Chapters
3 days itinerary in Hoi An
"The city of my thousand colors"
Located on the banks of the Thun Bon River, Hoi An is one of the most beautiful and charming cities in Vietnam. Made up of Chinese, Japanese, French, Dutch and Indians who created the ancient city of Hoi An, turning its old town into one of the most influential commercial areas in all of Asia. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, it is a place anchored in time that has managed to preserve the same appearance it had centuries ago, back when it was an important commercial port.
DAY 1
Discovering Hoi An
Leave your accommodation in Da Nang to head to Hoi An, which is an hour away by car. Check in at your hotel in Hoi An and take a bike to go around the town.
We stayed at the “Golden Holiday Hotel & Spa” hotel, we paid about €33/night for a deluxe double room with a balcony. The hotel is new, the rooms are big and comfortable and it is a 15′ walk from the center. They offer you free bikes during your stay (also with baby seat).
13:00h - 15:00h
Have lunch at Restaurant Secret Garden and enjoy the best local food.
16:00h - 17:30h
Make your Clothes to measure.
Hoi An is known for its many tailor shops. You can design your own clothes here for great prices or use an existing example. These garments are custom made for you. You can design, for example, a suit, a dress or even a bag or shoes. We recommend the Bebe Taylor store, they have all kinds of quality fabrics and are very professional.
19:30h - 22:30h
Visit the beautiful Night market, where you can find all kinds of local food, as well as souvenirs, clothes etc. Do not forget to try the Vietnamese pizza.
DAY 2
Discovering Hoi An
10:00h - 14:00h
Visit the most important cultural places buying the “Old Town Ticket”, a Hoi An tourist voucher. The tourist ticket allows us to visit 5 tourist places from a list in which we find old houses, museums, temples, etc. We recommend to visit the followings:
120.000 Dongs (5€ aprox.)
1. JAPANESE BRIDGE.
The chùa cầu (Japanese bridge) is a covered stone bridge-pagoda in the city of Hội An, in central Vietnam, today a historical monument. It divides two traditional neighborhoods, the Chinese and the Japanese. Its construction lasted from 1593 to 1595. It is 18 meters long and its roof is made of wood. According to legend, the people of Hội An built the bridge to hunt a monster believed to be responsible for several earthquakes in the region. They believed that the stone pillars of the bridge were going to pierce the heart of the monster.
2. QUANG TRIEU CANTONESE ASSEMBLY.
A few meters from the Japanese Covered Bridge, on Tran Phu Street, is the Quang Trieu Cantonese Assembly. The Chau Tribe Assembly Hall was built in 1845. General Ba Phuc, who was said to be able to catch the calm and quiet air, was worshiped there. The Hall possesses special value in the architecture of skillfully carved wood and decorated wooden frame and many works made of glazed terracotta.
3. FUJIAN ASSEMBLY
Phuc Kien Assembly Hall is said to have once been a small temple dedicated to Thien Hau Thanh Mau (a goddess who protects merchants who sail the sea). Due to the restorations and the support of the people of Phuc Kien, the Assembly Hall became a spacious and resplendent hall that has Hoi An architecture participation in the embellishment. The arrangement of the cult statues in the hall signifies "human happiness" and deeply expresses oriental philosophy.
4. VAN DUC PAGODA.
The Van Duc Pagoda is one of the largest to see in Hoi An. What attracts the most about this pagoda is the main palace, which is divided into five different parts: three prayer spaces and two corridors. In addition, it is a place where you can see Buddhist monks.
5. CHUC THANH PAGODA
At the end of the 17th century, the priest Minh Hai founded Chuc Thanh Pagoda, in his time it was known as the site where Thien Chuc Thanh capitulated from the Thien Lam Te religion and the place where he lived. The pagoda was built in a combination of Chinese and Vietnamese architectural styles. Pilgrims come to Chuc Thanh Pagoda to worship Tam Phat, Di Lac, and La Han. In the pagoda, there is a statue of Quan Am “Bo Tat”, goddess of mercy, and it contains the tombs of Minh priests. Hai, from Thiet Tho, from Bich An, and from Thien Qua.
14:00h - 15:30h
Have lunch at Restaurant Café Tuan and enjoy the best local food. Do not forget to try their Cau Lau, white Rosey & Won Ton.
It is run by a very friendly local Vietnamese family, the treatment is unbeatable as is the quality of their food, they care about your food intolerances and in my case, they offered me with the best gluten-free options, and everything was delicious!
16:00h - 17:00h
Walk through its old town and take the opportunity to do some shopping, Hoi An is a place with a lot of local crafts, you will find many special things to take home a memory of this beautiful town. You can also buy clothing sets for the whole family with super fun prints, we chose this one!
17:00h - 18:00h
Stop at a very special tea house called “Reaching Out Tea House”. All the people who work there are deaf, it is a very special place.
At the back of the store you will find a shop where they create handmade jewelry, crockery and many other objects, it is a place full of corners that will surprise you!
20:30h - 22:00h
Dinner at the Vietnamese Firefly restaurant .
DAY 3
Discovering Hoi An
09:30h - 14:00h
Excursion to know the sanctuary of My son, a set of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples, built between the 4th and 14th century by the Champa kings (Chiêm Thành in Vietnamese).
Book your experience with GET YOUR GUIDE
14:30h - 16:00h.
Lunch at Nhan’s kitchen local food. They know about gluten free!
Another option if you don’t want to eat Vietnamese food is to go to the restaurant “Good morning Vietnam” where you will eat pasta as good as if you were eating it in Italy.
16:00h - 20:00h
Have a coffee with a wonderful cheesecake! There is a place called Lagom Coffe & Bakery where you can enjoy delicious pastries, and they have gluten-free options! You have to try the salted caramel and pecan cheesecake, it’s just AMAZING!
20:00h - 21:30h
Dinner at Com Linh ( they know gluten). We recommend you to try the duck!
21:30h - 23:00h
Enjoy drinks on Market Bar. This cozy terrace has beautiful views to the local market square.
The team is very friendly and always willing to help you in any way they can. They organized my brother-in-law’s birthday there, they put some balloons for us and they ordered the best cake (Gluten free). The snack-type food was very good, the homemade french fries with their different sauces (which are more good), the Guacamole, the Cocktails, everything! We recommend it 100%.
- If you need to celebrate a special occasion, they offer you the possibility of ordering a cake, they work with the best pastry shops in Hoi An and the price is very good!
