A Hoi An lantern boat ride is a short row down the Hoai River (sông Hoài) after dark in a wooden rowing boat (ghe bơi), and it is sold in three different ways: at a ticket booth on the riverbank, by people calling out on the walkway, and through hotels and booking sites. The ride is a short row in a wooden boat each time, while the price and the way you buy it are not.
The fare, hours and rules below come from reports on how the booths work. The city's May 2026 check of motorboats and basket boats also found some visitors paying more through hotels. This guide sets these out, then covers the daytime boats on the Thu Bon River (sông Thu Bồn) that go to the craft villages.
How much a Hoi An lantern boat ride costs
Two people and a family of five at the same landing pay different totals, because the fare depends on how many sit in the boat. A Hoi An lantern boat ride on the Hoai River costs 170,000 VND (about US$6.5) for a boat with one to three people and 220,000 VND (about US$8.5) for four to five, and the ride lasts about 20 minutes, according to Tien Phong's March 12, 2025 report from the ticket booths.
Hoi An Day Trip says the ride lasts 15 minutes, while Tien Phong reported 20; the city's 2022 plan set 20 minutes, with a shorter ride on request but not under 15 minutes.
The Hoai River boat cooperative (hợp tác xã ghe bơi sông Hoài) sets those two tiers, and the fare is per boat, not per person. Hoi An Day Trip (updated November 2024), Good Morning Hoi An's lantern boat page (October 2025) and a VietAdvisor review with 2026 prices list the same two tiers for one to three and four to five people. Sources disagree on the tiers and on the date. A second Good Morning Hoi An page gives the tiers as one to two and three to four people. It also dates the 170,000 VND (about US$6.5) fare to July 2022, while Dan Tri reported that the tickets the city officially issued on July 15, 2022 cost 150,000 VND (about US$6) for one to three people and 200,000 VND (about US$8) for four to five. Tien Phong's 2025 figures are higher than the 2022 tickets.
| Detail | What to expect | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Boat with 1–3 people | 170,000 VND (about US$6.5) | Tien Phong, Mar 2025 |
| Boat with 4–5 people | 220,000 VND (about US$8.5) | Tien Phong, Mar 2025 |
| Length of ride | About 20 minutes | Tien Phong, Mar 2025 |
| Boats run | 4:00 pm to 9:30 pm | Tien Phong, Mar 2025 |
| Most people on board | 5, children included | Tien Phong, Mar 2025 |
| Paper lantern to float | Extra, about 5,000–20,000 VND (about US$0.20–0.79) | Travel guides, 2024–2026 |
The table gives the fares the booths were selling in March 2025, and the board at the booth is the reference on the night; no city notice dated 2026 that sets the fare was found on November 9, 2026. Another figure in the news is a different service: on May 13, 2026, Da Nang's tourism rapid-response team recorded Hoai River motorboats (thuyền máy) running trips of about 30 minutes at an average of 50,000 VND (about US$2) per person. The department's reply of May 29, 2026 does not say whether that count included the rowing boats, so the per-person figure and the per-boat tickets should not be set against each other. Vietnam Airlines' Hoai River guide (undated, 2025) lists wooden boats at about 50,000–100,000 VND (about US$2–4) per person and lantern boats at about 100,000 VND (about US$4) per person for about 30 minutes, with boats moored from 5:30 pm. That does not match the per-boat booth tickets, and no 2026 notice settles it.
Where to buy tickets and how to avoid paying more
This guide suggests buying at a booth on the riverbank, because the price is posted there. The city's 2022 plan had tickets issued at the stations of five designated boat teams, with mobile booths on the piers showing prices during fixed hours. Travel guides count five or six booths on both banks around An Hoi Bridge, on Bach Dang Street, on Nguyen Phuc Chu Street and near the entrance of the Hoi An night market, and they do not agree on the exact number. One guide, updated in November 2024, says the booths take Vietnamese dong only, in cash or by bank transfer from a Vietnamese account and not by credit card, and give you a paper ticket to hand to the uniformed boat manager at the landing.
