Hoi An in Vietnam offers a unique blend of Japanese, Chinese and European influences complimented with a favorable climate and a UNESCO designation. This has resulted in an extremely touristy yet wonderful ancient city. But what can you do once you’re in town?
In this guide we’ll show you our favorite things to do in Hoi An including what you shouldn’t miss on a first time visit. We’ll also share tips to help you maximize your time and plan the perfect itinerary.
Our Experience
We visited Hoi An for 3 days in October 2018 during our 18 month honeymoon around the world. It was the last stop on our Vietnam itinerary after spending almost 30 days in the country. In hindsight, we would have spent more time in Hoi An because it’s absolutely stunning and offers so much for visitors.
Like many other places in Vietnam, Hoi An has become very commercialized, but we think it’s still worth visiting. If you can get past the aggressive vendors trying to consistently sell you products, you’ll really enjoy the city. To make the most of your time, we recommend indulging in the delicious street food and strolling past the various canary-yellow houses lining the sleepy riverbank in one of Vietnam’s most beguiling cities. Read more about us.
Where Is Hoi An?
Look at a map of Vietnam and point your finger directly to the middle of the country. Chances are the ancient town will be very close to your fingertip. The town of Hoi An is about 18.5 miles (30km) south of the much larger city Da Nang and it sits enticingly on the coast of the South China Sea.
Once the most important trading post in southeast Asia, Hoi An suffered a downturn in prosperity when its Thu Bon river silted up. However, today we can be thankful for what must have felt like a disaster at the time. Because during the Vietnam and American War, Hoi An was left almost completely untouched due to its lack of logistical significance.
Hoi An’s Ancient Town is the main attraction when visiting this region but don’t miss the stunning green countryside or the beautiful beaches. This is where you’ll find farmers in conical hats tending to their rice paddies and beaches where you can watch fishermen casting off from bamboo basket boats.
Without further ado, here are the best activities to do in Hoi An:
1. Shop For Tailor-Made Clothing
When we visited Hoi An, one of the things at the top of Kristen’s bucket list was shopping for tailor made clothing. And when you’re in town, you’ll see there are more tailors than you can shake a stick at and it can be a little overwhelming.
Kristen had a both a short romper and a long jumpsuit made for about US $80. And she always receives compliments whenever she wears them. It was a very easy process because all she had to do was select the material and color based on a price range. From there, the tailors design exactly what you want whether it be a shirt, dress, skirt or anything else you desire.
We’d recommend doing your research when it comes to finding a tailor because some are much better than others offering more high quality fabrics. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and let them know if something doesn’t fit right the first time. Kristen got her clothes from Phuong Nam Tailor. They are still very highly rated and here’s the google map location.
Travel Tip: If you want to have something custom made, order it when you first get to town. This will leave plenty of time if something needs to be altered.
2. Hoi An Ancient Town
If you want to know why Hoi An is so popular the answer lies with the gorgeous two story architecture in its endlessly alluring and photogenic ancient town. Almost every building is painted yellow, decorated with wood and accessorized with glowing lanterns. It’s one of the few places we’ve been that looks better than the photos online.
We think one of the best things to do in Hoi An is to simply walk around its ancient town, taking in the beauty over and over again. Trust us, it doesn’t get old. During the day, you’ll find tourists hiding from the intense heat in wonderful coffee shops. At night, once the temperature cools a little, the old town comes alive with beautiful lit lanterns and amazing smells from the endless amount of restaurants.
The city truly thrives in the evening hours. It’s also the best setting for a little romance. If you want to learn how to make your own beautiful lantern, this is a very popular tour.
Fortunately, Hoi An was relatively untouched by the Vietnam and American war, which is why the ancient town’s influences from China, Japan and France remain so strongly today. It used to be one of the major trading routes in southeast Asia between the 15th and 19th centuries. Hoi An’s Ancient Town is now officially a UNESCO World Heritage Site reflecting a perfect fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures.
3. Japanese Covered Bridge
The Japanese Covered Bridge (Chùa Cầu in Vietnamese) is an iconic symbol of Hoi An and it’s one of our favorite things to see in town. It was built in 1953 by Japanese traders to subdue the Namazu, a mythical catfish monster known to cause earthquakes and floods.
At 18 meters long, the bridge connects Tran Phu Street on the eastern side along the Chinese quarter and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street on the western side along the Japanese quarter. It crosses the Thu Bon River featuring an interesting combination of Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese culture.
We visited early in the morning before anyone else was awake and even got to see a reflection because the water underneath was perfectly still. Our photo above was taken in 2018 and the bridge had extensive work done in 2023. But many residents complain about the new renovation because the bridge is now painted with much brighter colors than it originally presented with.
Travel Tip: The Japanese Covered Bridge is on the back of the 20,000 VND bank note.
4. Try Banh Mi
In Vietnamese, Banh Mi literally means “wheat bread” and you simply have to eat as much as you can. Banh Mi is a light and fluffy French style baguette served cut open and paired with delicious fillings. It’s common to find them served with pate, chili sauce, pork belly, slices of pork, coriander, cheese, cucumber, pickled papaya and other vegetables. The roll is also lightly toasted.
We will dare say Hoi An has the best Banh Mi in all of Vietnam. This is all due to the French occupation when trading began in this region and flour was imported from Europe for French-style bread. These recipes are still used in Hoi An today. During WWII, wheat flour was very difficult to get so rice flour was used as a substitute resulting in a light fluffy bread that is very crispy on the outside. Just a simple recipe of rice flour, water, salt and yeast can really go a long way.
Here‘s where you can find the best Banh Mi in town:
- Bánh Mì Phượng – Anthony Bourdain featured this place in 2007 and they have a special sauce
- Lê Hội Bánh MÌ Chay – Around the corner from Banh Mi Phuong with vegan options
- Phi Bánh Mì – One of the newest shops and they marinate their own meat
- Madam Khánh (the Bánh Mí Queen) – In business for over 30 years and extremely popular
- Bánh mì Bích – Known for their meat options with homemade pate
You can also find vegetarian Banh Mi which uses tofu so be sure to ask. One sandwich typically costs anywhere from 10,000 VND (about US$ 0.40) to 60,000 VND (about US$ 2.40).
5. Explore The Markets
There are two markets in town we think are worth visiting, the Hoi An Central Market and Night Market.
The central market is the perfect place to buy local produce, eat fresh food and people watch. It’s a bustling place with many stalls selling clothes, bags, jewelry, gifts and more. But you might have to take your negotiating skills up a notch because Hoi An receives more affluent tourism than other parts of Vietnam and they know it.
Each floor is organized by item so it’s very easy to shop if you have a certain product in mind. We really liked watching the tailors work on their sewing machines because they’re incredibly skilled. To find the market, head to the corner of Hoang Dieu and Tran Phu Streets (map location here). Along the outside streets, you’ll also find a lively fresh fruit and vegetable market selling everything from local spices to a variety of chilies.
The Hoi An Market is open everyday from 9:00am to 6:00pm. We loved checking out the various stalls and seeing the local women with their beautiful conical hats.
The Hoi An Night Market is another popular option. After crossing the Bridge of Lights and continuing straight, you’ll find the night market plus a ton of great places to eat, drink and dance. It’s typically open from 6:00pm to 10:00pm.
However, it does get extremely busy and crowded. We found that many of the stalls sold the same items so shop around to see if you can beat the price. Compared to other night markets in Asia, we though this one in Hoi An was a bit more chilled. Another bonus is you can see a different side of the city at night.
6. Boat Ride On Thu Bon River
Thu Bon River runs like an artery through the heart of Hoi An. Close to the Bridge of Lights, you’ll find hundreds of tiny wooden boats with local helmsman taking tourists out onto the river. It’s the perfect gesture for all you romantics.
We think the best time to hop in a boat is around sunset before it gets too crowded later in the night. The UNESCO ancient town is strikingly alluring from the river as its yellow buildings illuminate under bright lanterns. You can find a boat once you get to Hoi An or you can book this tour here.
7. Indulge In The Local Cuisine
Hoi An has a rich and diverse culinary landscape. It might not be as popular as Hanoi, but it certainly has a lot to offer. We think there are some truly incredible places to eat in town. But it’s hard to find them all. So if food is your thing, we’d recommend you try a cooking class or a walking food tour to have someone do the work for you.
In hindsight, we wished we booked a food tour during our time in Hoi An because we wasted a lot of our time trying to find the best places to eat. That’s the beauty about these tours is you’ll know exactly where to go for the rest of your time in town.
Here are popular options:
If you don’t want to book a tour, you can find cooking classes advertised by many restaurants in town. It can be as simple as turning up for dinner and booking a class the next day. But we like tours because you can see the itinerary and read other traveler reviews. There are also special combination tours that include cooking classes with other activities to maximize your time.
8. An Bang Beach
Although the ancient town is where you’ll fall in love with Hoi An, the nearby beaches are an excellent way to take a day off sightseeing and relax with a cocktail. The most popular beach near town is called An Bang Beach. So if you need a day to unwind from a busy Vietnam itinerary, head straight to the beach! It was even featured on CNN’s “top 100 beaches in the world” back in 2017 coming in at position #86.
We cycled the 3.0 miles (5km) through surrounding countryside to An Bang, but you can just as easily drive a moped or use a GrabCar for about 80,000 VND one way. It’s common to see many fishermen launching their bamboo baskets out to sea.
From An Bang Beach you can see Da Nang to the north and directly across the water, you’ll see the hills of the Cham Island which are extremely popular for snorkeling. Along the beach, there are plenty of seafood restaurants, cafes, resorts and coffee shops.
