This article contains all useful information about the city of Hoi An (Vietnam): how to get to Hoi An, how to get around the city, where to live, where to eat, what to buy and how much it all costs :)
Vietnam, Hoi An. Well the streets of the old city
Vietnam Hoi An: general information
Hoi An is a small city in central Vietnam on the banks of the Thu Bon River. Hoi An's history dates back over 2,000 years, and in the 16th century, Hoi An was an important port and trading center in Southeast Asia. Merchants from Europe, China, and Japan sailed here.
Now Hoi An is called an open-air museum city: the city has preserved ancient Chinese-style houses, temples, meeting houses, and a Japanese bridge. More than 800 buildings in the city have historical value. Since 1999, Hoi An has been under the protection of UNESCO.
On the territory of one of the temples in Hoi An The chic Hoi An Beach is located 4 km from the old town of Hoi An. The road to it runs past rice fields and houses of local residents.
Hoi An Beach The old town of Hoi An is simply made for romantic walks. The central streets of the old city are closed to traffic every day from 8:30 to 11:00 and from 15:00 to 21:30 and half the city turns into a sort of Walking street :)
Walking pedestrian streets in the center of the old town 
Evening Walking Street Weather in Hoi An. Best time to visit
Hoi An has two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season. The dry season begins in January–February and ends in August. The rainy season begins in September and lasts until December. The heaviest amount of precipitation occurs in October–November. During these months, heavy rains, typhoons and even floods are possible. Houses in the old town of Chojna sometimes flood up to the second floor!
Hoi An is cool in winter and very hot in summer. The hottest and driest period is July – August.
What is the best time to visit Hoi An?
If it's your priority beach holiday, then it’s better to choose for a holiday in Hoi An period from June to August. In September - November there are strong storms, and in winter the sea water temperature is cool.
For an excursion holiday in Hoi An, it is better to choose period from January to April, it’s not so hot yet and it’s nice to walk around the city.
We vacationed in Hoi An at the end of May: it was wildly hot outside (more than +40!), but the sea was still cool.
At the end of May, Hoi An was extremely hot. During the day there were no people on the streets at all! Everyone except me was hiding under air conditioning in hotels or sunbathing on the beach. Hoi An: how to get there
You will also have to get from Da Nang railway station to Hoi An by taxi or pre-booked transfer.
By bus
The best way to get to Hoi An is to take a bus. The buses in Vietnam are good, you can even sleep in the slipping bass at night :)
Approximate cost of bus tickets to Hoi An:
- Nha Trang – Hoi An – 200,000 dong
- Dalat – Hoi An – 300,000 VND
- Da Nang – Hoi An – 80,000 VND
- Hue – Hoi An – 100,000 dong
- Hanoi – Hoi An – 320,000 dong
- Hong Chi Minh City – Hoi An – 320,000 VND
We traveled by bus from Nha Trang to Hoi An. We left at 7:00 pm and were at the bus station in Hoi An at 8 am. If it weren't for the road repairs, we would have arrived a couple of hours earlier. I advise you to buy bus tickets in advance, especially if the trip falls on weekends or holidays (by the way, during long Vietnamese holidays, bus and train fares officially increase by 20-50%). We bought tickets for the Nha Trang - Hoi An bus two days before departure and there were almost no seats, we got the last seats at different ends of the bus.
Transport in Hoi An, how to get around Hoi An
The old town of Hoi An is quite small and can be easily explored on foot. Or you can take a walk in a carriage like this - a rickshaw :) I have never traveled this way, I really feel sorry for the Vietnamese pedaling :)
Pedicab is one of the ways to get around Hoi An 
Pedicabs are waiting for tourists on the embankment You can travel longer distances:
By bike. Many hotels provide bicycles to their guests absolutely free. Or you can rent a bike at tour offices for 1-3 dollars per day.
Here they offer some expensive bicycles for rent: 50,000 dong, that’s like renting half a bike 🙂 Maybe a bicycle with beer? 
Both tourists and locals ride bicycles in Hoi An On a bike. Renting a bike will cost 5-6 dollars per day. Often they don’t even require anything as collateral.
By taxi. There are inexpensive taxis in Vietnam, just tell the driver right away that you are going only according to the meter. A taxi from the city center to Hoi An Beach will cost 3-4 dollars.
Where to stay in Hoi An: hotels in Hoi An
Hoi An is a popular tourist city and there are a lot of hotels in it :) The cost of rooms in hotels in Hoi An is slightly higher than in other cities. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t find a room in Hoi An for $10 a night. Those who seek will always find :) We wanted a more comfortable stay in Hoi An, so we rented hotel rooms in the price range of 20-30 dollars per day.
In Hoi An, in addition to large hotels, accommodation in Homestays is very popular. Home Stay – private houses in which the owners rent out rooms. Now most of these houses have turned into mini-hotels. More details about Hoi An hotels:
I recommend booking a hotel room in Hoi An in advance, especially if you come to the city on weekends or holidays. You can choose and book a hotel in Hoi An on these sites, just choose the best price :)
Things to do and see in Hoi An
1. The old town of Hoi An is one continuous attraction :) In Hoi An you can and should take a leisurely stroll around the city, along the embankment, visiting museums, churches and numerous cafes along the way. Shall we take a walk together?
2. You can and should enjoy yourself in Hoi Nai gentle South China Sea, lie on sun loungers under an umbrella on the beach, dine at fish restaurants on the shore, drink white wine and stroll along the long and uncrowded Hoi An beach. More details here:
Enjoying the sea :) 3. Swim on big-eyed boats on the river. The trip can be combined with dinner on the boat (the cost of dinner with a walk starts from $23 per person).
