An egg, pate and cheese banh mi at a riverside table in the eveningA small wooden boat with lanterns on the Hoai River at nightA hand setting a paper lantern on the river at night

Private & tailor-made · 1–4 guests

Hoi An Evening Food Tour: All Day Banh Mi, Chicken Rice and a Lantern Boat

The evening on the river: an egg, pâté and cheese loaf at All Day Banh Mi with a view of the water, Hoi An chicken rice, crisp pancakes rolled in rice paper, a private lantern boat on the Hoai and a sticky-rice sweet to finish. One of four private food tours, each built around a different famous banh mi shop, with no other dish repeated. Every dish, the boat and the Old Town ticket are paid before you travel.

A sample evening at a glance

1Hotel pickupAnywhere in Hoi An2All Day Banh MiEgg, pâté & cheese banh mi, one each3Chicken riceCom ga Hoi An4Pancakes & grilled porkBanh xeo & rice-paper rolls5Lantern boat & night marketA private boat on the Hoai6Sweet finishBanh xoai & sugarcane juice7Back at your hotelAbout 4 hours door to door

What changes when the evening is yours

A private car for your group alone

Private, 1-4 guests, and nobody outside your party is added to it. It brings you in from your hotel and takes you back; in between you walk, since the Old Town lanes are closed to cars.

Your own licensed local guide

A Hoi An local, fluent in English, who knows which kitchens are worth the evening crowds and explains each dish — to your group alone, not twenty strangers

Collected at your own hotel

Anywhere in Hoi An, An Bang and Cua Dai included. No meeting point to find on your own in the evening crowds

Every dish, ticket and boat prepaid

The Old Town ticket, the lantern boat and everything on the menu are covered. Nothing is collected from you at any gate, stall or jetty

No shop stops, in writing

No detour to a tailor, lantern or souvenir shop that pays to have you delivered

A menu rebuilt around you

No pork, no chili, a peanut allergy, children who are asleep by nine: tell us and the guide rebuilds the menu and the timing before the day

Duration

About 4 hours

Departure

5:00 pm pickup

Pickup

Any Hoi An hotel

from · $58 · / personCheck your price ›

Choose your group size · price is the total for the group

Solo traveller$135  BOOK →2 guests$165  BOOK →3 guests$195  BOOK →4 guests$230  BOOK →

Free cancellation up to 3 days before · every tour tailored on request

The evening, stop by stop

This is a sample evening: add, skip or linger over any stop and we will adjust it. The boat is timed for after dark, whenever that falls in the season.

From your hotel · 5:00 pm pickup · anywhere in Hoi An · short drive to the river, then on foot

All Day Banh Mi

About 30 minutes · seated by the river · 25 Cong Nu Ngoc Hoa

Banh mi stop · All Day Banh MiWhat you’ll eat · an egg, pâté & cheese banh mi each
A banh mi with two fried eggs, pate and cheese cut open
A table with a banh mi looking out over the Thu Bon River at dusk
Two eggs frying side by side on a griddle
Fresh chilli being added to a banh mi

4 photos · tap to enlarge

The newest of the four famous shops, open since 2024, and the one with a view: you sit looking over the river while two fried eggs, pâté and cheese go into a thick, very crisp loaf. It is the order Vietnam Airlines’ guide to Hoi An singles out. Fresh chili comes on request.

The honest part: it has none of the decades of history the other three have, and it is popular with visitors, so the river-facing seats fill up. Your guide aims for the early part of the evening, before they do.

Walk · a few minutes · into the Old Town

Hoi An chicken rice

About 25 minutes · seated

What you’ll eat · com ga Hoi An
A plate of Hoi An chicken rice with shredded chicken and herbs

1 photo · tap to enlarge

Rice cooked in chicken stock until it turns pale gold, under shredded chicken tossed with onion and Vietnamese mint, with a bowl of broth on the side. Your guide explains how the Hoi An version differs from the better-travelled Hainan chicken rice.

Pancakes and grilled pork

About 30 minutes · seated

What you’ll eat · banh xeo & grilled pork in rice paper
Crispy banh xeo pancakes and grilled pork skewers with rice paper and herbs

1 photo · tap to enlarge

The hands-on stop: crisp little banh xeo pancakes and skewers of grilled pork, which you roll yourself in rice paper with lettuce and herbs and dip in a dipping sauce, peanut-and-sesame or sweet-sour fish sauce depending on the kitchen. The guide rolls the first one to show you how.

Lantern boat on the Hoai River and the night market

About 45 minutes · boat about 15–20 minutes · boat and ticket included

Private boat & floating lantern included · nothing to pay at the jetty
Lantern boats on the Hoai River at night with the Old Town lit behind
Paper flower lanterns drifting on the river
Silk lanterns reflected in the river at night
A boatwoman rowing a lantern boat

4 photos · tap to enlarge

A small wooden boat for your group alone, rowed along the Hoai while the riverfront is lit, and a paper lantern to set on the water. Back on land, a slow walk through the Nguyen Hoang night market on the way to dessert.

If the river is too high for the boats, the guide walks you along the bank instead.

A sweet finish

About 20 minutes · on foot

What you’ll eat · banh xoai & nuoc mia
Banh xoai sticky-rice cakes beside a glass of sugarcane juice

1 photo · tap to enlarge

Banh xoai is a sticky-rice “mango” cake with no mango in it: the name comes from its shape, and inside is peanut, sugar and sesame. With it, a glass of fresh sugarcane juice pressed while you wait.

Back at your hotel · around 21:00 · About 4 hours after pickup

From the first loaf to the last lantern

No stops we did not tell you about, nothing to pay at any gate, and any part of it can be changed.

