Only 30km far from Da Nang, Hoi An is a favorite destination in Vietnam for many travelers for the atmospheric ancient town by the poetic river, the rustic, idyllic landscapes, cultural fusion, world’s best Banh Mi and tailor-made clothes. As a world heritage, Hoi An has so much to offer in terms of places to see and things to do. If you want to get the most out of your experience in this world-heritage destination, update your list of Top Things to do in Hoi An below.
1. Explore Hoi An Ancient Town
The most important feature of Hoi An is undoubtedly Hoi An Ancient Town which is the most important and well-reserved legacy from a glorious era of Hoi An.
Used to be an international port during the 15th to 17th centuries, Hoi An witnessed a peaceful cultural fusion between Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese cultures. Nowadays, travelers coming to Hoi An still can see the evidence of this era in the ancient quarter of the town with architecture, cuisine, and culture.
Hoi An ancient town is a must-see destination, recommended to everyone who’s planning to Hoi An.
Hoi An Museum of History & Culture
To learn more about the history and culture of Hoi An, visit this museum for more insights of the time when Hoi An was still a major Asian trading port, attracting merchants from all across the globe – France, Portugal, and the Netherlands mingled with Japan, China, Thailand, India, and Vietnam.
The museum offers a full display of the objects through the years of Hoi An’s history like ceramics and pottery items, historical photographs and drawings. Visiting the museum also gives you a look at the influence of Cham culture in the central region of Vietnam.
Location: 13 Nguyen Hue Street
Opening Hours: 8:00 – 17:00
Tan Ky Old House
Tan Ky Old House at no.101 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street is a brilliant example of the architecture of 18thmerchant’s residence in Hoi An. The name “Tan Ky” expresses the wish of the owner for a more prosperous business just like any merchant that used to live on the streets of this town. House’s decoration represents an oriental philosophy with triple-beam structure, five-round blocks, many distichs….
Fujian Assembly Hall (Hoi Quan Phuc Kien)
Built by merchants from Fujian, an assembly hall is a gathering place of the Chinese community in Hoi An back in the day. Just look at how grand and colorful the architecture and decoration are, you can easily imagine the merry, busy atmosphere of the hall during its heyday. Typical mythological figures of Chinese culture in the very impressive courtyard will catch your eyes from the very first moments.
Nowadays, local people come to Fujian Assembly Hall to wish for children. There are also 12 ‘midwives’ figures on the ground of the Hall.
Location: 46 Tran Phu Street
The Japanese Covered Bridge
Dated back to 18th century, Japanese Covered Bridge is the iconic construction of Hoi An which was featured on the 20,000dong. Built by the Japanese merchants living in Hoi An back in the day, the bridge was made to connect the Japanese quarter with the Chinese quarter. The most important features of Japanese Covered Bridge are the sculptures of two dogs and two monkeys, representing the birth years of prominent Japanese Emperors.
Location: West end of Tran Phu Street
To visit the town’s attractions (assembly halls, old houses) you should buy a package ticket:
– 80,000VND for domestic tourists (3 attractions)
– 120,000VND for foreign tourists (6 attractions)
2. Get Tailor-made Clothes
Hoi An is definitely the best place to go for some fine tailor-made clothes. Making clothes has been existing for generations in this town, a craft that has been mastered by both men and women. Just walk along the streets of the ancient town, you can easily see many of the old houses now has turned into tailor or clothing shops. Finding the shops that offer the very best of quality would be quite a feat. Here are our recommendations:
Yaly Couture – 4 showrooms all over Hoi An:
– Showroom 1: 47 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hoi An Town.
– Showroom 2: 47 Tran Phu Street, Hoi An.
– Showroom 3: 358 Nguyen Duy Hieu Street, Hoi An Town.
– Showroom 4: 580 Cua Dai Street, Hoi An Town.
Tips for getting tailor-made clothes:
– Make time in Hoi An. You’ll need at least two or three days spent in the town if you want to get the best clothes made for you – including finding tailor shops, getting your design done (if requested) and at least 2 fittings.
