Best Time to Visit Hoi An

Hoi An sits in central Vietnam, which has a different rain pattern from both the north and the south, and this catches out people planning a whole-country trip around one season.

February to May is the best stretch: dry, warm without being brutal, and the sea is warming up. June to August is hot and humid with the beaches at their best.

September to November is the wet season, and it is properly wet rather than an afternoon shower. This is also when the region gets its typhoons.

December and January are cooler and drier than the autumn but can still be grey, and the sea is too cold for most people.

⚠️ The old town floods. Not every year to the same degree, but often enough that the heritage houses have flood-level marks on their walls going back decades and boats stored upstairs.

It usually happens in October or November. Streets near the river go under, shops move their stock up, and for a day or two people move around the centre by boat. It is dramatic, photogenic and disruptive in equal measure.

If your dates fall in that window, keep the plan loose and do not book the one unmissable thing for a fixed date. Outside October and November this is not a consideration.

On the fourteenth night of each lunar month the old town turns off its electric lights and lights lanterns instead. Shops and houses put out candles, people float paper lanterns on the river, and there is music in the streets.

It happens monthly rather than once a year, which surprises people who plan a trip around a single festival date. Check which night falls in your stay and keep that evening free.

It is busy. Very busy, in high season. The compensation is that the town is doing the thing it is best at, and the crowd is part of it rather than in the way of it.