Hoi An is a tourist paradise – a compact city centre with well-preserved historic buildings, great restaurants, twisting alleys, and no cars (a blissful change from Vietnam’s other cities). The only downside is its overrun with tourists. The lack of cars and abundance of tourists made it often feel like you were in a sterilized version of the real Vietnam, but I still loved it.

We only spent two days in the city, and I wish we would have spent a few more. We saw most of the sights in the city, took a vegetarian cooking class, road bikes through the countryside, but we never got to the nearby ruins of Mỹ Sơn or took advantage of the hundreds of tailors in the city.


Hoi An has a great market and lots of yummy street food. We found an amazing vegetarian restaurant, hidden in a tiny alleyway, that served plates of amazing food for $1. It was so good we back for a second meal. We couldn’t believe how tasty and cheap it was.

We splurged in Hoi An and stayed at a resort along the river, it was our Christmas present to ourselves, even if it didn’t feel like Christmas. It was too cold to take advantage of the pool, but the breakfast buffet was impressive.


One of the highlights of Hoi An was exploring the area around the city by bike. It cost $1 to rent a bike for the day and there was hardly any traffic.