Best Things To Do in Hoi An

Hoi An in Vietnam is without a doubt one of the prettiest old towns in Southeast Asia. It’s the perfect place to chill out for a few days, eat some tasty local Vietnamese food and explore the ancient town, beaches and countryside. With so many awesome things to do in Hoi An, I’ve rounded up this list of the 10 best Hoi An attractions.

The best place to stay in Hoi An is along the river near Hoi An’s bustling Old Town (but at least a block or two from the noisy nightlife!), which is close to all these Hoi An activities. My favorite Hoi An accommodation near the Old Quarter was Villa Orchid Garden Riverside. Very well priced, a quiet riverfront location, and only a 10-minute bike ride to the Ancient Town.

If you want to be right in the heart of the Ancient Town, we also enjoyed Lantana Boutique Hotel. Lantana is located on the riverside opposite the Old Quarter, is relatively quiet, and is very comfortable with good service.

You can also tackle these places to visit in Hoi An if you’re staying at the beach or even in nearby Danang. For a beach break, I loved staying at the Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa. Super relaxing and very luxe!

What To Do in Hoi An – Hoi An Old Town 

1. Wander the Hoi An Ancient Town

This is really 10 things to do in Hoi An rolled into one! Hoi An Old Town (or Ancient Town) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has an oh so pretty colorful mix of historic architecture including Chinese, Japanese and French-colonial buildings. The Old Town is well preserved, and now functions as a living historical museum. For most people, visiting Hoi An’s old town will be a highlight of their Vietnam itinerary.

A ticket to the Hoi An Ancient Town costs 120,000 VND (around US$5). The ticket gives you entry into five of the historic buildings, including the famous Japanese bridge, the Chinese Assembly Hall and various ancient homes. This is pretty good value, plus the bulk of funds go towards the Old Town’s preservation.

Purchase a ticket on your first day and hold onto it in case you need to show it again. If you want to visit all the sites, you’ll need more than one ticket, but five sites was plenty for us.

The main streets of the Hoi An Ancient Town are pedestrian only for a couple of hours in the morning and from mid-afternoon to late evening. The streets get more jam-packed with tourists towards evening. Sure, it’s touristy, but it’s also super pretty, especially in the evening when the town is full of colourful lanterns.

Hoi An’s Old Quarter is small enough to walk around in a couple of hours, but intriguing enough to get lost in for a few days. You can easily whittle away time walking the streets, exploring the historic buildings, checking out the boutique shops (ahem, and spending money…) and people-watching at a street-side cafe or bar.

2. Eat Like a Local

Hoi An is chockers with tasty and cheap local Vietnamese food and street eats. I pretty much love it all!

My all-time fav Vietnamese food is banh mi, a baguette sandwich which is typically filled with various types of pork, herbs and French condiments including pate. This is somewhat curious given that I’m not a pork fan, and often feel queasy from too much bread … but banh mi is a delicious exception.

While you’re in Hoi An, try the famous banh mi stalls like Madam Khan – The Banh Mi Queen and Banh Mi Phuong. Be warned: Madam Khan and Banh Mi Phuong can have ridiculously long lines. However, famous doesn’t necessarily mean tastier, so try to sample some other random banh mi shops that you stumble across.

Other famous Hoi An local food includes white rose dumplings, cao lau (noodle), com ga (chicken rice), banh xeo (crispy pancake) and xi ma (black sesame pudding). Eat it all folks!

Most local street food costs 10,000 VND to 30,000 VND, which is around 50c to $1.50USD. (Bargain!!) Alternatively, join a street food tour for a fun way to sample it all (see 5 below).

Love street food? Don’t miss Saigon Vietnam, where some of the best things to do in Ho Chi Minh include street food tours!

3. Watch the World go by Along the River

One of the best things to do in Hoi An is … nothing at all.

The Hoi An river is lined with casual bars and restaurants. It’s easy to pass by several hours with a cold drink in hand (guilty!). Watch boats float by and locals and tourists alike go about their business.

The main Old Town side of the river is a hive of activity, while the Cam Nam side (above) is a quiet oasis. Oh the serenity and the bliss. Plus nothin’ like a cold beer after a morning cycling around in 30+ degrees and 80% humidity.

4. Tailor Clothing

Hoi An’s Ancient Town is filled with tailors who will whip up literally any item of clothing you can dream of in record time. Choose from the suits, dresses and tops in the shop or bring along a photo or favourite piece of clothing to be copied.