– Be specific about what you want your clothes to be and make sure your tailor understand you.
– When trying your clothes, if there's anything you don’t like about the clothes, just tell the tailor.
– However, don’t expect tailor-clothes to be like clothes made by professional designers.
3. Join Cooking Class while in Hoi An
One of the things worth to do in Hoi An is joining a local cooking class where you can learn cooking and tasting traditional Vietnamese home-cooked dishes. Tra Que Vegetable Village is a great place to join a cooking class. Not too far from Hoi An, come to Tra Que, your cooking experience is absolutely safe with all the organic herbs and vegetables planted and nurtured by local farmers.
Other cooking classes inside Hoi An Town include Green Bamboo Cooking School, My Granma’s Home Cooking, Taste Vietnam – Ms. Vy’s Cooking Classes….
4. Hoi An Nightlife – What to do in Hoi An at night
Hoi An at night is just magical and atmospheric as it can be, especially on the 14th night of the lunar month when all the electric lights are turned off and the lanterns are lit. The reflections of the river set the whole town aglow.
5. Enjoy the delicious food at Hoi An
Stroll the streets of Hoi An, you can easily find vendors and stalls selling food on the sidewalks. Or come to the night food market of Hoi An which is located right next to the Japanese Covered Bridge. It’s the perfect place to enjoy both the delicacies and the bustling atmosphere of Hoi An.
Tips:
– Ask the prices before sitting down the vendor’ stalls
– Choose the stalls with most locals sitting at, they must be good
Your Hoi An Food List includes Cao Lau, Spring Rolls, Wonton, Chicken Rice, Quang Noodles, Xi Ma, Kem Ong, and Corn Sweet Soup. The prices for these dishes are cheap.
6. Stroll Hoi An’s night market
On the An Hoi island, the night market of Hoi An is the highlight of Hoi An’s nightlife. Hosting bog crowds of both locals and tourists, the night market is the place for shopping and trying Hoi An’s delicacies. All kinds of products are displayed on the trolleys and tables along the sidewalks such as handicraft items, clothes, accessories, bracelets, necklaces and especially lanterns.
This is also a paradise of street food where you can find the best snacks of Hoi An: water fern cakes, sweet mango cakes, stick ice cream, Banh Mi, Thai crepe, and more.
Tips:
– On weekend nights, the night markets can be so crowded. Beware of your surroundings and keep your belongings in front and close to your body.
– Try bargain for the lanterns, you can pay about 75% of the price the seller quoted.
– Opening hours: 5.00 pm – 11.00 pm
7. Ride a boat on Thu Bon River and put the flower lanterns down on the water
This activity is a favorite thing to do for many travelers to Hoi An which you can experience in nowhere else in Vietnam. When the night falls, you can walk along glimmering streets of the old town and find the little girls holding baskets full of flower lanterns. One flower lantern cost between 5,000VND and 10,000VND. You can just lit and hold the lanterns and come near to the riverbanks to put them down on the river. Or pay 20,000VND to sit on a small boat paddling along the river. Don’t forget to make a wish after releasing the lanterns.
8. Bars/Pubs/Live Music in Hoi An town
Hoi An might not be as active as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City at night but it has its own charms with quite a number of atmospheric bars and lives music restaurants for you to enjoy the drinks and music from local artists. There is a long list of places to enjoy the night:
– Tam Tam Café – 2nd Floor, 110 Nguyen Thai Hoc
– Before and Now Bar – 51 Le Loi Street, Hoi An
– Restaurant Café 96 – 96 Bach Dang Town Centre
– White Marble Wine Bar – 98 Le Loi Street
– Q Bar Hoi An – 94 Nguyen Thai Hoc Str
– The Hill Station: 321 Nguyen Duy Hieu Str
When is the best time to visit Hoi An?
Hoi An is located on the east coast of Central Vietnam, has the typical for the tropical climate of Vietnam. The city only has two main seasons: rainy and dry seasons instead of four seasons like in Northern Vietnam.
