The 15 Best Things To Do In Hoi An
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Hoi An Ancient Town is incredibly pretty, especially at night.
Head out to lớn the Bridge of Lights (Cau An Hoi) at around 8PM lớn see what I mean. True to lớn its name, the bridge and surrounding areas are illuminated with paper lanterns of every color. They hang from the bridge, from storefronts, between houses, and float down the Thu Bon River.
Hordes of tourists congregate on this pedestrian bridge khổng lồ take pictures of the magical scene that manifests itself every night in the Old Town.
Admittedly, the crowds can get a bit overwhelming. But as touristy as it can sometimes be, it’s still one of the most memorable things to do in Hoi An.
If it’s your first time visiting central Vietnam, then this guide will show you ten of the best things you can do in this magical fairy tale town called Hoi An.
HOI AN ATTRACTIONS QUICK LINKS
To help you plan your trip to Hoi An, I’ve compiled liên kết to hotels, tours, and other services here.
HOTELS
Top-rated hotels in Hoi An Ancient Town, the most convenient area to lớn stay for people on their first trip lớn Hoi An.
TOURS
OTHER SERVICES
HOI AN TRAVEL GUIDE
Before you visit Hoi An, be sure to kiểm tra out our detailed Hoi An travel guide. It’ll tell you all you need khổng lồ know – lượt thích how lớn get khổng lồ Hoi An from da Nang Airport, where to lớn stay, where to lớn eat, etc. – to help you plan your trip.
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THINGS TO do IN HOI AN
1. Explore Hoi An Ancient Town (Old Town)
Getting lost in the Ancient Town (Old Town) is one of the most fun things to vì chưng in Hoi An. It refers lớn a thirty hectare area near the mouth of the Thu Bon River that was one of the busiest trading ports in Southeast Asia between the 16th và 18th centuries.
At one point, it was the exclusive trade conduit between Europe, China, India, & Japan, leading khổng lồ a chất lượng fusion of cultures that can’t be seen anywhere else in Vietnam.
Today, Hoi An Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s home to an exceptionally well-preserved complex of timber frame buildings, pagodas, & heritage houses. The old Japanese bridge is particularly impressive. Collectively, the Old Town is the đứng top attraction in Hoi An & a big reason why people enjoy this city.
The Old Town is the heart of Hoi An và its hub of commercial activity so you’ll be spending most of your time there. It’s a fascinating area khổng lồ explore with its lanyrinthine network of restaurants, cafes, shops, and museums.
Hoi An Ancient Town is at its most dramatic at night, but if you’re into photography, then you may want to lớn explore it early in the morning as well. It looks incredible bathed in the golden glow of sunrise. Plus, you’ll have the town all khổng lồ yourself. You can kiểm tra out my article on Hoi An Ancient Town for more pictures and information.
The Old Town is fun lớn explore on your own but if you’d like to learn more about it on a guided tour, then there are several you can choose from on Klook or Get Your Guide.
Hoi An Ancient Town Ticket: VND 120,000
2. Eat Cao Lau
If you travel for food like we do and want to learn more about Vietnamese culture, then digging into the local Vietnamese cuisine is something that you absolutely must bởi vì in Hoi An.
There are three delicious dishes that trang điểm the holy trinity of Hoi An food – cao lau, banh mi, and com ga. Of the three, cao vệ sinh may be the most important.
Cao vệ sinh is a rice noodle dish made with phụ thân siu pork, rice crackers, bean sprouts, fresh herbs, và deep-fried squares of pork skin. What makes it special are the noodles. Authentic cao lau noodles are made with water drawn from the ancient tía Le Well.
The well’s alkaline water mixed with wood ash from the Cham Islands gives cao lau noodles its distinctive yellow tinge và chewier texture.
With cao vệ sinh being such an important Hoi An dish, I’ve tried it many times but my favorites so far are from Cao vệ sinh Khong Gian Xanh & Cao vệ sinh Thanh. Both are local favorites known for serving some of the best cao vệ sinh in Hoi An. Many food stalls at the Hoi An local market offer cao lau as well.