The tailors have a range of fine fabrics available, or bring some along with you. Prices are very reasonable, and clothing can often be made overnight or in a matter of hours.

I even had a couple of pairs of shoes whipped up overnight when I spied some cute booties across the street and my size wasn’t available. Speaking of which, Hoi An is also great for leather shopping. Pick up bargain (and quality) jackets, bags, wallets, belts and shoes.

Hoi An Attractions – Hoi An Tours and Day Trips

5. Motorbike Tour

Like most places in South East Asia, the preferred mode of transport is fanging it about town on a motorbike with at least 4 of your closest friends or family crammed into one bike. Safety first team!

I combined local eats with the back of a bike and joined the Hoi An Street Food Tour by Motorbike. This motorbike tour was great fun, and is suitable for all ages (promise, I took my 67 year old mother!). The street food tour includes a ridiculous amount of food, so come hungry!

You’ll also get to explore the countryside and local gardens as you take a short rest between food courses.

6. Cycle the Hoi An Streets

Hoi An’s streets are relatively quiet and extraordinarily pretty, which makes for the perfect cycling location. Most local hotels include bikes (free or for rent), so you can simply jump on and mosey on down to the Hoi An Ancient Town.

Use your wheels to get out of the Old Town and explore the quieter streets of nearby Cam Nam island (a short hop across the river) or meander down to the beach for some chill time.

If you’re feeling adventurous, get off the beaten path and go further afield with a Hoi An bike tour. We joined Heaven & Earth Tours on two trips to Hoi An. Heaven & Earth offers private and group biking tours around the Hoi An countryside. I can absolutely say that this cycling tour was the highlight of our trip! See deets under 7 below.

7. Explore the Hoi An Countryside

A great Hoi An day trip is to get out of the city and explore the countryside. Rural Hoi An is filled with small villages, pretty rice fields, bamboo bridges and locals going about their daily lives.

We combined the countryside with a cycle tour on Heaven & Earth’s 23km Real Vietnam Bicycle Tour. On this tour, you’ll take a scenic one hour boat ride to a small village in the middle of the boondocks to start cycling.

Over the course of the day, we cycled around the local village backstreets, through verdant rice fields and across some rather rickety and precarious bamboo bridges (evidence above!). We stopped intermittently to see local farming practices and artisans in action, from the making of rice noodles to the crafting of snakeskin goods.

Heaven & Earth’s bike tour was one of the most authentic local experiences I’ve had in five years of travelling in Southeast Asia, and I’d absolutely recommend it. In fact, we loved it so much that we returned for round two on our next visit to Hoi An.

8. Hit the Hoi An Beach

Southeast Asia beaches can be a little disappointing. (Admittedly, I’ve beeen spoilt by the incredible beaches of Australia and New Zealand.) My personal favourite beaches in Southeast Asia are the beautiful islands of Palawan Philippines, although these are a little trickier to get to.

For something more accessible, I was pleasantly surprised by the Hoi An beaches, which are some of the better mainland beaches you’ll find in Southeast Asia.

If you’re visiting Hoi An for a winter escape, spend a day or two chillaxing at the beautiful local beaches like An Bang and Cua Dai. Hoi An has fine sandy beaches lined with palm trees and beach bars for a cocktail or two.

If you’re a real beach bum, use the beach as your base and travel into the nearby Ancient Town during the day. For a super chilled and rather luxe holiday (is chilluxed a word?!), I loved staying at the Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa.

9. My Son Sanctuary

You might be surprised to learn that Vietnam is home to ancient architectural ruins. My Son Sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage site with crumbling Hindu Temples nestled in the forest.

While My Son doesn’t rival Asia’s more impressive temples like Angkor Wat or the Bagan temples, it’s definitely worth a day trip from Hoi An (around 50km) or Danang (around 40km). The site is relatively small, so an hour or two should suffice unless you’re a complete history buff.

If you’re spending time at both the Old Town and the beach, hire a driver and visit My Son as part of your transfer.

10. Cooking Class

Join a cooking class in Hoi An and take the flavours of Vietnam back home. Not only will you learn to make some local dishes, but you can sample your efforts afterwards! Nom nom nom… The food is definitely a highlight of Vietnam, with it’s diverse mix of Asian and French influences and distinct fresh and healthy flavours.

If you’re visiting Southeast Asia, then make the most of cheap flights and easy connections and head beyond Hoi An to some of the best places to visit in Southeast Asia. Don’t miss Vietnam’s equally vibrant but somewhat underrated capital city of Ho Chi Minh!

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