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Travel & Shopping
Updated June 2026 · By the LongDenViet workshop, Ho Chi Minh City
Wondering where to buy lanterns in Hoi An? You came for them — everyone does. The whole old town glows after dark, and somewhere between the river and the night market you decide you have to take one home.
The catch is that not every lantern on sale is the same. Some are made the traditional way — aged bamboo, real silk, hand-tied ribs. Others are cheap factory copies that fade and sag within a season. This guide walks you through where to look, what a fair price is, how to tell good from bad, and what to do if you want a proper one shipped to your door.
Three zones, each with a slightly different feel and price.
This is where most travellers start, and for good reason. From around 6 p.m., the stalls along the An Hoi night market light up with lanterns of every shape and colour. Seeing them lit is half the point — silk only shows its true tone when there is a bulb behind it. Prices here are the most negotiable in town, so this is the place to bargain.
Running along the river next to the night market, this pedestrian stretch is the photo everyone has seen: hundreds of lanterns strung overhead. There are stalls here too, slightly more curated than the market proper. Good for browsing shapes you will not find at home — garlic, diamond, the umbrella-style ones with the flared rim.
Cross the bridge into the old town and the small workshops appear. This is where you find the higher end: tighter weaving, better silk, embroidered or hand-painted pieces. Prices are firmer because the quality usually justifies them. If you want a lantern that will still look good in five years rather than five months, this is the area to spend your time.
A rough map so you know when a price is fair and when you are being quoted the tourist rate.
Most handmade lanterns in Hoi An fall between 100,000 and 500,000 VND — roughly 4 to 22 USD — depending on size, fabric and how intricate the work is. A small silk lantern is at the lower end; a large embroidered or hand-painted piece sits near the top.
Bargaining, lightly
At the night market a first quote is usually a fair bit above the selling price. Smile, counter once, and meet somewhere in the middle. In the artisan workshops there is far less room to haggle — you are paying for the craft, not the markup.
Four checks you can do in thirty seconds at the stall.
These are the same things a workshop checks before a lantern leaves the bench: even ribs, treated bamboo, real silk pulled tight with no wrinkles. Get those right and the colour, the shape and the price all start to make sense.
The clever part of the Hoi An design: it folds flat.
This is the question every traveller eventually asks at the stall, and the answer is genuinely yes. The traditional Hoi An lantern is collapsible. Press the top ring gently inward and the whole thing folds down to the size of a dinner plate — flat enough to slide between clothes in a suitcase. At home it opens out again like an umbrella in under a minute.
Slip it into a bag so the silk does not snag, keep it away from anything that can crush the rim, and it travels fine in checked or even carry-on luggage. We wrote a full walkthrough on folding, packing and shipping if you are buying several or want to be sure.
Plenty of travellers fall for the lanterns and then run out of time, or want a matching set for a restaurant or wedding back home.
If your itinerary skips Hoi An, or you want twenty matching pieces rather than the two that fit in your bag, buying direct from a Vietnamese workshop solves both. We are LongDenViet, a lantern workshop based in Ho Chi Minh City making the same bamboo-and-silk lanterns in eight shapes, fourteen colours, and sizes from 10 cm to over a metre.
We ship internationally via DHL and FedEx, and because the lanterns fold flat the freight stays reasonable. You can browse the full range on our English page, or message us on WhatsApp with what you saw in Hoi An and we will match it.
The same bamboo-and-silk lanterns you see in the old town — handmade, foldable, and shipped worldwide. Prices shown are retail; ask us for wholesale.
What is the best time of day to buy lanterns in Hoi An?
After dark, from around 6 p.m. Lanterns only reveal their true colour when lit, so the night market is both the prettiest and the smartest time to shop. You can compare tones side by side instead of guessing in daylight.
Are Hoi An lanterns foldable for travel?
Yes. The traditional design collapses flat — you press the top ring inward and it folds to roughly the size of a plate, then opens out again like an umbrella. They pack easily into a suitcase or backpack.
How much does a lantern cost in Hoi An?
Most handmade lanterns cost between 100,000 and 500,000 VND (about 4 to 22 USD), depending on size and fabric. Embroidered or hand-painted pieces go higher. At the night market the first quote is usually negotiable.
Can I buy Hoi An lanterns online and have them shipped abroad?
Yes. Vietnamese workshops, including ours, ship the same handmade lanterns worldwide via DHL or FedEx. Because they fold flat, shipping is affordable even for larger orders. Message us with quantity, size and colour for a quote.
We make traditional bamboo-and-silk lanterns in eight shapes and fourteen colours, and ship them flat-packed worldwide via DHL and FedEx. Tell us what you are after and we will match it.
Visit our showroom
262/1/93 Phan Anh, Phu Thanh Ward, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City
Air-conditioned, one-on-one help, English spoken. Open daily 8 a.m.–9 p.m.