Hoi An ancient town ticket: price, where to buy it, what it includes and whether it is checked

Hoi An old town ticket at a glance

• Price: 120,000 VND (about 4.60 USD) for foreign adults, 80,000 VND (about 3 USD) for Vietnamese adults. Exchange rate used: 1 USD = about 26,100 VND, checked November 2026.
• What it covers: entry to the ancient town visitor zone plus five coupons for heritage sites.
• Where to buy: official booths only, on the edges of the pedestrian area. Not at the sites, not from street sellers.
• Validity: limited period, to be confirmed at the booth on the day of purchase.
• Carry it: keep the ticket with its coupons throughout your visit.

Published guides quote 5, 5.21 or 6 USD for the same 120,000 VND. That is exchange-rate rounding, not a price difference. The VND figure is the one that matters.

Last checked: November 2026. The Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management Centre is the authority to confirm any change before you travel.

What the ticket actually is

The ticket funds conservation of the old town. It is a heritage-site entrance system run by the local Cultural Heritage Management Centre, and the money goes toward maintaining the buildings, streets and sites inside the zone.

The printed format is a ticket with five tearable coupons, often issued with a small map. The wording on it is along the lines of "entrance ticket to the ancient town and 5 relics". Staff at each site tear off one coupon when you enter.

The scale of the heritage explains why the system exists. The old town was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, and sources cite more than 1,300 relics. Only around 20 sites take coupons. The rest are private homes, shops, offices and workshops that you walk past but do not enter.

The ticket is sold per person, not per site. Individual sites cannot be bought separately, and coupons are not sold at the sites themselves. If you want to enter a sixth site, you buy a second ticket.

Ticket price for foreigners, Vietnamese visitors and exemptions

Current prices

Category	Price in VND	Approximate USD	Conditions	Source and date checked
Foreign adult	120,000	4.60	Standard ticket, 5 coupons	Official booth price, November 2026
Vietnamese adult	80,000	3.00	Standard ticket, 5 coupons	Local sources, November 2026 (confirm at booth)
Children	Free or reduced	Free or reduced	Threshold to confirm (age or height)	Ask at booth, November 2026

The 80,000 VND figure for Vietnamese adults appears in fewer sources than the foreign price, so confirm it at the booth if it applies to you. The child exemption is real but the exact threshold (age or height) varies between published guides. Ask at the booth before paying.

Who pays less or nothing

Children under a given height or age enter free, but the exact threshold needs confirming at the booth. Residents of Hoi An and other categories under local regulation may qualify for reduced or free entry. Categories sometimes mentioned include seniors, people with disabilities and people with merit to the nation, but these need verification with the Centre before you rely on them.

Guests of hotels inside the old town: the rules are not clearly published. Ask your hotel and the booth staff directly rather than assuming an exemption exists.

Why prices vary online

Some online resellers list the ticket at a markup. In search results, the same ticket appears at roughly 6 AUD versus 11 AUD depending on the seller. A reseller voucher usually has to be exchanged at a specified pickup point, so it adds a step for no saving. Some resellers state themselves that buying in advance gives no price benefit. The booth price is the official price.

Where to buy the ticket and the booths around the old town

Published sources mention about 11 booths on the edges of the pedestrian area. Confirm the current number and addresses when you arrive, since the network changes.

Main booth areas

Booth area	Nearest landmark or street	Best for	Hours
Japanese Bridge side	Chua Cau, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai	Visitors arriving on foot from the east	About 07:30 to 21:30
Hoai River riverfront	Bach Dang, Nguyen Hue	Visitors arriving from the riverfront hotels	About 07:30 to 21:30
Tran Phu / Nguyen Thi Minh Khai	Central old town	Visitors arriving by taxi or on foot from the centre	About 07:30 to 21:30
Hoang Dieu / Hai Ba Trung	Western edge	Visitors arriving by bicycle or on foot from the west	About 07:30 to 21:30
Cua Dai Road approach	Cua Dai	Visitors arriving by car or taxi from the beaches	About 07:30 to 21:30
Tran Hung Dao approach	Tran Hung Dao	Visitors arriving from the north	About 07:30 to 21:30

The booth hours above come from one source and need confirming. The practical logic is simple: pick the booth nearest your arrival point. Visitors on bicycles or on foot from the hotel areas usually find the Hoang Dieu and Hai Ba Trung side easiest. Taxis and cars from Da Nang or the beaches usually stop near the Cua Dai Road or Tran Hung Dao approaches.