The city's May 2026 check covered motorboats on the Hoai River and basket boats at the Bay Mau coconut forest, not the rowing-boat booths. It found that many of those businesses had not posted prices as required, that touts were still approaching visitors regularly, and that in some cases visitors who booked through a hotel paid more than the price charged directly at the service. The rowing boats' posted fare is the booth ticket, so this guide suggests three habits:
- Look for the board: one guide describes the booths as small kiosks with the rates printed on a board, and treats a per-person quote from someone on the walkway as a sign it is not an official booth.
- Keep the ticket: another guide says that if you get no ticket and see no queue, it could be a scam.
- Compare the unit: a booth sells a whole boat, so three people sharing 170,000 VND (about US$6.5) pay about US$2 each, while a booking-site listing may be priced per person, so check the unit.
On November 9, 2026, Google's US results listed a Hoai River ride ticket at US$5.39 on Klook and from US$7.54 on GetYourGuide. A listing is a different purchase from a booth ticket, so read what it includes, such as a lantern, and the time slot before paying.
When the boats run and how long the queue is
Pick your hour with the queue in mind, because the line, not the ride, is the long part of the evening. Tien Phong reported that boats start at 4:00 pm and stop taking passengers at 9:30 pm, that a seller at ticket team no. 1 said it sells about 150 tickets a night, and that weekend evenings, full-moon nights and holidays are the busiest. On that March 2025 evening a visitor from South Korea waited about half an hour in a line of several dozen people, and a visitor from Lam Dong said the wait was nearly twice the length of the ride.
One guide puts the busiest hours at about 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, and another says that going around 8:30 pm shortens the wait. Nights with extra crowds follow the lunar calendar: the old town's Legendary Night (Đêm phố cổ) falls on the 14th lunar night, which is November 22 and December 22, 2026, and on the 14th night of the first lunar month in 2025 the boats could not keep up and visitors queued. The Hoi An lantern festival guide lists the Legendary Night dates through 2027 and the first Hoi An International Lantern Festival on December 3–6, 2026.
Paper lanterns are sold by vendors along the riverbank, separate from the boat fare. Ask the price before you pay, then light the candle and set the lantern on the water.
Safety, rules and when boats stop
A calm river makes the ride easy, and a rising river changes it. Tien Phong reported the rules in force at the booths in March 2025.
Safety note: Each boat may carry no more than five passengers, children included, and life jackets are handed out once everyone is seated. This guide suggests putting yours on before the boat leaves the landing.
Two guides say toddlers are not counted or small children ride free, while Tien Phong's report counts children, so this guide suggests asking at the booth before buying for a family of five or more.
Rain and high water decide whether boats run at all. On October 22, 2025, many Hoai River operators stopped taking guests on their own because of heavy rain, with the river rising close to the bridges, according to VnExpress, and the river came over Bach Dang Street on October 26. One guide notes that boats are hand-rowed and stop in heavy rain or strong wind, and another says the water level decides whether the rider can take the boat under An Hoi Bridge, and that at low water passengers board by a staircase. The Da Nang rainy season guide sets out the 2025 floods month by month. In October and November, ask the hotel or the booth whether boats are running before you walk to the river.
Daytime boats on the Thu Bon River to Kim Bong and Thanh Ha
If you would rather see the river in daylight, boats leave from the same embankment for the craft villages across the Thu Bon River. One guide says most boats dock along the riverfront between the Le Loi crossroads and Hoi An Central Market, with fewer at the Nguyen Hoang boat station by the night market.
No official price list for these boats turned up, so the figures come from travel guides. One undated guide lists 400,000–600,000 VND (about US$16–23.5) per boat for each trip to Cam Kim, Kim Bong or Thanh Ha. Another, updated on October 21, 2025, lists 400,000 VND (about US$16) for two people to Cam Kim, 600,000 VND (about US$23.5) to Thanh Ha and 1,000,000 VND (about US$39.5) for both, with an hour of waiting included and 100,000 VND (about US$4) extra for the return. The guides give about 10 minutes to Kim Bong and Cam Kim and 15–20 minutes to Thanh Ha, and one says visitors must wear life vests.
