ONCE UPON A TIME TRAVEL TO HOI AN (VIETNAM)

Travel to Hoi An and discover endless wonders. From watching fishermen launching bamboo basket boats along white-sanded beaches to exploring a well-preserved ancient town sprinkled with colorful silk lanterns, Hoi An will amaze you.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Hoi An, which translates to “peaceful meeting place”, is a city located in Central Vietnam along the shores of the Chinese Sea.  This ‘small’ town of less than 200,000 people is recognized as a historic prosperous trading port with a mix of foreign influences, dating back to the 15th century. Hoi An became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

Amazingly, during the American War (Vietnam War), this city was preserved from the ravages of war.  For some reason, both sides came to an understanding in preserving this city from the war.

Architecture

Over the last 2,000 years it has experienced multiple changes in culture, lifestyle and architecture. The cultural influences that are predominantly noticeable comes from the Japanese and the Chinese with a little bit of French to mix it up.

Many of the buildings in the Old Town are bathed in a golden-yellow hue, just like in Hanoi. Supposedly, yellow is a symbol of royalty and superiority, and also symbolizes luck and prosperity to the Vietnamese. 

While in Chefchaouen they paint their homes blue to keep the heat and mosquitoes away, in Hoi An they do that with the color yellow.  Apparently, it is better suited to Vietnam’s hot and humid tropical weather.

Flooding

Flooding is an integral part of Hoi An life as the season lasts between August and December. It doesn’t mean you can’t visit during that time but that you need to be aware of it.

With so much flooding, you’d think that the century old wooden houses would be rotten through and through.  You would be wrong.  The wood used in the construction of the houses in the Old town is similar to teak and is waterproof so to speak.  However, in order to preserve the furniture, there is a trap in the ceiling so that the owners can lift it to the second floor.

HOW TO GET THERE & AROUND

There are no train stations nor airport in Hoi An.  The closest ones are located in south of Da Nang, about 30 minutes away. A private taxi will cost around $17USD one way for 2 people to get from Hoi An to Da Nang.  At least, that’s what it cost us to travel from our hotel in Hoi An to Da Nang’s airport.

In order to travel to Hoi An, we used the company DAYTRIP and came from the imperial city of Hué, stopping along the way to visit some sites. 

Our next stop after Hoi An was to Ho Chi Minh City.  We took a taxi to Da Nang airport and flew there.  The plane ride was about 1h30 min and cost us $50CAD per person.  We booked this flight with 12GOASIA.  It’s a great site to use if you are traveling around Asia and are looking for different options in getting around.  This website includes routes and budget.  It’s a perfect tool to use to organize your travels.

Buses are available from Da Nang to travel to Hoi An.  However, since we didn’t take one, obviously I can’t say anything about it.  Nonetheless, it is the cheapest way to get to Hoi An from Da Nang.

Getting around

The Old town of Hoi An is relatively small and pedestrian, so you will be walking around most of the time. Motorcycle and car traffic are banned from the Old town touristy area during most daylight hours, so keep an eye out for them, especially the motorcycles.  If you’ve been to Hanoi, this will seem like a piece of cake.

Bike

You can easily get around on a bicycle to most of Hoi An’s attractions. It is easy and cheap to hire a bicycle and most hotels will let you use them for FREE.

Also, you can use a bicycle to go the beach or explore the countryside.  Imagine cycling through rice paddies while farmers in conical hats are harvesting rice in swathes of green. Heck, you can even stop and take a selfie with a water buffalo.

Fun fact:  The goal of the local government in Hoi An is to develop the Old Town to become an ecocity in Vietnam.  That’s why the bicycles have become ever so popular around Hoi An.

WHERE WE SLEPT

Steps away from the historical heart of Hoi An, Ha An Hotel reminds us of the heritage streetscape with double doors, arches and balustrades fronting handsome and cozy rooms (NY Times). 

This colonial mansion offers a delicious breakfast and is great to hang out at the end of the day by the pool while sipping on a cocktail.  There is even a pool table that you can use for free.  The staff is courteous and very friendly.  We really enjoyed our stay here.

WHERE WE ATE

If you are a foodie, then you need to travel to Hoi An and taste some of their local specialties.

We ate twice at Home Kitchen, located in a side alley away from the busy main streets of the Old Town of Hoi An. It was there that I tasted the White Rose dumplings (Banh Bao Vac). 

These dumplings are made from translucent white dough which is filled with spiced minced shrimp or pork. They are so DELICIOUS.

Another Hoi An specialty I tasted was Cao Lau which is made of chewy rice noodles and pork.  The texture of the noodles felt like rubber.  It was odd but good. Finally, I had some fried wonton with a sweet-and-sour topping of pork and shrimp. If you walk around and inside Hoi An market, you can find all these specialties there. Hoi An has about 8 specialties, but the 3 I tasted can’t be found anywhere else in Vietnam.

Also, just like in Hanoi, there is plenty of street food to pick from night and day.