Please note that boats have “eyes” :) 
River boat cruise with dinner from $23 per person 4. Ride on small Vietnamese boats down the river and run flower with candle for luck. Such flowers can be bought on the bridge for only $1, and sometimes even for $0.5 (otherwise someone wrote that these flowers are sold for “mad money” :)).
This is how romantic you can take a ride on a small boat in the evening and float a flower along the river for good luck... 
Daily evening rituals :) Very beautiful 5. Ride on cycling along the rice fields.
6. Visit traditional musical performance. Held every day at 10:15 and 15:15 at Hoi An Art Craft Manufacturing Workshop. Cost of visiting: free.
Musical show - folk dances 
Vietnamese dancing in Hoi An Traditional musical performance in Hoi An. Video
7. Visit water puppet theater. Two performances per day at 16:00 and 18:40 at the Art Performance House. Ticket price - 80,000 dong (~$4).
Hoi An show schedule 8. Visit the Marble Mountains near Da Nang
9. Visit the Michon complex
10. Take one of the longest cable cars in the world to Mount Bana and spend a whole day there in an amusement park
11. Go on an excursion to the Cham Islands
Food: shops, cafes, restaurants in Hoi An
There are no large stores, such as in Hoi An. The nearest Big C supermarket is 30 km from Hoi An in Da Nang. There are many small shops in the city where you can buy water, cookies, chocolate, bread, alcohol and other small items. Meat, fish, seafood must be bought at the market. We bought vegetables and fruits at stands along the Hoi An-Danang road. At the central market, prices for fruit seemed very high to us.
Chojna Central Market with tourist prices for fruits Hoi An will delight lovers of sweets and coffee. There are a lot of coffee shops and pastry shops in the city, where you can drink not only Vietnamese coffee (which is very tasty, but sometimes you still want a huge cup of cappuccino), but also other types of coffee :) And of course, a snack with a cake :)
- A piece of cake – from 50,000 VND
- Espresso coffee – 25,000 VND
- Cappuccino – 35,000 VND
- Coffee Latte – 40,000 VND
Coffee shop with delicious European cakes 
Um... divine tiramisu... 
Coffee shops on the waterfront with great views and delicious coffee 
Another coffee shop in the old town 
Hoi An is a paradise for lovers of beautiful cafes and restaurants 
One of Hoi An's rooftop restaurants Hoi An is a paradise for foodies. It is in Hoi An that you can try dishes that are not presented in other regions of Vietnam. For example, noodles with Khao Lau meat, crispy Hoi An pancakes with shrimp or meat, crispy Wonton.
The signature dish in Hoi An is Cao Lau pork noodles. In makashnitsa it costs a little more than a dollar There are a great variety of cafes in Hoi An, for every taste and budget: you can eat in Vietnamese cafes in the market, in cheap cafes with plastic chairs near the river, or in nice restaurants with European service and a cozy interior.
Vietnam style cafe 
Something between Vietnam-style and a tourist restaurant 
Good tourist restaurant Every evening, Vietnamese-style makashniks start working on the river bank :)
Towards evening, plastic tables are placed along the river for dinner. 
After 5 pm, Vietnamese-style shops start working, where you can have a very inexpensive dinner and enjoy the views of the city. Prices in Hoi An for food in Makashi:
- Cao Lau noodles – 25,000 VND
- Fried spring rolls – 30,000 VND
- 10 small pork skewers – 50,000 VND
- Fried rice with chicken – 40,000 VND
- Pho Bo (Vietnamese beef soup) – 30,000 VND
- Hoi An pancakes – 30,000 VND
Food prices in Hoi An We preferred to dine at cute tourist restaurants on the waterfront. In addition to traditional Khoin dishes, we always ordered fish or shrimp. We tried to choose a place with draft beer. Yes, I forgot to say that another feature of Hoi An is cheap and good draft beer :) A small glass of beer will cost you only 2,000 – 5,000 dong (0.1 – 0.25 dollars)! Well, how can you not have a drink here? 🙂 We moved from one cafe to another tasting beers. That’s how fun our evenings were in Hoi An :)
Numerous waterfront restaurants in Hoi An 
Which of the hundreds of restaurants should we choose for our dinner? 🙂 
I always choose beautiful restaurants for dinner. 
And I always make sure that there are more people sitting in the restaurant. 
Prices in Hoi An for restaurants in the old town
- Vietnamese soup – 50,000 dong
- Cao Lau noodles – 50,000 VND
- Fried Wonton (I don’t know how to translate this) – 50,000 VND
- White Rose (something like rice flour dumplings with your choice of filling) – 40,000 VND
- Hoi An pancakes – 60,000 VND
- Fried rice with beef and vegetables – 60,000 VND
- Squids in different sauces – 70,000 – 85,000 dong
- Shrimps - 90,000 – 120,000 dong
- Pizza – 120,000 VND
- Glass of wine – 30,000 VND
- Beer on tap – from 2,000 VND
- Bottled beer – from 15,000 VND
As you can see, for tourist restaurants in the very center of Hoi An on the waterfront, the prices are very low! In addition, every day from 17:00 to 19:00 in many restaurants there are “Happy Hours”, when when you order one cocktail you get the second one for free or beer and wine at a special price.