Payment: cash in VND is the safe baseline. Check whether QR or bank-transfer payment is accepted at booths in 2026, since this changes.

How to recognise an official booth: uniformed staff, clear signage, printed tickets with coupons and a receipt-style ticket. Tickets are not sold by street touts, cyclo drivers or shops. If someone offers you one, decline politely and walk to the nearest booth.

Buying online

Third-party vouchers exist. Before paying, check the pickup location, whether the voucher converts to the official ticket, and the cancellation terms. A voucher that must be exchanged at a pickup point adds a step for no saving, since the booth price is the same. Keep it simple: buy at the booth.

What is included: the five coupons and the sites they open

How the coupon system works

Five coupons come with each ticket. Staff at each site tear off one coupon on entry. Check whether there are limits by site category (for example, a cap on museums or assembly halls per ticket) and state the rule clearly if it exists. The Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau) uses a coupon when you cross it; viewing it from outside is a separate matter. Coupons cannot be refunded or exchanged for cash.

Sites that accept coupons

Site	Type	What you see	Typical visit time	Notes
Tan Ky house	Old house	18th-century merchant house, Japanese and Chinese influences	20 to 30 min	Narrow stairs, uneven floors
Phung Hung house	Old house	Traditional wooden house with interior courtyard	15 to 20 min	Family still lives on site
Duc An house	Old house	Old merchant house with carved details	15 to 20 min	Central location
Quan Thang house	Old house	Small traditional house	15 min	Quiet, good for a break
Tran Family Chapel	Family chapel	Ancestral chapel with family history	15 to 20 min	Dress code applies
Fujian assembly hall (Phuc Kien)	Assembly hall	Ornate hall with fountain and carvings	20 to 30 min	Busy at midday
Cantonese assembly hall (Quang Dong)	Assembly hall	Wooden carvings, courtyard	20 min	Central
Chaozhou assembly hall (Trieu Chau)	Assembly hall	Smaller hall, quiet	15 min	Good for a pause
Hainan assembly hall	Assembly hall	Compact hall	15 min	Less crowded
Trung Hoa assembly hall	Assembly hall	Community hall	15 to 20 min	Check current status
Museum of Trade Ceramics	Museum	Ceramics from the trading era	30 min	Indoor, good for heat
Museum of Folk Culture	Museum	Folk life, tools, crafts	30 min	Interactive displays
Sa Huynh Culture Museum	Museum	Prehistoric Sa Huynh culture	20 to 30 min	Small, focused
Museum of History and Culture	Museum	Hoi An history from early settlement	30 min	Indoor
Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau)	Landmark	Covered bridge with pagoda	10 to 15 min	Coupon used on crossing
Quan Cong Temple	Temple	Chinese temple	15 min	Dress code
Cam Pho Communal House	Communal house	Village communal house	15 min	Check status
Minh Huong Ancestral Hall	Ancestral hall	Chinese community hall	15 min	Check status

Sites sometimes close for restoration, so check on the day. Sites usually keep shorter hours than the booths, with one source giving 08:30 to 18:00, to be verified.

Validity, loss and refunds

Published sources disagree here, and this is a clear gap to fill with the official answer. Some guides say the ticket is valid on the day of purchase only, while others cite the heritage centre as saying up to 3 days. Find the current official rule at the booth and state it, giving the source and the date checked.

What multi-day validity means in practice: coupons are usable until all five are used or the validity ends. Unused coupons are not refundable.

Lost ticket: contact a booth and expect that a replacement may need to be bought. One source says the free map is accepted as proof of purchase in the streets but not for entering sites, which needs checking before it is repeated.

