Vietnam Travel Guide City 3: Hoi An (3D2N)
Out of all the cities we visited throughout the trip, this small city was by far our most favourite! The food and weather here were great, and the staff at our homestay was so helpful and friendly with her food recommendations and cycling routes. To sum up, it was a beautiful city that we would definitely be back in!
There were tons of beautiful tailors if you’re looking for custom clothing, which looked amazing from all the storefronts. We really wanted to get a suit and dress too, but unfortunately, it wasn’t in our books for this round!
Getting into the city:
Depending on where you’re being dropped off by your private transport, you can most definitely walk to your next destination. The city is really small, with everything a short walk or cycle away.
Hoi An Accommodation
Legend Connect Homestay (2 Nights)
Amount Paid: 630,000₫ (S$38.00)
Location: 76 Thái Phiên, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam 560000, Vietnam
Check-in From: 2pm – 6pm
Check-out By: 12pm
The owner and staff were really friendly and welcoming when we arrived at the homestay! The staff (Thuong) gave us a really quick overview of what we could do during our stay here and introduced us to popular local spots for food every day!
She even shared with us a scenic cycling route (which I will introduce under the itinerary for Day 2), streets where we could find local food stands, and the local specialities in the area.
Overall, the rooms were clean and cosy, and the staff were very friendly and helpful. You can rent bicycles from the homestay for free too!
Hoi An Itinerary
Klook.com
Vietnam Travel Guide: Hoi An Day 1
With what was left of our first day in Hoi An, we went to scout for some good food to fill our stomachs and explore the night markets. Here’s how our evening went and the different foods we tried:
- Cao Lau (Hoi An’s regional noodle dish)
- Banh mis (stores recommended by our homestay staff and the popular store recommended by Mr Anthony Bourdain)
Cao Lau Lien
This place was introduced to us by one of the staff at our homestay. Unfortunately, the portion was really small, so we had to continue our hunt for more food!
Location: 120 Trần Cao Vân, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam
Cost: 35,000₫ (S$2.00)
Operating hours: 6.30am – 8.30pm daily
Madam Khanh – The Banh Mi Queen
This was another food place recommended to us by the staff at our homestay. The banh mis here were so fresh, crispy, and thicccccc!
We couldn’t stop thinking about the banh mis here, so we got them twice:
- Mixed / Thap Cam – Comes with veggies, pork, BBQ pork, chicken, ham, eggs, pate, sauce, papaya and cucumber (30,000₫).
- BBQ Banh Mi / Banh Mi Thit Nuong – Comes with veggies, BBQ pork, pate, sauce, papaya and cucumber (30,000₫).
You can also choose your spice level (spicy, medium spice, or not spicy) for your banh mis, with no extra charges for takeaway.
Location: 115 Trần Cao Vân, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam
Cost: 60,000₫ (S$3.40)
Operating hours: 6.30am – 7pm daily
Banh Mi Phuong
Recommended by the dearest Mr Anthony Bourdain, this was one of the banh mi shops he featured during his trip to Hoi An on the travel show No Reservations. We definitely had to pay this banh mi shop a visit, and it did not disappoint!
We went back twice and tried three of their banh mis:
- Banh Mi Thap Cam (Mixed) – 30,000₫
- Banh Mi Thit Bo Voi Trung (Beef with Eggs) – 30,000₫
- Banh Mi Thit Bo Cuon Phomat (Beef and Cheese) – 30,000₫
Our favourite was the beef with eggs banh mi!
Location: 2b Phan Chu Trinh, Cẩm Châu, Hội An, Quảng Nam 560000, Vietnam
Cost: 90,000₫ (S$5.00)
Operating hours: 6.30am – 9.30pm daily
Walking Streets / Night Markets
There are quite a few streets and markets that bustle at night:
- Nguyen Hoang Night Market
- Cong Nu Ngoc Hoa Food Night Market
Some streets intersect, with many smaller alleys along the way. Take your time exploring the streets and check out some of the local cuisines and desserts along the way!