You can kiểm tra out our food guide for a các mục of the best local restaurants in Hoi An. If you’d like to experience cao lau & other traditional Vietnamese dishes with a local guide, then there are plenty of food tours lớn choose from on Get Your Guide.
Where khổng lồ Try It: Cao lau Khong Gian Xanh, Cao lau ThanhExpect khổng lồ Spend: About VND 35,000 per bowl
3. Take a Cooking Class
If you want to learn more about Vietnamese cuisine, then taking a cooking class is one of the best things you can bởi vì in Hoi An. In fact, the class we took at Thuan Tinh Island Cooking School was the very first cooking class we had ever taken on a trip. We had so much fun that we’ve been doing it ever since.
Many restaurants và hotels offer cooking classes but one of the most recommended is Thuan Tinh Island Cooking School. They’re a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence awardee with a perfect 5-star rating, even after over 3,200 reviews.
If you don’t think Thuan Tinh Island Cooking School is the right place for you, then you can check out Cookly for a list of cooking classes in Hoi An. They have dozens lớn choose from.
4. Ride a Basket Boat
Riding one of these round basket boats has khổng lồ be one of the most fun things to bởi in Hoi An. They’re popular in southern and central Vietnam and have become an iconic symbol of the country.
When I booked our cooking class at Thuan Tinh Island Cooking School, included on the itinerary was a short boat ride lớn Thuan Tinh Island. I assumed it would be on one of these round boats but we wound up riding wooden canoes instead.
The origin of these round boats is unclear, though some people speculate they may have been born from a similar reason as the narrow houses in Hanoi – French taxation.
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When the French levied taxes on boats like they did on houses, fishermen found an ingenious way of circumventing taxation by creating large “baskets” that doubled as boats. They quickly became popular because of their tax-free status & clever design.
You can hire wooden canoes lớn take you up & down the Thu Bon River but I suggest riding one of these basket boats instead. These basket boat trips offer a more unique & authentic way of experiencing the waterways of Hoi An. You can book a basket boat tour on Klook or Get Your Guide.
Photo by Pinglabel via Shutterstock
5. Eat Banh Mi
Banh ngươi is a Vietnamese national dish. You can have it anywhere in Vietnam but many people, including the late great Anthony Bourdain and CNN, say that the best banh ngươi can be found in Hoi An, và much of that can be attributed to lớn the bread.
Strictly speaking, the term “banh mi” refers to lớn bread but it’s often used lớn describe the sandwich made with a small French baguette. It can be filled with any number of ingredients but the most common fillings include liver pate, cold cuts, pickled vegetables, cucumber slices, và cilantro.
Ask locals for the best banh mày in Hoi An and most will point you khổng lồ the Banh My Queen or Banh mi Phuong. Both were outstanding và two of the best banh mis I’ve had anywhere in Vietnam.
Where to Try It: Madam Khanh – The Banh My Queen, Banh mày PhuongExpect lớn Spend: About VND 20,000-30,000 per banh mi
6. Have Coffee or Tea at the Reaching Out Tea House
There are many đáng yêu cafes serving good Vietnamese coffee in Hoi An, but this has khổng lồ be one of the most interesting. At Reaching Out Tea House in the Ancient Town, you’re meant lớn enjoy your coffee or tea in silence.
Reaching Out Tea House is managed by the speech or hearing impaired. Instead of communicating verbally, you’re encouraged lớn correspond through handwritten notes or by using blocks with messages like “Bill”, “Ice”, or “Thank you”.
Reaching Out is a lovely initiative that serves good coffee. They offer just three coffee blends & four types of tea. You can get them separately or try them all in these coffee or tea tasting sets.
As of this writing, Reaching Out Tea House maintains a perfect 5-star rating on TripAdvisor even after over 2,600 reviews. You can kiểm tra out our coffee guide for more of the best cafes in Hoi An.