One evening we had dinner here. Everything is very tasty, but there is no draft beer 
White Rose with shrimp and Hoi An pancakes 
I had delicious food in all the restaurants in the old city :) 
Happy Hour - buy one cocktail or hookah and get the second one free! Shopping and souvenirs from Hoi An
Hoi An is not only a paradise for lovers of beautiful restaurants and delicious food, but also a paradise for a shopaholic! Girls, if you love dresses as much as I love them, then you should definitely come to Hoi An! 🙂
Who wants a dress, a coat or a dog? 🙂 
Beautifully decorated windows of expensive stores 
Expensive stylish dress There are many sewing workshops in the city where they can sew you any item within 24 hours, be it an evening dress or a business suit. And, of course, dresses – skirts – sundresses can simply be bought in numerous stores. Dresses start from $20. Beautiful floor-length evening dresses – $50-100. Eh, it’s a pity that I didn’t buy anything... Well, where should I wear evening dresses on or in?
Eh, why didn’t I buy myself a pair of evening dresses in Hoi An? 🙂 
Any girl will enjoy shopping in Hoi An! What other souvenirs should you bring from Hoi An?
Chojna is a city of lanterns; these colorful lanterns will be a pleasant reminder of this wonderful city. Lanterns are made from paper, thread, and silk.
Thread lanterns 75,000 VND (~$3.75) 
Multi-colored lanterns are the best souvenir of Hoi An There are many Chinese living in Hoi An and many tea shops sell Chinese tea and tea sets.
One of the tea shops 
Cute tea set - $25 
Just funny animal figurines conclusions
Have you been to Hoi An yet? And in vain! Hoi An is a truly extraordinary city, a city that ideally combines sightseeing and beach holidays, a city for romantics and couples, a city for lovers of delicious food and beautiful restaurants, a city of cheap draft beer and bright lanterns! Hoi An is a city where you want to return. Hoi An is the Venice of Vietnam :)
Hoi An - Vietnamese Venice 
Crossing the river with local residents and bikes During our trip to Vietnam, I fell madly in love with two cities: Hoi An. They are so different, but so cool!
Beautifully decorated shop windows in Hoi An old town 
And these are the exercise machines on the Hoi An embankment Is Hoi An suitable for a holiday?– definitely YES!
Is Hoi An suitable for living and wintering?– for me it’s more likely NO than yes. There are no large supermarkets in the city, and you won’t be able to travel 60 km to buy groceries... And houses are mostly rented out among the rice fields. It’s certainly fun to live in the fields, but I’m not a fan of village life, I’ll get bored in a month. But I would consider the neighboring city of Danang for wintering.
And some more photos of the city of Hoi An (Vietnam)
Hoi An city, Vietnam. In the late afternoon, tourists go for a walk into the city 
The streets of Hoi An are empty during the day in the heat 
Even the trees in the city are decorated with colorful lanterns. 
One of the cozy cafes in the city center 
Yellow-blue-pink :) Hoi An 
Souvenir shops 
Art gallery 
Vietnamese couples come to Hoi An for wedding photo shoot 
Come on holiday to Hoi An! 🙂 Subscribe to blog updates and my channel youtube.com, there is still a lot of information on, and!
Which conquered us once and for all. It is an unforgettable combination of an ancient Chinese trading town with magnificent beaches. The “calling card” of the city are Japanese silk lanterns, which are literally at every step: from your hotel to numerous shops in the old quarter of the city.
We spent 2 days in Hoi An and would have gladly stayed longer, because the atmosphere of this ancient Chinese town, where time has stood still, is unique.
It’s not for nothing that Hoi An is called an open-air museum city: the old center still retains the atmosphere of an ancient merchant town, the facades of the houses have not changed for many centuries, and since 1999 the city has been protected as a UNESCO heritage site. Just think: there are 844 buildings in Hoi An that are officially recognized as historically significant! Despite the fact that Hoi An itself is quite small, you can get around it all in a few hours.
Another feature of Hoi An is that there are no Russian-speaking tourists here at all: in two days of continuous walking around the city, we only heard Russian spoken twice in local famous attractions and never once on the streets or in cafes.
By the way, about the Hoi An cafe. They are so authentic that you want to sit in each of them:
Restaurants on the river bank do not turn on the electricity in the evenings, and guests sit in romantic twilight, illuminated by the dancing flames of candles or kerosene stoves:
All the cafes here are very cute and creative at the same time. For example, in this one they do not remove wax from candles, thereby showing how long it has existed (or the connection of times, who will understand):
The people in Hoi An are kind, welcoming and cultured. Every resident, unlike southern Vietnam.
Hoi An in the faces:
The most famous landmark and unspoken symbol of the city-museum is the Japanese Bridge, built in 1593.
Japanese bridge during the day
...and at night
Then it served an important strategic purpose: it connected the quarters of Japanese and Chinese merchants living in the city. In addition to its communication function, the bridge also served as a home: it contained apartments for the Japanese community. Of course, it would be a stretch to call them apartments; they were more like tiny dorm rooms.
Inside the Japanese Bridge is quite a home
View of the river from the Japanese Bridge
Old photos of the Japanese Bridge in Hoi An
One side of the bridge is decorated with a sculpture of a dog, and the other with a monkey. They symbolize the years in which the construction of this structure began and ended.
The bridge also has a beautiful legend, according to which the dragon Ku lived on earth a long time ago. He was so huge that his head was in India, and his tail was in the Land of the Rising Sun. His body was in Vietnam, which suffered from severe earthquakes caused by the movements of the dragon. People calculated the most vulnerable place in the dragon's body, and it turned out that it was exactly where the famous bridge is now located. By building this structure, people defeated the dragon, and the earthquakes in Vietnam stopped. And to pray for the soul of the killed monster, people built a temple next to the bridge.