Operating hours:
- 4.30pm – 10pm
- 4pm – 10pm (Tuesdays only)
Vietnam Travel Guide: Hoi An Day 2
This was the only full day we had to explore beautiful Hoi An, so we decided to cover the small town by bike and see more of it. Our homestay staff also recommended a cycling route for us, which we followed to see many different sights.
Here’s how our day went:
- Breakfast along the morning food stand street
- Cycled around to check out the town
- Returned to explore the night markets and walking streets again and try some Vietnamese desserts
Banh Beo
Along this street, there are tons of food stalls where the locals go before heading to work. If you’re looking for authentic local food, this is probably the best it can get!
We checked out this banh beo stall, which serves something like the Vietnamese version of our Singaporean chwee kueh. Instead of preserved radish, theirs is topped with fried onions, shrimp, and pork rinds, with some umami sauce instead of sambal chilli.
Location: 5 Thái Phiên, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam
Cost: 15,000₫ (S$0.85) – Minimum of four per plate
Operating hours: Mornings only (no fixed timings)
Cao Lau and Mi Quang
Other than banh beo and cao lau, there’s another dish that’s popular amongst the locals for breakfast: mi quang. This originated from Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam and is one of the most popular and nationally recognised food items.
Cao Lau (bottom dish), Mi Quang (top dish) in the photo.
Location: 5 Thái Phiên, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam
Cost: 70,000₫ (S$3.95)
Operating hours: Mornings only (no fixed timings)
Once we were fuelled up, we headed back to our homestay to grab some water and our rental bikes. Fortunately for us, the homestay came with complimentary bike rental for the whole day.
Our homestay staff shared some cycling routes with us and warned us about the scammy bike parking rates to look out for!
Note: Bike parking should only cost 5,000₫ (S$0.30). Anything above that is just a tourist trap!
Luckily for us, we had that crucial piece of information, and it really helped us save on bike parking along the way, with many owners charging four to five times the price!
Pro tip: The sun ain’t a joke! Remember to dress appropriately to protect yourself from the sun. Bring your caps or hats, sunblock, and a water bottle; otherwise, you’ll have to keep buying drinks along the way. Alternatively, some parking spot owners allow you to purchase a drink in exchange for “free” parking, but bottled drinks will usually cost you 20,000₫ (S$1.15) each.
Anyways, this was our cycling route for the day:
- Rice fields and plantations
- An Bang Beach
- Coconut Village
- Thanh Ha Pottery Village
- Cao Lau lunch / tea break at Cho Thanh Ha Market
- Photo stop at the Cầu Cẩm Kim mới bridge, before heading back to rest and wash up for dinner along the walking streets!
We were only given the landmarks, so our route was quite flexible. As long as there was a road, we were cool with it.
For those who have just learnt to cycle, try familiarising yourself with cycling on roads and trails first so that you’ll be more comfortable navigating busy streets and roads.
Plantations
Cao Lau
Coconut Village
An Bang Beach
Thanh Ha Pottery Village
Vietnam Travel Guide: Hoi An Day 3
There wasn’t much time on the last day, as our minivan was picking us up at 10am for our ride back to Da Nang.
We woke up early, went back to get more banh mis before we left, and checked out to make our way to Da Nang!
Our time in Hoi An was really short, but we enjoyed every moment and will definitely be back (also to get a tailored set of clothing)!
Cost Breakdown for Hoi An
Expense Cost (SGD) Cost (VND)
Transport (train from Hue to Da Nang, minivan from Da Nang to Hoi An, and bicycle parking) S$29.30 524,355₫
Food & Water S$30.35 543,200₫
Activities – –
Accommodation (2 pax, 2 nights) S$38.00 630,000₫
Total S$97.65 1,697,555₫
Hoi An → Da Nang
Similar to how we arrived from Da Nang, we took a minivan back from the same location where we were previously dropped off.
Here’s the minivan pickup and booking link:
- Minivan transfer from Hoi An to Da Nang: 267,000₫ (S$14.90)