Located on the northern bank of the lower Thu Bon River, Hoi An is an ancient town in Quang Nam, more than 30 km from Da Nang city and 122 km from Hue. When mentioning Hoi An, we must mention the rows of ancient houses in turmeric yellow, the river shimmering with lanterns at night, or delicious dishes at affordable prices.
What season is beautiful in Hoi An?
Hoi An’s climate is a mixture of the North and the South, with distinct rainy and dry seasons. Each season the ancient town has its own beauty.
The first three months of the year are the most ideal time to visit Hoi An when the sun is not too harsh, the weather is cool, and there is occasional light rain.
April to June is the harsh period of the dry season, but the weather in Hoi An is quite pleasant, due to its location south of the Truong Son mountain range. This is also the peak tourist season.
During the rainy season, many tourists still come to Hoi An to have different experiences. Photo: Do Anh Vu
July is still the dry season. August and September are the transitional months. The weather is still sunny, with occasional rain and chilly nights.
The last three months of the year are the rainy season in Hoi An, with little sunshine, heavy rain and occasional flooding. Tourists from the South who come to Hoi An in the cold season should prepare suitable clothing to avoid health problems.
Move
Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airlines… all operate flights to Da Nang. The average round-trip ticket price for one person from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang is about 1.5 million VND. You should buy tickets early to get a good price and convenient departure time.
Arriving at Da Nang airport, you can choose to take a shuttle bus from the airport, or take a bus, taxi, or private car to Hoi An center. Those who like to travel freely can rent a motorbike from Da Nang city to have fun in Hoi An, for about 150,000 VND a day.
If you take the bus, take route 01 Da Nang – Hoi An, which runs from 5:30 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. daily, with a ticket price of 20,000 VND per person. If you are traveling with three or more people and want to travel quickly from the airport straight to Hoi An, you should call a taxi or shuttle bus, which costs from 250,000 VND per trip.
To get around Hoi An, you can rent bicycles or motorbikes from the hotels or homestays you stay at. Bicycles cost about 30,000 VND per day, motorbikes cost 120,000 VND.
Hotel, homestay
Hoi An has its own beauty in each season, but the most popular season is still summer. Therefore, if you go this season, you should find out where to stay to book a room as soon as possible to get a good price, especially on weekends.
The price of 4 or 5 star hotels and resorts here is around 2,500,000 VND or more for a night in a double room. Hoi An has more and more new resorts with beautiful locations such as in Cam Chau ward, An Bang beach, Cua Dai…
Homestays in Hoi An have also sprung up rapidly in recent years, serving all types of travelers, from solo travelers, groups, or families. Not only are they a clean place to sleep, the homestays are also meticulously designed with unique architecture, interiors, lovely gardens, and spacious and airy rooms. The prices of homestays in Hoi An are very cheap, not fluctuating much even during peak season, from 200,000 VND per night per person.
Some beautiful homestays that young people pass on to each other are Maison de Tau, Under The Coconut Tree, An Bang Beach Hideaway, Heron House, Le Bleu…
Where to play?
Cafe
As for drinks, besides herbal drinks, tea and coffee in Hoi An are equally delicious. Moreover, each tea and coffee shop in the old town has its own charm.
Many shops are located deep inside houses that are hundreds of years old, some are on the rooftop so customers can enjoy a drink while watching the street, or some have deaf staff…
Those who like to see Hoi An from above can go to Faifo Café located on the 3rd floor of a house on Tran Phu Street. If you want a quiet space, you can go to Reaching Out tea shop, or enjoy delicious ice cream with coffee at Hoi An Roastery…
In addition, if you take the time to search in the alleys of the old town, you will also discover many tea and coffee shops that are both Hoi An-style and modern, attracting many foreign tourists.
4-7 km from Hoi An city center, visitors can explore cafes in the middle of rice fields such as Roving Chillhouse, Xom Chieu Cafe, Old Brick Kiln Cafe… to enjoy the fresh air.
Old town
Hoi An ancient town alone is a place where young people can check in even if they are tired. Every street, ancient street corner, and row of houses painted with turmeric yellow is an interesting stop to take photos and learn about local culture…
With a 80,000 VND entrance ticket per person valid for 24 hours, you have the opportunity to visit three of the most prominent historical sites in the old town. These are the Japanese Covered Bridge, the assembly halls of Phuc Kien, Quang Trieu, Hai Nam, Trieu Chau, the ancient houses of Quan Thang, Duc An, Phung Hung, Tan Ky… In addition, the entrance ticket also includes street art activities, folk games, night markets… taking place after 7pm.
Activities on the Hoai River are usually busiest from 6pm to 10pm. To go boating, you rent a boat for 200,000 VND and buy floating lanterns for 10,000 VND each.
At night in the old town, you can walk along the bridges to see the city lights up, listen to live music in bars and cafes, and watch famous plays such as Early Morning Mist, A O Show, Teh Dar or Hoi An Memories.
Beach
An Bang Beach is located in Cam An Ward, 3 km from Hoi An city center. The sea is clear, clean, not too crowded, just enough space for you to feel relaxed. In 2011, An Bang Beach was voted by CNN as one of the 50 most beautiful beaches in the world.
In 2017, Ha My Beach was selected by the British newspaper Telegraph as one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in Asia. Located 3.5 km from An Bang, 6 km from Ngu Hanh Son, and nearly 7 km from Hoi An center, Ha My Beach is not too prominent but still has its own peacefulness and charm. Although quite far from the center, Ha My has no shortage of homestays, hotels, and resorts for tourists to choose from.
Cua Dai Beach is a familiar destination of Hoi An, in 2013 it was voted by Tripadvisor as one of the top 25 most beautiful beaches in Asia. Cua Dai is located 5 km from the center of Hoi An, a beach of about several dozen hectares with fine white sand, clear blue water, and small waves. Visitors can lie on the sand for hours to sunbathe, listen to the murmuring waves, or go fishing near the shore, rent a boat to drift with fishermen, or participate in water sports…
