A weekend you’ll never forget in hoi an

When visiting Vietnam it’s extremely difficult to decide where to spend your time because the country is filled with so many amazing places. Depending on the time you have and where you fly into, I definitely recommend visiting the adorable and extremely friendly town of Hoi An. Hoi An is known for its beautiful beaches and talented tailors and rightfully so, but this town offers so much more than that. When planning a trip to Hoi An don’t forget to add these five activities to your weekend itinerary!

Explore the town by bike

After taking a long train ride to Da Nang, I arrived in Hoi An by taxi and needed to do something other than sit! After settling into my adorable and favorite hostel I stayed in Vietnam, Sac Lo Homestay, I rented a bike and went out to explore the town. The town is extremely bike friendly and the traffic isn’t crazy like it is in all the bigger cities, so no need to worry about that.

I heard Hoi An gets extremely busy with tourists but I was here early April and the town seemed pretty quiet to me. One of my favorite parts were all the gorgeous flowers throughout the town…
Definitely pull over and grab some fresh fruit from the many fruit stands scattered in Hoi An.Make sure you take your bike to the river and watch some of the fisherman or food tours going on. This is one of my favorite pictures I took during my week in Hoi An, I love the stillness of the river and the handmade boats that line it.

HOI AN FOOD TOUR

It’s hard to choose my favorite thing to do in Hoi An but I might have to say it was simply eating all the food. It was THAT good. There are many ways to try the food in Hoi An. I kind of did a food tour on my own just visiting the places I heard were good, but I had a few friends do a guided food tour and heard it was amazing! You can do the food tours by foot, boat or bike and there are many types of food offered. All the hostels/hotels in town have information on their favorites, so you’ll have no issue finding a tour that works best for you or your group.

MY favorite restaurants in Hoi An

Banh MI Phuong

When I first got to my hostel I asked where the best banh mi was and my host said “Some celebrity from your country says these are the best!” Come to find out Anthony Bourdain says Banh Mi Phuonh has the best banh mi he has ever had, so I obviously had to give it a try. Be prepared for a long line if you’re going during lunch or dinner time! After you order, try and find an open table in the back of the shop where there is a small dining section.I had the chicken banh mi and said yes to Madame Phuong’s special sauce. The sandwich was stuffed with veggies, chicken, and pate and was delicious. I loved the passport pictures under the table glass, bring yours along if you want to leave a piece of you behind in Hoi An. To be honest, this wasn’t my favorite Banh Mi in Vietnam, but it still was good! 

Phi Banh MI

I know it’s another banh mi place, but they are so good so you’ve got to try them all! I definitely recommend trying Phi Banh Mi so you can compare it to the banh mi at Banh Mi Phuong. Try the chicken and add avocado to it, so good, but still didn’t beat my favorite in Hanoi!

Ganesh Fine Indian Cuisine

I never thought I’d have some of my favorite Indian food ever in Vietnam, but it happened. We learned Ganesh Fine Indian Cuisine has become quite famous, they have ten locations in Vietnam now! They have a ton of vegetarian dishes I tried a few and loved them all but the butter chicken was my favorite and don’t even get me start on how amazing the naan was.They accommodated our large group of backpackers and we had some awesome service. Feels weird to want to get back to Vietnam for Indian food but I so do!

Mr. Son

Head on over to the night market and try some traditional Vietnamese food. Mr. Son is open all day and they serve Hoi An specialties you won’t find anywhere else in the world. I definitely recommend their Cao Lao, White Rose Dumplings, and fried wontons. The night market is a bit out of the way form everything else in Hoi An, so if you’re walking it can take a while, but it is so worth it!

visit bao diep tailors

Hoi An is known for their tailors, you can get pretty much anything custom made in just a few days. There are so many tailors to choose from, but my host recommend Bao Diep Tailor and I couldn’t have loved them more! You can see my pink and white coat hanging behind me and this two-piece dress is now one of my favorite things I own! This was my wonderful designer and seamstress Leana, I met with her six times in three days to make sure the dress and coat fit perfectly. It was such a unique and fun experience.

Experience hoi an nightlife

If you’re a backpacker you’ll definitely hear about Mr. Bean Bar and Why Not? Bar. You may end up there you may not…If you do, be prepared to dance a lot and maybe not feel so good in the morning, but I promise you’ll have a ton of fun.😁 Mr. Bean Bar is literaly decorated with only Mr. Bean pictures.Outside Mr. Bean Bar there are four Banh Mi food trucks. Apparently, I needed to try all four and find out who had the best banh mi…The answer is cart #3 so hopefully, they always set up in the same spot if I ever go back!😂
Although I didn’t try one, many people recommended the Hoi An river cruises, they light up all the boats at night and it looks so pretty. I think it would be awesome for a family or couples during sunset.

Enjoy An bang beach

I was supposed to head to Ho Chi Minh after three days in Old Town Hoi An, but decided to extend my stay and get a place on the beach with my new friend Kim instead! We booked at An Bang Beach Homestay, just a few minutes from the beach. The room was awesome minus a ton of mosquitos, the price you pay for being right on the beach. Luckily a lot of places in Vietnam have these mosquito zappers. This place was amazing to stay in to cure our hangovers, but I wouldn’t stay here the whole time during your stay in Hoi An, because it’s far away from everything else. But then this was pretty awesome getting to in under two minutes, so it all depends what kind of vacation you’re looking for!After reflecting on my visit to this adorable town one of my favorite things was simply riding my bike home after a day of exploring and watching the sunset over the rice paddies, so make sure you add that to your list as well!

Have you been to Hoi An? What was your favorite thing to do here?

Thinking about visiting Vietnam? You absolutely should, it is one of my favorite countries I have ever been to! Click HERE to read about my ten favorite places.