Things to do in Hoi An
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Hoi An
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best window, dry and warm with calm seas from March, green rice fields and everything open.
Hot beach season and domestic peak, An Bang and Cham Islands at their best, cycle only at dawn.
Shoulder gamble, heat breaks and crowds thin as rain begins late in the month.
Rainy season with Oct to Nov flood peak, rough seas and boats stopping, Dec to Jan cooler and far quieter.
What's on
- Tet late Jan/early Feb
Vietnamese Lunar New Year with flowers and fireworks, but many shops and tailors close for the first two to three days.
- Lantern Festival 14th day of each lunar month
Lights off and lanterns only around the bridge and riverfront, biggest around Tet and Mid-Autumn.
- Mid-Autumn Festival September, lunar
One of Hoi An's prettiest nights with lanterns, lion dances and mooncakes.
Best things to do in Hoi An
Hoi An Ancient Town
Walk the heritage houses, assembly halls and Japanese Covered Bridge early and again after dark for lantern light.
Hoai River
Take a short rowboat ride at dusk, release a floating lantern and watch the riverfront light up.
Lune Performing Center Hoi An
Teh Dar is a one hour bamboo circus with live tribal instruments and Central Highlands stories in a small dome.
Red Bridge Cooking School
A market visit, boat ride and hands on class in a garden setting on the river outside town.
Morning Glory Cooking School
Ms Vy's technique led class is the sharper in town way to learn cao lau, white rose and banh xeo.
Hoi An Cloth Market
Cloth Market stalls like Mrs An at stall 90 are the cheap option for simple linen pieces and dresses.
Be Be Tailor
A high volume tailor with three shops and a consistent mid tier result for most garments.
Mr Xe
A forum favourite for suits who is direct to deal with and known for a reliable mid tier finish.
Where to stay in Hoi An
Cam Pho / western edge of the Old Town
first trip, all-round base
Five to ten minutes walk to the lanterns, quiet at night, with the best spread of mid range boutique hotels with pools.
An Hoi Island / Minh An
nightlife-adjacent walkability
Riverside hotels facing the Old Town lights, the Night Market on your street and the latest bars in Hoi An.
Cam Chau
quiet, couples and families
Rice field lanes and villa hotels midway between town and beach, trading walk to dinner for space and green views.
An Bang Beach
beach-led base, longer stays
Homestays and boutique hotels in a village with local life and seafood on the sand, 15 minutes from the Old Town.
Cam Thanh
eco and countryside base
Coconut groves and river lodges between town and Cua Dai beach, peaceful and spread out.
Ha My / Cua Dai resort strip
resort-only luxury
Large beach resorts on quieter sand outside town with shuttles in, chosen for the resort not for walking to dinner.
Think twice about
- Ground-floor riverside rooms on Bach Dang and Nguyen Phuc Chu and low An Hoi lanes in October-November
Flood risk in peak rains when riverside streets flood for days. Book higher inland areas or an upper floor then.
- An Hoi Night Market and bar strip
A handful of bars run loud until late. Two streets back is silent, so this is a noise choice for early sleepers.
- Cua Dai central beachfront
Erosion has narrowed parts of the beach and the strip feels tired next to An Bang, so the beach promise is weaker.
- Da Nang highway and far Cam Ha with no shuttle
Hotels sold as Hoi An can mean a 20 minute plus Grab to every dinner. Check the map pin, not the hotel name.
Best restaurants in Hoi An
Morning Glory Original
Ms Vy's flagship serves the full Hoi An canon in an open kitchen heritage house and is the essential first dinner.
Morning Glory Signature
The upmarket sibling of Morning Glory Original, with river views, cocktails and refined versions of the same dishes.
Madam Khanh - The Banh Mi Queen
The locals' banh mi pick since the 1980s, loaded with pork, pate, egg sauce, papaya and herbs.
Banh Mi Phuong
The famous Bourdain shop, reopened and worth the queue for an everything banh mi to judge against Madam Khanh.
Cao Lau Thanh
A small local room serving cao lau and little else, closing early when the noodles run out.
White Rose Restaurant
Eat white rose dumplings at the family source that supplies most of the town, minutes after they are made.
Bale Well
Roll your own banh xeo with grilled pork and spring rolls in a raucous alley named after its well.
