Hoi An: a river town with a beach next door

Hoi An was a trading port from the 15th to the 19th century, and UNESCO inscribed its old town in 1999 for how completely it survives: 1,107 timber-frame buildings, assembly halls, merchants' houses, a market and a ferry quay, and the Japanese covered bridge from the 18th century.

It is also, plainly, a tourist town. The central lanes are full of tailors, lantern shops and cafés, and from late afternoon they fill with visitors. The old town at 7:00 and the old town at 19:00 are two different places. For a celebration we plan around that: early mornings in the lanes with a guide, evenings on the river rather than in the busiest streets, and a hotel just outside the centre — on the river or among the rice fields — rather than in the middle of it.

The beach is the other half. An Bang and the long strand running north towards Da Nang are a short drive away, which is why Hoi An works both as a culture stop and, for the anniversary route, as the gateway to four nights at a beach resort.

Three at the least, four if it is the only culture stop on your trip. One night gives you an evening and a rushed morning. With three you get one early morning in the old town, one free day for the countryside or the beach, one evening on the river and one for the celebration dinner.

On the 10-day anniversary route Hoi An gets three nights followed by four at a beach resort a short drive north — effectively seven nights in the same area, with one hotel change.

The mark for February is a 2: the official description for Hoi An already reads warm and sunny from February, but the Da Nang page still counts February in its rainy season and the sea is around 23.5°C.

Fly to Da Nang, which has domestic flights from Vietnam's main cities and direct flights from regional hubs. The national tourism authority puts Da Nang airport 50 minutes by road from the old town.

From Hue, about 125 km and roughly three hours by private car over the Hai Van Pass, with stops. This is how the anniversary route arrives.

The 10-day anniversary route spends three nights here and four on the beach nearby. The 14-day honeymoon gives Hoi An four nights between the bay and Phu Quoc. The Laos and Vietnam route ends on this coast in April.