Hoi An Festivals 2026: Lantern Dates & What's On

By the Go-Da-Nang local team · Last updated June 2026

Hội An's signature Lantern Festival lights up the Ancient Town just once a lunar month: shops switch off their electric lights, silk lanterns glow over the river, and candle-lit boats drift past the Japanese Covered Bridge. Since the town became a ward of Da Nang City on 1 July 2025, it is an easy 45-minute evening trip from your Da Nang hotel. Below are the exact 2026 festival dates, what is on each lunar month, and how to time your visit to dodge the heaviest crowds.

One thing to get straight first: the festival falls on the 14th lunar night, the eve of the full moon (rằm), not on the full moon itself and not every night. Silk lanterns hang and glow over the river every evening of the year, but the official lights-off program, floating candles, and folk performances only happen on that one designated date each month.

2026 Hội An events at a glance

Lantern dates follow the lunar calendar and occasionally shift by a day in the official program, so reconfirm right before you go.

The Lantern (Full-Moon) Festival

Once a lunar month, the Ancient Town switches off its electric lights, hangs silk lanterns, and lets the river fill with floating candles. On a festival night the program runs roughly 6:00 to 10:00 PM, peaking around 7:00 to 9:00 PM, and motorbikes are barred from the core Old Town from about 5:30 PM. By dark, the lanes belong entirely to pedestrians. It is beautiful, and it is busy.

The 2026 nights are listed in the calendar above. Each is the eve of the full moon, so if you arrive on the calendar full-moon date itself you will have just missed the main program.

Which night to pick — and how to do it from Da Nang

If your dates are flexible, a weeknight festival like July 27 or August 26 is the sweet spot: the full lights-off program with noticeably thinner crowds than a weekend or the Mid-Autumn night on September 24, when the lanes near the Japanese Covered Bridge become a shoulder-to-shoulder shuffle by 8:00 PM. Even on a quiet night the core stays full, so arrive for the 6:00 PM opening to buy yourself space and far better photos.

Hội An is about 30 km or 45 minutes south of central Da Nang — see how to get from Da Nang to Hoi An for every option. A one-way Grab car runs roughly 220,000–350,000đ; hiring a private driver for the evening (a 5:30 PM drop-off and 9:30 PM pickup) costs about 500,000–800,000đ. Have your driver drop you near the An Hội bridge rather than deep in the Old Town, which is closed to vehicles, and leave by 9:15 PM or linger at a riverside café until about 9:45 PM to skip the exit crush.

Floating a lantern: boats and prices

The classic Hội An photo — a candle-lit paper lantern drifting on dark water — comes from a small wooden boat. You hire a hand-rowed sampan on the Hoài River (a branch of the Thu Bồn that runs through the Old Town), priced per boat by group size, not per person: expect roughly 150,000–220,000đ per boat for a 15–20 minute loop. The paper lanterns you float are sold separately by women along the bank for about 5,000–10,000đ each, and are almost never included. The best window is roughly 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

The first quote is often double the fair rate, especially on festival nights. Agree on the total price for the whole boat, the number of lanterns, and the ride length before you step in, and have small notes ready. A polite, smiling "no thanks" and a slow walk usually halves an inflated opening price — haggling here is completely normal.

Old Town entry ticket

Hội An sells a single Ancient Town ticket for around 120,000đ, bundling entry to a set number of heritage houses, museums, and assembly halls. It is officially required to enter the protected zone, and checks are tightest by day and on festival nights — though after dark, enforcement at the lane entrances is inconsistent. Buy it anyway to fund heritage upkeep and to actually visit the old houses.

Mid-Autumn (Tết Trung Thu) and Vu Lan

Two annual lunar festivals turn the usual lantern glow into something bigger, and both land in the second half of 2026.

Tết Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn) is the children's festival: kids carry star- and animal-shaped lanterns while lion-dance troupes drum through the streets and families share mooncakes. It falls on the 15th of the 8th lunar month, around the September 24–25 full moon in 2026. Because it sits right beside a lantern night, late September is one of the most festive times to visit.

Vu Lan, the festival of filial piety, falls on the 15th of the 7th lunar month, around late August 2026. Pagodas fill with people honoring their parents and ancestors, and you will see river-lantern releases for the departed. This is a moving, low-key occasion rather than a tourist show, so watch respectfully.

(For reference, Lunar New Year already passed for 2026 — it fell on 17 February — and the next Tết is in 2027. Hội An at Tết is quiet and beautifully decorated, but many shops and eateries close for several days.)

Mùng 1 and ngày rằm: the monthly rhythm

Beyond the big festival, locals observe two days every lunar month: mùng 1 (the new moon, first of the month) and ngày rằm (the full moon, the 15th — the night after each lantern festival). On both, people visit pagodas to burn incense and leave offerings — at the Chùa Cầu shrine in the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Quan Công Temple (Chùa Ông), and the older Chúc Thánh and Phước Lâm pagodas. Many wear áo dài, and the ăn chay (vegetarian) custom means a dedicated chay menu is easy to find. The rằm night itself is quieter than the 14th-night festival but still lantern-lit — a nicer option if you want the glow without the crush. Watch quietly and dress modestly at pagodas.

