Hoi An tours run mostly out of Da Nang, 30 km north, which is the practical shape of a visit here for anyone not sleeping in the old town. Hoi An is a preserved trading port on the Thu Bon River, and the Ancient Town is why people come. Merchant houses, Chinese assembly halls and the Japanese Covered Bridge sit within a few walkable blocks, and the quarter changes character once the silk lanterns come on. An Bang beach is a short ride away. The combined Da Nang and Hoi An day is $36 per adult and includes hotel pickup and drop-off, an air-conditioned van, an English-speaking guide, a bottle of water and lunch on the shared morning option. The Bay Mau coconut forest trip, the basket-boat ride through the water palms on the edge of town, is $35 per adult with a lower child rate. Inside the Ancient Town itself a guide is worth less than the ticket: the quarter is small, flat and walkable, and the value of a tour is getting you there and back without negotiating the drive twice in a day. Two nights is the honest minimum if you want the Ancient Town and a beach afternoon without rushing either. One night works, but you will spend it in the old town and leave the coast for another trip. The other real choice is where to sleep. Staying in Hoi An buys you the early morning and the late evening, when the quarter empties and the lanterns are doing the work; basing in Da Nang buys you a beach city, more restaurants and a shorter airport run. Day-trippers get the middle hours, which are the busiest ones.