The best time to visit Hoi An is the dry season because the rainy season can bring floods to the town. The dry season in Hoi An lasts from February to May with mild weather, moderate temperature, low humidity, less rain, and warm sunshine. For those who love to enjoy swimming and sunbathing on the beaches of An Bang and Cua Dai, June will be the best time for you to do so.
July and August can still offer decent weather with sunny days, blue skies, high temperature with sudden rains to help calm down the heat. September witness the increase of rain and from October to January is the rainy season with the possibility of floods happening and lowest temperature.
What to eat in Hoi An?
Hoi An is no doubt one of the best places to enjoy Vietnamese traditional dishes, including some very famous one like Banh Mi. Not only Banh Mi, but you can also find plenty of another dish in Hoi An in our list below and where to find it:
1. Cao Lau
A very common and famous dish in this little town. Cao Lau and Mi Quang are two dishes you can find at any restaurant and Hoi An market. The dish is noodle-based, can be topped with pork, chicken, or even seafood, herbs, bean sprouts...
The noodle of this dish is so special that it can only make the water in Ba Le well in Hoi An town. The water will make the noodle thick, much more like Udon noodle.
2. Banh Xeo (Sizzling Pancake)
If you' are a fan of Vietnamese cuisine, you must have tried Banh Xeo before since it's one of the most recommended for travelers coming to Vietnam. Come to Ba Le Well Restaurant in Hoi An to taste the best Banh Xeo in town. The crispy pancakes here always have prawns, sliced pork and bean sprouts. You eat it by placing a piece of the pancake on a rice paper and lettuce, roll it and dip it into a bowl of dipping sauce.
Bale Well Restaurant: 45/51 Tran Hung Dao Street, Minh An, Hoi An
3. Mi Quang (Quang Noodle)
It's easy to be mistaken Mi Quang and Cao Lao with each other. Mi Quang is another noodle-based soup and originally from Quang Nam which makes the dish one of Hoi An's specialty. Mi Quang uses more toppings than Cao Lau, including quail eggs, slices of pork, prawns, peanuts, and spices. The noodle is made from rice or wheat, soaked in the broth made from boiling pig's bones. This is just good stuff to eat at every time of day.
The dish is everywhere in Hoi An, from restaurants to street stalls, you can easily sit down and enjoy slurping for a good 30 minutes.
– Mui Quang is generally cheap, about 15,000 – 25,000 VND per bowl. Some places to find Mi Quang:
– Mr. Hai restaurant – 6A Truong Minh Luong Street
– Ms. Bich restaurant at 272 Hung Vuong Str.
– On Thai Phien Street
4. Banh Mi
Banh Mi can be found anywhere in Vietnam, yet Hoi An has the best Banh Mi thanks to Anthony Bourdain - this is something many eaters agree about. The two legendary places that have to make Hoi An's Banh Mi so popular are:
Madam Khanh The Banh My Queen - 115 Tran Cao Van, Minh An, Hoi An
Banh My Phuong - 2b Phan Chu Trinh, Cam Chau, Hoi An
The common thing of the two places is that their Banh Mis have various fillings from fried eggs, grilled pork, pate, sausages and a lot of vegetables and herbs. The sauce which enhances the taste of a whole Banh Minh is the secret that makes Vietnamese Banh Mi is so different from other sandwiches. This dish is a must-try for travelers visiting Hoi An.
5. White Roses
White Rose Dumpling are made at White Rose restaurant ( 533 Hai Ba Trung) and the water to make the dish, again, has to come from the mystic well of Ba Le. However, you can enjoy this dish from other places with cheaper prices. The dumplings are served with a heavenly tasted dipping sauce. Don't miss this dish out on your Hoi An food checklist.
6. Com Ga (Chicken Rice)
Com Ga is such a sweet experience in Hoi An. The dish is simple yet easy to eat and can make you full for a long time.
The boiled chicken will be torn into small pieces, put on top of the rice cooked with chicken broth, with a dash of fresh turmeric to give it a glossy yellow color. The dish is served with mint leaves, opinion...