Hoi An is a town located just a 30 minute drive from Da Nang. It’s a beautiful coastal town with very well preserved historical buildings, canals, and lanterns everywhere. It’s a must visit place in Vietnam.
The best time to visit
The best time to visit Hoi An is from February to April which is the dry season. We visited in February and the weather was perfect. There was no rain and low humidity.
How to get there
We travelled to Hoi An from Da Nang. It’s only a 30 minute minivan ride which made it one of our shortest travel days!
We used 12GoAsia to book our transport. It cost us £21 (700,000 Vietnamese Dong) which I felt was a bit expensive considering how short the journey was. It did include hotel pickup and drop off though.
If you wanted to you could probably get a taxi for a similar price. This would be good value for money if you were in a group of 3 or 4.
How long to stay
We had three full days in Hoi A which I feel was the right amount of time to see and do everything. However, I could happily have spent longer there and would definitely visit again.
How to get around
The best way to get around is by walking. Most things are within walking distance and it is very easy to get taxis further afield. You can use either Grab or Bolt for taxis.
A lot of people do cycle around Hoi An as it is very flat and lots of hotels provide bikes.
Cars aren’t actually allowed in the old town part of Hoi An. There are lots of motorbikes around but walking is still the best way to explore Hoi An in my opinion.
Where to stay
There are lots and lots of accommodation choices in Hoi An. They are certainly well equipped for all of the tourists.
I would recommend staying as close as possible to the old town. There are no hotels actually in the old town. We stayed on Cam Nam island which is only a short walk from the old town.
The best things to do
Lantern making workshop– we went to a lantern making workshop which was run by such a lovely lady. We got to choose our pattern and luckily the lantern frame was already made for us! It involved a lot of cutting and sticking but by the end of it we had three fully formed lanterns.
Get tailored clothes made- Hoi An is well known for the vast amount of tailor shops that are there. I thought I would take advantage of this to get something tailor made. I chose a dress which did end up being more expensive than I thought it would be but it was an interesting experience!
You can show the staff a photo of the item you want or flick through their books which have hundreds of different design ideas. You then have the tricky choice of choosing the right fabric and colour.
The item is usually ready to try on in 24 hours and then some minor adjustments might be needed. You should have a finished product within 2-3 days.
Try Vietnamese pancakes- these are delicious and you have to try them. They are one of my favourite foods from my travels around South East Asia. Be warned though that there is a correct way to eat them and the waiters will tell you if you do it wrong!
Visit Hoi A night market- this is a great place to wander around at night and see what souvenirs you can buy! There are stalls selling absolutely everything imaginable.
Go on a coconut boat- now this is definitely a tourist trap. It cost £25 (800,000 Vietnamese Dong) for two of us and I’m certain we were scammed. However, it is fun if you go in a group and someone gets spun around in the coconut boat!
Visit Bikini Bottom Express- the food here was very nice and it provided some much needed western food. We found that good western food can be hard to come across in Asia but this hit the spot.
Release a lantern on the canal- this is an essential thing to do in Hoi An. It cost around £5 (160,000 Vietnamese Dong) for a 20 minute boat ride down the canal and a lantern to release on the water. It was lovely seeing all the lanterns floating on the water and it felt special releasing our own.
Visit Hoi A beach- we never actually had a beach day in Hoi An but we did have a wander around by the beach. There were lots of sun loungers and it looked like a great place to chill out.
Down to Earth Travel 
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