Two days in buzzing Hoi An was never going to be enough. But with just 14 days in Vietnam in total we didn’t have much time to spare. In this post I’m sharing our whistle-stop Hoi An itinerary, where we stayed and why we wished we had more time.
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Why is Hoi An worth visiting?
If we’d visited Hoi An as backpackers in the early 2000s we’d probably feel very differently about the place we experienced in 2024.
It features on most must visit Vietnam guides and has been commercialised by tourism with higher prices and more pestering than you’ll find off the beaten path.
But it’s still cheap by UK standards and, despite being stalked by a very persistent shop keeper for 20 minutes on our first morning, we had a great time here.
Why? Modern Hoi An is unashamedly brash. It’s colourful and bustling, which gives you a taste of what it might have been like when it was a busy sea port between the 15th and 19th Centuries.
The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site with hundreds of ancient buildings whose architecture was inspired by colonials from China, Japan, Portugal and France. There’s tailors for all budgets, chilled out cafes, and food stalls selling everything from pho to fruit and dried fish and ice cream rolls.
By night the town comes alive with bright lanterns, fairy lights and throngs of people browsing the markets and riding illuminated boats along the river.
It’s a fantastic place to wander and soak up the atmosphere.
But if you’re travelling with children, atmosphere doesn’t always cut it. Thankfully there’s also fun things for them to do to as we discovered over our two full days and three nights.
Here’s what we managed to fit into our two days in Hoi An:
Day 1 in Hoi An
We’d landed at Da Nang Airport in the middle of a storm. It was the start of August, so rain was to be expected as we’d found out during our last stop in Ha Long Bay.
By the time our taxi reached our hotel it was pitch black and the streets were ankle deep in water.
So it was a pleasant surprise to wake up on our first full day to sun and mountain views over the Thu Bon River.
Clothes shopping
Our first mission was to visit one of Hoi An’s tailors to have suit made for Mr Tin Box. This is not something we’d ordinarily have on our holiday itinerary. But Hoi An’s reputation for excellent tailoring at reasonable prices had piqued Mr Tin Box’s interest.
We borrowed three bikes from our hotel* (our nine-year-old was a bit too short for her own so got a backy) and set off towards the Old Town before the day got too hot.
Our 10 minute cycle along the leafy riverside road took us straight into town. I was a lot less confident about riding here where the retail streets are full of mopeds, bikes and cars all doing a complicated and noisy dance.
Side note: the roads in Vietnam are extraordinary. We didn’t see an accident in the whole two weeks we were there. In contrast we saw one within the first hour of landing in Oman where we currently live. The urban roads are frantic in both places, but in Vietnam everyone somehow seems to move as one.
If you’re going to buy clothes in Vietnam then Hoi An is the place to do it. We visited two tailors recommended by our hotel, Bebe and Yaly. We were told they were both were at the more expensive end of the market but could turn around a three piece suit in less than 48 hours.
I was also really tempted by the dresses. You can get everything from a wedding dress to a copycat designer summer outfit made to measure for a fraction of the ‘off the rack’ price. But I couldn’t face getting measured in the sticky heat.
With the suit ordered and delivery agreed for the following evening, it was time to appease the kids.
Lantern making in Hoi An
I’d heard about the Lantern Lady thanks to my friend Jenny who runs Travelynn Family. She was staying in Hoi An at the same time as us. My girls loved Jenny’s reel about making lanterns beside the river a few days before, so we decide to have a go ourselves.
This was the perfect activity for the hottest part of the day and kept the kids busy for an hour.
We paid $4 for each of our girls to decorate a pre-made lantern frame and four choices of material. They collapsed down enough for us to fit them in our hand luggage and they survived the journey home.
You can find the Lantern Lady just in front of the River View Restaurant.
An Bang Beach
Next we hopped in a Grab taxi to An Bang Beach which is just 15 minutes away. This beautiful sandy bay is lined with beach bars and sun loungers. The vibe is super chilled.
And this is where we caught up with Jenny and her family.
There was no going anywhere for the rest of the day as we chatted about Vietnam, blogging and expat life over a few beers and let the kids play while the sun set.
Day 2 in Hoi An
The next morning we used another tip from Jenny and booked a basket boat trip at Cam Thanh Coconut Village.
Basket boat experience
We arranged this through our hotel for 250,000 VND (about £7.70) each including our taxi and a drink afterwards.
The boat ride through the jungle takes about 45 minutes. You go from a quaint little harbour, through palm lined channels into a lake. And that’s where everything goes a bit gingham style.
I couldn’t begin to count the number of people all being paddled around photo props and into position as audiences for boats gyrating at breakneck speeds. There was even a fisherman throwing a rainbow coloured net into the water just for the cameras.
It was hilarious. If you decide to do this experience you just have to throw yourselves into it.
That’s how I ended up in a coconut boat with Mr Tin Box being spun round at a velocity that made me giddy for an hour.
We laughed a lot and the kids loved it.
Siesta time AKA getting over gangham
Thankfully we’d already planned on a quiet afternoon at our hotel’s pool. Mr Tin Box had to go for a suit fitting and the girls needed a bit of downtime.
We also visited the hotel’s spa for the second massage of our trip. The 11-year-old had a facial while the nine-year-old had a manicure.
Again, this is not something we do every holiday. But when the prices are so cheap, it’s hard to say no.
Lantern boats
Another reason for saving our energy in the afternoon was so that we could go out fully recharged in the evening.
