If you’re planning your trip to Vietnam, Hoi A will be an essential stop on your route!

I knew about Hoi An long before I did any actual research into Vietnam as it’s such a classic stop – most of the photos of the lanterns are from this wonderful place. You’ll have probably seen lots of these photos if you’re researching Vietnam! As it is a tourist hot spot, I had been worried that we would be disappointed on arrival – some places hadn’t lived up to our expectations, but it was the complete opposite.  While it is a busy place and yes, it is full of tourists with lots of touristy things to do, it is also full of charm. The buildings in the old town are so picturesque with the colourful lanterns, the river is busy with little boats decorated with more lanterns, the streets are full of bustling cafes, unique shops and markets. We had 3 full days here, but I would have happily stayed for longer!

Essential Things To Do in Hoi An 

I’d gather my bearings by walking around the old town first up. You can easily get around on foot, and whilst there are tuktuk bikes, they were often held up by people walking as lots of the streets are very narrow, so you might find you’ll get around quicker on foot. Lots of the hotels just outside of the old town perimeter offered bike hire to get you down to where you’d want to explore. We just walked as then we could take it all in! Our accommodation – the Green Apple hotel is about 20 minutes away from the main area and was a lovely 3 star hotel that fitted nicely in our backpackers budget and included breakfast and a pool. 

Once you’re in the old town, I’d recommend taking a day to explore and wander. Visit the art galleries, the markets, souvenir shops, temples and more. It’s a great place to get clothes made too. We didn’t as we didn’t have the space in our backpacks so it’ll be something we do on our return. If you do fancy getting something tailor made, I’d head to your tailors of choice as one of the first things as it will take a few days to be made and you’ll want to leave enough time to come back for alterations. 

In the old town, we loved looking in the shops. I picked out some of my favourite souvenirs of the whole six months. We chose beautiful lanterns – you’ll buy folded and wrapped lanterns that can be assembled when you arrive home. I also picked out lovely art work from a local artist which is really special as I know once it’s hung on our wall, I’ll always be reminded of buying it Hoi An. 

If you really want to make the most of your time in the town, there are plenty of lantern making workshops and cooking classes available. 

In the evenings, Hoi An is bustling. There are live music bars, restaurants and more to spend your evening at. I think Hoi An had one of the best nightlifes we experienced in Vietnam as it was busy so there was atmosphere but it was really chilled and it didn’t feel as intense as it was on some of the bigger city beer streets. There were lots of locals, families and younger backpackers so it really suited everyones needs. 

An activity that we knew we needed to do were the famous coconut boats. We’d been watching ‘Jack Whitehall’s Travels with My Father’ and had been inspired to partake in this activity. It was expensive for what it was, but was hilarious and I’m so glad we did it. Based on a traditional way of fishing, the boats have now become popular with tourists and its such a unique way of rowing as a long thin oar is used rather than a typical oar I’ve used before. If you really fancy getting an adrenaline rush, you can get spun around in one of the boats for an extra fee! My boyfriend decided he fancied a go – it wasn’t for me, so I just watched and it was hilarious! He loved it but after realised he probably shouldn’t have left his only pair of glasses on in case he’d fallen out of the boat, haha. If you fancy a trip on the coconut boats, it is a little out of the main town, so we used grab to get there and back, but lots of hostels offered shuttle buses or push bike hire for getting there. 

Food in Hoi An

Hoi An wasn’t just fab for activities and picturesque views, it was also amazing for food. We had amazing bahn mi’s from little cafes which were Anthony Bourdain approved and tried the local Hoi An dish, Long Com Ga which is a chicken and rice dish. It was delish! 

There are a few restaurants that offer western cuisines but this was such a fab place for Vietnamese food that it seemed wrong to not eat local. Whilst most of the time we chose to go to smaller family run restaurants, we did also eat at Morning Glory Signature. It is a family run restaurant, but it is a fancier eatery than some of the other places we had eaten. The food was incredible, we went with friends we met on our Hai Van Pass tour and we absolutely loved it. It was pricier than we had been paying but it was not expensive. The cocktails were delicious too! If you fancy it, street food is really popular here, especially with those who have been partaking in a drinking session! 

Han’s Hint: If you’re not sure where to eat, have a quick look on Google maps and read the reviews on the restaurants around you. We mostly chose places with 3.0 points and above rating. Sometimes the ‘better’ rated places weren’t that nice, we had a couple that we were surprised they had been reviewed so well and sometimes it’s better to go for those with less points if the recent reviews are positive. Some of the places that weren’t as well reviewed were our favourite spots. 

How To Get To Hoi An

So as we were travelling south, we were on our way down from Hue. Of course, if you’re heading north, you can just do the reverse but working our way south made more sense for our overall route. Hue wasn’t too far north of Hoi An and it was possible to travel between on buses and it takes about 3 hours ish. I’d recommend booking on 12Go as this is the best app for comparing all your journey options in one place. We booked 99% of our travel through here (Not an AD or affiliate, just wouldn’t have known where to book without 12Go!). However, if you’re fancying something a little different, between Hue and Hoi An is the incredible and Top Gear famous, Hai Van Pass. The pass can be travelled over by motorbike and you can book a tour to take you between the two. I cannot recommend it enough! And don’t worry, you don’t have to drive yourself as there are options to do the easy rider version.

If you fancy doing this as part of a tour, I would 100% recommend Le Family Riders. You can find them on Instagram, Trip Advisor and google to message in advance. They were all so friendly, everyone who had a easy rider felt really comfortable and they were fab at keeping the whole group together as there were a few of us independently driving. The tour included a waterfall stop, lunch at a seafood restaurant, bottles of water, bike & helmet hire and the transport of the bags. Mike came across the Le Family Riders when Lui (the main man himself) had stopped him whilst he was exploring Hue alone. When he returned and said he’d found a bike company as the guy had stopped, handed him a business card and zoomed off, I wasn’t convinced but once we googled and saw they were the top rated motorbike tour in Hue, we decided to go for it! Lui was so helpful with the organisation of the tour, especially when we had to delay a day as I was too poorly to travel.  We honestly had one of the best days on our month in Vietnam on this tour, so I would absolutely recommend!

If you want to really branch out, and you’re confident in your ability to drive a ped, there are plenty of companies who offer just bike hire instead. Either direction, they’ll arrange for your big luggage to be taken to their office in the city that you’re travelling to, for you to collect on arrival. Our friends did it this way as it can give you more flexibility and they had a lovely evening in Da Nang, and enjoyed an afternoon of sunbathing on the beach there. Just make sure you have good travel insurance, whatever you do! 

There is so much more than just what I’ve touched on the surface of here, but I hope it’s given you some inspo of what you can do in this beautiful, lantern covered town! Hoi An is truly an unmissable place on any Vietnam route. 

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading!