From coconut boat tours to getting affordable hand tailored suits to getting lost in the old city, there are a lot of insanely fun things to do in Hoi An. It was much more touristy than I expected; it felt like a manicured cultural experience compared to big beach city Da Nang just 30 minutes away. Regardless, I loved my stay here and it is definitely a must-stop-at destination in Central Vietnam. Here is my guide for the best things to do in Hoi An.

GET A HAND TAILORED SUIT

This is one of the most famous things to do in Hoi An. The city is known for having an abundance of tailors where you can get excellent quality hand tailored suits (and other clothes) for very cheap. I highly recommend Bao Diep Tailor. They are a legit shop (sometimes it can be overwhelming to find the good shops with the sheer amount in the old city), and their tailors were incredibly helpful over the several days we went back for adjustments—even taking my girlfriend to the actual seamstress to get the details for her jumpsuit exactly how she wanted them. Their suits range from $80-500 USD depending on the fabric, and I ended up getting a suit for $120 USD.

Read the full blog post: HAND TAILORED SUITS IN HOI AN

COCONUT BOAT TOUR

This was so much fun. An old man took us out on the river for a couple hours on his coconut boat (also called basket boats). We spun around in it, went crab fishing, and learned a Vietnamese rowing chant. These tours are very popular here and they can be pricey if you go to the wrong ones, but we were able to find a lady online through Nga Coconut Basket Boat Tour that only charged us 80K VND each ($3-4 USD).

Read the full blog post: COCONUT BOAT TOUR HOI AN GUIDE

DAY TRIP TO DA NANG

If Hoi An is a traditional ancient village that is pretty touristy and gives you a manicured cultural experience, Da Nang is the opposite with big city beach vibes and filled with locals. It is a short 30 minute drive away and home to the most beautiful beach in Vietnam in my opinion. When we were here we played pickup sand soccer on the beach with locals, visited the lady buddha statue, and ate at a local fish market.

LANTERN BOAT TOUR

When night comes around in the old city of Hoi An, the river lights up with lantern boats. For just 15K VND (less than $1 USD), a guy will take you on a quick 20 minute boat tour up and down the Thu Bon River. To find these tours simply walk from the old city to the night market after sunset and you will find tons of them lined up along the river by the bridge. This was fun and pretty romantic; we even saw other couples releasing floating lanterns into the river from their boats. 

FAMOUS BANH MI SHOPS

Hoi An is home to two famous Banh Mi (baguette sandwich) shops, and our foodie selves were determined to try them both and determine which was the best. First off we had Madam Khanh—The Banh Mi Queen. This shop is known for its Mixed Bahn Mi, filled with four different kinds of meat as well as egg and several pastes and veggies. Then we had Banh Mi Phuong, which was made famous by Anthony Bourdain. We tried the chicken and ostrich Banh Mi here. After trying both we decided we liked Banh Mi Queen best but both are definitely worth trying!

EXPLORING THE OLD CITY AND NIGHT MARKET

The old city of Hoi An is filled with art and craft vendors selling their wares in shops and small galleries. We loved walking through the tight streets and vine-covered yellow buildings, stopping to explore local galleries. One of our favorites was a weavers shop where they turned photographs into massive, incredibly detailed woven murals. At night we crossed the river to explore the brightly-lit night market and we found some incredible gelato and listened to live music along the way.

Best Cafe: THE ESPRESSO STATION

This place was recommended to us by our tailors at Bao Diep. It had some of the best Vietnamese coffee we’ve tasted, and had a beautiful, shaded seating area outside. To top it off, they made a homemade cream that they topped their egg coffee with that was so good that I went back and ordered a side cup of the cream by itself. The place even had a piano. 11/10 rated cafe in my book.

GET A HAIRCUT!

While I was in Hoi An I realized I needed a haircut…and I stumbled upon the most hole-in-the-wall spot for it. This place was a clearly a spot only locals went—there was practically no advertisement, and it wasn’t even in a real building, just an open air shelter between two houses. An old man with a ponytail was cutting some local’s hair, so I figured if he was good enough for someone who lives here, he’d be good enough for me. Despite a complete language barrier, he definitely gave me the cleanest cut I’d get the whole 6 months I was abroad.

Read the full story: A HOLE-IN-THE-WALL HAIRCUT