In addition to the bridge, Hoi An has many attractions: temples, pagodas and numerous meeting halls for the city's residents. All of them are marked on the map, which is issued free of charge at information points in the city. You can also buy tickets to attractions there. What’s unusual is that tickets are sold in bulk; at least per person you can buy a ticket for 5 sites to visit (any), which will cost 120 thousand dong ($5.5). At the same information kiosk, sellers will point out the most interesting sights for you.
In addition to the Japan Bridge (a ticket is required there during the day), we visited 4 more attractions, marked by the lady from the news agency as mandatory: several temples and meeting halls,
as well as the most famous house in the city, where the descendants of Hoi An's ancient traders still live.
The most famous house museum in Hoi An, everything here is antique, including furniture
In this house-museum, anyone can leave their business card, a note, or just a photo with a phone number. An interesting question: where did so many tourists have extra photographs with them?
Severe floods often occur in Hoi An, and this house-museum, along with others, has suffered from them more than once. Marks from the most destructive floods are visible on the wall:
Here you can see photographs of these floods, a very famous photo of a woman saving a puppy in a basin:
The attractions of Hoi An include a walk on local big-eyed boats along the Thu Bon River:
Lanterns in Hoi An
Hoi An is truly a city of lanterns. These are mainly Japanese traditional silk lanterns of all colors and sizes. They are sold in every souvenir shop, every street is decorated with them, and numerous master classes on making them are held on the embankment.
At night, all these lanterns light up and the city turns into a fairy tale:
In addition, in Hoi An there is a tradition of launching paper lanterns with candles into the water in the evening; at these hours the river also becomes fabulous:
Video of paper lanterns floating on the river:
We specifically chose the time to visit Hoi An on Catholic Christmas Eve. These days the city was especially, simply magically beautiful:
Hoi An lantern tree
On the banks of the river on Christmas Eve we met this Catholic rooster:
Beach in Hoi An
Unexpectedly for us, Hoi An turned out to have a magnificent beach with clean sand and no waves in winter (important, since in Nha Trang there are huge and dangerous waves on the beach).
The contingent on the beach is also predominantly English-speaking; not a single Russian person was seen.
On the way to the beach there are picturesque views:
Shopping in Hoi An
Hoi An is a city of numerous artisans and simply creative people.
Every home has some kind of workshop.
Here they sew any clothes, leather shoes and bags to order. They paint pictures and make a wide variety of handmade souvenirs. Judging by the reviews, you can make a custom-made suit here for $100-150.
We only bought a T-shirt with a pedicab))
Hoi An's souvenir shops are also delightful:
Mega-creative postcards about the life of the Vietnamese
Bicycles and motorbikes
There is no public transport in Hoi An, but the town is very small so you can walk or bike everywhere. Bicycles are the most popular transport in Hoi An, as it is not always possible to ride a bike into the old center, but bicycles are allowed.
Basically, if you don’t like pedaling, you can rent a bike at any hotel or just at an agency on the street for $5 a day. If the passage to the center is closed to bikes, you can leave it nearby in the parking lot and walk around the center on foot. The bike will be useful for trips to the beach, since the distance from the city center to the sea is about 5 km.
Hotels in Hoi An
There are many hotels and guesthouses in Hoan to suit every taste, color and budget. Of course, accommodation in the old center will be more expensive, for example here is a good option:
We ourselves lived a few kilometers from the old center, such a distance did not bother us: even with a 6-year-old child, we could walk to the center in 30 minutes. Moreover, almost all hotels in Hoi An offer free bicycles (or, in extreme cases, bicycles for rent for $1). You can also rent a bike for $5 (we did this, because riding a bike with Vanya on the trunk is a bit difficult).
We can safely recommend an excellent guest house for accommodation in Hoi An, in which we ourselves lived. This is Yellow House Homestay for $15 per night. This price includes a hearty delicious breakfast and free bicycles.
Another good and very budget homestay (from $10 per night) near the historical center of Hoi An:
Choose and book a hotel in Hoi An with the best discounts from Booking:How to get to Hoi An
From Nha Trang we decided to go to Hoi An on a night slip bus. Travel time is about 12 hours. The cost of a ticket for the Nha Trang-Hoi An slipbus is 220 thousand dong ($10).
Our slip bus from Nha Trang to Hue (via Hoi An and Da Nang)
Inside the slipping bass
You can get to , but it goes to , from there you would still have to take a bus in the opposite direction (about 25 km). You can also fly by plane from any city in Vietnam and not only (the airport in Da Nang is international) and take a bus or taxi to Hoi An (only about half an hour).
Hoi An on the map of Vietnam:
I will continue my favorite part of “Travel to Vietnam”. Now we went to explore the center of the country and the first city was Hoi An(Hoi An, Hoi An). This is a small town on the coast of the South China Sea, just 25-30 km from Da Nang. Today you will learn how to get to Hoyne, what to see, where to go and where to live. Read on, it will be interesting and, again, a lot of photos.
A little history of the city. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Hoi An was very important as an international trading center. At that time it was called Faifo. Nowadays, only the taxi service of the same name reminds us of the old name of the city. Later, the center of trade moved to Da Nang, but in the heart of Hoi An - the Old Town, the spirit of the ancient trading city was preserved. In those days, many ships called at the port of Hoina, most of which were from Japan, China, Holland and India.
Some merchants stayed in Hoi An for up to six months, opening shops here where they sold all kinds of goods. I would like to add that little has changed in the city since the 16th-17th centuries; some attractions have survived to this day.
Hoi An is called an open-air museum city and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are more than 800 buildings of historical significance in the Old Town area. You can walk endlessly along the city streets! Correctly noted in one of the comments in my Instagram: “Hoi An is a city for girls :-).” This, of course, does not mean that men have nothing to do here. It’s just that girls are more impressionable to such small, cozy, romantic and incredibly soulful cities. I'm not an exception:-). Walking around the city, I couldn’t breathe in the atmosphere; I wanted to walk in silence and “listen” at home, imagining how everything was a couple of centuries ago. The presence of free Wi-Fi throughout the Old Town indicates modernity here :-).
What to see in Hoi An?
Since the entire city is a tourist attraction, it is difficult to single out any specific attractions in Hoi An. The greatest concentration of attractions is concentrated in the Old Town area. Since Hoi An is a small town, one day is enough to get to know it, but I know first-hand that people stay here longer.
Here you can try lotus tea
You can just stroll through the streets of the Old Town, or you can buy a ticket for 120,000 VND ($5.5) and go into some of the houses. In total, the Old Town has 22 of the most famous and popular places to visit (as stated in the newsletter). With a ticket you can visit only 5 of them. You will receive detailed information at the point of purchase of tickets, and along with the ticket you will also receive a map indicating and briefly describing the attractions.
Cash register
A little trick: after 19-00, entrance to the attractions is free and you can visit them without buying a ticket. For example, for entering the Japanese bridge they will take one ticket from you, and after 7 o'clock entry is free for everyone. We also noticed that during the day you can also walk through some houses freely during the lunch break, but I won’t tell you the exact time. Now I’ll tell you a little about some of the attractions of the Old Town:
Covered Japanese Bridge is not only a landmark, but also a symbol of the city. It is he who is depicted on many postcards, magazines, and notebooks. The Japanese bridge was built in 1593 and remains in excellent condition to this day. It was built by craftsmen from the Japanese community of Hoi An in order to connect the Japanese quarter with the Chinese quarter.
The bridge is especially beautiful in the evening, when it is illuminated in different colors.
This is a favorite place for newlyweds and couples in love. Many people come to Hoi An specifically for photo shoots.
Old houses of Tang Kee, Kung Tang, Fung Hung and many others. These are mostly private houses, whose families have lived in them for more than one generation. The size of such houses is small, but the owners are happy to talk about every detail of the house. You can get here with a general ticket. To visit some houses, tickets are not needed and we could easily walk there and look at the details of the houses.
There are also many temples and pagodas. To visit some you will need a ticket, but no one will prevent you from taking photographs of the territory.
Museum of Ceramics, Hoi An History and Culture Museum, Folklore Museum— thanks to these museums you can get even closer to the culture of the city.
Wooden figurines are a great gift from Vietnam
In fact, there is still a lot of interesting and fascinating things to do in the Old Town. Explore and find what inspires you. This city will definitely not leave you indifferent.
Maybe a cup of coffee?
In addition to everything, I would like to separately highlight a large number sewing workshops. Many tourists come here to sew suits, dresses, blouses, skirts from natural silk, linen or cotton. If the model is simple, then the work can be completed in a couple of hours.
Men's suits are made within 24 hours and cost from $80.
There are also many in the city shoe workshops, where you can buy ready-made shoes or again have them made to order. The cost of leather shoes starts at $20. I think this is a very good price for a pair of quality shoes.
Leather, lots of leather!
Oh, how much jewelry stores: one is better than the other. I couldn’t resist and left them with new jewelry. No wonder my mother says that I am a magpie-crow
One of Hoi An's shops will offer you a bamboo bicycle or bag.
Hoi An cuisine- this is a completely separate conversation. In the numerous cafes and restaurants that light their lights for visitors in the evenings, you can taste incredible culinary masterpieces. After all, Hoi An is a city of artists and craftsmen. And the cooks here are artists too. A unique feature of Hoi An restaurants are cooking classes. You can learn how to cook the most popular Vietnamese dishes. The cost of such courses starts from $15 per person. You just need to ask if the cafe offers courses and it’s almost done!
Separately, I would like to show you the art galleries of Hoi An. I really liked them. My hands were itching to buy one of the works, but Gleb stopped me.
I would especially like to highlight the photo book of Vietnam. It shows Vietnam in people: from children to the elderly, as well as the nature of the country. I was very impressed by the book. The photographs are incredibly beautiful and, most importantly, alive. The feeling that a person is looking directly at you. If you see this book somewhere, I highly recommend checking it out.
And before useful information about how to get to Hoi An and where to live, a little evening city.
One of the many souvenir shops
Lanterns are the symbol of Hoi An.
Cozy and quiet cafes on the embankment
Beautiful lighting of shops in the evening.
How to get to Hoi An?
As always, there are several options: plane, train and bus.
From Da Nang- by bus (2-3 dollars) or by taxi (about 10-12 dollars per car).
From Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi There are direct flights to Da Nang, from where you can take a taxi, bus or rented bike to Hoi An.
From Nha Trang can be reached by bus. The distance of 530 km on a bike will be very difficult to cover, but the bus from Nha Trang leaves at 19-00 and you can be there in the morning. We used the services of The Sinh Tourist bus company and were already there at 6 am. The nearest railway station is in Da Nang.
Where to stay in Hoi An?
The hotel infrastructure is very well developed: from budget hotels for $10-15/day to luxury villas for $500/day. We chose a beautiful villa just 2 km from the Old Town - Aquarium Villa, where the price included breakfast, free bicycle rental and a large spacious room with a balcony. By the way, this hotel is located near Thanh Ha pottery village. This is another attraction of the city.