Fun tip:  Cooking classes are readily available for everyone.  They don’t come cheap however and can last a few hours to a full day.  The best way to find a cooking class is through your hotel concierge.

Where to have a drink

If you are more of a night owl, the best place to grab a drink is close to the night market along the water.  In the evening, it is very popular with the tourists and there is even an Irish Pub where you can watch some football!

If you are in the mood for something more off the beaten track, check out Tadioto.  It is the closest thing to a speakeasy and is a new whisky bar.  It is hidden in the back of An Store boutique (54 Phan Boi Chau Street) where you can also enjoy some sushi in the stone courtyard.   The same bar exists in Hanoi and it is where we had lunch.

ACTIVITIES TO DO IN HOI AN

Hoi An’s Old Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences that have combined to produce this unique heritage site.

With just 1 ticket (120 000VND), you can visit 5 of the 23 sightseeing places in the Old Town of Hoi An. We bought ours at the tourist office on Hoang Dieu Street #8.

Old Town of Hoi An

The two-story shophouses have been repurposed with restaurants, cafes and hundreds of tailor and leather shops. But several have been frozen in time and opened to tourists, like the two-century-old Tan Ky house.

Houses

The Tan Ky house is 100 feet long with intricate carved columns, an open-roof courtyard, and a wall in the back marked with the height of past floods. Pay close attention to the details on the columns as they are made up of birds! This was an old merchants house.

Another house worth visiting is Phung Hung house.  One of the owners will guide you through the house and lead you to where they hand make embroidered napkins and tablecloths.  You can purchase them by credit card.  Three people still live inside the house and they are the 7^th generation of the same family to do so.

Assembly Halls

Phuc Kien is one of five assembly halls built by Chinese merchants to plot trade deals and honor ancestors. Its sea goddess temple holds has a life-size statue of an aquamarine-skinned immortal on display with protruding ribs and bulging white eyes. But what amazed me the most was the spiral incense suspended in the air. It’s the first place in Vietnam where we saw incense presented that way.

Quang Trieu was built in 1885 by Chinese overseas. This hall is quite ornate and colorful. All of the building materials were completed in China, brought to Hoi An, and then reassembled. The main feature of this assembly Hall is the fountain in the inner courtyard that features a dragon made out of broken pottery.  We saw this similar design style in the imperial city of Hué.

Museums

The only museum we visited was the traditional medicine one. It had some interesting facts, especially about the pulse reading.  The front part of the house on the ground floor represents a traditional medicine store in Hoi An.  There, you will find the herbal medicine cabinet, the waiting area, the patient room and also in the back a courtyard used to dry the herbal medicine.

Japanese covered bridge

If you want to walk on the bridge, you’ll have to use one of your 5 tickets.  Therefore, we didn’t cross it and used the ticket instead on a museum. You can use another bridge for FREE to cross the canal right across from it.

The Japanese covered bridge is an arched pagoda built in 1593. Its roof is covered with alternating rows of yin yang tiles which can be seen everywhere across town.

Markets

Walking around the day and night markets is an experience in itself.  If you don’t want to spend all of your money, leave your cash and credit cards in your hotel room!

They sell anything from vegetables, fish, prepared meals to handmade goods. It’s a great place to shop for some souvenirs to bring home.

Theater

Although we didn’t have the time to check it out, you can assist at a show of the Vietnamese Bamboo Circus,  A O Show. It’s located close to the night market at the Hoi An Lune Center for Performing Arts. The starting price for a ticket is 700 000VND.

Boat rides

Within a half-hour drive of the ancient town, you can ride a basket boat through river channels bordered with water coconut trees.

The boat ride lasts about 1 hour, you’ll get to taste some sugar-coated coconut and try to fish some crabs.  The crab fishing part was our scary highlight.

Legend has it that Vietnam’s basket boats originated as a way for local fishermen to avoid paying taxes imposed during the French colonial rule according to Hidden Hoi An.

We paid about 240 000VND per person for this tour, which included our hotel pick up and drop off from our hotel, entrance fee to the village and the boat ride.  We felt a little ripped off for what we got and no we did not Tip the rower.  He spent more time trying to catch some crab than anything else. Our boat ride lasted less than 1 hour. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone around, so we did get to enjoy the river.

An Bang Beach

Located 7 kilometres north of Hoi An’s Old Town, lies this stretch of white sanded beach.  A taxi there will cost you around 100 000VND.  Taxis can easily be found around the main entrance to the beach.  Otherwise, you can just ask at the concierge desk of the many restaurants that borders the beach to call you one.

You can lounge on one of the many sunbeds on the beach for free if you eat or drink there.  We ended up eating pizza, french fries and sharing a mojito on the beach.  It was great to just relax and do nothing.

I did get my feet wet but did not go in the water as I spotted a jelly fish!

It’s a fun place to go there with kids and enjoy some beach time.  It’s not the nicest beach I have ever seen, but it was the only one we did in Vietnam.

