Home » Viet Nam Travel Guide » Tips About Hoi An You Need To Know Before Your Trip To Vietnam

Tips About Hoi An You Need To Know Before Your Trip To Vietnam

Hoi An is a beautiful City recognized as a world heritage town by Unesco since 1999. Hoi An is situated in the central region of Vietnam. Talking to Hoi An, tourists almost refer to its safety, quiet streets, beautiful old houses, and sparkling lanterns at night.

In order to understand more about the old town, we would love to share with you all about Hoi An that you need to know before your trip to Vietnam if traveling to Hoi An as below

1. Hoi An Cultures

Hoi An is a mix of cultures and architectures that reflect the influences of Chinese, Japanese, and European cultures. It’s also known for its beautiful ancient temples, Japanese bridges, etc. The Hoi An’s culture remains almost the original from 1000 years till today, even its traditional cuisine and people.

To understand more about Hoi An culture, Hoi An Tours recommends you join Hoi An Memories show which recreate an ancient Hoi An more than 300 years ago, which was considered the biggest trading port at that time. Hoi An is also considered a trading market for many countries: India, China, Thailand, Japan, Spain, etc. It’s the reason why Hoi An has various cultures that are influenced by many countries that melted to Vietnam.

2. Geography

Hoi An has the advantage of is lying on the Thu Bon River, and endowed with beautiful beaches: An Bang Beach, Cua Dai Beach, and Cham Island which is recognized by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve due to its unique ecosystem. Cham Island or Cu Lao Cham is home to a variety of endangered species to explore marine life. With crystal clear water and a stunning beach, it’s no wonder that Cham Island is a popular destination for swimming or snorkeling as well as diving. 

Located near Da Nang International Airport, Hoi An is a convenient stop for tourists traveling between Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City in central Vietnam.

3. Weather

Hoi An’s weather is divided into two seasons: the dry season (from February to August) and the wet season (from September to January).

Time from February to August is the best time to Visit Hoi An when the weather is dry and pleasant. In this season, the weather is normally dry and hot, so it’s easier to move when joining Hoi An tours. 

The rainy season usually starts in October and till December, it will be wet and sometimes windy or have storms, etc. It doesn’t matter if guests can’t move, you can join in some Hoi An classes and workshops. In the classes, you can learn handicrafts and make it meaningful in your trip and your children if you join Hoi An’s daily tours. Some tours are very interesting such as Hoi An basket boat tour, Tra Que vegetable village tour, Farming tour, etc. Most tourists are amazed by these activities even organized during the rainy season. 

4. Foods

Hoi An cuisine is a blend of flavors from different cultures over the years. Hoi An is known for its delicious foods like chicken rice (Com Ga), bread (Banh mi), Quang noodles (Mi Quang), Cao Lau…Especially, Hoi An is also famous for fresh seafood. Tourists traveling to Hoi An love to enjoy barbecue seafood: grilled shrimp, grilled squid, steamed clams, and fried rice with shrimp, etc.

Besides street foods, tourists also never forget the sweet taste of its dessert: Banh bo (a sweet rice cake), Che…These are the typical cuisines highly appreciated by tourists since joining in Hoi An food tour.

If you are interested in local products, be sure to visit Hoi An’s market where you can find fresh fruits. There are many delicious fruits from regions in Vietnam like longan, dragon fruit, watermelon, mango, etc.

5. Accommodation

Hoi An is the best destination offering a wide range of accommodations from homestays to villas, hotels, resorts, etc. Traveling to Hoi An, tourists have no worries about where to stay. Compared to other cities, Hoi An’s accommodation is varied staying for a cheap price that includes nutrient breakfast. 

 

Here are the standard accommodation prices Hoi An Tours would love to share with you for reference since visiting Hoi An, Vietnam

• The homestay or villas  normally from 500,000 VND to 700,000VND/room rate
• The hotel from 3 stars to 4 stars, the budget from 600,000 VND to 1,200,000 VND/room rate
• The 5 stars hotel to luxury resorts is from 1,300,000 – 2,300,000 VND/room rate
• The homestay on Cham Island: from 500,000 VND to 800,000 VND/room rate.

Homestay is the only option for tourists who stay on the Island. There have been no hotels or resorts on Cham Island till now. Because Cham Island is a world heritage biosphere, the ecosystem is almost clean and original without polluted construction. 

6. Hoi An Tours

Visit Hoi An, tourists have many options for tours to experience in Hoi An during your trip, such as handicraft classes and workshop tours, heritage tours, shopping tours, and farming tours…

Hoi An is known as a heritage town, it is the reason why Hoi An still retains lots of traditional handicraft art tours:

6.1 Cham Island tour

Traveling to Hoi An, many tourists are happy to visit Cham Island because of its natural beauty. Tourists are really in love with the beach of Cham Island, cause of its smooth sandy beach, clear water, nice coral, sunshine, etc.