There are still good prices for hotels and guesthouses in Hoi An on Agoda.com. You can rent an AirBnB apartment. When renting on AirBnB, you can take advantage of my $21 discount on your first booking.
It is better to compare hotels through the HotelsCombined.com service; it checks prices using a dozen booking systems.
I think you have now learned more about the city and will find the opportunity and time to visit it. Follow the news on
The city of Hoi An (Vietnam) is located on the banks of the Thu Bon River, south of Da Nang (30 km). This city with one-story houses covered with tiled roofs, narrow streets, endless beaches, excellent diving and many interesting attractions attracts tourists from all over the world.
Historians claim that the first settlements on this land appeared more than two thousand years ago. Hoi An, which is protected by UNESCO, is often called Here there are over eight hundred historical buildings: temples, trading houses and Chinese houses. The town is famous for its sewing workshops and souvenir shops.
This Vietnamese city provides tourists with the opportunity to choose a variety of hotels to stay. Hoi An (Vietnam) has both very modest hotels and luxurious five-star apartments. There is no public transport here; people move around the city on foot or by bicycle. Tickets for buses to neighboring towns or for excursions are sold in hotels.
Tourist season
You can visit Vietnam (Hoi An in particular) at any time of the year, but the most suitable period for travel is from April to September. The beach season is open at this time. The air warms up to +30 ... +35 °C. The rest of the time, a strong wind blows from the sea, the sky becomes cloudy, and heavy rains begin. Despite this, the air temperature does not drop below +23 °C.
From the second half of September to January it is very hot here, but at this time hotels, as a rule, provide a significant discount on accommodation (almost thirty percent). Vietnam is also very warm in winter (+24 °C). In the city of Hoi An (Vietnam), the rainy season lasts from September to December, with the bulk of precipitation falling in October - November. Typhoons and floods are common during this period.
Beaches
Fans of beach holidays feel quite comfortable in this city. Sandy beaches lie two kilometers away. It's easy to get to them. You can rent a motorcycle or bicycle, order a taxi or rent a shuttle bus for free.
If you are tired of traveling, we recommend that you stay in one of the hotels that are located right on the seashore. You can choose the beach you like. Hoi An (Vietnam) has two most popular holiday destinations - Cua Da Beach and An Bang Beach. They are located on the same coast and have only a conditional border.
To be fair, it should be said that the beaches are not very well equipped - you can rent a sunbed or use free parking for a bicycle or motorcycle. But there are practically no water activities here. Nevertheless, the beaches of Hoi An resemble paintings by famous landscape painters - sandy, almost deserted, clean. Here and there you can see casuarina trees and palm trees leaning towards the water, as well as fishing boats.
The cleanest Cua Dai beach delights with its snow-white sand. Even walking along it will give you pleasure. These places seem to be created for relaxation and contemplation of magnificent nature. On the island of Cham, closest to the city, a diving school welcomes everyone. This type of outdoor activity is very popular in Hoi An.
Attractions
Hoi An amazes everyone who comes to Vietnam with the number of attractions and memorable places. In the city you can admire ancient buildings and temples, see the famous Japanese bridge (covered), many interesting museums, and the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall. Many interesting places are located in the vicinity of Hoi An - the ruins of Michon, the Marble Mountains or Cham Island.
To visit the city's attractions, you don't need to rent a taxi or a bicycle. All of them are very compactly located on the streets of the Old Town. You can easily get around them on foot.
Old city
Vietnam is famous for many amazing historical and architectural monuments. Hoi An is no exception. Its Old Town occupies a small area (0.5 hectares), bounded by the Cam Pho, Minh An and Son Phong quarters. The most interesting and most significant buildings are located in the Minh An quarter.
Since the 17th century, the city of Hoi An (Vietnam) has been an international port in central Vietnam. Ships from other countries entered its harbor for six months of the year to hold fairs, exchange goods, and buy and sell. Many traders from Japan, China, Holland, and India stayed here and built their quarters in the traditional style. The old city has been practically preserved in its original form. Here there are ancient temples and pagodas, residential buildings and bridges, piers and narrow streets, which are located in a checkerboard pattern.
Japanese covered bridge
Russian tourists have long discovered Vietnam. Hoi An attracts them primarily because of its unique architecture. The famous bridge connects Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Tran Phu streets. It was built at the beginning of the 17th century. In the past, the Chinese community lived on one side of the structure, and the Japanese occupied the other. He became unique to these peoples.
On the north side there is a small but very beautiful temple - Chua Kou. It’s funny that during the day there is a fee for visiting the monument, but in the evening everyone can visit it completely free of charge.
Museum of History and Culture
This small museum will allow you to get a closer look at the history of the ancient city. Its central exhibition consists of valuable exhibits previously stored in the Quan Am Pagoda. It contains photographs and furniture, bells and dishes, and an ancient altar. This museum also has a wonderful pond inhabited by goldfish.
Carpenters Village
Many of the city's memorable places are famous throughout Vietnam. Hoi An and its village of Kim Bong carpenters are well known in the country. Since the 16th century, it has played an important role in the reconstruction of almost all artistic and architectural structures in Vietnam. Magnificent craftsmen are known for creating unique works of art, exquisite wood carvings, and exquisite products made from sauerkraut.
The village itself is very picturesque - the pagodas and family houses will certainly be of interest to tourists.
Tang Kee House
Most travelers who come to Vietnam, Hoi An (reviews confirm this) amazes with the variety of monuments and their unusual architecture. Tang Kee's house was built more than two centuries ago. It features strikingly beautiful architecture and is one of the best preserved
Nowadays, this house is residential, and for several decades it has belonged to the same family. However, since the 80s of the 20th century it has been turned into a museum. Tours of it are conducted by the owner of the house himself. He communicates with tourists in English. The house is small, so you can explore it quite quickly. If you speak English, you can stay here - the owner will tell you in detail about the history of the building and its inhabitants.