When we arrived, we used the main road to enter. There’s a very obvious scooter and bike parking lot to the right near the entrance sign pictured above. We used this lot to park our bicycles and unfortunately a local gentleman removed our bikes from this space.
He installed a boot so we couldn’t drive them and was asking for an extortionate amount of money to have it removed. It became a very stressful situation and luckily, a few other very nice locals came to help us. They were able to get him to remove it because we had already paid a small fee to the parking attendant.
Travel Tip: If you want to hire a sun lounger for the day, don’t do it near the main entrance. Walk a fair distance down the beach and you’ll find ones for much cheaper.
9. Sip Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Wake up early, wander aimlessly around Hoi An ancient town, watching as business owners sweep their doorsteps and bicycles ‘bring bring’ their bells at you to pass. Keep walking until you find an enchanting coffee shop and order a “Cà phê sữa đá” which translates to milk coffee with ice.
This is a Vietnamese specialty coffee containing a layer of sweetened condensed milk at the bottom with a large shot of black coffee and ice. And it’s blooming lovely! Or you could try egg coffee, Cà phê trứng which is kind of like custard that tastes like egg and coffee.
As coffee lovers, we found ourselves looking forward to our mornings and maybe even had a few in the afternoon too. If you want to experience more than just a taste, try this popular tour:
You’ll learn about the coffee culture in Vietnam along with making various kinds of coffee. Or head to Phin Coffee near the Japanese Bridge. This was our favorite place in town. It’s in the middle of the walking street, but it’s tucked into a few alleyways so it’s a great escape from the hustle and bustle.
10. Wander The Countryside
Another popular activity near Hoi An is exploring the beautiful countryside. We think it’s completely underestimated because we had no expectations and it ended up being one of our favorite memories from Hoi An. You can grab a bicycle, rent a motorbike or a book a tour to see rural Vietnam at it’s finest.
As we cycled along the narrow roads, we weaved in and out of dense rice fields and fishing lakes, past houses with farmers working out their land. Push yourself to explore all the small islands in the river if you have time.
If you don’t want to make the journey to the countryside on your own, you can book one of these tours below:
These would be a great way to learn about the area from a local’s perspective which is something we missed by doing it on our own.
11. Learn About Hoi An History
In addition to walking around the old town, we highly recommend you take some time to learn about the city as a whole. Here are important historical sites you should visit if you have time:
- Hoi Quan Phuoc Kien – Chinese temple built in the 17th century and dedicated to a sea goddess
- Old House of Tan Ky – Well-preserved 18th century merchant’s house offering guided tours
- Precious Heritage – An art gallery showcasing Vietnam’s local ethnic groups
- Tra Que Vegetable Village – Charming little village where you can learn about a farmers daily life
- Hoi An Silk Village – Restored hotel with numerous silk weaving displays
Personally, the more we explored Hoi An, the more we became fascinated with the history. It was one of our favorite cities in Vietnam and there’s so much to learn if you’re a history buff.
12. Book A Tour
Hoi An is a magical place and there are many unique activities to experience in town. But there are also many day trip options you can do too. Here’s a quick overview of the popular locations near town:
- My Son Sanctuary – A complex featuring over 70 ancient Hindu temples recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site
- Ba Na Hills – Part of Sun World, this is one of Vietnam’s most popular resorts and home of the Golden Bridge
- Cham Islands – The best place to enjoy a day of snorkeling and swimming off the coast of Hoi An
- Marble Mountains – A cluster of limestone mountains near Da Nang with beautiful caves and historic Buddhist pagodas
- Hue – Vietnam’s imperial city centered around the Perfume Rive with a century old fortress and imperial tombs
Another option is to drive the Hai Van Pass. Made famous by TopGear, this 21km mountain pass is world famous. We hired two motorbikes plus a guide and drove the pass ourselves from Hue to Hoi An. It was incredible and we’d recommend it if you have the time.
READ: How to survive the Hai Van Pass
We had originally planned to book one of the tours above during our last day in Hoi An, but one evening we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Phong during our dinner at one of the restaurants in the town. He asked us if we would like a private tour with him at his home in a village nearby.
He then showed us some diaries of tourists who had previously taken his private tour. It seemed to look legit. So, we took a chance. And we’re forever glad we did. Mr. Phong is an incredibly interesting man, a Vietnam war veteran who was imprisoned near Hue for over a year. During our time with him, we learned more about Vietnam, culture, history and tourism than a year of traveling the country would have taught us.
After writing about him in our guides, many of our readers were able to find and book a tour with him. But as of December 2022, Mr. Phong is officially retired and no longer accepting tours. We hope he’s having a well deserved and long enjoyable retirement! You can read about our private Hoi An tour here.
