Our Ultimate Travel Guide for Hoi An, Vietnam
Where to Eat, What to Do and How to Spend Time with Kids in this Lantern-Filled City
Having been in Bali now for almost two weeks, we keep finding our thoughts drifting back to our time in Hoi An. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Sanur reminds me of Hoi An, but I think the fact that it was our location on our last trip to southeast Asia, we keep unexpectedly making comparisons.
Words can’t quite express how much I loved Hoi An, but I hope this guide can give some others the motivation to check out the city for more than just a day or two. Personally, we stayed at an apartment for 3 weeks that was around a 10 minute walk from the Old Town, and I honestly could have stayed for longer. We were budgeting on this trip, as we were traveling for 4 ½ months, but we found a wonderful spot on Airbnb with two bedrooms, a rooftop pool, and bikes to use all for $30/night. We visited in February, and the weather was lovely - it wasn’t too hot and we had also managed to avoid the rainy season. I can only remember one or two days of our entire trip where it rained.
Hoi An Old Town
Best Things to Do in Hoi An
This list is going to be long, as there is so much to do in this town! It’s truly incredible that even with a 3 year old at the time, we were able to see and do so much.
Experience a Traditional Lantern Festival
Held each month during the full moon, the city of Hoi An goes all out to celebrate one of the most sacred times on the Buddhist calendar. While the small lanterns are light each night of the year on the river, it is much a bigger celebration that takes place once a month, with tourists from all over Vietnam and beyond visiting the city. Performances take place and poetry is read, all while the town is lit up by brightly colored lanterns under the brightness of the moon.
Hoi An Sunset Boat Rides
Visit the Japanese Bridge
Right in the center of the Old Town lies a beautiful, ancient bridge, originally built in the 17th century by the Japanese. According to mythology, an ancient monster named Namazu can cause natural disasters like earthquakes and floods by his movements. The bridge is meant to represent a magical sword in the monster’s back that will keep him still and prevent disasters. You can take a quick tour of the beautiful bridge and get some wonderful photo ops by its ornate architecture.
Hoi An Japanese Bridge
Take a Sunset Cruise on the River with Lanterns
As the sun starts to set in Hoi An, the river comes alive with boats offering inexpensive rides to tourists. The boats also come with small lanterns that you are meant to light and release into the water while making a wish. We had a bit of a challenge getting Maeve to properly release ours into the water, but the entire experience was so magical and we highly recommend it.
Check out the Hoi An Night Market
As the sun sets in Hoi An, vendors begin setting up stalls and selling a variety of goods, including traditional Vietnamese souvenirs and many, many lanterns. You can also find several street food vendors here, in case you are interested in trying some local delicacies.
Visit a Local Museum
Scattered throughout the Old Town are a handful of interesting small museums - all of which are not large time commitments. The Museum of Folk Culture is housed in an old Chinese trading house and has a collection of artifacts that help visitors understand daily life for Hoi An citizens from the past. Other museums like this are the Museum of Trade Ceramics that explains Vietnam’s history of trade with other Asian countries such as China and Thailand, or the the Museum of Traditional Medicine, that features various ancient medical techniques and practices. While the museums themselves are interesting, the ancient architecture of the buildings is reason enough to visit.
Step into a Temple
Hoi An has various temples that tourists can visit, including the Quan Cong, Ba Mu and Phuc Kien Temples. In many, you will be asked to take your shoes off before entering. We found these to be a nice retreat from the hustle and bustle of the Old Town. The architecture of the temples is also beautiful. Many of the temples had spiral structures hanging from the ceiling. After inquiring as to what they were, we found out they were large scale incense sticks that would take around a month to burn.
Learn about Silkmaking at Hoi An Silk Village
One day, we rode our bikes to the Hoi An Silk Village and got a tour of the silk making process that the villagers of Hoi An have been using for over 300 years. The coolest part about that was how amazed Maeve was at seeing the silkworms - they had them in various stages of life, from larvae to fully grown silkworms. Kevin put one of the worms on his finger to Maeve’s delight (since she was only 3 at the time, she wasn’t as grossed out as she would be today). They also did a demonstration of how they use the silk mill to create different products. Those interested can also buy the traditional garments in the shop on-site.
Hoi An Silk Factory Tour
Find a Tailor to Make You a Custom Suit or Dress
Hoi An is known as the tailoring capital of Vietnam and you will see custom tailor shops all throughout the town. There is also a large building with many vendors in the building next to the indoor food market. This was where we opted to go - Kevin got a custom suit and I had a dress made from scratch. What would have cost Kevin an outrageous amount in the US only cost him $90 USD here in Vietnam. The process was relatively simple - you go to a stall and explain what you are looking for, they take your measurements and then, depending on your timeframe (some people have to do rush orders if they will only be in Hoi An for one night), they will give you a time to come back and pick up the garment.