Another option to get to the beach is by bicycle or motorbike.

SOUVENIRS TO BRING BACK FROM HOI AN

When you travel to Hoi An, you will notice silk lanterns hanging everywhere.  This is one of the things that I wanted to bring back home.  The Vietnamese believe that hanging a couple of traditional lanterns in front of their houses will bring happiness to their family. I ended up bringing home 4.

The two places I liked the most to buy them from was at 8 Tran Phu and the night market.  The best prices are at the night market. However, at the 8 Tran Phu store, you can watch them make the lanterns, talk to the owner who will explain the process and take your time picking your lantern.  She’ll also show you how to unfold them when you get back home!

On the other hand, at the night market, you’ll feel like you are in someone ways all the time, because everyone is trying to take a picture of themselves with the lanterns.  Me included. You will not get any explanation either about the lanterns.

Tailor shops

There are more than 400 tailoring shops in Hoi An making clothes but also shoes and handbags.  If you need something made in Vietnam, Hoi An is the place to go.  However, you might want to shop around beforehand as the quality of the tailor is not the same everywhere.

For more ideas about what you can bring back from Vietnam, check out our Vietnam Souvenir Guide.

DAY TRIPS FROM HOI AN

As in everywhere else in Vietnam, there are plenty of things to do around Hoi An.

If you are more into beach time and boat rides, you can check out the Cham Islands. Cham Islands consists of eight small islands off the coast of Hoi An, one of which is a recognized UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.  You can even sleep there where the most affordable and popular accommodation option is a Homestay.

There you can enjoy some scuba diving, snorkeling and kayaking.

It doesn’t come cheap (for Vietnam) though as a day trip to Cham Islands cost around $55USD per person.  It does include a meal though.

My Son Sanctuary 

My Son Sanctuary is a set of small valleys located 55km south west of Hoi An.  It is located in the historic town of Tra Kieu, a large complex of religious monuments in the ancient kingdom of Champa.

 During 10 centuries, My Son served as the site of religious ceremonies for kings of the Champa dynasty as well as the burial place for Champa monarchs.  It is often compared to Angkor Wat in Cambodia albeit not as spectacular. 

Saddly, a lot of the site was destroyed during the American War (Vietnam War) but remains a place worth visiting on a half-day trip from Hoi An.

In 1999, it was recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

It is best to go there early in the morning for better light, temperature and less crowd.  The entrance fee is 150 000VND per person.  To get there, you can hire a private chauffeur for $45USD for 2 people.

Different experience

Recently, One Trip Hoi An Adventures started a motorcycle tour that will take you into a nearby bronze casting village where the locals transform bullet shells into musical instruments before heading to My Son sanctuary. This full-day off the beaten path tour can be done on a motorcycle for $120CAD per person.

Ba Na Hills

This amusement park located 1400m above sea level, right outside of Da Nang is worth mentioning if you have the time and budget.  Plan at least 6 hours on-site in order to get your money’s worth as it doesn’t come cheap.  The entrance fee is 750 000VND per person.

Some of the highlights is the replica of a traditional French village, a golden bridge and the longest cable ride in the world.

Ba Na Hills

An amusement park in Vietnam.

Discover now

My mother and I stopped there on our way to Hoi An from Hué, and we used DAYTRIP for that.

Marble Mountain

Marble mountain is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located south of Da Nang city.  They are named after the five elements: metal (kim), water (thuy), wood (moc), fire (hoa) and earth (tho). 

There are 156 steps that lead to the top or you can use an elevator.

Around the mountain you can visit a cave, a buddha statue and a pagoda.  Scattered around the base of the mountains it will be hard to miss all the marble stores with beautiful sculptured statues ready to impress.

To save time and money, you could easily stop there on your way to or from the airport depending on when your flight leaves or arrives for 40 euros.  Check out DAYTRIP to see if this could work for you.

OUR IMPRESSION OF HOI AN

Hoi An was one of the nicest places we went to in Vietnam. Yes, there are a lot of tourists and yes there will be a lot of annoying street vendors everywhere.  In fact, the further south of Hué you go, the more annoying they get. Hoi An is no exception.

However, walking around the Old Town with all its colorful lanterns hanging above your head surrounded by old architecture will make you feel you stepped back in time.  Furthermore, not having tall buildings looming over you will be a breath of fresh air. 

Our tips

Travel to Hoi An during the middle of your trip for a wonderful break from all the hustle and bustle of big cities.  Stay in a place with either a pool or close to the beach to make it even more memorable.

If you are traveling with someone older or children, stay close to the Old Town.

Our hotel Ha An was conveniently located close to the Old Town and had a pool.  This was perfect since I was traveling with 76-year-old mom.  It’s a great place to stay at when you can’t walk a lot or have kids.  This way, you also don’t have to bother having to take a taxi into the Old Town.

You could also do half and half.  Separate your stay between Hoi An’s Old Town and then close to the beach. This way, you’ll truly experience the best of both worlds!