Miss Ly Cafe
A long running family restaurant for cao lau, white rose and crispy wontons when Morning Glory's queue defeats you.
Outdoor things to do in Hoi An
Tra Que Herb Village
Cycle out at sunrise to herb gardens fertilised with lagoon seaweed, then loop home through rice fields.
My Son Sanctuary
Go at sunrise for the Cham temple valley in cool empty light, with a good guide as the interpretation.
Cu Lao Cham
Speedboat to a biosphere reserve for snorkelling over coral gardens and a seafood lunch on Bai Chong beach.
Hoiana Shores Golf Club
The closest championship round to Hoi An, a Robert Trent Jones Jr links along natural dunes.
Montgomerie Links
Colin Montgomerie course between Hoi An and Da Nang that suits mixed ability groups best of the classic pair.
Legend Da Nang Golf Resort
Play the Norman links through dunes for the classic test, with the Nicklaus course as the second eighteen.
Cam Thanh Coconut Forest
Ride a round basket boat through water coconut canals with crab fishing and net casting demonstrations.
An Bang Beach
Hoi An's living beach for a swim, a lounger lunch and a seafood dinner on the sand.
Best hotels in Hoi An
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An
Hoi An's definitive luxury stay with beach and pool villas, a noted spa and its own cooking academy.
Anantara Hoi An Resort
The luxury pick in town, colonial style rooms on the Thu Bon a five minute walk from the bridge.
Hotel Royal Hoi An - MGallery
Boutique luxury inside the walkable zone with rooftop and river views, a spa and period styling.
Allegro Hoi An . A Little Luxury Hotel & Spa
A small luxury hotel and spa in the walkable zone, listed among the highest rated stays in town.
La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa
The consensus best value stay, with two pools, a strong spa, rice field views and an Old Town shuttle.
Hoi An Historic Hotel
A dependable classic with a big garden, pool and spacious rooms in the prime walkable location.
AIRA Boutique Hoi An Hotel & Villa
The beach base mid ranger with a lush garden, pool and good breakfast a short walk from An Bang sand.
Cozy Savvy Boutique Hotel Hoi An
A small boutique hotel in Cam Pho, one of the two best quiet bases a short walk from the Old Town.
Is Hoi An expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₫1,100,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₫2,200,000 a person |
| Splurge | ₫5,500,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Lune Performing Center Hoi An: a few days ahead
- Red Bridge Cooking School: a few days ahead
- Morning Glory Cooking School: a few days ahead
- Hoi An Memories Show: a few days ahead
- My Son Sanctuary: a few days ahead
- Cu Lao Cham: a few days ahead
- Hoiana Shores Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Montgomerie Links: a few days ahead
- Order tailoring on day one, a good garment needs two to three days and fittings.
- Book Teh Dar, Memories Show and Red Bridge and Morning Glory classes two to five days ahead in Feb to Apr and Jul to Aug.
- Book Cham Islands and My Son sunrise tours the night before at latest and early in your stay so weather can roll them.
Is Hoi An safe?
- Hoi An is low crime, use normal care in Night Market crowds and with drinks in An Hoi bars.
- Do not swim at An Bang or Cua Dai in rough Oct to Jan seas or ignore local flags, and take care cycling unlit lanes after dark.
- Flooding is the main risk. Follow hotel advice, move valuables up and do not wade fast water.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Hoi An travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Tailor referrals from hotels, taxis and tours can add commission. Get fabric, lining and total in writing and never pay in full upfront.
- Agree the total boat price including lanterns and duration before boarding the river boats.
- Buy the Old Town ticket once at official booths and keep it. You need it for heritage houses, not to walk the streets.
- Night Market lanterns, leather and silk are priced for haggling and vary in quality. The same lantern costs less two streets out.
Getting around Hoi An: public transport and more
- Walk the Old Town and cycle everything else on free hotel bikes to Tra Que, An Bang and Cam Thanh.
- Use Grab for longer trips. Da Nang airport is 45 minutes and a private car by the day suits My Son plus Marble Mountains.
- Fly to Da Nang DAD. Hotel transfers and Grab beat airport taxi negotiation.
Who Hoi An suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Hoi An your trip
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