With a week you can treat Hoi An as a home rather than a stop. This itinerary uses the town as a base for the best of Central Vietnam, mixing active days with slow ones so you finish rested rather than tired.
Day 1: Arrival
Arrive via Da Nang and transfer to your hotel. Rest, then take an evening walk through the Ancient Town and along the river.
Day 2: Ancient Town in depth
Explore the heritage sites early: the Japanese Covered Bridge, merchant houses, assembly halls and a museum. Visit a tailor, linger in a cafe during the midday heat, and return to the lantern-lit streets after dark.
Day 3: Villages by bicycle
Ride to Tra Que vegetable village, join a cooking class, and take a basket boat through the water coconut palms of Cam Thanh in the afternoon.
Day 4: My Son Sanctuary and craft villages
Leave at sunrise for My Son, the temple complex of the ancient Champa kingdom and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the afternoon, visit Thanh Ha pottery village and the Kim Bong carpentry village across the river.
Day 5: Cham Islands or a beach day
In the calmer months, roughly March to August, speedboats cross from Cua Dai to the Cham Islands for snorkelling, quiet beaches and a seafood lunch. Outside that season, or if you prefer to stay on land, spend the day at An Bang or Binh Minh Beach.
Day 6: Da Nang and the Marble Mountains
Drive north to the Marble Mountains, continue to Son Tra Peninsula for the Lady Buddha, and have lunch by My Khe Beach. Travellers who want a mountain day can swap this for Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge.
Day 7: Hue over the Hai Van Pass
Make a long day trip, or better an overnight extension, to Hue. The road climbs the Hai Van Pass with wide views over the coast, then descends past Lang Co lagoon. In Hue, visit the Imperial City and one of the royal tombs before returning or flying onward.
How to adapt this plan
- With children: shorten the Hue day or replace it with a second beach day.
- In the rainy season (September to December): expect some days to be lost to rain and keep the island and mountain trips flexible.
- Around the full moon: plan to be in town on the 14th lunar day for the lantern festival.
- Staying longer: add Phong Nha’s caves, north of Hue, for two or three more days.
