Start from 47 curated places around Hoi An, VN, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Cao Lau Khong Gian Xanh
A streetside shophouse on Hai Ba Trung where the bowls of cao lau — Hoi An's thick, ash-treated noodles with char-edged pork and fried rice croutons — are served in generous portions with fresh greens piled alongside. The noodles are made on-site using the traditional method; the broth is minimal but deeply savoury. This is the locals-lunchtime version of the dish without the Old Town surcharge.
Mi Quang Ong Hai
A family-run spot in a narrow alley off Truong Minh Luong that has been serving mi quang — the turmeric-stained noodle dish of central Vietnam with pork, shrimp, and a splash of peanut-rich broth — for over 35 years, with family photographs on the walls as the only decor. The setting is an indoor alley the width of a scooter; the food arrives fast and the pork is properly fatty. It doubles as a cao lau spot on days when they have noodles from the same supplier.
Trails & outdoors
Hoi An City Walk
A 7km flat circuit through the Ancient Town's UNESCO precinct covering the core streets — Tran Phu, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Bach Dang riverside, and the quieter residential lanes behind — with the option to cross the Cam Nam bridge for the river approach. The route is entirely walkable without a guide and rewards slow exploration rather than ticking sites. At night the lanterns change the character of every street you have already seen in daylight.
Hoi An to Cua Dai Beach Loop
A 15km cycling and walking loop from the Ancient Town along the Thu Bon River road to Cua Dai Beach, returning via the coastal path and rice-paddy back roads. The route mixes river views, working fishing villages, flat paddies, and the open coast — all within a flat, easy distance for any level of fitness. The coastal section at Cua Dai provides context for the town's relationship to the sea that is easy to miss when staying only in the Ancient Town precinct.
Things to do
Lantern Boat Ride on the Hoai River
A 20-minute wooden-boat ride along the Hoai River branch through the Ancient Town's lantern-lit waterfront, culminating in the release of a small paper lantern onto the water. The ride is operated by local boatwomen from the Bach Dang and Nguyen Phuc Chu riverside areas each evening; the boats are small, wooden, and lit with candles. It is genuinely beautiful and genuinely inexpensive — the price of a coffee in a tourist cafe, for the most atmospheric 20 minutes Hoi An offers.
Red Bridge Cooking School
Hoi An's most established and best-reviewed cooking school, set in a riverside compound in Cam Thanh accessible by boat from the Ancient Town. The full-day format starts at the morning market, continues by boat to an herb garden, and concludes with hands-on preparation of four to five traditional Central Vietnamese dishes using produce bought and harvested that morning. The boat journey alone — 30 minutes through working fishing villages — is worth the booking.
Landmarks & sights
Japanese Covered Bridge
Hoi An's most photographed structure sits at the western end of Tran Phu Street, a 16th-century wooden arch built by the Japanese trading community with a small temple tucked inside its frame. The bridge straddles a narrow canal that links to the Thu Bon River and appears on the Vietnamese 20,000-dong banknote. It is compact and crowds pile in after 9am, so the real pleasure is finding it empty at dawn when mist sits on the water.
Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien)
The grandest of Hoi An's five Chinese assembly halls, built in the late 17th century by Fujian traders and dedicated to Thien Hau, goddess of the sea. Enormous coiled incense spirals hang from the ceiling like slow-burning lamps, sending hazy smoke through a courtyard of bonsai and carved stone. Arrive after lunch on a weekday and the place quiets down enough to feel genuinely contemplative rather than tick-a-box touristy.