Private journeys built around the hotels
Destinations · Vietnam
Hoi An: town or beach first?
A small trading town of timber houses, crowded by midday, quiet at 07:00 and lantern-lit after dark, with a long beach a short drive away. The main decision here is not what to see. It is whether you sleep by the town or by the sea.
Hoi An in brief
What Hoi An is, plainly
Hoi An was a trading port from the 15th to the 19th century, and its decline left the old town almost untouched. UNESCO listed it in 1999: 1,107 timber-frame buildings in a 30-hectare core, with a 280-hectare buffer zone. The street plan and many of the houses are original.
It is also one of the busiest places in Vietnam. Between mid-morning and late afternoon the old town is full, most ground floors are shops, and the riverside is lined with boats for hire. The answer is timing: the old town at 07:30 is a different place, and after dark the lanterns make it different again.
Sources: UNESCO — Hoi An Ancient Town · checked .
Town or beach: the stay decides the trip
Sleep by the town and you can walk in at dawn and after dinner, but you give up the sea. Sleep by the sea and you drive in, a short trip each way, and come back to a beach and a pool. For a stay of four nights we usually suggest the beach, because Hoi An's old town needs two visits at the right hours, not four days.
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai is the beach stay we use as the example. It is an all-villa resort of 100 villas on Ha My beach, in six categories from an ocean-view one-bedroom villa to a beachfront five-bedroom pool villa. The resort's own address now reads Da Nang City. A smaller hotel near the old town is the alternative for travellers who would rather walk than swim.
Sources: Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai · checked .
How many nights, and why fewer goes wrong
Four. One night for arriving, one guided early morning in the old town, one or two days at the resort, and an evening return for the lanterns. With three nights you still manage the old town at the right hours, but the resort days shrink to one. With two, you see the town once, at the wrong time of day, and leave.
When to go
February to May is the most comfortable stretch. June to August is hot but usually dry and good for the beach. Late September to December brings the main rain, and the old town can flood.
The flood months still have dry days, lower rates and empty streets, and some travellers choose them for that. If you do, keep your Hoi An nights at the beach rather than in a riverside hotel in town, and leave a day of slack in the route.
Getting in and out
Da Nang airport serves Hoi An. Domestic flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City run many times a day; international and regional links vary by season. From the airport, Ha My beach and the old town are a short drive south. From Hue the road over the Hai Van Pass takes about three hours with stops.
For Siem Reap and Luang Prabang we check at quote time whether a non-stop from Da Nang runs on your dates; where there is none, that leg connects through Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
What it costs outside the hotel
Hoi An charges an admission ticket for the old quarter. From 15 May 2023 it was set at VND 120,000 for foreign visitors and VND 80,000 for Vietnamese visitors, covering entry to a set number of sites in the 4.2-square-kilometre core. On guided days the ticket is included in your trip. Fees change; check before you travel.
Sources: VietnamPlus, 6 April 2023 · checked .
Pictures
Journeys that stay in Hoi An
Indochina Grand Stays gives Hoi An four nights between Halong Bay and Siem Reap. Vietnam Heritage Hotels ends with five nights here. North to South gives it four nights, with a town hotel as an option because a longer beach stay follows.
When to leave Hoi An out
- Your only dates are October or November and the route cannot absorb a lost day
- You have a long beach stay elsewhere on the trip and do not want two
- Crowds are the thing you least want and early starts are not possible for you
- You have three nights or fewer for central Vietnam and Hue matters more to you
Hotels on this site are named as public facts taken from each hotel's own website, with the date we read it. Naming a hotel does not mean we hold a contract, an allocation or a special rate there. Room rates are not published here; your quote carries the rate available on the day you confirm.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Should we stay in the old town or at the beach?
At the beach for a stay of four nights or more; near the old town if you want to walk in at dawn and after dinner and do not need the sea.
Is the old town worth the crowds?
At 07:30 and after dark, yes. Between 10:00 and 16:00, much less so.
Can we see Hue from Hoi An?
As a long day trip, about three hours each way by road. If Hue matters, give it its own nights.
Is the beach good for swimming all year?
From spring into late summer, usually. In the rainy months the sea is often rough.
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Plan · Hotels
Where to stay
Our comparison of luxury stays by setting, size, season, minimum nights and when not to choose them.
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Plan · Seasons
When to go
One calendar for Hanoi, Hue and Hoi An, the coast, Siem Reap and Luang Prabang.
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Destinations · Vietnam
Hanoi
Hanoi: three nights in the old centre, cool-season months and the flights out.
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Start planning
Tell us about the trip you have in mind
A month, how many are travelling and any hotel you already want are enough to start. We reply by email with questions or a first draft that names every hotel and room category.