Expect to Spend: About VND 135,000 for the coffee tasting set
7. Explore My Son Sanctuary
A visit lớn My Son Sanctuary is by far the most popular day trip you can make from Hoi An. It’s a Hindu sanctuary with temples và ancient ruins that’s often referred to as a “mini Angkor Wat”.
My Son Sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was built by the Cham people between the 4th and 14th centuries. You can check out my article on My Son Sanctuary for more pictures và information.
We booked a private tour to My Son Sanctuary with Simply Vietnam Travel but you can book group tours through Klook or Get Your Guide.
8. Eat Com Ga
Com ga is the third thành viên of Hoi An’s holy trinity of regional Vietnamese food, and it may be my favorite. It’s basically Vietnam’s version of Hainanese chicken rice, which was brought to Quang nam giới Province by Chinese traders from Hainan.
Com ga is made with shredded poached chicken, seasoned pilaf rice, green papaya và carrot strands, fresh herbs, và a tasty bowl of chicken broth that may or may not contain bits of offal và congealed blood. It’s absolutely delicious & one of my favorite things khổng lồ eat in Hoi An.
I’ve tried com ga at a few places in Hoi An but my favorite was definitely Long Com Ga, a small restaurant tucked away in an alley in the Old Town. Their com ga was the tastiest for me và served with different types of offal.
Where khổng lồ Try It: Long Com Ga, Com Ga cha BuoiExpect lớn Spend: About VND 35,000 per order of com ga
9. Eat white Rose Dumplings
White Rose dumplings or banh bao banh vac are dumplings made by the white Rose Restaurant. This Hoi An institution has been serving these iconic dumplings for four generations now.
White Rose dumplings are unique to Hoi An. Filled with spiced minced shrimp or pork, their skins are made with the same alkaline water used lớn make cao lau noodles, giving them a similarly firm & chewy texture.
You’ll find many restaurants và stalls at the central market offering white Rose dumplings in Hoi An. These are all sourced from white Rose Restaurant but I suggest trying them at the restaurant itself. They have just two items on their thực đơn – trắng Rose dumplings and fried wontons also known as “Hoi An pizza”.
Expect khổng lồ Spend: About VND 70,000 per order of white rose dumplings
10. Get a Custom-Tailored Suit or Dress
Getting a custom-tailored suit or dress is one of the most popular things to do in Hoi An. The town’s tailoring tradition goes back many generations so you’ll find dozens of tailor shops in Hoi An that can skillfully recreate exact replicas of whatever you want in 24-48 hours.
With that said, be careful where you go because I’ve read that not all tailors are honest. You can ask your khách sạn for help or refer lớn this article for recommendations.
Photo by Tee11 via Shutterstock
FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE BEST THINGS TO do IN HOI AN
As advised, My Son Sanctuary is the most popular day trip people make from Hoi An. If you’re staying long enough, then there are other places you can visit as well.
If you like beaches, then Cua dẻo Beach and An Bang Beach are nearby. Thanks khổng lồ their proximity lớn the city center, they’re popular with both locals and tourists alike. Day trips to lớn the Golden Bridge in domain authority Nang (Get Your Guide) and the Marble Mountains (Klook | Get Your Guide) are popular as well.
After your first trip khổng lồ Hoi An, you’ll understand why it’s one of our favorite cities lớn visit in Vietnam. Not to lớn live in, but to lớn visit. The city is charming, it’s compact, it’s got great food, và there are plenty of things to vì chưng in Hoi An for first-time visitors.
In my opinion, Hoi An is a little too touristy to lớn stay in for a prolonged amount of time (try going to lớn the night market), but if it’s your first time visiting, then there are few destinations in Vietnam more impactful than Hoi An.
Personally, I’ll never forget the first time I saw the Ancient Town at night. We were having drinks by the river then walked our bikes through the Old Town khổng lồ get back to our hotel.
I didn’t know what lớn expect so seeing all the lanterns lit up made me feel lượt thích I had fallen asleep at the bar & woken up in a fairy tale. It truly was magical.
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I hope you have a similar experience on your first visit to lớn Hoi An.
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