Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An – Hoi An is always a must stop city for any people visiting Vietnam. The architecture is nothing like you’ve seen anywhere else in Asia. The ancient town is famous for its hand-made lanterns, custom tailor, and delicious food. Hoi An is located nearby the beaches and many countrysides. Hoi An offers a variety of interesting activities that help you have great experiences in the town. The best part about Hoi An is that it’s one of the places that you can enjoy many activities in Hoi An as much as you want, without breaking the bank. We have selected for you Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An.
1. Riding a basket boat at Cam Thanh coconut palm tree – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Cam Thanh coconut village is just about 3km to the southeast of Hoi An city. This village used to be a shelter for local people and soldiers during the Vietnam – America war. Nowadays, it is famous for providing seafood products for this area and an eco tourism spot for Hoi An tourism.
Come to visit Cam Thanh coconut village, you will have chance to experience your fun time on basket boats riding through the water coconut jungles, watching people catching fish by their traditional ways and getting an insight into local’s life.
Photo by Du Lịch Sinh Thái Rừng Dừa Bảy Mẫu Cẩm Thanh
Book a Cam Thanh tour at link
Tip: Best time to visit Cam Thanh Village is 4 pm. It is fun and unique way to enjoy the sunset as it reflects off the water.
Find Them
Hoi An Food Tour
Add: 567 Hai Ba Trung St, Hoi An
http://hoianfoodtour.com/holiday/basket-boat-tour/
2. Sampling the local street food – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by Maddin J
Enjoying street food is one of the remarkable things to do in Hoi An. There are so many different specialty dishes to try in Hoi An. The best way to enjoy street food, hassle free is booking a motorbike food tour.
Being on the back of the bike getting pleasure from the beautiful scenery of the town, you will go to the best local food stalls to eat traditional food as well as learn about the making of the dishes, and Vietnamese culture and traditions. You can see other parts of the Hoi An ancient city on a motorbike that the majority of tourists don’t get to see!
Each restaurant and street food vendor specializes in specific dishes and you may find no menu available or prices listed anywhere. If you plan to make a food tour by yourself, it is highly recommended to start at around 3 p.m because it is the peak time for street food vendors.
Tip:
Go hungry since there will be a lot of food on the tour.
Book as early as possible to make sure you have a slot.
Find them
Hoi An Food Tour
Add: 567 Hai Ba Trung St, Hoi An
http://hoianfoodtour.com/holiday/hoi-an-street-food-tour-by-motorbike/
3. Take Ferry trip to Cam Kim Islands – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by Robert Muckley
If you fancy a little exercise, book a cycling tour through Hoi An Fun Bike Tour. You will see a completely different side of Hoi An . Joining the 5 hours tour, you will cycle through rural villages and paddy fields and take a ferry to reach the village in Cam Kim Island. At the village, you will take part in a boat building workshop and talk with local people to learn about their daily life and work. You also have opportunity to make rice paper, sleeping mat, and visit a kindergarten. You will enjoy the breathtaking views overlooking rice terraces and rivers. Under the guidance of the tour guide, you will have unforgettable moments in the town.
Tip
Have breakfast before going on the trip to make sure you have enough energy cycling around
Book as early as possible to make sure there are vacancies.
Find them
Hoi An Food Tour
Add: 567 Hai Ba Trung St, Hoi An
Only 9 USD/pax
http://hoianfoodtour.com/cam-kim-bike-tour/
4. Enjoying bài chòi – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by http://baoquangnam.vn/
The ancient town is lively thanks to popular games that take place in the streets attracting both residents and tourists.
Bài chòi is a traditional Vietnamese game combining folklore singing and picks from a deck of cards. It is similar to bingo accompanied by Vietnamese traditional folk music. Every evening, locals and tourists will gather around an area near Hoai River to enjoy the performance and take part in the game.
How to play “bai choi”
Participants will pick up cards and each card corresponds with a song. When a performer sings a song, they will listen and raise their hands if they hear the song corresponding to the image on their card. If it is right, they will receive a yellow flag. And the singing continues and the participant with the most flags wins. The game is simple, fun and exciting. Prizes for winners are not expensive but small beautiful lantern will remind them of their exciting days in Hoi An.