There are many options for tourists can join when on Cham Island tours such as diving, snorkeling, and sea-walking tour… Guests can stay on Cham island to enjoy the cool fresh air with enjoyable feelings. You can discover Cham Island by enjoying fresh seafood or rent a bike to go around Cham Island to catch memorable moments with the sunrise or sunset. 

We would love to share the best company that tourists highly appreciate when joining tours with them as address: culaochamtour.com. They can offer you good service and good price. 

6.2 Thanh Ha Pottery Village

Come to Hoi An, tourists mostly prefer to experience pottery ceramic at Thanh Ha village, you will be guided on how to create simple ceramic products: bowls, vases, bottles…

 

Thanh Ha Pottery Village was once a place to make ceramic products during the Nguyen King period. Nowadays, tourists visiting Thanh Ha will have a chance to admire the huge construction ceramic of over 600 years. It’s Thanh Hà Terracotta Park, it is the project was built to recreate the historical process of the pottery village. 

6.3 Kim Bong Carpentry Village

Kim Bong Carpentry Village is a traditional handicraft village located in Cam Kim commune, Hoi An. It’s famous for carving wood products. Tourists visiting Kim Bong village can see the traditional skills of carpentry and wood carving passed down from generation to generation such as furniture, boats, and sculptures that are sold in local markets. If you want to learn more about traditional handicrafts and see the intricate details of wood carving, join Hoi An’s daily group tours for experience.

6.4 Tra Que Vegetable Village tour

Tra Que Vegetable Village tour is a unique cultural tour for those who want to experience how to be a farmer. In this tour, tourists will learn how to grow and use traditional techniques to plant herbs or vegetables. You can also participate in a cooking class using fresh products from the garden.  This tour is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture and taste the flavors of Vietnam.

6.5 Riding basket boat at Cam Thanh Coconut Village

A riding basket boat tour is a unique and thrilling experience that involves riding in a small boat made of bamboo and rattan in the shape of a basket. The boat is propelled by a paddle, and it is typically used for fishing in shallow waters. Riding a basket boat tour at Cam Thanh Coconut Village brings you a new feeling of natural beauty and fascination. 

6.6 Making Lantern Handicraft Tour

Tourists traveling to Hoi An are often overwhelmed by the shimmering colors of the lovely lanterns. All the streets and boats on the Hoai River are brightly colored with lanterns decorated. To own a nice lantern, you can join the Hoi An lantern class and workshop. From the class, you can learn how to make it and decorate as well as draw any things you like to gift or souvenir to your collection. It will be a meaningful and joyful class during your trip to Hoi An.

6.7 Heritage tour

If you are a lover of heritage sites, we recommend you go to the town and visit the Japanese bridge, and historical sites such as Phung Hung, Tan Ky Ancient House, Hoi An Historic Museum, My Son Holyland, etc.

Join in Hoi An heritage tour, tourists will get information about the local customs, traditions, and lifestyle…Moreover, the heritage tour provides visitors with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the rich cultural heritage of Hoi An influences of Chinese, Japanese, and European cultures as well as Champa cultures. The Japanese bridge is evidence of the heritage site that reflects Japanese and Chinese culture.

It’s more interesting if you spend time visiting My Son Holyland, a heritage site from the Champa kingdom. Tourists will be very surprised and question a lot why people can build huge constructions like that without damage. How can they stick all the bricks together without any mortar? This is a difficult question that scientists haven’t found the answer till now.

7. Shopping

Shopping in Hoi An is a delightful experience as there are a lot of options available for tourists. The Old Town is famous for its tailor shops where visitors can have custom-made clothes made in just a day or two. Most of the shops offer a wide range of fabrics to choose from, and you can get anything like suits,…

Hoi An is home to a range of boutique shops selling unique 24-hour tailoring or speedy tailoring services that can be done very fast in 3 or 4 hours if you don’t have too much time in Hoi An. 

Besides tailoring, tourists can buy a lot of souvenir gifts on their trip to Hoi An such as lanterns, paintings, jewelry, Vietnamese Ao Dai, etc. 

8. Entertainment 

Traveling to Hoi An, tourists have spent time watching the best shows in Asia. It’s Hoi An memories show. 

Hoi An Memories Show is a cultural performance that recreates the history of Hoi An 300 years ago which was considered as the largest trading port in Southeast Asia from the 16th to 18th century.

The show takes place every evening in an outdoor theater and features hundreds of performers dressed in colorful traditional costumes…Through the show, visitors can experience the unique culture, history, and lifestyle of Hoi An in the past.