When is the Hoi An lantern night?

The Ancient Town is lit with lanterns every evening, so any night works. The monthly Full Moon Lantern Festival — on the 14th day of each lunar month — is the most spectacular, when the town dims its electric lights and the river fills with floating candles.

How much does a lantern boat ride cost in Hoi An?

Paddling round a basket boat with a lantern release costs from about ₫50,000–150,000 (US$2–6) if you negotiate at the quay. Guided tours with a fixed price, a lantern and pickup start from around $8–15 per person.

Can you make your own lantern in Hoi An?

Yes. Hour-long lantern-making classes let you build a collapsible silk-and-bamboo lantern to take home, often combined with a boat ride or a coffee tasting. They are popular with families and easy to book a day ahead.

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Evening · Hoi An itinerary

Hoi An Lantern Night: The Perfect Evening Itinerary

After sunset the Ancient Town swaps daylight for thousands of silk lanterns, and the Thu Bon river fills with floating candles. Here is how to spend one magical lantern evening in Hoi An — a riverside walk, a basket-boat lantern release and the night market — with the best-rated tours and workshops to book.

At a glance

1Old Town lantern walk at dusk
2Basket boat & river lantern release
3Night market on the far bank
4Fold your own silk lantern

Dusk: a lantern walk through the Ancient Town

Start as the lamps flick on around 6pm, when the pedestrian lanes off Tran Phu and Bach Dang glow with paper and silk. A guided evening walk points out the Japanese Covered Bridge, the old merchant houses and the best photo spots along the water, and shows you where locals buy floating candles before the crowds thicken. Full-moon nights, when the town cuts its electric lights, are the most atmospheric — check the lunar calendar when you book.

On the water: a basket boat and a lantern release

Down at the quay, boatwomen paddle round bamboo basket boats out onto the Thu Bon for 20 to 30 minutes. You light a paper lantern and set it on the current for luck — hundreds of tiny flames drifting downstream is the image everyone comes for. Rides run from about ₫50,000 (US$2) if you haggle at the dock, or from $8–15 booked as a guided tour with a fixed price, a lantern and hotel-area pickup included.

Late: the night market and a lantern you made yourself

Cross the An Hoi bridge to the Nguyen Hoang night market, a few hundred metres of lantern stalls, grilled snacks and souvenir haggling. For a keepsake that folds flat in your bag, join a lantern-making class: in about an hour you stretch silk over a split-bamboo frame and take home a real Hoi An lantern. Many workshops sit right by the river, so you can pair the class with your boat ride in one evening. Book a day ahead in peak season.