On the 14th day of each lunar month, Hoi An's ancient town turns off its electric lights: paper lanterns float on the Thu Bon River, the yellow-plastered merchant houses glow by candlelight, and the 400-year-old trading port becomes briefly visible again.
The Hội An Full Moon Lantern Festival takes place on the 14th day of the lunar calendar every month, which corresponds approximately to the full moon. For three to four hours from sundown, the electric lighting in the old town (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is turned off and replaced with thousands of coloured silk lanterns hanging from buildings, floating on the Thu Bon River, and carried by visitors. The Japanese Covered Bridge, the Chinese Assembly Halls on Trần Phú Street, and the merchant houses dating to the 16th and 17th centuries are all lit exclusively by lanterns. The atmosphere is markedly different from the normal tourist market feel of Hội An: the old town genuinely resembles a 17th-century Southeast Asian trading port for those few hours.
The lantern festival is the most crowded single event in Hội An's calendar; the old town becomes impassable by vehicle and very dense on foot between 7pm and 9pm. Narrow lanterns are sold on Trần Phú Street from 150,000–300,000 VND; candle floats for the river are 20,000 VND. The experience of releasing a candle float from the Japanese Bridge at 8pm on a lantern night, with the river carrying dozens of lights slowly south, is one of the more reliably affecting travel experiences in central Vietnam. Hội An is 30km south of Da Nang, connected by taxi (VND 280,000–400,000 for the 45-minute journey) or by local bus from Da Nang's main bus station.
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Day-by-day breakdown
The old town combined ticket (covering the Japanese Bridge, one Chinese Assembly Hall, a merchant house, and the Museum of Folk Culture) is best used in the afternoon before the lantern evening crowds arrive. The tailoring shops on Trần Phú Street can produce custom clothing in 24–48 hours; ordering during the afternoon means collection is possible the following morning. The central market on the riverside sells fresh fruit, bánh mì, and cao lầu (Hội An's signature noodle dish available only in town, made with local well water).
The electric lights go off from around 7pm. Walk from the Japanese Bridge east along Trần Phú Street to the Chinese Assembly Halls; this is the main lantern corridor and is worth the slow pace despite the crowds. Buy a candle float at the river embankment vendors and release it from the Thu Bồn embankment below Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street. The lantern festival ends around 10pm when electric lighting returns; many visitors continue at the bars on An Hội Island (the small island in the Thu Bồn bend, connected by two pedestrian bridges) until midnight.
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Getting to Hoi An Lantern Festival from Ho Chi Minh , Hanoi , Da Nang , and Nha Trang