MUST DO’S IN HOI AN
- Abbie Smith
- Dec 2, 2017
- 5 min read
We flew down to Hoi An just after the monsoon had hit earlier in the month in November 2017. We a little apprehensive as most people were telling us that we wouldn't be able to do anything and everything was under water. We decided to go anyway and I am so glad that we did. I feel like Hoi An surprised me in so many ways!
Our flight was early in the morning from Hanoi, we'd all had a few too many G&T's the night beforehand so the flight was ROUGH. (Cheap airport food FYI - Hoi An airport however is $6 USD for a Costa coffee and all food was about $8/$10 dollars so bare in mind when you fly out).
We got a taxi from the airport that massively ripped us off - we paid 550k (Vietnamese dong - around £18), on the way back to the airport we paid 250k (around £8) so try book ahead if you can but it’s not always so easy!
We arrived around 1pm without any accommodation booked but after a quick search on Hotels.com we found a hotel nearby for 4 of us to share a room. We stayed at Hai Au Boutique hotel & spa - It was actually cheaper to book direct at reception and we paid £10 a night per person inc breakfast. It had a pool, very good breakfast (fresh eggs,fruit etc & PEANUT BUTTER) and spa facilities with a 30% discount. This is more than our budget per night but as we were with friends we decided to just splash out and enjoy the hotel!
If you're thinking of visiting Hoi An I’ve put together a list of what we did in the short space of time we were there - so much fun! Rent mopeds
When you first arrive in Vietnam you will see how crazy the roads are. However we liked to think of it as 'organised chaos'.
There's a lot of beeping but that only makes the road safer. The beeps mean 'I'm here' so you could always tell who was behind you and if people were overtaking. There's a lot of bikes but I felt much safer in Hoi An than anywhere in Thailand as there's less cars. Trust me if I can do it, anyone can do it.
To rent one for the day was between $5-$8 USD - I would spend a little more to get a newer one. You could go far on 40k worth of petrol too (£1.25). Try a Banh Me
These are sold at most of the street vendors. They are like toasted pork baguettes and around 25k (80p). So tasty, so much so in fact I don’t even have a picture of one as I always scoffed it so fast! Mainly as after a few drinks... Get clothes tailor-made
I went with the boys to get some suits made with the idea that I would probably get one dress made. 24 hours later and I've got a dress, 2 play suits and a 2 piece made for me. Oops.
Josh got 3 suits made and they are now safely back in London with his friends who kindly took them with them. We went to a place called 'Ba Ri tailors' there's SO many places to choose from but they found us on the street and seemed alright so we decided to stick with them so I can't compare to others. I would suggest if you want to get stuff made go in with an idea or picture of what you want. I met an Aussie girl who had a 200 AUD playsuit she took in and said can you remake this exact style in a different fabric. I now have 2 of this playsuit in different fabrics LOL.
I paid around £85 for all four outfits, now I just need to hold off on the banana pancakes to ensure they all still fit come January.
Do a cooking course
We chose a cooking course recommended by our hotel. It was $30 each but so worth it. The company was called 'Bay Mau Eco cooking class' We were picked up by our chef and taken to the local market to pick our ingredients, I wish I remembered her name but seems we were all calling her 'Ding' for the whole morning and that wasn't actually her name.
We then took a boat ride (if anyone saw my insta story @lifeinlycra_) yes, we broke down LOL before swapping into a bamboo bowl and then to the cooking class.
We made Pho, crispy egg pancakes, fresh spring rolls and stir fry noodles - all absolutely incredible.
Hoping to use my skills back at home, will keep you posted! Visit the beach
We went here when we rented the moped. I would recommend An Bang beach. Unfortunately for us the monsoon had just hit so the water was not as blue as I'd of liked but we sat and had lunch and played cards looking out to sea. Perfect way to spend an afternoon!
Eat Pho
After making Pho on our cooking course and seeing it's basically noodles and meat in a bone broth I know feel like it's 10x healthier for me which makes me enjoy it more. It's around £1.30 a bowl and so filling! I didn't have one bad pho the whole time I was in Vietnam.
I can't say I could have it for breakfast like the Vietnamese but it's deffinatley a lunch favourite! Also - try fresh spring rolls. The best I've had have all been in Hoi An!
Visit the old town
So many lanterns!
The old town was flooded the day we got there but the river quickly went down and we could see it in all its beauty. We watched a few sunsets over the river from a few cocktail bars (usually on happy hour 2 for 99k - £3ish) and went there most evenings.
It's so lush all lit up at night and there's so many different shops from lanterns, souvenirs, bars and loads of custom made clothing/bag shops.
Pick your bars and restaurants wisely in this area some of them are SO expensive! They also have good fake bags here, and just nice bags in general.
I was forever wishing I had an empty suitcase to send home as the stuff was such good value and beautiful! Average prices (based around £1 - 30k Vietnamese dong when we travelled) Beer 30k (£1ish) Cocktails 100 (£3.00ish) Soft drinks 25-30k (80p/£1) Mains range from about 50/60k for a rice dish (£2ish) to meat/fish for 80/100k (£3/4) - we got a pizza one night and that was about £6. We also ate local one night at that was about £2 for alot of food so look around. Pho is usually around 40k (£1.30). Massage full body 200k (£6.50)
I could of easily spent so much more time (and money) in Hoi An would 100% recommend to add it to your bucket list - probably my favourite cities so far! AbbieJS xxx
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