Hoi An Quests

One day in Hoi An

Time your Ancient Town visits around the crowds, not the other way around.

• 5:30am

  Ancient Town, empty

  Locals setting up shop, no tourists, the yellow walls doing something unreal in this light.

• 7:30am

  Cao Lầu breakfast

  Thanh Cao Lầu at 26 Thái Phiên uses the real well water. Ask for crispy pork skin if they have it.

• 9:00am

  Tra Que village

  Rent a bike and ride through the rice fields. Locals wave. It's cool enough this early to actually enjoy it.

• 4:00pm

  Faifo Café

  Roof seat, cà phê sữa đá, watch the street below before the light goes gold.

• 9:00pm

  Japanese Covered Bridge

  Cross it once the day crowd has cleared out. Completely different place after dark.

  Most day tourists leave by 9pm.
• 9:30pm

  Night market

  Coconut ice cream, grilled skewers, a walk along the river to close the day.

Things to do in Hoi An

• Take a sunset boat on the Thu Bồn River.Pick a small wooden boat, not the big tourist ones. Ask them to cut the motor for a while.
• Get a tailor made outfit, ready in 24 hours.Bring a photo of what you want, or a piece of clothing to copy.
• Take a basket boat through the coconut forest in Cẩm Thanh.Go early, before the karaoke boats show up.
• Join a lantern making class instead of just buying one.Pick a family run workshop. You learn more and can pick your own colors.
• Step inside a temple or assembly hall.Fujian Hall is a favorite. Ten minutes inside and the street noise disappears.
• Relax at An Bang Beach.Morning for calm, late afternoon for the sunset.

For the ones with more time

• Paddle a basket boat without spinning in circles.Ask to steer. Most tourists never do.
• Find a random alley and see where it goes.Start near Phan Chu Trinh and drift. Might be a shrine. Might be a cat.
• Sketch or journal by the boats on the An Hội side.Quiet enough you might write actual poetry.
• Talk to a tailor without buying anything.Ask about their weirdest customer story.
• Paint your own cup at a tiny pottery house in Thanh Hà.Skip the touristy stalls. The aunties there let you freestyle.

What to eat in Hoi An

Mostly single-dish spots. Google the name, pick whichever has good reviews, go.

• Cao lầuThanh Cao Lầu at 26 Thái Phiên. Ask for crispy pork skin.
• Bánh mì PhượngGo around 3 or 4pm, ask for extra chili sauce.
• Mì QuảngOnly worth it with banana flower and grilled rice paper.
• Hoành thánh chiênCrispy fried wontons, tomato topping. Eat them hot.
• White Rose dumplingsOnly one family makes them. White Rose Restaurant, ask when the fresh batch comes out.
• Bánh đậpSmash it, dip it in mắm nêm, get messy.
• Cơm gà Hội AnAsk for extra pickled papaya.
• Bún thịt nướngAsk them to go light on the sauce so the herbs come through.
• Xí màBlack sesame dessert, eaten hot. Don't stir it fast.
• Chè bắpOnly good with corn from Cẩm Nam village.
• Nem lụiStreet skewers, rice paper wrap. Find the smoky stalls, skip the sit-down ones.

Da Nang is next door, see the Da Nang guide. Or start at the Vietnam guide hub.