We walked along the river as dusk was falling and found hundreds of lantern boats moored in the Old Town. After a bit of negotiating we paid 300,000 VND (about £9.25) for a private boat to lake us up to the Moon Bridge and back.
You can get boats cheaper than this, so if you have the energy, haggle hard.
Hoi An night markets
The evening is the best time to visit Hoi An’s markets, especially in the heat of August. We crossed over the An Hoi bridge to the pedestrianised night market where we shared an ice cream roll and posed with lanterns.
The colours, music and throng of people was a heady mix. Everything from the vendors to the Mr Bean and Sherlock Holmes themed bars are geared towards tourists.
We got back to the hotel at 10pm. All exhausted but having had a brilliant time.
From Hoi An our next destination was Ho Chi Minh City.
Where we stayed: Lantana Riverside Hotel
If you want a hotel with river views close to the Old Town but away from the hubbub, Lantana Riverside Hotel* is ideal. Add to that an attentive reception team, a pool for the kids and free bikes, and it was perfect for our stay in Hoi An.
The manager Lisa was in touch from before we arrived and arranged a private transfer from Da Nang Airport in the hotel’s people carrier.
We arrived after 7pm and Lisa was there to meet us with cool towels, juices and lots of information about how we could fill our time in Hoi An.
As the hotel name suggests Lantana is on the river with just a small, quiet road separating it from the bank. We could see fishermen wading in the river from the balconies of our third floor rooms. Just to the north was Hoi An Memories Land, which is located on the island of Cam Nam.
Our two riverside rooms were a good sizes and decorated with dark wood furniture and colourful tiles. You can also get family rooms at Lantana Riverside.
We didn’t have the energy to explore on our first night so ate dinner at the hotel. The restaurant was quiet and the meals were good. Breakfast also had plenty of choice.
It was no trouble booking spa treatments and our massages were divine.
We were sad to leave Lantana. We could have easily spent more time here relaxing in-between our busy excursions in and around Hoi An. Lisa and her team made us feel right at home. We were all welcomed by name throughout our stay and felt we got good advice on places to go.
If I’ve tempted you check prices and availability for Lantana Riverside Hotel*.
Where to eat
There’s no shortage of excellent cafes and restaurants in Hoi An.
Here’s a few we tried and can recommend:
- The Son Bistro – we had lunch here on our first day. The menu includes western dishes as well as delicious local dishes. Mr Tin Box and I had a sharing plate (pictured above) which was plenty to fill our tummies after a big breakfast at our hotel
- The Boat – this restaurant was right next to our hotel and had only been open three weeks. We had dishes recommended by the owner – chicken cooked in passion fruit and red snapper cooked in turmeric and chilli. The food was not too hot and full of flavour.
- Hai Cafe Courtyard BBQ – this was the most expensive place we ate in Hoi An and a special treat on our wedding anniversary. The food wasn’t quick but it was very tasty. We had a three course set menu for £10 each including a traditional clay pot, marinated barbecued beef and steamed rice.
Why you need more than two days in Hoi An
We packed a lot into our two days in Hoi An but came away knowing there was so much more to see. We barely touched on the sights of the Old Town and could have spent at least another day relaxing at An Bang Beach.
I’ve also heard great things from Jenny about the small villages outside Hoi An where you can make pottery and visit the rice fields.
Further afield, we didn’t have time to explore places like the Ba Na Hills and My Son Sanctuary. I’d been flip flopping about whether to try to fit in one of these places but it would have been too much.
Lisa at out hotel also advised us against going up to the Ba Na Hills if the weather was wet like it had been on the night we arrived as we’d have had a less scenic trip.
Knowing there’s so much more to see in this small part of Central Vietnam has got us itching to return.
Getting around
We booked a transfer from Da Nang airport to Hoi An through our hotel – an hour journey in heavy traffic – and it cost 400,000 VND (£12.30) for a seven seater with plenty of room for us and our luggage.
Getting around in Hoi An was super simple. We used the hotel bikes or walked into the Old Town and caught Grab taxis everywhere else for a few quid. Mr Tin Box even had a got picked up by a Grab moped to go for his suit fitting.
When to visit Hoi An
We visited Hoi An at the beginning of August. It was hot and humid with temperatures in the mid 30°Cs in the middle of the day.
It wasn’t comfortable to go sightseeing in this heat but we planned our days around it, going places before lunch and venturing back out no earlier than mid-afternoon. This siesta approach worked well for helping our girls push on into the evenings and see Hoi An at night.
If you want to avoid the heat all-together then visiting from February to June when the temperatures are lower.
If you’re tied to school holidays like us then don’t discount the hotter months. It is totally doable. Just pace yourselves and plan in some time at the beach where you can enjoy the sea breeze.
More reading about Vietnam travel
Hoi An was the third stop during our 14 day Vietnam itinerary which started in Hanoi, including an excursion to the famous Train Street, and then moved on to Ha Long Bay for a two night cruise.
After Hoi An we flew to Ho Chi Minh City where we spent three says sightseeing in and around Vietnam’s largest city including a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben Dinh.
Our final stop was a five star villa resort in Phu Quoc.
You can catch up with the rest of our trip by checking out my Instagram account where there are three Stories about our two weeks in Vietnam.
Usually I’d also recommend the Lonely Planet’s destination guide to help you plan your trip, but I bought the Vietnam 2023 edition and was a bit disappointed. A lot of the information was generic and I spotted several mistakes.
I’d suggest trying the Rough Guide* or Eyewitness travel guide* instead.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links marked with *. If you click on one of these and make a purchase I may earn some commission. This does not affect the price you pay.