Hoi An is a beautiful, magical city. I recommend to spend a minimum of 3 days, the more the better! If you’re ever in Vietnam, then you shouldn’t miss it, it combines both beauty and leisure and it just feels magical. We took a flight from Hanoi to Danang.
So, you are probably wondering what is there to do! Good thing I wrote you the top 10 things you can see, do, and eat! Enjoy!
Things to do in Hoi An
Sleep in a high standard hotel
Hoi An is the perfect place to stay at a good hotel. In most places in Vietnam we stayed in nice guesthouses that are really cheap, but in Hoi An we spent a little extra cash to stay at a luxurious hotel.
The perfect hotel for us was Truc Huy, and it had a value for money! We paid $25 per night including breakfast. It’s. That. Cheap. It’s not in the ancient city, but they offer free bikes that you can ride with to the city and be there by 10 minutes. Things we loved about this hotel: Great stuff, Awesome pool, beautiful room and good breakfast.
Another hotel that was excellent is La Residencia Hotel &Spa. Its location was in the ancient city, so that was a bit more convenient. The downside was that the pool was indoors!
They offer free shuttles to get to the beach, and it has a nice buffet breakfast. The rooms are nice, large, and clean.
More reviews about La Residencia Hotel & Spa
Go to a Cooking Class
If you’re into cooking classes, I highly recommend checking out Thuan Thun.
It combined going grocery shopping at the market with the instructor, sailing through coconut trees, a short tour that shows how to make rice milk, and lastly a fun and delicious cooking class!
We chose the noon class, and we were literally the only ones! It was a private class and course!
Sailing on the boat was really relaxing, and passing through the coconut trees was surreal. In the class we made 4 courses and each dish was really good and appetizing
Visit My Son
My Son is a historical place that has some Hindu temples, that is located in the village Doi Pho. In 1999 My Son was declared as an actual site. It is a beautiful place that is about 40km from Hoi An.
We rented a scooter from the hotel for $5 per day and spend the day there! It was a downhill ride and it was really lovely! Entrance is about $7. You can also take a full day tour, or get there by a taxi.
There are shuttles that take you from one temple to the other. We preferred walking, because the scenery was just beautiful
Relax on the beach
Hoi An is a leisure city, and it includes visiting its beautiful beaches.
You can get to the shore with a taxi, bikes, scooter, or choose walking. There are a few beaches and there are tanning beds in each of them.
If you buy food and drinks, you will most likely get the tanning bed for free. You can also bring a towel and just lay on the sand.
The beaches are not as impressive as they are in Thailand, but they are nice and clean. Besides, what can be so bad with just chilling in the sun?
Sew clothes
Hoi An is a city that is known for having a lot of tailors, and a lot of them can customize your clothes! I got really excited when I heard that idea.
You can sketch your own outfit, show them a picture of something you like, and they will sew the exact same thing and it would be a lot cheaper if you were to buy the original.
You can also pick the fabric and the colors that you like, and the quality is super good. I have clothes that were sewn 4 years ago and they are in perfect condition.
Roman actually got his wedding suit tailor made in Vietnam 🙂
Clothes is actually not the only thing you can get! You can also get shoes, sandals, bags, bathing suits, and belts! So basically you can customize an entire new wardrobe 🙂
I recommend a great tailor named Hien Nguyen, and her shop is called SU. Address: 48 trang hung dao.
Enjoy a Vietnamese buffet
In Vietnam you will find restaurants that also serve buffet.
The price is more expensive than that of a regular meal, but if you have an option of paying $22 for a buffet you shouldn’t think twice.
I recommend going there hungry. You will find all the amazing Vietnamese foods, and you won’t be able to have enough.
They serve soups and seafoods, dumplings and dim sum, and special Vietnamese beef dishes.
We really liked The Market restaurant.
Get a massage
We got a 90 minute massage and it was fantastic.
As amazing as the massage was, the service was excellent as well. They came to pick us up from the hotel and also gave us a ride back.
After the massage we got some delicious tea and cooking. I highly recommend checking out Pandanus Spa
Strolling Around the Ancient City
The ancient city in Hoi An is one of the nicest ones I’ve ever seen, and especially at night! It is filled with lights, loads of bars, restaurant, fantastic scents of delicious foods, and there is ever a river in the middle of it! It is truly magical and you can spend an entire day.
There are great bars with happy hours. There is also a night market with souvenir and food stands
Ride Bikes
One of my favorite things in Hoi An is that you get to ride bikes all the time.
We rode our bikes to the beach, to the ancient city, and just explored with them.
In the area of the hotel Truc Huy there were a lot of beautiful rice fields with great biking or running trails
Eat Cau Lao
Cau Lao is the most famous dish in Hoi An. It is super delicious and also very cheap! .
It was good in every single place that I’ve tried it, so find a place that you like and go for it!
More posts I wrote on that
Detailed itinerary to Vietnam – North to South
Best time of the year to visit Vietnam
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Exotic and unforgettable snake meal in the Snake Village Hanoi, Vietnam
Awesome things to do in Hanoi, Vietnam
Don’t miss Tam Coc while visiting Vietnam
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Amazing restaurants in Hacarmel Market