2026 dates (reconfirm against a Vietnamese lunar calendar, GMT+7):

• Mùng 1 (new moon) ≈ Jul 14, Aug 13, Sep 11, Oct 10, Nov 9, Dec 9
• Rằm (full moon, 15th) ≈ Jul 28, Aug 27, Sep 25, Oct 24, Nov 23, Dec 23

New Year's Eve and the Da Nang countdown

The bigger New Year's Eve party is in Da Nang, not Hội An. The Da Nang New Year Festival runs across several days in late December, roughly December 30 to January 3, building to a midnight countdown with fireworks over the river around the East Sea Park and Dragon Bridge area. The Old Town keeps its own low-key countdown with lanterns and music. If you want the big fireworks moment for NYE 2026 into 2027, base yourself in Da Nang and treat Hội An as an earlier-evening outing.

When to go: weather and flood season

Timing matters more in Hội An than almost anywhere else in central Vietnam, because the town regularly floods.

• Best weather (Feb–Apr): dry, pleasant evenings — the prime window for a lantern night.
• Hot months (May–Aug): hot and humid by day but mostly dry at night; overlaps the DIFF fireworks season in Da Nang.
• Rainy season (Sep/Oct–Dec): wet, with October usually the wettest month. Hội An sits on a low river delta, and in October and November flooding can submerge the riverside streets and wash out a lantern night entirely.

If your trip falls in October or November, do not lock in a specific lantern night far ahead. Check the forecast and message your hotel a couple of days before — they will know if the river is rising. For the bigger seasonal picture, see the best time to visit Da Nang.

Things to do in Hoi An at night

You do not need a festival night to enjoy Hội An after dark. The An Hội Night Market runs along Nguyễn Hoàng Street, across the "Bridge of Lights" from the Ancient Town, roughly 5:00 PM to 10:00 or 11:00 PM (busiest from 7:00 PM), with silk lanterns, street food, and souvenirs (bargain on lanterns; food prices are fixed). The Old Town core is car-free during set evening windows, so any weekday evening still gives you lantern-lit lanes with room to breathe.

If you have more time, two add-ons round out the trip: bài chòi, the UNESCO-listed sung-verse folk game played at an open-air stage on the An Hội riverfront most weekend and full-moon evenings (~20,000–25,000đ a card); and the Hội An Memories Show, a large outdoor history spectacle on Hoi An Impression Island (tickets roughly 600,000–1,200,000đ; usually dark on Tuesdays). By day, the Cẩm Thanh "coconut village" basket-boat ride is a fun, family-friendly outing about 5 km away — note it is a daytime activity, not the evening lantern boat.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Hội An lantern festival on every night? No. The full lights-off Lantern Festival happens once per lunar month, on the 14th lunar night. The lanterns themselves are lit over the river every evening, so an ordinary night still looks beautiful — but the official program is a once-a-month event.

What are the 2026 lantern-festival dates? The remaining 2026 nights are approximately Jun 28, Jul 27, Aug 26, Sep 24, Oct 23, Nov 22, and Dec 22 — each the eve of the full moon. Reconfirm against the official Hội An program before you travel.

Do I have to pay to enter the Old Town on a festival night? There is a single Ancient Town ticket of about 120,000đ covering a set of heritage houses and museums. It is officially required, but evening enforcement is loose. Buy it anyway to support heritage upkeep.

How much do the boat ride and floating lanterns cost? A hand-rowed sampan is about 150,000–220,000đ per boat for a 15–20 minute loop, and paper lanterns are roughly 5,000–10,000đ each, usually sold separately. Agree on the total and haggle politely before boarding.

Can I do Hội An as an evening trip from Da Nang? Yes — it is about 45 minutes by car. Head down in the late afternoon, arrive around 5:30–6:00 PM for the car-free evening window, and head back by about 9:30 PM. You can slot it into your 3-day itinerary as an evening activity.

What is the difference between Mid-Autumn and the monthly lantern festival? The monthly Lantern Festival recurs on the 14th lunar night every lunar month. Tết Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn) is a single annual children's festival on the 15th of the 8th lunar month — around September 24–25 in 2026 — with lion dances and mooncakes. They fall close together in 2026, which is why people conflate them.

Is it safe to visit in October or November flood season? Hội An itself is safe, but flooding can wash out a lantern night and submerge riverside streets in October and November. Do not lock in a specific night far ahead; check the forecast and ask your hotel a couple of days before.

Planning your Hội An night from Da Nang

The simplest plan: pick a weekday evening for room to breathe, or a 14th-lunar night if you want the full festival. Get a driver to drop you near the An Hội bridge around 5:30–6:00 PM, walk the lanes as the lanterns come on, float a lantern from a sampan around 7:00–8:00 PM, browse the night market, and head back by 9:30 PM.

From here, slot a lantern night into your 3-day itinerary or browse more things to do around Da Nang. If your dates land in summer, check out the DIFF fireworks (the other big regional event) back in the city. Give Hội An a full evening rather than a rushed hour — the lanterns are always worth lingering over.

Image credits

• Photo by VANNGO Ng on Pexels
• Photo by Võ Văn Tiến on Pexels
• Photo by Son Tung Tran on Pexels
• Photo by Fernando B M on Pexels