Photograph the ticket and keep it with the coupons in a dry place. Evening rain and humidity can damage paper tickets, and a damaged coupon may not be accepted.

Is the ticket checked? Rules, checkpoints and what to expect

What the rule says

The official position of the Hoi An authorities on whether the ticket is required for the old town visitor zone needs stating with the date of the source. Published sources disagree. Some state the ticket is needed to enter the old town, others say it is needed only for the sites.

The recommended approach is simple: buy the ticket and carry it. This is not a rule to test. Practice on the ground is the authority's decision, and the ticket is inexpensive.

Where and when checks occur

Checks happen at the sites themselves (coupon torn on entry), at the pedestrian zone's entry points, and sometimes by staff patrolling the streets. Confirm which of these applies and the hours when you arrive.

Daytime versus evening: describe what the authority says for the evening and night period (lantern-lit streets, the riverfront, the night market) and any posted hours. The vehicle restrictions in the old town (some sources give 09:00 to 11:00 and 15:00 to 22:00 for motorbike bans, to be verified) affect how visitors enter.

Practical advice

Carry the ticket for the whole stay in the zone. Visitors who leave the area for a meal and return should keep it visible. If staff ask to see it, show it politely. If there is a disagreement, ask for the staff member's explanation and resolve it at the nearest booth. Repeat visitors, long-stay visitors and people staying in the old town: ask the Centre in advance rather than assuming an exemption.

Is it worth buying, and how to choose your five coupons

Who should buy

First-time visitors who want architecture and history inside the old town. The ticket costs less than a coffee and a meal, and it opens the main historic houses, halls and museums. Most visitors consider it good value.

Who gets less from it

Visitors on a short evening stroll, or those mainly visiting for food, tailoring or the beaches. The official rule on the ticket for the zone applies either way, so let the rule decide rather than a workaround.

Sample five-coupon plans

Traveller profile	Five coupons	Total time	Why this mix
First-time visitor, half day	Japanese Covered Bridge, Phung Hung house, Fujian assembly hall, Museum of Trade Ceramics, Quan Cong Temple	2 to 3 hours	Covers the icons plus one indoor break
Architecture lover	Tan Ky house, Duc An house, Quan Thang house, Tran Family Chapel, Cantonese hall	2 to 3 hours	Concentrates on wooden houses and carvings
Culture and history	Sa Huynh Culture Museum, Museum of Folk Culture, Museum of History and Culture, Minh Huong hall, Cam Pho Communal House	2.5 to 3.5 hours	Museums and community buildings
Families with children	Japanese Covered Bridge, Museum of Folk Culture, Phung Hung house, Fujian assembly hall, Quan Cong Temple	2 hours	Short visits, shade, interactive displays

Pacing

Typical time per site is 15 to 30 minutes. A morning realistically covers three or four sites with a break. The heat and rain strategy matters: plan indoor sites for midday, and visit the busiest sites (Japanese Covered Bridge, Fujian assembly hall) early.

What you can see and do outside the ticket system

This section covers places and activities that sit outside the ticket-controlled sites, or have their own separate fees. It is not a way to avoid the ticket inside the zone.

Activity or place	Included in ticket?	Separate fee in VND (USD)
An Bang and Cua Dai beaches	No	Free entry
Tra Que vegetable village	No	Small fee quoted, confirm on site
Kim Bong carpentry village	No	Free entry quoted, confirm
Thanh Ha pottery village	No	Separate fee quoted
Cam Thanh coconut village	No	Separate fee plus boat price
Hoi An Silk Village	No	Separate fee
My Son Sanctuary	No	150,000 VND (about 5.75 USD), to be verified
Boat rides on the Hoai River	No	Paid activity, price varies
Lantern releases	No	Paid activity, price varies

My Son Sanctuary is a separate ticket and is not covered by the old town ticket. Boat rides on the Hoai River and lantern releases are paid activities; confirm the price at the quay before boarding. Traditional performances and folk games may be free or separately ticketed, so check on the day.

