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Travel Guide
All information What you need to travel to Hoian - Vietnam
Accommodation | Tours | Maps | Weather | Attractions | Transport in Hoian
| Internet & Phone | Bank & ATM | Careful of your children |
Hoian do & don't
 Hoi An, once known as Faifo, was a major international port in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the foreign influences are discernible to this day. While the serious shipping business has long since moved to Danang, the heart of the city is still the Old Town, full of winding lanes and Chinese-styled shophouses, which is particularly atmospheric in the evening as the sun goes down. While almost all shops now cater to the tourist trade, the area has been largely preserved as is, which is unusual in Vietnam, and renovation has proceeded slowly and carefully - it's mercifully absent of towering concrete blocks and karaoke parlors.
The main thoroughfare in the Old Town is Tran Phu. Just south of the Old Town, across the Thu Bon River, are the islands of An Hoi to the west, reachable via Hai Ba Trung, and Cam Nam to the east, reachable via Hoang Dieu.
Get in
By plane
The nearest airport is in Danang, which has frequent connections to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and some flights to Bangkok, Singapore and Siem Reap, Cambodia (for Angkor Wat). A taxi from the airport to Hoi An costs about US$15 thanks to the cartel, but only about half that in the other direction. Air-conditioned Minibus-Taxis cost 5 US$ per person. The ride takes about 45min.
By train
There is no railway station in Hoi An. The nearest is in Danang, which receives several trains a day from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Nha Trang etc. Most travel agents and hotels can book a train ticket for you.
By bus
Open-tour buses run daily up and down the coast from Da Nang, Hue (4-5 hours) and Nha Trang (9-10 hours).
* Sinh Cafe, 18B Hai Ba Trung Street, tel: 0510.863948/916242. Can handle transfers to Vientiane and Savannakhet in Laos and onward.
By motorbike or taxi
It's easy to take a motorbike or taxi to and from Da Nang via the Marble Mountains (see below), from where you can catch a train onwards.
By boat
There is a hardly known or used inland waterway connecting Danang to Hoi An - or in Spring or Summer take a wide route on the sea around Son Tra penninsula. This is an interesting alternative to road travel - a real adventure!
* Karma Waters, 47 Cua Dai Street, Hoi An. tel: 0510.927632 for boat tours
Get around
Traffic in too-narrow spaces
The centre of Hoi An is very small and pedestrianised, so you will be walking around most of the time. Unfortunately, motorbikes have not been banned from the center, so keep an eye out for motorized kamikazes, even in the most narrow alleys. However, the city's government does not allow motorbikes to enter the Old Town on the 14th and 15th of each lunar month. On those evenings, a lot of activities, including traditional games such as bai choi, trong quan, and dap nieu are held in all over the town.
To go to the beach or reach some of the more remote hotels, it is easy and cheap to hire a bicycle (ca. 10.000 VND per day). Taxis are few and far between, but can be called by phone. When busy, taxis may refuse your fare back to your hotel from town if it is too close, opting for larger fares. Arranging a shuttle from your hotel may be a better option although prices can be higher.
Motorbike taxis, of course, are always an option. You can also charter boats for about US$1/hour.
Almost all hotels rent motorbikes at about US$5/day. It's standard practice for the bike to have only enough gas to make it to the next gas station. In addition to gas stations, there are also little hand-operated roadside pumps everywhere; these can be convenient, but they're more expensive and the quality of the gas is open to question.
Traffic in Hoi An is minimal, so if you've been avoiding getting on a bike in the big cities, small towns and the surrounding countryside like Hoi An are ideal to get used to the road rules.
Use the bike to visit My Son, about an hour away, or the Marble Mountains, about forty minutes north towards Da Nang.
The old Champa way was to travel by the river system. The rivers of Hoi An cover hundreds of kilometers and offer an interesting & adventurous alternative to travelling by road. Get on a boat and you'll begin to see a whole lot more of Hoi An and the Delta.
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