Vietnam Hoi An Travel Guide: Exploring Hidden Gems and Cultural Insights

Hoi An, Vietnam , illuminated by lanterns for a perfect night. Here’s the guide.

First, let’s talk about transportation. You can take a bus from Da Nang, which departs every hour and takes about an hour and a half to reach Hoi An. Alternatively, you can use Grab, which costs around 250K VND. It’s recommended to stay overnight in Hoi An as you can enjoy a boat ride in the evening.

Next, here’s how to explore and avoid tourist traps.

1. Coconut boat (Photos 2-4), I found a cheaper option than Klook, called Dịch Vụ Thuyền Thúng, which only costs 80K VND, and no tips are required. The owner and the boatman will even help you take photos! After comparing, it’s much cheaper than the surrounding options. They also lend you conical hats and slippers.

There are three paid activities: singing boat, spinning boat, and fishing boat. If you just watch without participating, there’s no charge. I tried the spinning boat for 100K VND, and the video effect was great; I’ll share it next time.

2. Ancient town, Photo 1 is Moments cafe, with a very photogenic balcony on the second floor. Stroll along this street, and you can capture Photos 5-10. Photo 11 is the local specialty, lotus tea, and the shop name is on the cup. After 6 PM, there’s a night market with lots of delicious food and beautiful sights.

3. Boat tour and wishing lanterns (Photos 12-14). Many people will try to sell you boat tickets, but ignore them. At the dock, where many people queue, the staff sells tickets at a fixed price of 170K VND for a 30-minute boat ride. The wishing lanterns are a bit of a scam. After I bought a boat ticket, an old lady immediately tried to sell me a wishing lantern. Here’s our conversation:

Me: How much for one lantern?
Old Lady: 100K
Me: Too expensive, I won’t buy.
Old Lady: 50K, a special deal for you.
Me: No thanks, goodbye, and I turned to leave.
Old Lady: Chasing after me, how about 30K?
Me: No.
Old Lady: Name your price.
Me: 5K.
Old Lady: That’s impossible.
Me: Okay, bye.
Old Lady: Fine, fine, 10K.

Me: Goodbye.
Old Lady: My bad luck, I’ll sell it to you for 5K at a loss.
I don’t know the cost price of the lanterns, but 5K was acceptable, so I bought it. I’m glad I successfully haggled, otherwise, this old lady would have really shown me the ugly side of people, trying to overcharge me ten times the price.

The boatman worked hard to take videos and photos for me, and I voluntarily gave him a tip.

4. There’s a restaurant that’s incredibly photogenic with many lanterns (Photo 15), called Cơm Nhà Bờm.

5. Try some local specialties, such as Com hen and Cao Lau (Photo 16). You can also taste the local Hainanese chicken rice.