Hoi An Tailors
Discover Traditional Pottery
Thanh Ha Pottery Village, a short bike or taxi ride from Hoi An, is a nice way to spend half a day. The village is tiny and cute and we witnessed a lot of local women performing their craft. In fact, one woman had Maeve sit down at the wheel as she gave her a quick tutorial on how to make a ceramic bowl.
Pottery Village Hoi An
Spend a Day at the Beach
A short Grab (the Vietnamese version of Uber) ride away from the city center is An Bang beach. If it’s really hot and you need to cool off, there are several restaurants and beach clubs here where you can rent beds for the day.
Day Trips from Hoi An
My Son Sanctuary
A short drive from Hoi An is My Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage site that contains the breathtakingly beautiful ruins of an ancient Hindu temple. Built during the Champa Kingdom, this is, in my opinion, a must see if you are visiting the area. When we went, there was a school field trip happening at the same time. Over 300 schoolchildren from what seemed like rural Vietnam descended on the sanctuary and the moment they saw 3 year old Maeve, they FLIPPED. OUT. They had clearly never seen a young white girl with blonde curls and they lost it - they surrounded her in big circles, smiling and giggling with her and asking to take her photo.
To get to the sanctuary, we booked a day trip on Viator (linked below). The bus tour took us to the sanctuary, followed by a local lunch in a nearby village and ended with a boat trip back to Hoi An across the river.
Basket Boat Tour
Located in the Bay Mau coconut forest area outside of the city center, this was another highlight of our trip. Since it was close, we were able to ride our bikes there. The idea of the basket boats originated during the French colonial period - the French had placed a tax on normal boats and since the Vietnamese could not afford that, they instead constructed woven bamboo “boats” that they just called baskets as a way to avoid the tax. Today, tourists can come take short tours inside the basket boats. When we went, we had a boat to ourselves (they are pretty small) and were first taken to the center of the river where they asked if anyone wanted to try their hand at fishing. Kevin was obviously in and they transported him to a long fishing boat where they handed him a big fishing net to throw into the water. Needless to say, he didn’t catch a thing but we did get some great photos :)
Hoi An Places to Visit
Best Restaurants to Eat at in Hoi An, Vietnam
Bale Well Restaurant
We found this place shortly after arriving in Hoi An and it was incredible - they specialize in a set menu where you get barbequed pork, vegetables, rice paper and sauces and with that you can make your own spring rolls. It’s a ton of food and all delicious - every time we went here it was completely packed with people, but it’s quite large so you can usually get a spot.
Banh Mi Phuong
This banh mi spot was made famous after Anthony Bourdain ate here in 2009. Our Airbnb was really close so we would pick up sandwiches here for lunch often. Our favorites were the barbecued pork and mixed meat sandwiches.
Miss Ly
This was the first restaurant we ate at in Hoi An, jet lagged, having arrived at 11:00 pm the night before. It did not disappoint - the white rose shrimp dumplings were some of the best I had in the country.
Pho Xua
If you are looking for good pho in Hoi An, this is a great spot on the main drag of Phan Chu Trinh. They have a few tables inside but we sat on the sidewalk outside, where Maeve devoured an entire bowl of the famous Vietnamese noodle soup.
Com Linh
Across the street from Pho Xua, this restaurant was also very popular and known for their roast duck, which they can also add to pho. It has all of the standards, so you can get any Vietnamese dishes you are looking for here. We enjoyed eating here in the early evening as there are pretty twinkle lights on the street that give it a nice glow.
Cafe 43
I have dreams about this pork and pineapple hot pot with coconut milk that we got here. Bonus: the family who owns it had a young daughter so Maeve had a playmate during our time there.
Madam Khanh - The Banh Mi Queen
Everyone goes to Banh Mi Phuong and it’s understandable, it is very good, but we happened to think that the sandwiches from Madam Khanh were a bit more flavorful.
Banh Mi Hoi An
Cao Lau Hong Quyen
Another specialty of the Hoi An region is Cao Lau, a rich soup made with noodles that are specifically made with water from the nearby Ba Le well. This no frills spot made a delicious cao lau and if you want to venture out from the basic Vietnamese dishes, we suggest giving this a try.
Honorable Mentions - Non-Vietnamese Restaurants:
There are a decent amount of non-Vietnamese restaurants that we visited when we needed a change of pace. Here are a few I would recommend:
Good Morning Vietnam - Italian, worth it for the name alone and if you are in need of a gelato fix
MIX - A trendy Greek restaurant located right in the heart of the Old Town
Dingo Deli - Australian restaurant where you can buy some Western groceries, plus a kids play area in back
3 Dragons Sports Bar - we came here super early in the morning to watch the Super Bowl and it is a cool spot down by the river
Overall, Hoi An holds a very special place in my heart. It was the first place we had ever taken Maeve to in Asia, and we absolutely loved our time there. Whenever anyone mentions wanting to go to Vietnam, I always suggest Hoi An and I think it deserves a quick stopover.
