Hoi An is an old town and UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam, located about 40 kms from Da Nang. It is popular for its old town charm, bright lanterns, coconut forest and more.
We visited Hoi An as a day trip from Da Nang. Many people also stay in Hoi An and use it as a base to travel to nearby places like Da Nang and Ba Na Hills.
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Transportation
We booked a private car charter from Klook for ~INR 2000. Now there is a difference between booking a private car from Klook and other travel agents. When we generally book a private car, we get the car as a personal vehicle for the day. We are free to add as many stops as we like unless it is booked for a fixed itinerary. What we booked from the Klook only included a transfer from the hotel in Da Nang to Hoi An and back. The car leaves you after dropping you at the destination and then the same or different car comes for the return pick-up. Hence, it turns out to be cheaper than booking a private car for a day.
Private Car to Hoi An from Da Nang – Klook
Basket Boat Ride
We had decided to take a basket boat ride first thing in the morning. The tickets were pre-booked from Klook for ~INR 1500 for 2 persons. It was a combo ticket that also included a ticket to any 5 attractions in Hoi An Ancient Capital. The standalone ticket to the basket boat ride costs ~INR 430 per person.
The basket boat ride takes place in Coconut Forest located about 6-7 kms from Hoi An old town. We had contacted the private car operator a day before and asked him to drop us at Coconut Forest instead of Hoi An. The driver dropped us right at the location and left as I have already mentioned that the car was not booked for the whole day but only included one pickup each from Da Nang and Hoi An. We had to arrange another transport to get to Hoi An old town from Coconut Forest.
We saw many different operators offering the coconut boat ride. The Klook booking included the basket boat ride from Hanh Coconut.
Basket boats are circular basket-shaped boats. They were first introduced in Vietnam during French rule to avoid paying taxes to the French for owning a boat. Vietnamese fooled the French into believing that a basket boat is not a boat, but a basket.
Coming to the boat ride, the rower gave us an iconic Vietnamese conical hat and started rowing the boat in a narrow canal surrounded by coconut trees. Our boatman was amazing, and he also acted as a guide and kept us entertained throughout the ride. He even guided us where to sit or stand which would help in better photos. He even let me row the boat for a couple of minutes. Ok, I will be honest; I was just paddling senselessly but the photo tells the otherwise.
The boat was stopped a couple of times to see the show of locals showing their boat rowing skills by spinning the boat at great speed. Just before the end of our boat ride, the boatman made our boat dance where he spun the boat very fast. We had to hold the boat very tight to avoid falling off the boat. It was an amazing experience and we had lots of fun.
Coconut Forest Basket Boat Ride Ticket – Klook
After the boat ride, we rested for a bit at the Hanh Coconut Shop and drank coconut tea and coconut water. And God, it was the best coconut water I have ever had.
Afterwards, we started exploring the local clothing shops. Megha bought a Vietnamese traditional woman’s dress (Ao Dai) for herself and family.
Hoi An Ancient Town
We took a Grab to Hoi An old town for VND 88k (~INR 300). We started exploring the old town on foot. The old town has many old heritage houses and buildings that are open to visitors but for a fee. The Ancient Town ticket costs VND 120k (~ INR 420) per person which includes free entry to any 5 attractions. Our basket boat combo ticket included the Ancient Town ticket. We used our ticket on Japanese Bridge, Fujian Assembly Hall, Hainan Assembly Hall, Tan Key Ancient House, and Hoi An Traditional Art Performance House.
We didn’t find these attractions worth spending the time and money. If you are into seeing historical buildings, you may like it.
We had reached the Ancient Town about 1 PM, so we had lots of time to spend before the very popular Lantern Boat Ride in the evening. There are many clothing and souvenir shops in Hoi An. We explored many of those shops.
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We didn’t have a proper lunch instead, we stopped every now and then for street snacks. We had fresh mango, banana pancakes, smokey ice cream, and a herbal drink.
Walking around the streets, we came across Hoi An Traditional Art Performance House, a small theatre which runs live Vietnamese Folk music and dance shows. It was hot outside and we had exactly one attraction ticket left, so we decided to go in there. The show was also about to start, so we were right on time. It was a dance show involving three women. We could not understand the theme but the dance was captivating.
Lantern Boat Ride
We reached Hoai River bank at about 5 in the evening. The sun was still out and the boat ride had started. We took a spot and waited there for the sunset. The Hoi An old town which had fewer tourists in the afternoon, had started to get crowded by then. By the sunset, we could see just people everywhere. There were food and toy vendors all around. It felt as if the town was sleeping in the afternoon and it had just woken up.
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Hoi An becomes the magical place in the night with all the colourful lanterns all around. The image of thousands of lit paper lanterns floating in the Hoai River is a sight to behold.
The most popular activity at Hoi An is a short boat ride in the Hoai River and releasing the lit paper lanterns in the river. Both locals and tourists alike visit Hoi An in huge numbers every evening to take part in this tradition. Tourists like us drop lanterns for fun but locals drop them to make their wishes come true.
We had booked the Lantern boat ride from Klook for ~INR 350 per person. The ticket also included a free paper lantern and a herbal tea bottle. The 20-minute boat ride was beautiful, and we each got to release a paper lantern. The only thing we didn’t like was that too many boats were operating simultaneously in the small Hoai River. There was not enough room to properly row the boat and all the boats kept touching other boats every now and then.
After the boat ride, we walked along the riverbank for a bit. It was wonderful seeing streets decorated with so many colourful lanterns. After a while, we called the driver and left for the hotel in Da Nang.
Other Things To Do In Hoi An
These are some of the activities that we did not do but you can do when you visit Hoi An
- Go to Hoi An beaches. Some of the beaches are An Bang Beach, Cua Dai Beach, Hidden Beach, and more.
- Visiting Thanh Ha Pottery Village to catch the live pottery-making session. You can even try your hand at making one.
- Take a lantern-making class to make a lantern and take it home as a souvenir.
Thoughts…
We visited Hoi An for a full day but you won’t miss much if you reach there in the late afternoon. Hoi An old town comes to life in the evening with all the colourful lanterns and boat rides.
You can combine a visit to Hoi An with a visit to Marble Mountains in Da Nang. Visit the Marble Mountains in the morning followed by a basket boat ride and finally reach Hoi An in the evening.
Hoi An is a must-visit place if you are in Central Vietnam. It is up to you if you want to stay in Hoi An or want to visit for a full day, half day or just a couple of hours.
Have you visited Hoi An in Vietnam? Share your experience in the comments below.
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