Hoi An is a graceful historical city and is well known for its well preserved Ancient Town. We could easily have spent more time here. It is rich in culture, diversity and full of wonderful buildings to explore. The Ancient Town is just a treasure trove of shops and restaurants.

We stayed at the Almanity Hoi An Wellness Resort, which was situated about a 10 minute walk to the Ancient Town. This was a superb hotel and we could not fault it. We opted to stay in a My Energy Pool View room which had a small verandah to enjoy the view. We would have to say that the highlight was actually the pool. There were 4 separate pools from one end of the hotel to the other in the inner courtyard, with each pool flowing into the next. Because the weather was so hot at the time we travelled, we really enjoyed coming back in the heat of the afternoon and relaxing and swimming by the pool. The staff were lovely and the food was also very good.

Hoi An comes alive at night with all its beautifully coloured lanterns adorning the streets and along the Thu Bon River. The Ancient Town is the place to be in the evening, with some wonderful restaurants to savour the flavours of Vietnam. Below are some of the highlights not to be missed in Hoi An.

  1. Old Merchant House – we took a guided walking tour of Hoi An over a morning and it was well worth it. One of the places we visited was the Old Merchant House which is an 18th century well preserved house filled with wonderful antiques. The guide gave us a comprehensive tour of the house explaining its significance and historical value.
  2. Assembly Hall of Fujian Chinese – probably the most visited of all the assembly halls in Hoi An it is full of statues, bronze bells and drums with lacquered works of art throughout. It is a popular meeting place for Chinese residents in Hoi An with many Chinese celebrations frequently taking place.
  3. Japanese Covered Bridge – dating back to the 18th Century this wooden bridge has unique carvings throughout its covered walkway. You do have to pay to cross the bridge, but there are also some great photo opportunities around it.
  4. Ancient Town and Hoi An Riverside – there is so much to do in the Ancient Town and along the riverside, with plenty of shopping and some wonderful souvenir shops. But the most attractive and magical part of both areas would have to be the hundreds of colourful lanterns filling the streets and along the riverside walkway. Take some time to enjoy a meal in this area or sit along the riverside relaxing with a cool drink and watch the world pass you by.
  5. Hoi An Silk Village – we had a guided tour through the Silk Village showing the process of how they produce some of the most beautiful fabrics I have ever seen.  I had an outfit tailor made overnight. The staff are highly skilled and the finished product was stunning and fitted perfectly. There are plenty of products for sale – cushion covers, T-shirts by the hundreds, dresses, scarves and the list goes on. It is only a short walk to the Ancient Town from the village, so please ensure you put this on your agenda for some stunning products which will be the envy of all.

Travel Tips

  • If you are tempted to buy some of the colourful lanterns as we were, they fold up so are easily packed for travel. They are so very reasonably priced but take your time choosing, there is plenty of competition and plenty of different styles to choose from.

Travel Alerts

  • We felt completely safe in Hoi An and did not feel we had to protect our goods.

Travel Adventures

  • Try a tour around Hoi An in a pedicab. They are loads of fun and saves you a lot of walking!
  • Along the Thu Bon River are small paddle boats for hire. At night they are lit up with lanterns and it is quite magical to see all the coloured boats on the river at night.
  • You definitely need to spend a day touring Sun World, but we have created a separate blog for this because there is just so much to talk about and share.