Hoi An was one of my favorite destinations in Vietnam. I loved to travel across the river, watching the sunset, go arround the old town, and drinking inexpensive beer. The town is known as with picturesque historical homes, many pagodas and street-side cafes. More over, you may like the place is extremely popular for buying clothes.
Typical Costs
Hotel prices – There are a few cheap hostels in town for about 220,000 VND a night. If you choose to stay a bit away from the town center, you can stay at a unique bamboo-hut-hostel at An Bang beach called Under the Coconut Tree for just 175,000 VND per night.
Budget hotel prices – Accommodation is inexpensive here with a night in a budget hotel costing from 240,000 VND for a double room. Quite a few places have pools, so if that’s something you want, make sure you pick one of them.
Average cost of food – Street food starts at 15,000 VND per meal. Food in restaurants starts at about 30,000 VND and goes upward from there.
Transportation costs – Everywhere in central Hoi An is within walking distance so it’s unlikely you’ll spend much on transportation here. If you choose to explore, bikes can be rented for about 30,000 VND a day, motorbikes for around 80,000 VND per day, and taxis are metered (and cheap).
Money Saving Tips
Cooking lessons – If you enjoy the food at a certain restaurant, ask for cooking lessons. These are often cheaper than the cooking schools advertised by your hotel, hostel, or found on the Internet.
Camp on Cham Island – If you’re heading to Cham Island on a diving trip, it’s possible to save money on accommodation by camping on the beach.
Eat across the river – Hoi An is split in two by a small river. One side is very touristy, while the other side is very local. Move out of the main center and across the river for better food and drink deals as the locals here never get as many customers as the main city area.
Shop around – There are hundreds of tailors in Hoi An. If you’re having clothing made, check prices with a few places before settling on one.
Skip the SIM Card – Hoi An is highly connected to WiFi. You can hook into WiFi in just about every hotel, shop, restaurant, and convenience store for free!
Eat at the market – Market stalls are some of the cheapest food you can find. Think about it, they have almost no overhead, so a meal will cost you 20,000-40,000 VND. There are a variety of dishes to choose from and places to eat.
Rent a bicycle – Bikes can be rented for 20,000-30,000 VND per day. This is a great way to leisurely explore the quaint city.
Don’t be afraid of taxis – Metered taxis in this country are affordable. If you are moving around town at night, this is a good, safe, cheap option (especially if you’re splitting the cost with a few others). A 30-minute ride will set you back around 130,000 VND. The best taxi companies are Mai Linh and Vinasun.
Top Things to See and Do in Hoi An
Shop at the Central Market – Hoi An’s Central Market is probably one of the best in Vietnam. The market sits on the riverside and is packed full of excellent food at rock-bottom prices. This is the place to pick up spices, souvenirs, try local food and have your tailoring done. There is also a great fish market worth visiting.
Visit Quan Cong Temple – The temple was built in the early 17th century to honor the Chin Dynasty but nowadays it serves as one of Hoi An’s most spectacular architectural accomplishments and a thriving tourist attraction. Inside there are two huge wooden statues, one of Quan Kong’s protector, Chau Xuong and one of his adopted son and of course the gilt statue of Quan Cong himself.
Cross the Japanese Covered Bridge – The bridge is thought to have been built by Hoi An’s Japanese community in the late sixteenth century and roughly translated from Vietnamese, its name means “Pagoda in Japan”. It makes for great photographs.
Take a cooking lesson – If tasting local food isn’t enough for you and you’d like to bring a like bit of Vietnamese cuisine home with you then consider enrolling yourself in cooking lessons. Many restaurants offer lessons where you’ll first start off picking the raw ingredients then learn how to prepare the food. If you want a more full-day experience, you can even tack on a 5am fishing trip in a bowl-shaped fishing boat. Prices vary, but most cost between 350,000-550,000 VND for a 4-6 hour market tour and cooking class.
Take a bicycle tour around the city – Get guided around the city by a local who will answer any of your questions, teach you about history, the local economy, and take you out for some Vietnamese coffee. A morning of bicycling around in a small group starts at around 280,000 VND. You can book this through any hostel or hotel.
Attend the Full Moon Festival – Hoi An’s Full Moon Festival is held on the 14th day of the lunar cycle each month and is probably the best time to visit the city. The streets are shut down to all traffic and are lined with brightly colored lanterns. This is a great time to party with locals as the streets come alive with folk music, plays and dancing.
Relax on the beaches – An Bang and Cua Dai beaches are both within close proximity to Hoi An and are a great place to spend an afternoon. Cua Dai is designated as one of Vietnam’s five UNESCO World Heritage sites but both beaches offer soft white sand and excellent beachside restaurants. For reasonable prices, you can get your food served to you while lying recumbent in the sun.
Take a trip to Cham Island – Many tourists take a day trip out to Cham Island which lies just 21km from Hoi An in the South China Sea. The diving there is great and because you’re in Vietnam, it’s very cheap. Most tours include lunch and it’s also possible to include a night dive in your excursion.
Experience Da Nang city – Located about 30-minutes from Hoi An, Da Nang is a bigger city (where you’d fly into). It’s famous for it’s Marble Mountains and great beaches. There is also an extravagant party scene here that it good for a night out once in a while.
Explore My Son – My Son is one of the most important sites relating to the ancient Kingdom of Champa and is said to have been Vietnam’s religious and intellectual center. Even in their ruined state, the remaining structures are impressive. The My Son ruins were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
See the Fukian Assembly Hall – Built in 1697, Fukian is the grandest of the Chinese assembly halls and is a fine example of Chinese architecture. The main colorful temple is dedicated to the goddess of the sea, Thien Hau, while the statues of Thuan Phong Nhi and Thien Ly Nhan are said to protect sailors in distress. There is a scale model of a sailboat inside too. Entrance to this site and 4 others (on the same day) are 140,000 VND.
Boat along the river – A great way to relax for a bit and to see Hoi An from a different perspective is to hop on one of the boats that leaves from Bach Dang Street. Don’t just go with the first boat you find; there are a lot of different options and prices there.
Visit the Museum of Folk Culture – This small museum aims to preserve the traditions and dress of rural Vietnamese culture. The museum is filled with plaster statues of figures in costume, which seem a bit strange. However, there’s enough to see to give you a good idea about local culture here.
Relax with some yoga – There are only a few yoga studios in this relaxing city. If you want to take a class from a foreigner, you’ll spend around 250,000 VND per class, but if you go to the Vietnamese run Annem Yoga Studio, you can get 12 classes for 500,000 VND. Even if you’re not a yogi, the atmosphere here lends itself to the centered exercise.
Head to the Marble Mountains – The Marble Mountains are a series of five mountains located 20km north of Hoi An. Besides the natural appeal, they also have many pagodas, and some also served as a base for Viet Cong fighters during the war.
Enter the Old Houses – Some of the houses in Hoi An have had their interiors turned into museums, giving tourists a glimpse at what life was life for wealthy merchants in the colonial and pre-colonial period. The Tan Ky and the Duc An homes are two of the more popular ones to visit.
Sleep in bamboo beach huts – One of the most unique hostels in the area is Under the Coconut Tree located about 10km out of Hoi An’s Old Town and a 2-minute walk away from An Bang beach. This Vietnamese-run hostel is a gorgeous set of bamboo huts with an open-air dormitory. Want a laid-back, social beach experience? Look no further. But be prepared to stay longer than expected, as so many travelers do. Dorm beds are 175,000 VND per night, and private rooms start around 600,000 VND.
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