If there’s one place you must visit from Da Nang in Vietnam, it’s Hoi An. This charming and well-preserved UNESCO Heritage Town on Vietnam’s central coast is known as the “city of lanterns,” with small streets cutting through scenic canals. Multi-colored lanterns hang in front of every shop and lantern-lit boats look magical as they sail at night.
The walking town reflects the former port city’s melting-pot history through its architecture, a mix of eras and styles. Flowers adorn the windows of wooden Chinese shophouses and ancient temples, while hip cafes and boutique souvenir shops have found homes in French colonial buildings.
Rickshaws and tourists garbed in traditional Vietnamese dresses and conical hats whiz by on old-school bicycles. Every corner is worthy of a postcard shot. While you can take guided day tours to Hoi An, I highly recommend going the DIY route because the town is compact, walkable, and easy to navigate (think Vigan’s Calle Crisologo). You will want to take it slow to soak it all in.
From our hotel in the city center, we booked a private car transfer to Hoi An that departed around 2:00 pm and asked to be picked up later that evening after dinner. The drive only takes 30 to 45 minutes, but along the way, our driver stopped at a marble shop and showroom that sold souvenir statues.
During the rest of the drive, I noticed how wide and bike-friendly the road was from the city center to Hoi An. If you can rent quality bicycles from the city, you could bike going there. Bikes are also available for rent within Hoi An for use within the area only. Rentals are affordable at 50,000 VND per hour and 80,000 VND per day (approx. Php 115 to P180). However, Hoi An is best for walking.
The car dropped us on a corner near one of the gates, where we paid an entrance fee of 120,000 VND (P274) each, which gives access to five sightseeing spots from museums, chapels, family homes, assembly halls, and more.
You can always buy another ticket if you want to enter more sites. What I love about the place is how streets here are pedestrianized every day from 9 am to 11 am and 3 pm to 10 pm to ensure tourists have a better time exploring.
Since Art and I had biked around Danang earlier in the morning and didn’t have time to eat, we decided to grab a late lunch first at French House Restaurant. It is the only restaurant in Hoi An located on the grounds of an old French house built 120 years ago. Vietnamese food is amazingly flavorful yet still clean and healthy tasting.
I ordered Com ga Hoi An (Hoi An Chicken rice), which originated in this ancient town. This signature dish uses aromatic rice steamed with pineapple and turmeric powder, shredded boiled chicken, and a salad of shredded green papaya, carrot, and herbs. A bowl of chicken and egg broth and sweet and sour sauce were served on the side. The dish was delicate, beautifully presented, and so satisfying. It went great with the ice-cold Bia Hoi Ha Noi beer, which was refreshing for the weather.
There are more than 20 different sightseeing spots in Hoi An that you can use tickets on, aside from the free temples, cafes and sites, so it can be challenging to choose which to visit first. Your choices are:
- Tran Family’s Chapel
- Nguyen Tuong Family Chapel
- Old house of Phung Hung
- Old house of Quan Thang
- Old house of Duc an
- Old house of Tan Ky
- Museum of Trade Ceramics
- Museum of History and Culture
- Museum of Sa Huynh Culture
- Museum of Folk Culture
- Hoi An Traditional Art Performance House
- Japanese Covered Bridge
- Quan Cong Temple
- Hoi An Art Craft Manufacturing Workshop
- Cam Pho Communal House
- Ming Huong Communal House
- Quang Trieu Assembly Hall
- Phuc Kien Assembly Hall
- Trieu Chau Assembly Hall
- XQ Hoi An
My dad suggested we check out the show first at the Hoi An Traditional Art Performance House since there was a last show schedule for the afternoon. Here, local artists delighted the audience with several traditional songs, musical instruments and dances with a bit of audience participation.
After that, we headed to the Japanese Covered Bridge, but it was undergoing restoration work during our visit, so only the remnants of the bridge remained with some photos of how it used to look. We also went into one of the old houses that displayed traditional furniture and sold souvenirs.
Originally, we were planning to visit a few other museums, but we ended up walking around side streets and got distracted by shops selling lanterns and souvenirs and sleeping kitten dolls that meowed.
Even if you don’t go for the ticketed sightseeing spots, you’ll be content to wander around, browse around shops, and go cafe-hopping. Vietnam’s cafe culture is amazing, and with so many attractive cafes lining Hoi An’s streets, you’ll want to try more than one.
We spotted an alley with taprooms of Heart of Darkness Brewery, a famous craft brewery founded in Ho Chi Minh City, and 7 Bridges Brewing (known for brewing sustainable beer in Danang). I loved the design of the hip craft beer bar. It looks so laid-back, like someone’s tropical house in the province.
While companions shopped for souvenirs, Art and I headed to another cafe near the stream as dusk turned to night. While Hoi An is pretty during the day, it looked magically stunning at night with all the lanterns lit up.
A surge of tourists suddenly flocked to the riverside and bridges, as the boats were a sight to behold. We decided to skip taking a boat ride to have coffee instead in Cafe Inn Hoi An, a cozy cafe near the Hoi An Lantern Bridge. Most visitors to Vietnam recommend trying Egg Coffee, but I prefer Salt Coffee and Coconut Coffee since these are not as sweet.
Coconut Coffee is a mix of strong Vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk or coconut cream. The drink is rich and creamy with just the right hint of sweetness. The distinctive coconut flavor blends well with the bold coffee notes. It can be served hot or iced.
We regrouped for dinner at Morning Glory Original, recommended by our guide Sunny, who led our tour in Hue the previous day.
This world-famous restaurant features traditional dishes, celebratory dishes, comfort food, medicinal food, street food and snacks, and can handle the constant flow of diners efficiently.
There’s a Morning Glory Signature branch across the river, but the original branch is said to serve more classic Hoi An and Vietnamese dishes.
I loved the dish I ordered of Soft Shell Crab & Prawn My Quang Cua (155,000 VND), a version of a countryside dish with flat rice noodles topped with soft shell crab, shrimp, quail’s egg and fragrant fresh herbs. I also like the Fried Wontons with Crab Meat (115,000 VND) topped with spring onions, tomato sauce and green and red bell peppers.
No meal is complete without beer. This time, we paired our meal with Larue, a local beer from Heineken’s Vietnam brewer.
I wouldn’t have minded staying in Hoi An longer, but we had to head back to the meeting point to catch the Dragon Fire show back in Danang, since it takes place only on weekends at 9:00 pm.
If you’re not in a rush, I suggest staying in Hoi An longer or until 10:00 pm to maximize your time so you can try one more spot for drinks. Our visit to Hoi An was one of the highlights of our trip to Danang. I wouldn’t mind going back here with friends for more cafe-hopping in the future.