Price is the total for the group · free cancellation up to 3 days before

WhatsApp · +84 368 938 081Want a different route, pace or group size? We will plan your day and send you an all-inclusive quote. ›

What one price covers

Included

  • Private car with driver for hotel pickup and drop-off in Hoi An
  • Private local food guide (licensed), fluent in English
  • One banh mi per guest at All Day Banh Mi, plus every dish and drink on the menu
  • Bottled water throughout
  • Hoi An Old Town ticket
  • Lantern boat on the Hoai River, just for your group

Not included

− Extra food or drinks beyond the menu, including beer, paid at the stall if you want them

− Shopping at the night market or anywhere else

− A tip for your guide, driver and boat rower — never expected, always welcome

Is this the right tour for you?

A good fit if

You want the river and the lanterns, with someone else handling the boat and the crowds.

Dinner is your main meal and you like to eat slowly over several stops.

You enjoy food you assemble yourself at the table.

It is your first evening in Hoi An and you want to get your bearings.

Look elsewhere if

You are one person on a tight budget.

You dislike crowds. The riverfront is at its busiest after dark, every night.

Your children need to be in bed by eight; the morning tour suits young families better.

You are strictly vegetarian. The breakfast tour can be done fully meat-free; this menu only partly.

For a quieter start, the breakfast tour begins at the market at a quarter to seven; for the heritage streets, the afternoon tour ends at the Japanese Bridge at dusk. Or tell us what you want to eat, and we will plan an evening around it.

Questions before you book

About the evening

How long is the tour and when does it start?

It runs About 4 hours door to door, with a 5:00 pm pickup from your hotel and drop-off at the same hotel. The stops are walked, with seats at every food stop and on the boat.

Where do you pick us up?

At your own hotel anywhere in Hoi An, An Bang and Cua Dai beaches included, at no extra cost and with no meeting point to reach on your own. We also collect from Da Nang, with a transfer surcharge shown at checkout; the drive takes 40 to 60 minutes, so pickup is earlier. Your guide waits in the lobby for 20 minutes.

What if All Day Banh Mi is closed or the queue is long?

Family-run shops close now and then, and some sell out on busy days. If All Day Banh Mi is closed or has run out that day, your guide switches to another famous shop on our list, such as La Banh Mi Sai Gon or Banh Mi Lanh, and tells you before the stop. Queues are usually 5 to 15 minutes, longer at peak times; your guide waits in line with you and orders in Vietnamese, but we do not jump queues or promise to skip them.

Can we taste the other famous shops?

Not on the same tour: one banh mi each is plenty alongside everything else on the menu. Each of our four tours stops at a different famous shop with its own taste: Banh Mi Phuong on the morning market tour (char siu and a house sauce, not spicy), Phi Banh Mi on the countryside lunch tour (roast pork belly from a former resort chef) and Madam Khanh – The Banh Mi Queen on the afternoon heritage tour (rich pâté and egg, a little spicier). The four menus share no other dish, so you can join one a day and never eat the same thing twice.

Can we change the route or the pace?

Yes. This is a sample menu and every part of it can be adjusted: add a dish, skip one, or spend longer on the river. Tell us before you book and we confirm the plan and an all-inclusive price in writing.

Does the guide speak good English?

Yes. Your guide is a licensed Hoi An local who speaks fluent English, orders every dish in Vietnamese and explains how each dish is eaten and how the town lives by its river as you go.

Booking and practicalities

Is the price per person or for the whole group?

For the whole group, from one to four guests: the figure shown for two people is the total for both, so the cost per head falls as the group grows. Each guest gets one banh mi for the tour, and a group can share if appetites are small. Children under 5 travel free and do not count towards the group size; from 5 a child counts as one guest. For five or more, message us for a quote.

How do I pay, and when?

Two ways: pay the full price online by card, or pay a 30% deposit online and the rest in cash on the day of the tour, in US dollars or Vietnamese dong. We can also send a secure payment link on WhatsApp. The booking is confirmed once the online payment goes through, and your pickup time and guide’s name arrive in writing.

Can I cancel or reschedule?

Yes — free cancellation up to 3 days before departure for a full refund, and free rescheduling subject to availability. Within 3 days of departure, 30% of the tour price is charged because the car and guide are already committed.

Can this evening be vegetarian, halal or allergy-safe?

Vegetarian: partly. The guide asks All Day Banh Mi to leave out the pâté, and the dessert and juice are meat-free, but chicken rice and the grilled pork are replaced with other dishes. Muslim-friendly: the guide orders chicken, egg or vegetarian versions and asks about lard and pork stock; we cannot promise a certified halal kitchen. Allergies: banh xoai is made with peanut and sesame, and the dipping sauce is often peanut-and-sesame. Beer, if you order it, is served only to guests 18 and over. Kitchens share surfaces, so we cannot guarantee a dish free of every trace.

What should I bring, and do I need cash?

Comfortable shoes, insect repellent for the riverbank, and a light layer for the boat in the cooler months. You need no cash at any gate or stall on the menu, since every dish and ticket is already paid; anything you order beyond the menu is paid at the stall, and if you chose to pay the balance in cash, bring it for your guide.

What happens if it rains?

Rain alone does not stop the tour: every food stop has covered seating. If the Old Town floods, a storm is forecast or there is an official warning, you move the date free of charge; we only switch you to another of our tours if the guide confirms that route is dry, and if no date works we refund 100%. If the river is too high for the lantern boats, we walk the riverbank instead, and that part is not refunded separately.

Book the evening tour

Private car and licensed local guide, hotel pickup, every dish, ticket and boat already settled.

Price is the total for the group · free cancellation up to 3 days before

WhatsApp · +84 368 938 081Want a different route, pace or group size? We will plan your day and send you an all-inclusive quote. ›