Hoi An Travel Guide: The Most Charming Town in Vietnam
Hoi An, also known as the “City of Lanterns”, is a magical, enchanting town in Central Vietnam. The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999 for it’s well-preserved ancient architecture and culture. Hoi An is famous for the lanterns which light up the town at each night and for the incredible lantern boat rides you can do along the river.
It’s also called the “Bahn Mi” capital of Vietnam so you’re gonna wanna make sure you have a bahn mi while you’re here. And you’re gonna want to make time to get some clothing custom tailored too! Visiting Hoi An should definitely be on the top of your Vietnam bucket list, so here are our favorite things we did during our time there.
Also please refer to our Ho Chi Minh City blog post for some other facts and things you should know about Vietnam in general!
How to Get to Hoi An
To get to Hoi An, you usually fly into the Da Nang airport. You can get a flight to the Da Nang airport from nearly any city in Vietnam. We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang and we took a Grab from the Da Nang to Hoi An, which was about an hour drive.
Grab is a rideshare service similar to Uber that is used a lot in Asian countries. Grab is very affordable and you even choose to go on the back of a Grab bike to get around instead of a car! Make sure to download the Grab app before you arrive.
Where to Stay in Hoi An
Some people do day trips to Hoi An and choose to stay in Da Nang which is a bigger city. But we stayed in Hoi An and really liked our experience! We stayed at the Moire Hoi An which is a 5-star luxury resort right on the river overlooking the ancient town. The location was perfect because we could walk across the bridge to the old town and they even had free bikes to rent if you wanted to do that too. We loved our experience at the Moire and would definitely recommend staying here if you come to Hoi An!
Browse other Hoi An hotels here on Expedia!
Best Things to do in Hoi An
Lantern Boat Ride
bike to Rice Paddy Fields
Lady Buddha
Monkey Mountain
Explore the Ancient Town - The ancient town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with cultural influences from not only Vietnam but also China, Japan, and France. You can walk through the winding lantern-filled streets, cross the famous 16th century Japanese Bridge, and pop into the little shops along the river.
Do a Lantern Boat Ride - Hoi An is famous for it’s nightly lantern boat rides which are so, so magical and our favorite thing we did on our trip (we did one every night!). Around sunset you’ll see all the lantern boats come in and you can buy a ticket at one of the many official ticket stands right along the river. Tickets cost around $6 USD per boat (a little more if you want a larger boat for more people) and last about 20 minutes. The lines to ride the boat get longer after the sun sets but don’t worry they go pretty fast and there are plenty of boats. You can also buy a paper lantern along the river to make a wish while you’re in the boat too! They are about $2 USD each.
Get Clothing Custom Tailored - Hoi An is famous for it’s custom tailoring, where the seamstresses complete the work in usually 24-48 hours! We went to Winnie at TaTa Tailor inside the Cloth Market and got our custom pieces made within 2 days and are in love with them! You can show them inspo photos of what you want made, and then they can make any adjustments you want as well.
Bike ride to the Rice Paddy Fields - we rented free bikes from our hotel to the rice paddy fields, about a 25 minute cycle from the ancient town. We went to a cafe on the rice paddys called Roving Chillhouse which had amazing drinks and food with epic views of the fields.
Visit Reaching Out Tea House - a local tea house in the old town that is run by local people who suffer from hearing & speech impairment. They communicate to you in sign language and the cafe is very peaceful and serene.
Do a Day Trip to Lady Buddha, Monkey Mountain, and Marble Mountain - We booked a tour on our last day to visit Lady Buddha/Monkey Mountain and Marble Mountain in Da Nang. It was a half day tour and we got to see a lot. The Lady Buddha is the largest Buddha statue in Vietnam and she is known to protect the city. Below Lady Buddha is Monkey Mountain where you can see tons of wild monkeys, and lastly we visited Marble Mountain — a group of 5 limestone hills named after the five elements.
Find other activities and tours to do in Hoi An/Da Nang here on Expedia!
Where to Eat & Drink in Hoi An (Vegan)
Cam
MOT
Roving Chillhouse
We found that Vietnam was one of the easiest countries in the world to be vegan. The word chay in Vietnamese usually means vegan or vegetarian and it refers to food made without meat or animal products, and is often rooted in Buddhist traditions of non-violence and mindfulness. If you are vegan like us, make sure to look out for the word chay on menus or restaurants to get plant based options!
Le Hoi Banh My Chay - vegan bahn mi truck, rated one of the best vegan restaurants in the world!
Minh Hien - vegetarian/vegan Vietnamese food
V Vegan
i Vegan Supershop
Nourish Eatery
Ba Dam
MOT - try their famous iced herbal drink!
Reaching Out Tea House
Roving Chillhouse
Cam - the most amazing iced coconut cube Vietnamese coffee!
If you want to see everything we did during our time in Hoi An, make sure you check out our Hoi An YouTube vlog below!
As always, all opinions are honest and our own. Some links on this post are affiliate links of which we receive a small commission, but the price is the same for you.