Worst Time to Visit

Worst time to visit Hoi An

The worst time to visit Hoi An is October, when 656mm of rain pushes the Thu Bon River over its banks and floods the UNESCO Old Town almost every year.

BestMarch27° / 22° · 85mm
AvoidOctober28° / 24° · 656mm
NowOctober28° / 24° · Avoid
Colorful lantern-lit streets of Hội An, Vietnam, bustling with life and culture in the evening
By
Institutional byline · Updated

October is the genuine worst month — Old Town floods almost every year

Hoi An's Ancient Town — the UNESCO-listed riverside district that's the entire reason most people visit — sits low along the Thu Bồn river. October peak typhoon rainfall (well over 600mm) routinely floods the streets, sometimes to knee-deep or higher. Locals literally row boats through the Old Town during severe events. It's an iconic image but a brutal planning constraint.

Major floods have hit in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. The pattern is well-established and worth planning around.

What flooding actually means for visitors

  • Old Town shops, tailors, lantern artists close for the duration
  • Riverside restaurants and bars shut
  • The famous nightly lantern lighting cancels
  • Some hotels in the Old Town are inaccessible without wading
  • Boat tours on the river get suspended
  • An Bang and Cua Dai beaches close to swimmers (rip currents intensify)

Higher-ground hotels in the An Bang beach area or out toward the rice fields stay accessible during most events. Worth choosing those if your dates fall in the wet window.

The September–November pattern

September is the start of wet season build-up — rain is heavy but flooding rarely hits Old Town yet. October is when typhoon-driven rain combines with river levels rising to flood the historic district. November sees one or two late-season storms before the wet season ends.

If your dates are locked

  • Late November — typhoon risk dropping fast, dry season asserting itself by month end. Worth the gamble.
  • Stay at the beach — An Bang / Cua Dai hotels are above flood level. Day-trip into the Old Town when accessible.
  • Reroute to Hanoi + Halong Bay — the north dries out in October while central Vietnam is still flooding.

For the full positive picture, see our best time to visit Hoi An guide.

The year at a glance

Twelve months, three seasons

Each cell is one month. Lemon means peak, sky means shoulder, gray means avoid. The outlined cell is the current month.

Peak seasonShoulderAvoid

Atlas Ranger Score · proprietary

When Hoi An scores best, month by month

Our transparent 0–100 score blends weather comfort, crowds, value and festivals into one number per month. How it's calculated →

59/100Goodannual average
  • Best monthMarch 81
  • Best valueJanuary 70 off-peak
  • ToughestOctober 46
70Jan88Feb81★Mar71Apr60May50Jun51Jul48Aug42Sep46Oct51Nov52Dec

See how Hoi An ranks against every destination on the Best Time to Travel leaderboard →

Explore the map

Every city, every month

Drag the month scrubber, hover any city, read the headline for that window.

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Conditions right now

Right now in Hoi An: 26°C, rain showers, air quality good (US AQI 49), sea 30°C.

Feels like30°C
Humidity89%
Wind14 km/h
UV index2 Low
Air quality49 Good
Sea temp30°C
Today⛈️26° 24°100%
Thu⛈️26° 24°100%
Fri🌦️28° 24°99%
Sat⛈️28° 23°100%
Sun⛈️26° 24°98%

Updated Oct 7, 9:15 AM · Live data from Open-Meteo

Vietnam vs Nearby Destinations

vs Da Nang

Visit both — they're 30 minutes apart and complement each other. Pick Da Nang as your beach + infrastructure base; pick Hoi An for the lantern-lit UNESCO Old Town atmosphere and tailoring scene. Most travelers split nights between the two rather than choosing.

vs Hue

Hue is the former imperial capital, 2 hours north of Hoi An via the spectacular Hai Van Pass. Pick Hue for imperial history, Citadel ruins, and royal tombs. Pick Hoi An for atmosphere, beaches, and tailors. Together they make a strong central Vietnam loop with Da Nang as the airport hub.

Airport transfers, money, water, connectivity and which areas to stay in are covered once, on the Hoi An best-time guide.

Vietnam in pictures

A family in traditional Vietnamese attire poses by the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge in Hội An.
Tailor making precise adjustments to a client's suit in a modern, stylish atelier.
A fisherman casts his net at sunset on the waters of Hội An, Vietnam, showcasing traditional fishing practices.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best month to visit Hoi An?
March is the single best month to visit Hoi An. Daytime highs around 27°C, low humidity, only 85mm of rainfall, and 10 hours of sun per day. The lantern-lit Old Town glows in the soft late-afternoon light, beaches at An Bang are at their best, and the cycling routes through Tra Que vegetable village are at peak greenery.
What is the worst month to visit Hoi An?
October is by a wide margin the worst month to visit Hoi An. Average rainfall hits 656mm — nearly eight times the dry-season norm of ~84mm — and the Thu Bon River regularly overflows. The UNESCO Old Town floods, with many shops setting up wooden walkways or closing entirely. Typhoon landfall on the central Vietnamese coast is most common in October.
When is the rainy season in Hoi An?
Hoi An's rainy season runs September through December, peaking sharply in October (656mm). Monthly rainfall jumps from 140mm in August to 368mm in September and 656mm in October, then tapers to 399mm in November and 413mm in December. The Thu Bon River flooding routinely affects the Old Town October–November. The dry season begins in February.
How many days do you need in Hoi An?
2–3 days is the sweet spot for Hoi An itself — enough for the Ancient Town walking tour, a lantern-lit evening, a cooking class, a tailor visit, and a day trip to An Bang Beach or My Son ruins. Most travelers combine Hoi An with Da Nang (30 minutes north) for 5–6 days total in central Vietnam, often adding Hue (2 hours further north).
Is Hoi An safe for tourists?
Hoi An is one of Vietnam's safest destinations — low violent crime, well-developed tourist infrastructure, and a compact walkable Old Town. Standard precautions apply: secure valuables on bicycles (the standard rental), watch for occasional pickpockets in the Old Town crowd peaks, and respect riptide flags at An Bang Beach during rough surf months.
Should I visit Hoi An or Da Nang?
Visit both — they're 30 minutes apart and complement each other. Pick Hoi An if you prefer atmosphere over amenities — the lantern-lit UNESCO Old Town is one of Vietnam's defining experiences, and the tailoring scene is world-class. Pick Da Nang as your beach + budget-hotel base. Most travelers split nights: 2 in Hoi An for atmosphere, 2 in Da Nang for the beach and infrastructure.
When is the cheapest time to visit Hoi An?
September through November sees the lowest hotel rates — wet season pushes prices to year-round lows. The catch is heavy rain and Old Town flooding. The smarter price-to-experience tradeoff is June through August: hot but dry mornings, 30% lower rates than the dry-season peak, and reliable Old Town and beach access. The actual cheapest window (October) coincides with the worst weather.

Keep planning

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Sources

Every claim on this page is backed by an authoritative source. Atlas Ranger synthesizes data from multiple references so you can see exactly where each fact came from.

  1. Vietnam National Administration of TourismUsed for: Official tourism guidance, festival timing, regional travel intel
  2. Open-Meteo Historical Climate Data (ERA5)Used for: Monthly temperature, rainfall, sunshine averages (2020–2024)
  3. U.S. State Department Vietnam Travel AdvisoryUsed for: Independent safety assessment + entry requirement reference
  4. UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Hoi An Ancient TownUsed for: UNESCO World Heritage status, Old Town conservation criteria, integrity records