Tran Family Chapel
This chapel was built at the beginning of the 19th century. It reflects the life of Vietnamese aristocrats and cultural values. The building today is a very popular attraction; tourists from all over the world come to see it.
It received its name in honor of the owner - Tran Tu Nhuc. In 1802 he built a house and chapel to serve as a place of ancestral veneration. The elegant structure has a distinct Chinese style. Traditional gifts and antiques are kept here.
Hotels
As we have already mentioned, tourists will not have problems with accommodation in this Vietnamese city. There are many different hotels and inns here. We will tell you only about those that are popular among Russian tourists.
Agribank Beach 4*
A modern, comfortable hotel guarantees its guests an excellent holiday. It features first-class service, well-developed infrastructure and friendly staff.
Guests are offered accommodation in wonderful villas with spacious rooms, a swimming pool, a restaurant, a bar and a conference room. Here, guests can visit the Health Center, where they will be offered a variety of treatments. The hotel offers laundry, car rental, and airport transfers. The hotel is located on Cua Dai beach, and therefore is an ideal place for lovers of a coastal holiday.
Maison Vy 3*
This hotel is decorated in a modern style. All of its rooms feature pleasant neutral tones. Includes LCD TV, cable channels, minibar and safe. Most rooms have great views of the pool or garden. Each room has a fully equipped bathroom with shower. The hotel's friendly and attentive staff will assist you with express check-in services (24 hours a day). The hotel is two kilometers from Hoi An Historical Museum. It is 25 km from Da Nang Airport.
Hoi An (Vietnam): reviews from tourists
Travelers remember this city with warmth and admiration. Many were especially struck by the city at night. As evening approaches, all the streets are illuminated with colorful lights. Chinese lanterns are hung everywhere, creating a festive mood.
The beaches of the resort delight guests with their cleanliness. True, experienced travelers note that they are not well equipped. Anyone who wants to relax alone can visit wild beaches where there are practically no tourists. The sand and water there are as clean as on the rest of the coast.
Today I invite you to walk with me through the old town of Hoi An (Vietnam), get ready, there will be a lot of photos :)
Hoi An Old Town, Vietnam
Hoi An- a city in central Vietnam, several centuries ago it was a major trading center in Southeast Asia and an important port of the South China Sea, and now it is city open air museum, in which ancient buildings have been preserved almost untouched, 844 of them have historical value. Since 1999, Hoi An has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Hoi An - example of a trading city in Southeast Asia of the 16th - 17th centuries, a city frozen for centuries :)
On the streets of Hoi An. There are no people, because... it’s very hot 🙂 I’m walking around the city alone Hoi An is also a city of colorful lanterns with which houses, cafes, restaurants, shops, trees and city streets are romantically decorated :)
The streets are decorated with lanterns 
And numerous cafes 
Huge variety of lanterns in Hoi An city Soon I will definitely write an article with all the useful information about the city of Hoi An: how to get there, where to live, what to get around, where to eat and how much it all costs, but for now let's just Let's take a walk around the old town.
One of the temples in Hoi An The city of Hoi An is so extraordinary that you can walk around it endlessly. We lived in the old town for four days and every day I enjoyed leisurely walks through the sights of Hoi An.
Leisurely walks along the old streets The city of Hoi An is quite small, and the old part of Hoi An can generally be walked around in a couple of hours, but walking here is very pleasant, even despite the May heat of +40 :) It’s the same as in Lviv, I can come countless times: it seems that you know every house, every coffee shop, every pub, but you still come and every time you enjoy the atmosphere, a leisurely walk and delicious food.
Cost of visiting Hoi An attractions
Before you start walking around the old town of Hoi An, you should buy tickets to visit attractions: some ancient houses, temples, meeting halls, communities, workshops, etc. There are twenty-two paid attractions in the old town.
Tickets are sold at these booths and at the information center. There are several of them around the old city.
Tickets are required to visit some of Hoain's attractions A set of tickets to visit any 5 attractions costs 120,000 VND (~$6). When visiting, one ticket is cut off.
The ticket entitles you to visit 5 of the 22 paid attractions of the old city There, be sure to take a map of the old city. You won’t get lost in the city, but with a map it will at least be more or less clear which house is a museum and which is just a store or gallery :)
Map of the sights of the old city 
Walking around Hoi An, you often think: is this a museum, a temple, a residential building or a shop? 🙂 
But it turns out that in the house behind a beautiful arch there is an art gallery I just noticed that on the tickets it says that the ticket is valid for 24 hours. But there is no date on the ticket itself, and I used the ticket for all three days :) At first we got excited and bought a ticket for 5 attractions for each of us. As a result, Lesha refused to walk with me in the 40-degree heat and sat out in the hotel room during the day, so all 10 tickets went to me! But I must say that I have 3 tickets out of 10 left, i.e. I visited only 7 paid attractions in Hoi An :)
Sights of Hoi An The fact is that all the houses and temples in the old city are very similar. If you, like me, are not particularly versed in architecture, then of course there is no point in visiting all 22 paid attractions of Hoi An. It’s better to just walk around the city, or even better, sit in a cafe and drink cold coffee or beer and watch the tourists :) But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, I’ll tell you about delicious food and drink in the next article.
