Hoi An travel blog · Issue 01 · September 2026
Hoi An Travel Guide.
Our Hoi An travel guide in 30 stories and two parts: practical Hoi An travel tips for your trip, and long reads on the culture and people of the town.
Part I
Travel guide · 17 stories
Plan your trip with our Hoi An travel guide.
Practical guides for your visit: getting around, eating, things to do and shopping. Each one ends with the booking it talks about.
Getting around
4 stories
01
Grab, taxi or cyclo: which to use in Hoi An, and when
The four ways to get around town, with the fares we paid last week.
- 5 min read
02
Twelve kilometres through rice fields and Tra Que village, with two coffee stops.
- 4 min read
03
A full day on the back of a motorbike: the stops worth making and what to pack.
- 7 min read
04
Departures from Cua Dai, the sea season and what the island permit costs.
- 5 min read
Eat & drink
4 stories
05
Seven dishes that only taste right in Hoi An, and the stalls we queue at.
- 6 min read
06
Egg coffee, salt coffee, coconut coffee: a Hoi An coffee crawl
Five cafes in one afternoon, all within 600 metres of each other.
- 4 min read
07
Twenty stalls on Nguyen Hoang street, ranked after four nights of research.
- 5 min read
08
Buddhist kitchens, tofu cao lau and how to ask for no fish sauce.
- 4 min read
Things to do
5 stories
09
We sat in every seat category over three nights. Here is where to sit, and which night to go.
- 5 min read
10
You’ll have the Cham towers almost to yourself, and be back before the heat.
- 6 min read
11
What the class involves, and how to pack a lantern so it survives the flight home.
- 4 min read
12
On the 14th day of every lunar month the old town turns off its lights. Here is when.
- 3 min read
13
Prices, the best time of day and how to avoid the loudspeaker boats.
- 4 min read
Shopping & tailors
4 stories
14
Fabric, fittings, fair prices and five questions to ask before you pay a deposit.
- 8 min read
15
Lanterns, leather, silk and coffee: how to spot the real thing.
- 6 min read
16
Weights, customs, and why a lantern costs more to ship than to buy.
- 4 min read
17
Flood months, open restaurants and the indoor plans that still work.
- 4 min read
Part II
Culture & people · 12 stories
Hoi An, deeper.
Long reads on the traditions, the daily life and the people who keep Hoi An running after the visitors have gone to bed.
Culture & traditions
4 stories
18
The legend behind Hoi An’s most photographed landmark, and who really built it.
- 6 min read
19
Fujian, Cantonese, Hainan: how Chinese merchant communities shaped the old town.
- 8 min read
20
What closes, what opens, and the customs you’ll see in every house.
- 7 min read
21
Why every house has an altar
Incense, fruit and paper offerings: a short guide to ancestor worship.
- 5 min read
Local life
4 stories
22
A morning with the fishermen of An Bang
Out at 03:00, back by 06:30: the basket boats and the beach market that follows.
- 6 min read
23
Living with the floods
Most autumns the river rises into the old town. How families here prepare, and recover.
- 7 min read
24
Centuries of farming on a sandy strip between a river and a lagoon.
- 5 min read
25
Why real cao lau noodles are only made in Hoi An.
- 4 min read
Humans of Hoi An
4 portraits
Lantern maker, Tran Phu street
Mr. Hung
“A lantern takes me one hour. Learning to make one took me ten years.”
- 5 min read
Boat builder, Cam Kim island
Mr. Thanh
“My father built boats on this bank. So did his father. The wood hasn’t changed.”
- 6 min read
Noodle seller, central market
Ms. Lan
“Forty years at the same table. The customers changed. The recipe didn’t.”
- 5 min read
Potter, Thanh Ha village
Ms. Hoa
“My grandmother’s wheel still turns. I only added a motor.”
- 4 min read
Letters
Reader questions
You asked. We answered.
Real questions from readers, answered by the team. Send yours and it may appear in the next issue.
Asked by Laura, 24, Madrid
Yes. Use Grab, a metered Mai Linh or Vinasun taxi, or a driver you booked in advance. Avoid unmarked cars offering rides at the river, and have your hotel address written in Vietnamese.
Book a night taxiAsked by Tom, 31, Melbourne
Yes, for street food, boats and the market. Cafes, hotels and tailors increasingly take cards. ATMs are on Tran Hung Dao street; choose the dong amount, not the conversion.
Asked by Min-ji, 27, Seoul
On the 14th day of every lunar month. The old town switches off electric lights and floats candles on the river from 18:00. It is the busiest night of the month, so book boats and dinners early.
Book a guide for the nightAsked by Jonas, 45, Hamburg
You can, but stay for the evening. Hire a driver for the return at 21:00 so you see the lanterns, which is the part most day-trippers miss.
Book a return driverSee you under the lanterns.
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