Hoi An Old Town 2026 Entry Fees and Visitor Caps: Vietnam Travel News Update

From October 1, 2026, Hoi An’s combined old town ticket rises from 120,000 VND to 150,000 VND per person, a change that will directly affect international visitors planning a day in the Ancient Town. This Vietnam travel news update covers more than a price hike: the ticket grants access to five heritage attractions, including the Japanese Covered Bridge and Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, and children under 16 remain free. For most overseas travelers, the advance-booking requirement is more pressing than the price increase, because it is tied to a daily cap of 5,000 people in the heritage core from 8:00 to 17:00.

Booking online is now the default. International visitors should reserve through hoiantourism.vn or the “Hoi An Heritage” mobile app. Individual travelers must book at least 24 hours in advance; tour groups need 48 hours. Walk-up booths will still exist, but they may sell out, especially on weekends and during peak periods. A same-day decision to visit Hoi An from Da Nang now carries real risk of being turned away at the heritage core, even if you are willing to pay the 150,000 VND fee on the spot. Arriving before 10:00 or after 16:00 can reduce queue time, but it does not override the reservation requirement.

Carry your passport for verification at the gate, and if plans change, you can cancel for a refund up to 24 hours before the visit, minus a 10% fee. Because enforcement guidelines may be updated closer to October 1, 2026, check the official Hoi An tourism portal for the latest rules before you rely on any single detail. The portal can also confirm whether the 5,000-person daily cap is adjusted during festivals such as the Moon Lantern Festival or Tet. For the latest Vietnam travel news on Hoi An entry rules, recheck the portal before your visit. The practical takeaway for international visitors is simple: book a day or more ahead, keep your passport with you, and treat the 150,000 VND ticket as an online purchase rather than a walk-up expense.

Starting October 1, 2026, individual travelers to Hoi An Ancient Town must book online at least 24 hours before entry; group tours must book at least 48 hours ahead. Bookings go through hoiantourism.vn or the Hoi An Heritage mobile app, and the process requires passport details for verification at the gate. For anyone following vietnam travel news, these lead times replace the old show-up-and-pay habit for the combined 150,000 VND ticket.

Walk-up ticket booths will not disappear, but they may sell out, especially on weekends when the daily cap of 5,000 visitors in the heritage core is most likely to be reached between 8:00 and 17:00. If you arrive without a booking, you could still get a ticket if capacity remains, but there is no guarantee. Travelers should carry the same passport used in the online booking; staff at the entry checkpoints may ask to match the name before letting you into the pedestrian zone.

Refunds follow a specific rule: cancel at least 24 hours before your scheduled visit and you can get your money back, minus a 10% cancellation fee. That means an individual who books 24 hours ahead has essentially no room to cancel without losing the fee; group bookings with 48 hours' lead time have a slightly larger window. Do not treat a same-day cancellation as refundable under the announced policy.

Because the individual booking window is 24 hours and the group window is 48 hours, same-day walk-up remains possible but unreliable, particularly on weekends. If your schedule is fixed, book online as soon as your dates are confirmed and keep your passport with you at the entrance. Check the official Hoi An tourism portal for any updated enforcement details before you travel.

From October 1, 2026, Hoi An's heritage core will admit a maximum of 5,000 visitors per day between 8:00 and 17:00. The cap applies to Nguyen Thai Hoc, Tran Phu, and the surrounding streets where the combined old town ticket is checked at the five heritage attractions, including the Japanese Covered Bridge and Phuc Kien Assembly Hall. Once the daily count is reached inside that ticketed zone, entry is paused until the next day or until slots open from no-shows. The evening lantern district, however, remains open without a daily cap, so visitors without daytime tickets can still walk the riverfront and night market after 17:00.

To work around the cap, aim to arrive before 10:00 or after 16:00, when ticket queues are shorter and the daily count is less likely to have been reached. Day-trippers from Da Nang face the same rules, so the after-16:00 window is the most reliable workaround. A visit after 16:00 has a practical advantage: if capacity remains, you can buy a ticket, enter the heritage core for the final hour of the cap window, and stay on as the lantern district shifts into pedestrian-only hours from 18:00 to 23:00. That sequencing gives you lower ticket pressure and the illuminated old town in one trip without needing to leave and re-enter.

One unresolved point in this Vietnam travel news change is the festival exemption. The official announcement says the 5,000-person cap may be temporarily lifted during the Moon Lantern Festival and Tet, but as of now no published exemption exists in the enforcement guidelines. If your dates fall on those holidays, do not assume you can skip the online booking step; instead, book the ticket and confirm with the official Hoi An tourism portal whether the cap will be waived. Hours and enforcement details may change closer to October 1, 2026, so recheck hoiantourism.vn before setting your schedule.

From October 1, 2026, Phan Chau Trinh and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai streets in Hoi An Ancient Town become fully pedestrian-only from 18:00 to 23:00. This Vietnam travel news update removes cars, taxis, and motorbikes from those two central roads during evening lantern hours; only pedestrians can enter. The rule applies daily, not only on weekends, and runs parallel to, but separate from, the 8:00–17:00 cap of 5,000 people for the heritage core. That cap covers Nguyen Thai Hoc, Tran Phu, and surrounding streets, while these two streets have their own evening restrictions.

On weekends, the motorbike ban on Phan Chau Trinh and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai starts earlier, at 16:00. Riders should park before that time or use the designated lots near the edge of the pedestrian zone, then walk the remaining short distance. If you arrive by motorbike after 16:00 on Saturday or Sunday, you will be redirected to the nearest available lot, which may be several blocks away. This street-level restriction is separate from the heritage core visitor cap, which operates 8:00–17:00 and does not restrict these two streets during daytime hours; the systems overlap only between 16:00 and 17:00 on weekends.