A cheaper way to Cam Kim Island is the local ferry from the Bach Dang pier beside the market, which one 2026 guide says takes about 10 minutes and carries bicycles and motorbikes; it gives just "a few tens of thousands of dong" and no posted fare, so ask before you board. Two stops are worth planning around the hours:
- Kim Bong carpentry village (làng mộc Kim Bồng): the village charges no entry fee, according to a guide updated on September 22, 2026. Workshops usually open about 7:30–11:00 am and 2:00–5:00 pm, though the guide's summary box gives shorter hours, and a short hands-on carving class costs about 100,000–200,000 VND (about US$4–8).
- Thanh Ha pottery village (làng gốm Thanh Hà): two travel sites list entry at 35,000 VND (about US$1.5) for adults and 15,000 VND (about US$0.59) for children, one lists the hours as 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, and a pottery class at about 100,000–150,000 VND (about US$4–6).
Anantara Hoi An Resort sells a one-hour cruise on the Thu Bon River in a traditional-style boat, leaving at 10:30 am, 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm for a minimum of two people, with drinks and snacks included. Its page lists the cruise from US$38 per person with taxes and service charges included, asks for advance booking and charges the full amount for a cancellation within 24 hours of departure.
The round basket boats of the Bay Mau coconut forest in Cam Thanh are a separate trip with their own fares; see the Coconut Village guide. One guide says the lantern boat ride is not included in the old town entrance ticket; for what that ticket covers, see the Hoi An Ancient Town guide.
Sources and how we checked
We used dated press reports and the city government's own reply for the Hoai River boat fares, hours and rules, checked on November 9, 2026, and used travel guides only for the daytime Thu Bon River boats and for details no official page gives. We found no 2026 city notice that sets the Hoai River boat fare, no official water level at which the boats must stop, and no official price list for the Thu Bon River village boats. US dollar amounts use Vietcombank's transfer rate of 25,370 VND per US$ on November 9, 2026, rounded to the nearest cent below US$1, US$0.5 up to US$100, US$1 up to US$10,000 and US$1,000 above that. Booking-site prices in US dollars are shown as listed on November 9, 2026.
- Tien Phong (in Vietnamese): queues for the Hoi An boats (March 12, 2025).
- Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (in Vietnamese): reply on tourism complaints, covering the May 13, 2026 check (May 29, 2026).
- Dan Tri (in Vietnamese): fixed-price tickets for Hoai River boats (July 15, 2022). Van Hoa newspaper (in Vietnamese): ticket points and trip length (July 6, 2022). Dan Tri: crowds on the first full-moon night of 2025 (February 12, 2025).
- VnExpress (in Vietnamese): visitors wade through the old town (October 23, 2025) and flood reaches Hue and Hoi An (October 26, 2025).
- Travel guides: Hoi An Day Trip, lantern boat ride (updated November 2024) and Thu Bon River cruise (undated, 2024); Good Morning Hoi An, lantern boat ride (October 29, 2025) and boat rides (updated October 21, 2025); VietAdvisor review with 2026 prices; Vietnam Airlines guide to the Hoai River (in Vietnamese, undated, 2025); Hoianit on Kim Bong (in Vietnamese, September 22, 2026); Mia.vn on Thanh Ha (in Vietnamese) and the Vietnam Airlines guide to Thanh Ha (in Vietnamese, undated).
- Anantara Hoi An Resort: Thu Bon River cruise (checked November 9, 2026).
- Google search results in the United States for "hoi an lantern boat ride" (November 9, 2026).
- Photos: Danang Fantasticity, Khám phá Hội An qua những dòng sông (in Vietnamese, May 18, 2026, checked November 9, 2026); Anantara Hoi An Resort, Thu Bon River cruise page (undated, checked November 9, 2026).
Updated: November 13, 2026