How nice it is to sit in such nice, cozy and romantic cafes, leisurely drink coffee, beer or cocktails and watch passers-by Japanese bridge
No matter where you live, when walking through the old part of the city you will definitely come to the Japanese Bridge. Japanese covered bridge - a symbol of Hoi An, it is even depicted on the city’s coat of arms.
Japanese Bridge - the symbol of Hoi An 
The Japanese Bridge is depicted on the city's coat of arms The Japanese Bridge was built by the Japanese living in Hoi An in 1593 to connect two shopping districts: Japanese and Chinese. The Japanese bridge is not a bridge over the Thubon River, but over a small river.
The Japanese Bridge connected two shopping districts: Japanese and Chinese The Vietnamese are big fans of all kinds of legends and, of course, there is a legend associated with the symbol of Hoi An - the Japanese Bridge. This is a legend about a terrible huge monster that once lived in this world. The monster was so huge that its head was in India, its tail in Japan, and its body in Vietnam. When this monster began to move, all sorts of disasters occurred in Vietnam: hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes. People decided to destroy this monster by building a bridge at its weakest point. Now there is an altar for prayer on the bridge.
Japanese bridge in evening illumination There is a fee to cross the Japanese bridge (one of the tickets is torn off). But don’t worry, you can get to another part of the old town of Hoi An via a small bridge nearby :) Otherwise, at first I thought that every time I walked back and forth I would have to pay for the entrance :)
There is a fee to cross the ancient bridge 
But there is a small bridge nearby on which you can walk from one block to another completely free :) Quan Cong Temple
The oldest operating temple in Hoi An is Quan Cong Temple) was built by the Chinese in 1653. The temple is very small, I’m not even sure if it’s worth spending a ticket on it.
Quan Kong Temple 
Inside Kuan Kong Temple This ancient temple is located opposite the central market, next to the building Minh Huong Communal house(1820). Minh Huong House served as a community house where members of the community gathered for meetings. By the way, representatives of the Minh Huong community still live in Hoi An.
Hoi An Central Market with tourist prices for fruits 
On the grounds of the meetinghouse 
Temple on the premises of the Minh Huong Meeting House Hoi An History and Culture Museum
But in a small Hoi An History and Culture Museum I advise you to take a look. The museum was opened in 1989 in an old religious building. The museum stores ancient objects, ceramic dishes, tools and other household items found during excavations. It turns out that the city of Hoi An is very, very old, he more than 2000 years! Since the 2nd century, Hoi An was the center and major port city of the Cham civilization, and traders from different regions came here.
At the Hoi An History and Culture Museum 
To the Museum of History and Culture of Hoi An In the 15th century, Hoi An was chosen by the Chinese and Japanese, and corresponding districts were formed in the city. The Chinese built houses and temples in their own style, which can still be seen in the city today.
Chinese style houses Phuc Kien Assembly Hall
Beautiful Phuc Kien meeting hall built in Chinese style in 1757. Intended to meet the Chinese living in Hoi An. A temple was built here in honor of the sea goddess Thien Hau.
Phuc Kien Assembly Hall 
Inside the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall 
In the temple in honor of the dark goddess Thien Hau 
A boat in the temple and pendants with wishes 
Temple interior. Very interesting paintings on the walls 
On the territory of a Chinese temple. I liked the vase :) Phuc Kien Assembly Hall. Video
Quang Trieu Assembly Hall
Cantonese Community Meeting House is located right next to the Japanese Bridge. A very beautiful Chinese style house built in 1887. The interior of the temple, the paintings, and the very well-groomed grounds are impressive. There is a nice fountain with dragons in front of the temple entrance. Of all the paid attractions in Hoi An, Quang Trieu Assembly Hall is a must see!
Quang Trieu Assembly Hall 
At the entrance to the temple you are greeted by cute dragons 
Chinese paintings in the temple Streets of the old city
Houses in the old town of Hoi An are built in Chinese style. These are mainly two-story houses, on the ground floor of which there is a store or cafe, and the second floor is reserved for residential premises.
The cute and romantic town of Hoi An Hoi An houses are painted bright yellow, and sometimes there are nice combinations of yellow and blue 🙂 Beautiful... 🙂
Hoi An Old Town is painted in cheerful yellow 
Yellow and blue houses of Hoi An old town 
Beautiful combination of colors. This building houses a travel agency. Embankment of the Thu Bon River
One of the most pleasant places to walk in Hoi An is the Thu Bon River embankment. It is especially pleasant to stroll here in the pre-sunset hours, when coolness descends on the city, traders lay out their wares for sale, souvenir shops and shops open, cozy cafes invite you for a cup of coffee or an aperitif. Many restaurants have happy hours from 5 to 7 pm - when you order one cocktail, you get the second one for free.
Embankment in Hoi An city during the day Evening walks around the city along the embankment 
One of my favorite cities in Vietnam is Hoi An. Embankment of the Thu Bon River It begins to get dark, numerous lanterns light up, the city transforms and becomes even more romantic.
It’s getting dark... colorful lanterns are lit... tourists take the best seats in cafes and restaurants :) 
Evening Hoi An. Huge red lotuses are illuminated on the river, tourists throw candles in cardboard flowers along the river (for luck!) 
Evening on the streets of Hoi An Hoi An Old Town. Video
Take a walk with us through the streets of the old town of Hoi An and enjoy the atmosphere of this romantic city. Watch the video:
Did you enjoy your walk through the sights of Hoi An? If you are planning your holiday in Vietnam, I advise you to definitely visit this romantic city of Hoi An, a city frozen in centuries. And next to Hoain there is a magnificent, uncrowded beach, which I will tell you about in the next article, so subscribe to blog updates so as not to get lost on the Internet :)
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