13. Hoi An Memories Land
Created in 2018, Hoi An Memories Land is the first cultural theme park in Vietnam. It’s an outdoor show featuring over 500 performers in a vibrant dance production. The show takes place in the Hoi An Impression Theme Park about 2km (1.2 miles) away from the old town. It’s about a 30 minute walk or you can book a GrabCar.
Unfortunately, we didn’t know about this performance as it just opened when we visited Hoi An so it’s definitely something we’d add to our bucket list for next time. You can book tickets online with Get Your Guide here or Klook here. Compare prices before purchasing.
Our Interactive Map
Use our Hoi An interactive map above to help orientate yourself with the city. Click to activate the map. We’ve included the best things to see that we already mentioned in this guide. Or you can access our map via this link here.
Map Key:
- Red – Our top attractions
- Yellow – Where to find Banh Mi
- Purple – Popular day trips
- Dark Blue – Hotel recommendations
- Black – Transportation hubs
Plan your itinerary based on what you want to see in town.
Where To Stay
Hoi An is one of Vietnam’s premier tourist destinations. Its beautiful UNESCO ancient town particularly attracts wealthy travelers. Therefore, with a healthy budget at your disposal you can stay at some incredible hotels. However, it’s the low to mid budget travelers who’ll find that due to high competition, you can pick up a lovely hotel for a surprisingly decent price.
Here are the top hotels we recommend for budget, mid range and luxury in Hoi An:
- La Charm Hoi An Hotel (budget) – A 10 minute walk along the Thu Bon River to the west of ancient town
- Hoian Central Hotel (mid-range) – With large outdoor pool, garden and beautiful rooms, it’s located within the ancient town perimeter
- Little Riverside (luxury) – Stunning rooms located on the river bank about a 2 minute walk from ancient town
If you want to search for other options or look for a homestay farther outside of town, click here to search for more accommodation.
What To Know Before Visiting
Hoi An is a beautiful travel destination. But after visiting ourselves we think there are a few things you should know. Here are a few tips:
- There is no train station or airport in Hoi An so it can be difficult to get to town.
- The closest airport is Da Nang International about 30km (18.5 miles) away. Use Skyscanner to search for the best value flights.
- Or you can take a train to Da Nang then make your way to Hoi An. Traveling from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City would take around 15-17 hours. Check prices on 12Go Asia.
- We drove the Hai Van Pass from Hue to Hoi An with Motorvina and it was amazing. You can book it here or check out this popular option.
- You can also book a private transfer to Da Nang with Klook for about US $12.00 or use Grab which is similar to Uber.
- Hoi An has two distinct seasons, the dry season which runs from March to September and wet season running from October to February. For the most comfortable temperatures with low humidity, visit February to April.
- Tourism in Hoi An is generally more advanced than other parts of Vietnam so you’ll need to use strong bargaining skills and stand your ground with pushy vendors.
- Always carry cash because many places do not accept card.
- Be careful when parking your bike at the beach up and lock up if possible.
- Driving the Hai Van Pass from Hue to Hoi An is stunning and we highly recommend it if you have time in your itinerary.
READ: Best way to travel between Da Nang and Hoi An
The Morgan Conclusion
What we liked: Walking the streets and seeing the yellow buildings lit up amongst the lanterns in the old town is unforgettable. Hoi An is an incredibly picturesque place and it’s hard not to love. We thought the ancient town looked even better in person and were surprised by how much there was to do.
What we didn’t like: But due to Hoi An’s beauty, it can be very crowded and felt a bit touristy at times. We also had to constantly deal with very pushy vendors every time we wandered through the old town which started to wear on us after a few days.
Is visiting Hoi An worth it? Yes, we absolutely think Hoi An is worth visiting and it’s one of our favorite cities in Vietnam. While it can be a bit commercialized, it’s a unique place that has been extremely well preserved and offers a lot of history for visitors. We highly recommend starting your day early to avoid the heat and large crowds.
More From Vietnam
- Best things to do in Vietnam
- Activities you shouldn’t miss in Sapa
- An epic two day itinerary for Hanoi
- Why 2 days is enough time in Hanoi
- How to travel from Hanoi to Halong bay
- What to look for in a Halong Bay Cruise
- Things to experience in Ninh Binh
- Why you should visit Phong Nha
- How to find Hue’s Abandoned Waterpark
- Is visiting Dark Cave in Phong Nha worth it?
Want more Vietnam content? Head over to our Vietnam Travel Guides to see example itineraries, tips and popular city guides.
We hope our guide featuring the best things to do in Hoi An helps with planning your visit!
Please let us know if you have any questions about traveling through Vietnam in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
Enjoy this Vietnam guide? Pin it for later!
Note: This article contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
All Rights Reserved © Where Are Those Morgans, LLC. Republishing this article and/or any of its contents (text, photography, maps, graphics, etc.) in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us.