Hoi An Ancient Town: 10 Things to Know Before You Go
A UNESCO World Heritage trading port that glows amber with silk lanterns every evening. Hoi An is one of Vietnam's most rewarding destinations — if you know how to navigate it.
Hoi An was one of Southeast Asia's most important trading ports from the 15th to 19th centuries. Japanese merchants built covered bridges, Chinese traders constructed clan houses, and European colonists left their architectural mark on the narrow streets. The result is a town centre unlike anywhere else in Vietnam — a remarkably intact record of the world that existed before steamships made these river-mouth ports obsolete.
Today Hoi An is firmly on the tourist trail, but it wears this lightly. Here's what to know before you arrive.
1. The Ancient Town Requires a Ticket
Entry to the Ancient Town's key sites — the Japanese Covered Bridge, assembly halls, merchant houses, and museums — requires a ticket purchased at one of several booths around the perimeter. The ticket covers five sites of your choosing. Buy it and use it: the interiors of the Chinese assembly halls are genuinely extraordinary.
2. The Full Moon Lantern Festival Is Worth Timing For
On the 14th day of each lunar month, Hoi An's Ancient Town goes car-free, electric lights are switched off, and the streets fill with silk lanterns. The reflection on the Thu Bon River is one of Vietnam's most photographed images. Book accommodation in advance if your trip overlaps with the full moon.
3. Cao Lau is Only Authentically Made Here
Cao lau — thick noodles in a minimal broth with roast pork and herbs — is Hoi An's signature dish, and purists insist it can only be made properly here because the water comes from a specific well used for centuries. Whether or not that's true, eat it at a street stall rather than a tourist restaurant. The same goes for white rose dumplings and banh mi — Hoi An's version of the latter is widely regarded as Vietnam's finest.
4. The Best Tailor Experience Takes Two Days
Hoi An is famous for its tailors, and having clothes made here is a legitimate and affordable experience. The key is allowing time for a fitting and at least one round of alterations. Arrive on day one, choose your fabric and style, return on day two for fitting, and collect on day three. Rushing the process produces disappointing results.
5. An Bang Beach is Better than Cua Dai
Most visitors head to Cua Dai Beach, closest to town. But the beach erosion there has been significant. An Bang Beach, a few kilometres further, has held its sand better and has a string of relaxed beach bars with sun loungers and cheap cocktails. Take a bicycle — it's a 20-minute ride through rice paddies.
6. The Cham Islands Are Worth the Boat Ride
Eight islands 18 kilometres offshore make up the Cu Lao Cham Marine Reserve — a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with excellent snorkelling, resident sea turtles, and enough coral to keep divers occupied for days. Day trips run daily from the An Hoi boat dock.
7. Cooking Classes Are Consistently Excellent
Hoi An has more cooking schools per square kilometre than anywhere in Vietnam. Most follow the same formula: market tour in the morning, cooking lesson at a riverside farm, eat what you made for lunch. They're uniformly good value and better at explaining Vietnamese food culture than any restaurant meal.
8. The Ancient Town Gets Very Crowded by Mid-Morning
Walk the lantern-lit streets at 7am and you'll have them largely to yourself. By 10am the tour groups arrive. The town empties again between 1pm and 3pm during the heat of the day. Plan your Ancient Town exploration for early morning or evening.
9. My Son Ruins Are a Half-Day from Town
The temple complex at My Son — a Cham civilisation religious site dating back to the 4th century — is 40 kilometres west of Hoi An and a natural addition to any Hoi An itinerary. It's not Angkor Wat, but the jungle setting is atmospheric and the history compelling. Go early to beat the heat.
10. A Bicycle Is Your Best Transport
Hoi An is small and flat. Hire a bicycle from your hotel for a dollar a day and ride everywhere — to the beach, to An Bang, through the rice paddies to Tra Que vegetable village. The back roads between the Ancient Town and the coast are some of the most pleasant cycling in Vietnam.
The best version of Hoi An exists at the margins of the tourist experience — early mornings, bicycle rides through paddy fields, a bowl of cao lau at a market stall at 7am. The crowds are real, but they're not hard to avoid if you simply move at a different time than everyone else.
