Hoi An
Discover Hoi An
Hoi An (Vietnamese: Hội An) is a beautiful city in Vietnam about 30 km to the south of Da Nang. The Old Town of Hoi An is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hoi An is also commonly used as the base for half-day trips to a cluster of abandoned and partially ruins of My Son, another UNESCO World Heritage Site in the west of the Central Highlands. Hoi An, once known as Faifo, with more than 2,000 years of history, was the principal port of the Cham Kingdom, which controlled the strategic spice trade with Indonesia from the 7th-10th centuries and was a major international port in the 16th and 17th centuries. The foreign influences are discernible to this day.
What to Experience in Hoi An
Taste of Hoi An...
In addition to the usual suspects, there are dishes that Hoi An is particularly famous for: Meals at restaurants in the touristy center of Hoi An are generally more expensive than outside at a more local place (depending on the dish and the location) and portions served are smaller, but most dishes are still inexpensive and delicious. A few touristy places can actually be more convincing than the local ones, like Madam Khanh — still running strong and fairly priced as of Nov 2023. However, street snacks, bakeries, coffee places, and beverages in restaurants are often double the common local price. For Mì Quảng try the following two inexpensive local restaurants (close to each other) in the northern part of Hoi An: Walking along the river at night, you will find a lot of pubs. Beer is around 30,000 dong. Cocktails are 20,000-50,000 dong. There are some bar foods available, such as fried prawn crackers for around 15,000 dong a plate. Hoi An is not a real party destination and has a rather limited number of nightlife locations. Hotels in Hoi An are fiercely competitive, which means plenty of choice and generally high standards. Budget options start at 90,000 dong. Many are clustered around Hai Ba Trung St and "Ba Trieu" (formerly, Nhi Trung St), just north of the Old Town and within easy walking distance, and also along Cua Dai St, off to the east and a bit of a hike away. Most of Hoi An's high-end hotels are located along the unbroken beach stretching from Da Nang to Hoi An.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsThe nearest airport is Da Nang (DAD), which has domestic connections from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Can Tho, and Da Lat and some international flights from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Singapore, Siem Reap (for Angkor Wat), Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and charter flights from China. A taxi between Da Nang airport and Hoi An costs about 300–500,000 dong (Nov 2023). This is one occasion where haggling to set a fixed price is cheaper than going by the meter. Shuttle buses cost 130,000 dong per person. The journey takes about 45 min. The nearest railway station is 15.81007108.231171 Trà Kiệu, 15 km from Hoi An by road. Train tickets can be booked online. A Grab there should be around 80-100,000 dong (Nov 2023). The public bus from the center of Da Nang to Hoi An has been discontinued since COVID. As of Nov 2023, you can take Bus 16 from downtown Da Nang to its most southern stop (6,000 dong), Việt Hàn "bus station". From there, just outside of the bus station, is the 15.97352108....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
The centre of Hoi An is very small and pedestrian-friendly, so you will be walking around most of the time. Motorbikes are banned from the centre of town during certain times of day (08:00 to 11:00, 13:30 to 16:30), but you should keep an eye out for motorized kamikazes, even in the most narrow alleys. The city government does not allow motorbikes to enter Old Town on the 14th and 15th of each lunar month. On those evenings, a lot of activities, including traditional games such as bai choi, trong quan, and dap nieu are held in all over the town. Pedal bicycles can be rented quickly and easily for as low as 20,000 dong per day, and is one of the best ways to get around town. If you are not staying directly in Old Town, this is an outstanding option for traveling back and forth and to the beach. You will see many tourists cycling through Hoi An.
Where to Stay
Hotels in Hoi An are fiercely competitive, which means plenty of choice and generally high standards. Budget options start at 90,000 dong. Many are clustered around Hai Ba Trung St and "Ba Trieu" (formerly, Nhi Trung St), just north of the Old Town and within easy walking distance, and also along Cua Dai St, off to the east and a bit of a hike away. Most of Hoi An's high-end hotels are located along the unbroken beach stretching from Da Nang to Hoi An. The closest is Cua Dai Beach, 5 km away. Hoi An regularly floods during November. Visitors who plan to arrive during one of their floods should book ahead. The city stayed open during the November 2013 floods, although there were news reports of tourist evacuations. As hotels near the river flooded, tourists started moving to hotels on higher ground. Flooding affected streets up to four blocks uphill from the river, as well as the hotel and restaurant area across the bridge on An Hoi peninsula.
Money & Budget
There are many ATMs around Hoi An. 15.88321108.325111 VP Bank is on the way to the center along the parallel S-roads, and 15.88986108.328762 TP Bank is in the northern, less touristy part of the city, both not charging fees. But you can also try ACB, they might not charge either. For changing money the best places are the gold shops near the market. Hoi An is known as the centre for affordable custom-made clothing. There are around 400 tailor shops in the city, some better than others. Most can complete something in one day, so you may wish to make an order on arrival so there will be time to complete the work. The principle of caveat emptor is definitely relevant. You will probably need to leave a deposit of about 25% the finished price before the work is started.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
Hoi An regularly floods during November. Visitors who plan to arrive during one of their floods should book ahead. The city stayed open during the November 2013 floods, although there were news reports of tourist evacuations. As hotels near the river flooded, tourists started moving to hotels on higher ground. Flooding affected streets up to four blocks uphill from the river, as well as the hotel and restaurant area across the bridge on An Hoi peninsula. The water levels for this flood seem slightly below the levels of the 2011 flood; the cleanup seemed to be well handled. Most hotels, restaurants and cafés have free Wi-Fi. There is also a widely available citywide network: to connect, open your browser and click the banner at the top. From Hoi An bus station buses run to Da Nang, ending the route at the bus station, where there are many options. An early bus directly to Pakse, even a long ride to Vientiane. In order to cross the border to Lao, there are many buses to Kom Tum.
Nearby Destinations
Glimpses of Hoi An
ancient colonial city of Hoi An, Vietnam
assorted-color Chinese lanterns at night
the river Hoi An
panoramic photography of house in front of body of water
Every year in rainy season, after weeks of raining, the streets of Hoi An get flooded. Giving boat operators new opportunities.
ancient colonial city of Hoi An, Vietnam
woman in black and orange floral long sleeve dress holding umbrella
people walking down a street lined with yellow buildings
Múa thúng trên rừng dừa #traditionalart #vietnam #quangnam #hoian #pentaxspotmatic #kodakgold200
a person riding a bike down a street at night
ancient colonial city of Hoi An, Vietnam
assorted-color Chinese lanterns at night
the river Hoi An