Receiving navigation directions and relevant information through appropriate channels is crucial for individuals with visual impairments when they use navigation assistant systems. Various navigation assistant systems have implemented diverse methods and modalities to provide navigation instructions to users. Moreover, several studies have examined the preferences of individuals with visual impairments regarding modalities. These studies have primarily relied on surveys or interviews to report their findings. In this study, we extensively investigated the type of navigation information individuals with visual impairments would prefer to receive. To achieve this, we employed a mixed-method design comprising an experiment, a questionnaire, and interviews conducted with participants with visual impairments and individuals with 20/20 vision who were blindfolded. We tested unimodal instruction modes (audio only) and multimodal instruction modes (audio and vibration), along with two types of audio instructions: short and descriptive. To evaluate the participants’ navigation performance, we measured the time taken and errors made during navigation using different instruction types and modes. The findings of this study suggest that the instruction mode does not have any significant effect on the time taken or errors made to complete the trials. Additionally, no evidence was found to support the preference for descriptive instructions over short instructions among the participants. Furthermore, the study did not find evidence to suggest that participants prefer receiving detailed instructions about the environment and obstacles during navigation. It became evident that participants had varying preferences for instruction modes, highlighting the importance of customized functionalities in navigation assistant systems. Moreover, our study validated that participants with visual impairments spent less time and made fewer errors during navigation compared to blindfolded participants with 20/20 vision. We believe that the results of this study will contribute to expanding the understanding of user preferences regarding the type and modality of instructions in the domain of assistive navigation technology. •Receiving information through appropriate channels is vital for visually impaired.•No significant effect of navigation instruction mode on time taken or errors made.•No evidence participants prefer descriptive instructions over short instructions.•No evidence participants prefer to hear environment details during navigation.•Users prefer personalized options for instruction modes in a navigation assistant.