hoang Dieu towards the river.
2. 1.1 km — Cam Nam bridge.The bridge at the end of Hoang Dieu. The moment you are across, the tourist crowd halves.
3. 1.5–3.5 km — Cam Nam island lanes.Wander the riverside lanes past vegetable plots and small cafés facing the Old Town. This is where Hoi An eats bánh đập, the smashed rice cracker, and sweet corn soup.
4. ~4.5 km — back over the bridge.Recross and follow the riverfront west if it is before 15:00; after that, lock up at the river and walk the Old Town.

Open Route 1 start in Google Maps

Route 2 — Tra Que and An Bang Beach

This is the definitive ride, and timing is the whole secret. Leave at six and you reach Tra Que as the farmers are watering the herb beds by hand, reach the sea before the sun turns hard, and are back in town by late morning. Leave at ten and you ride a hot, empty version of the same thing.

1. 0 km — north on Hai Ba Trung.The main road towards the beach. Some traffic for the first kilometre, then it thins quickly.
2. 3.2 km — Tra Que Vegetable Village.Entry is 35,000₫ for adults, free for children under 1.2 m. Park at the gate and walk the beds rather than riding between them.
3. 4.6 km — An Bang Beach.Coffee, breakfast or a swim. Beach cafés watch bicycles for a few thousand dong or for the price of a drink.
4. ~9 km — south along Lac Long Quan.The coast road runs 4.2 km from An Bang to Cua Dai Beach, sea on your left, flat and quiet before 8 AM.
5. 15.3 km — west on Cua Dai road to town.A straight, busier road back. If you want to skip it, turn around at An Bang instead: the out-and-back is about 9.5 km.

More on the village itself in our Tra Que Vegetable Village guide, and on the beach in Hoi An to An Bang Beach. If you would rather detour inland for lunch, Duck Stop Hoi An is an easy add-on from the rice fields.

Open Route 2 in Google Maps

Route 3 — Cam Thanh coconut forest

Route 2 is rice and sea. This one is water: nipa palm channels, crab traps, herons and a river mouth that looks nothing like the rest of central Vietnam. It is the same effort in a completely different landscape.

1. 0 km — east on Nguyen Duy Hieu.Leave the Old Town eastwards; the road becomes the route towards Cua Dai.
2. ~2.5 km — turn off towards Cam Thanh.Google Maps offers two near-identical ways in, via Tran Nhan Tong or Tong Van Suong. Either drops you onto quieter lanes within a few hundred metres.
3. 5.8 km — Bay Mau Coconut Forest.The palm channels and the basket-boat landings. Ride the lanes along the water before deciding on a boat.
4. ~11.6 km — back to town.Return the way you came, or continue east to Cua Dai Beach for a swim and add a few kilometres.

Be honest with yourself about the boats. Published prices for foreign visitors run to roughly 200,000–250,000₫ per boat, and some operators play loud music and spin the boats for a tip. If you want the quiet version, agree the price and “no music” before you step in — or skip the boat and ride the dyke lanes, which cost nothing and show you the same palms.

Open Route 3 in Google Maps

Route 4 — Thanh Ha pottery and Kim Bong

This is the ride for people who have done the beach loop and want to see where the tourists are not. It links the two craft villages that built Hoi An’s trading town: the potters of Thanh Ha on the north bank and the carpenters of Kim Bong on Cam Kim island across the river.

1. 0 km — west on Hung Vuong.Leave the Old Town on the road west towards Thanh Ha.
2. 2.9 km — Thanh Ha Pottery Village.Tickets run about 35,000₫ for adults and include a small clay souvenir. Watch a wheel turn, buy a whistle, keep moving before the tour groups arrive.
3. Back east, then south over the Cam Kim bridge.Once you are on the island, traffic all but stops.
4. Kim Bong carpentry village.Wood carving and boat building — 2.8 km from our shop by the bridge. From here, wander the island lanes past rice fields and mat weavers for as long as you like.
5. 9.6 km — back to the Old Town.The measured core loop. Add the island lanes and most riders finish between 12 and 15 km.

For the pottery village on its own, see Thanh Ha Pottery Village; for a longer craft-village loop by motorbike, Tra Nhieu village sits further west along the same river.

Open Route 4 in Google Maps

Route 5 — The full countryside circuit

Routes 2, 3 and 4 stitched into one day. It is still flat, but 26 km in central Vietnamese heat on a gearless city bike is a real day out. This is the one of our Hoi An cycling routes where an electric bicycle earns its rent.

1. 06:00 · 0 km — Old Town to Tra Que.Herb beds while the farmers water.
2. 07:00 · ~5 km — An Bang Beach.Breakfast facing the sea.
3. 08:30 · ~9 km — coast road to Cua Dai.Flat and fast before the heat.
4. 09:30 · ~12 km — inland to Bay Mau.The coconut channels while they are still quiet.
5. 11:30 · ~17 km — back through town for lunch.Rest through the hottest hours.
6. 14:00 · ~26 km — Thanh Ha and Kim Bong, then home.The craft-village loop in the softer afternoon light.

Bicycle or electric bicycle?

Prices below are our current daily rates, checked in the shop system on the day this guide was updated.

The rule we give at the counter: under 15 km, take the plain bicycle — it is cheaper, lighter, has nothing to run out of and can go through the Old Town. Over 20 km, or anywhere between April and August, take the electric bicycle and accept that you will park it outside the walking street. Our full comparison is in bicycle vs e-bike vs motorbike in Hoi An.

What to bring, weather and safety

• Water: 1.5 litres per person for anything over 10 km. Cam Kim and the Tra Que–An Bang lanes have long gaps between shops.
• Sun cover: the farm lanes have almost no shade. Sunscreen, sunglasses and a cap that fits under a helmet.
• Small cash: village tickets, bike parking, a ferry, roadside drinks. Nobody out here takes cards.
• An offline map: download the Hoi An area in Google Maps before you leave; signal is patchy on the island lanes.
• A poncho from September to December: the rainy season arrives in sudden, total downpours, and low lanes near the river can flood in October and November.

Best months for riding are February to April, when mornings are cool and dry. Summer is perfectly rideable if you finish by 9:00. From late September the rain arrives, and during flood weeks the riverside routes (1 and 4) can be closed by water — ask us that morning.

Prefer an engine? Our motorbike routes around Hoi An reach My Son, the Hai Van Pass and further. For the case for going slow, read why bicycles are the best way to explore Hoi An, and before you book, check delivery fees, current deals and our rental FAQs.

Hoi An cycling routes FAQ

Same lanes, less pedalling: see Hoi An by electric scooter for the e-scooter version of these routes.

Distances measured on Google Maps directions from 84 Phan Chau Trinh, Hoi An, on 26 September 2026, using the walking and small-lane routing that matches bicycle routes. Bicycle prices are our shop rates on the same day; entry and boat prices are published rates for 2026 and can change without notice. The Old Town hours are those in our restriction-hours guide; the official wording in local press is stricter, so follow the signs on the day.