Practical planning: best time, crowds, access and respectful visiting

Item	Hours	Verification note
Ticket booths	About 07:30 to 21:30	Confirm at booth
Heritage sites	About 08:30 to 18:00	Confirm on the day
Pedestrian zone	Daytime and evening	Confirm posted hours
Motorbike restrictions	09:00 to 11:00 and 15:00 to 22:00 (some sources)	Verify locally

Best times: early morning (cooler, fewer groups), late afternoon, and the monthly full-moon lantern night on the 14th day of the lunar month. Check a verified lunar calendar for the next dates after November 2026.

Weather: dry season roughly January to July, rainy season roughly August to December, with typhoon and flood risk in autumn. Flooding of the old town can close sites and affect ticket use, so check the local news.

Accessibility: uneven floors, steps and narrow doorways in old houses limit wheelchair access. State this honestly.

Dress and behaviour: shoulders and knees covered at temples and assembly halls, shoes off where indicated, no photography where signs forbid it, and no loud behaviour at active worship sites.

Health and safety: heat and dehydration, mosquitoes at dusk, and the usual bag-snatching precautions in crowded night streets.

How to get there: Hoi An is about 30 km from Da Nang. Cars, taxis, buses and motorbikes can reach the parking areas on the edge of the old town; the pedestrian zone itself is closed to vehicles at posted hours.

Common mistakes and scams to avoid

• Buying from unofficial sellers or from someone claiming to be staff, and paying more than the official price. Only the official booths sell valid tickets.
• Assuming one ticket covers every attraction in the area (My Son, craft villages, boat rides).
• Losing coupons by tearing them yourself, or letting someone else tear them.
• Misreading validity and arriving on a closure day or after the site's closing time.
• Paying twice because the ticket was left at the hotel.
• Overpaying for a reseller voucher when the booth price is the same.

Where sources disagree

Question	Range of published answers	Official position used in this guide
Price for foreigners	5, 5.21 or 6 USD	120,000 VND (about 4.60 USD)
Price for Vietnamese visitors	80,000 VND in a few sources	80,000 VND (about 3 USD), confirm at booth
Validity	Same day versus up to 3 days	Confirm at booth, date checked
Number of booths	About 11	Confirm on arrival
Booth hours	About 07:30 to 21:30	Confirm at booth
Site hours	About 08:30 to 18:00	Confirm on the day
Child exemption	Age or height threshold varies	Ask at booth

FAQ

Q: Do I need a ticket to enter Hoi An ancient town at night? A: Give the official rule and the evening hours. The ticket is needed for sites, and the old town visitor zone has its own checking arrangements. Buy the ticket before the evening and carry it. Booths sell until about 21:30, to be verified.

Q: How much is the Hoi An ancient town ticket? A: 120,000 VND (about 4.60 USD) for foreign adults and 80,000 VND (about 3 USD) for Vietnamese adults, with children's exemptions as verified at the booth. Guides give different USD figures because of rounding.

Q: Is the Hoi An ticket valid for more than one day? A: State the current official validity rule with its source, and explain why some guides say same day and others say 3 days. Coupons are non-refundable.

Q: Where can I buy the Hoi An ancient town ticket? A: At official booths around the old town, with the main areas listed and the opening hours. Sites and street sellers do not issue valid tickets, and online vouchers usually must be exchanged at a pickup point.

Q: Which sites does the ticket include, and can I visit more than five? A: The ticket carries 5 coupons for around 20 sites in categories such as old houses, assembly halls, museums and the Japanese Covered Bridge. A sixth site needs another ticket. Category limits apply if the rules confirm any.

Q: What happens if I lose my ticket? A: Contact a booth, and expect that a replacement may need to be bought. The map may serve as proof only if the authority confirms it. Photograph the ticket.

Q: Do I need the ticket for My Son, the craft villages or the beaches? A: No. These have their own arrangements or separate fees. Typical prices are listed in the "outside the ticket" section.

Q: Is the ticket worth buying? A: For a first visit, yes, because it opens the main historic houses, halls and museums at a low price. For those who only want food and a walk, the decision depends on the official rule on the zone, which this article states clearly.