Expect route changes for GrabBike, taxis, and hotel shuttles at the start of the pedestrian window. Vehicles dropping guests at properties inside the restricted zone after 18:00 typically stop at the edge of the pedestrian area, and guests walk the last section with luggage. If you are staying on Phan Chau Trinh or Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, ask your hotel which access point remains open after the motorbike curfew begins. Some alleys may allow hotel porters, but standard motorbikes are not allowed through.

Enforcement details may be updated on the official Hoi An tourism portal (hoiantourism.vn) and hoianheritage.vn closer to the date. The pedestrian-only hours of 18:00–23:00 and the 16:00 weekend motorbike ban were published in the 2026 management plan, but local authorities have said street boundaries and access points can shift as the system beds in. Check the official portals the day before you visit; if you are riding from Da Nang, aim to arrive before 16:00 on weekends to avoid the first wave of parking closures.

From October 1, 2026, any tour group entering Hoi An's heritage core during the capped hours of 8:00–17:00 must hire a licensed local guide. This Vietnam travel news update matters for operators, schools, and large family groups, because the old town now enforces a daily cap of 5,000 people and verifies entry more strictly than in previous years. Group bookings run on a tighter schedule than individual tickets. While solo travelers can book 24 hours ahead, tour groups must book online via hoiantourism.vn or the Hoi An Heritage app at least 48 hours ahead. Self-guided groups are limited to 15 people, so a party of 16 or more cannot enter the heritage core together without a licensed guide. Book early — walk-up booths remain, but they may sell out on weekends, especially after the new rules take effect.

At entry points around Nguyen Thai Hoc, Tran Phu, and surrounding streets, group members should be ready for passport checks and guide verification. Carry a passport rather than a copy, because staff may cross-check the booking name against the guide's license. If a group cancels at least 24 hours before the visit, a refund is available minus a 10% fee; missing that window means the operator loses the full ticket amount.

Day-tour operators from Da Nang follow the same rules. A bus group cannot enter the heritage core as a self-guided unit simply because it arrives from outside Hoi An. If you run day trips from Da Nang, confirm the guide's license and the 48-hour advance booking before departure, and plan for weekend visits when motorbikes are banned from 16:00 and streets become pedestrian-only from 18:00 to 23:00.

Children under 16 are not charged the 150,000 VND combined ticket. For families tracking vietnam travel news ahead of the October 1, 2026 Hoi An entry changes, that single exemption removes the biggest ticket cost. Carry a passport for age verification at entry, because the same identification rule applies throughout the heritage core from 8:00 to 17:00. The ticket covers five heritage attractions, but you only need to book and pay for travelers aged 16 and over. Walk-up booths will remain open but may sell out, especially on weekends, so even families with free-entry children should plan around the online booking system.

Refunds have a narrow window. You can cancel at least 24 hours before the visit and receive a refund minus a 10% fee. Group tours booked 48 hours ahead use the same rule: cancel 24 hours before the visit, minus 10%. The current policy does not specify refunds for cancellations inside that 24-hour window, so treat the deadline as firm. If your plans change after that cutoff, assume the ticket cost is lost unless the official portal states otherwise.

The 5,000-person daily cap on the heritage core may be temporarily lifted during the Moon Lantern Festival and Tet, but no official exemption has been published. That means you should still book online in advance and not assume you can skip the cap. Day-trippers from Da Nang follow the same rules: the same 150,000 VND ticket, the same 5,000-person cap from 8:00 to 17:00, and the same 24-hour individual booking lead time. Arriving late afternoon can reduce ticket pressure, but it does not change the rules.

Because enforcement guidelines may be updated closer to October 1, 2026, confirm current details on the official Hoi An tourism portal at hoiantourism.vn or via the Hoi An Heritage app before you travel. The portal is the most reliable place to check exemptions for children, festivals, and Da Nang day trips, including any updates to the 10% refund fee or the festival cap suspension.

### Vietnam Travel News for Da Nang Day-Trippers: Same Rules, Better Timing

For Vietnam travel news from Da Nang, the update is blunt: from October 1, 2026, the Hoi An old town combined ticket costs 150,000 VND per person (up from 120,000 VND), and day-trippers are subject to the same online booking rules as visitors staying in Hoi An. Book individually through hoiantourism.vn or the “Hoi An Heritage” app at least 24 hours ahead. Tour groups need 48 hours. Walk-up ticket booths will still operate but can sell out, especially on weekends, so do not plan to buy on arrival.

Timing is the easiest lever for Da Nang-based travelers. Arrive before 10:00 or after 16:00 to avoid the busiest entry periods. The heritage core cap of 5,000 people is enforced from 8:00 to 17:00, so a late-afternoon entry after 16:00 puts you near the end of the capped window and positions you for the lantern-lit evening, when the cap lifts. Phan Chau Trinh and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai streets become fully pedestrian-only from 18:00 to 23:00; on weekends, motorbikes are banned from those streets starting at 16:00, so budget extra walking time if you ride from Da Nang.

Group day-trippers have tighter constraints. Self-guided groups are limited to 15 people, and larger tour groups must hire a licensed local guide. For any group booking, the 48-hour advance window applies. If your plans change, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the visit for a refund minus a 10% fee. Carry a passport for verification at the entry checkpoint.

For day-trippers, the late-afternoon option works well: lower ticket pressure, cooler streets, and the same 150,000 VND ticket covers five heritage attractions such as the Japanese Covered Bridge and Phuc Kien Assembly Hall. Confirm current details on the official Hoi An tourism portal before traveling, because enforcement guidelines may be updated closer to October 1, 2026.