Hoi An Lantern Festival

Immerse yourself in the traditional beauty of the old town.

Hoi An Lantern Festival leaves a deep impression in the hearts of tourists from afar. That’s when the old town becomes brilliant under the lights and buzzing with wishes for good luck on the full moon night.

1. Hoi An Lantern Festival has a unique cultural imprint

1.1 When did the Hoi An Lantern Festival appear for the first time?
Hoi An Lantern Festival is held on the 14th and 15th of the lunar month, also known as the full moon day. On these days, the streets of Hoi An become shimmering and fanciful with hundreds of lanterns hanging high. On Hoai River, visitors will be able to manually drop beautiful and colorful lanterns into the water, creating a very romantic scene.

The Lantern Festival has been held in Hoi An since 1998. Up to now, this activity has attracted many tourists as well as become a unique cultural feature here. Pocket more Hoi An travel experiences are extremely useful for the journey to visit this land to be the most complete and memorable.

1.2. Where does the Hoi An lantern festival take place?
Hoi An Lantern Festival is held on the Hoai River, located peacefully in the heart of the old town. This is also a river associated with many activities and cultures of the people here. Hoai River is inherently calm and peaceful, but on the nights of the full moon, this place will become more bustling and poetic because hundreds of visitors flock to send their wishes to the colorful lanterns.

1.3. What does the lantern festival in Hoi An mean?
Dropping lanterns in Hoi An is a beauty in the spiritual culture of the people of the old town in particular and of the Vietnamese people in general. The activity of releasing lights is considered to bring health and fortune to people. When the lights are dropped, it means lighting up the hope for a future full of luck and peace for the family and loved ones. This is the festival in Hoi An that is most anticipated by tourists.

2. When is the time to release the lanterns?

If you want to participate in the most beautiful Hoi An lantern festival, you should come in the dry season, from March to September. This is the time when the weather in Hoi An is the most pleasant, with few clouds and no rain. If you can’t arrange it on the full moon days, you can also come on Saturday – the time when everyone participates in releasing lanterns on the Hoai River.

3. How to participate in the lantern festival in Hoi An?

Before participating in the lantern festival, visitors can walk around the streets, watching the bright and colorful lanterns. Hoi An lanterns appear everywhere. You will find an idyllic, warm, and quaint place. Standing on the bridge over the river, visitors can see the whole scene of the lantern festival or can also directly take a boat trip on the river to immerse themselves in the festival.

4. Experience releasing lanterns on the river in Hoi An

To participate in the Lantern Festival, buy small lanterns for 5,000 – 10,000 VND each sold along the banks of Hoi An Hoai River. After buying, you can choose to drop the lights from the shore or just go sailing and drop the lanterns. At the end of the festival, visitors can explore Hoi An specialties on the streets.