Hoi An

Is Hoi An safe?

For crime, yes. Hoi An is a small, slow town where violent crime against visitors is rare and most people wander the lantern-lit old town late at night without a worry. The thing that really threatens visitors and their plans is water. The old town sits on the banks of the Thu Bon and Hoai rivers a few kilometres from the sea, and it floods most autumns.

We score Hoi An 69 out of 100, one point below Da Nang (70), the city it has belonged to since Quang Nam province merged into Da Nang on 1 July 2025. Both share the same crime data; Hoi An loses its point on floods.

The October and November floods

If you are visiting in autumn, read this first. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says seasonal flooding occurs in central Vietnam in October and November, and Hoi An is where it shows most. On the evening of 26 October 2025, the Hoai River rose by up to a metre in parts of the old town, with about 80 cm on Bach Dang street, while tourists kept wading through for photos. Late on 29 October a gauge on the Thu Bon reached 5.62 metres, 4 cm above the 1964 record, according to the national weather bureau. Parts of Hoi An ward stood under 2 to 3 metres of water, with a few spots at 3.4 metres, and canoes ferried residents and tourists out of hotels and restaurants. By 2 November the national disaster agency had counted 35 dead across central Vietnam.

That was an extreme year, but smaller floods are routine. What helps:

• Stay in a hotel away from the riverfront, or on an upper floor, between October and December.
• Keep two or three spare days in your plans and check the national weather service forecasts.
• Do not wade or cycle through floodwater: it hides open drains and carries debris.
• Leave early if local officials order an evacuation, before the roads to Da Nang close.

Typhoons can also strike from May to November. Outside the flood months, February to August is the easier time to visit.

Traffic, bicycles and scooters

The old town itself is easy on foot, but the roads around it are where visitors get hurt. Many hotels lend bicycles, and many visitors rent scooters for the 4 km to An Bang beach, the rice fields at Tra Que or the coast road to Da Nang. Vietnam's National Traffic Safety Committee counted 10,491 traffic deaths in 2025, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary calls compliance with road laws poor. Cycle with lights after dark, keep to the right, and do not ride a scooter unless you are experienced and hold an international driving permit and insurance. The FCDO warns that after a crash, even a minor one, you can face criminal charges.

Theft, scams and tourist prices

Theft in Hoi An is rarer than in Hanoi or Saigon, but the national pattern of bag snatching by passing motorbikes applies on the roads around town, and in 2025 a gang snatched handbags from tourists in Da Nang. Carry bags on the side away from traffic.

The more common irritation is price. Boat rides on the river, cyclo tours and some shops quote far above local prices. Agree the price before you get on or order, and do not hand over your passport as a deposit for a scooter: the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says rental shops can hold it against claimed damage.

Nights out and the sea

At night the old town and the An Hoi night market across the river are crowded, well lit and calm. Gallup's 2025 report found 88% of people in Vietnam feel safe walking alone at night. The national warnings still apply: the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary reports groping of women walking alone, drink spiking, assaults linked to unlicensed taxis and deaths from methanol in drinks bought in licensed bars. Book rides through Grab or your hotel, and stick to drinks you open yourself.

Lantern boats on the Hoai River are short, but they are small and packed at dusk. The FCDO's advice for any boat in Vietnam is to ask for a life jacket and a safety briefing. At An Bang and Cua Dai beaches, the sea is the same as Da Nang's, where a coastal scientist describes rip currents at regular gaps along the shore, worst from about September to March. Swim near lifeguards and obey red flags.

Health

The coastal air is clean by Vietnamese standards. We found no annual PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary figure for Hoi An or Da Nang, so we use Hue, further up the coast, which averaged 11.4 µg/m³ in 2024, according to IQAir, against 45.4 in Hanoi. Dengue is common in the rainy season, so use repellent by day, and do not drink tap water. Local clinics treat minor problems; anything serious goes to the hospitals in central Da Nang, about 30 km away. Bring your own medicines, since the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns many sold in Vietnam are fake.

How we scored it

Traffic safety (47) and natural hazards (50) are Hoi An's weakest factors: one for the scooters, the other for floods like those of October 2025. Violent crime (86) and night safety (82) are its strengths, on the same national data as Da Nang. Health and environment (64) sits a little below Da Nang for the distance to a large hospital.