Tip
Make sure you pay attention during the game and don’t miss any flag if you’ve got the same image/word with the dealer
Find them
The town near the Hoai river, at the corner of Bach Dang street and Nguyen Thai Hoc street where you can see lots of people standing around and hear the music of the folk songs sing by the dealers.
http://hoianfoodtour.com/holiday/evening-walking-food-tour/
5. Get old town view from the top – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
The Chef
Photo by The Chef
Drinking a cup of coffee among locals is one of the must-do things in the ancient town, and this will be amazing if you taste it at local coffee shops offering a great view of the town from above.
The Chef is one of the most familiar coffee shops and restaurants. And it’s the biggest bookstores in Hoi An as the same time to both foreigners and local people.
So sitting on the top floor of this coffee shop, you can have a panoramic view of the old town or enjoy the beauty of Hoi An sunrise and sunset, and look at people walking below. And the town will be more beautiful when lanterns lit up at night.
Tip: Sunset is nice there. They open late in the morning so it’s hard to see sunrise.
Find them
166 Tran Phu street, Hoi An
Open time: 9 a.m – 10 p.m
6. Be a farmer at Tra Que Village – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by http://hoiantourism.info/
Tra Que is a small village located about 2 kilometers northeast of Hoi An ancient town. Here tourists can enjoy watching farmers doing their work, learn about organic farming techniques, and join them to work on the land. For example, they can rake the ground, sowing, watering or pick vegetables.
The second activity is for tourists who are interested in Vietnamese spring rolls. They will attend a workshop to be taught about the process of rice paper making – rice grinding, boiling, stretching and drying.
On the way back to the town, tourists will enjoy phở, which is different from those in Hanoi. The noodles are dried before dipping into the hot water. And the broth is made by simmering beef bones and oxtails, and ground peanuts are added to enhance the flavor as well as richness.
7. Taking a boat trip on Hoai river – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by Harald
Hoai river is a branch of Thu Bon river, and people mostly earn their living by carrying tourists on their boats along the river. When being on the boat, tourists will have a different view of the town and discover more hidden charms. So people are recommended to take a boat ride in the early morning for the sunrise or in the late afternoon for the sunset. If being on the boat in the evening, they should buy small flower lights to release them on the river. Along with lights from houses, the river becomes sparkling like in a fairy tale.
8. Joining a cooking class – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by Norton Ip
Hoi An is very well-known for its authentic cuisine, and many tourists are eager to attend cooking classes to learn how to cook traditional dishes.Hence there are lots of cooking classes in the ancient town, and they are mostly organized at restaurants and hotels. To prepare for the meal, people will go to a nearby market to buy ingredients. And tour guide will give them instructions on how to choose vegetables, meat and fishes, and how to bargain.
After going back, they will practice cooking typical food such as bánh xèo (pancakes), gỏi cuốn (spring rolls), and gỏi bắp chuối (Vietnamese banana blossom salad).
9. Walk around the ancient town – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by Maarten Thewissen
Hoi An is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its historical and cultural values. Therefore, there is nothing greater than walking around streets to look at ancient houses with unique roofs and enjoying tào phớ (tofu in sweetened soup with/without ice) and chè bắp (sweet corn soup). Popular spots include Japanese Bridge, Guangdong Assembly Hall and Tan Ky ancient house on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.
10. Tasting the best banh mi (bread) in the world – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by Hoi An Food Tour
Brought by the French into Vietnam, bread becomes favourite food for locals and foreigners. And there are different types of bread, depending on its fillings which can be chả lụa (pork roll), thịt nguội (cured pork cold cuts), thịt nướng (grilled pork), xá xíu (char siu) and bì (shredded pork skin). Most of the best bread on food stalls, but most of the tourists flock to Banh Mi Phuong at No 2B Phan Chau Trinh Street and Madam Khanh at No 115 Tran Cao Van Street.
11. Do-it-yourself photo tour – Top 11 Fun things to do in Hoi An
Photo by Teemo Titi
Hoi An is as photogenic as it gets. It is very regretful if you do not take photos in Hoi An. There are many amazing places for taking the best shots, including Japanese Bridge, An Hoi Bridge and stunning scenes on the banks of Hoai river. Besides, an old wall on Hoang Van Thu Street has recently become a popular spot for photographers, local young people, and tourists. This is the wall of an ancient house on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street where a three-generation family is living. Although the house has been renovated many times, the owners seem to forget the wall on the other side. Therefore, the old wall covered with moss becomes an astonishing background for photos.
For the old quarter, you should come there in the early morning, before 7 am. Because this time reflects the most the real local life of Hoi An. People enjoy coffee, have breakfast, kids go to school. You will get a different Hoi An view
These rich and diverse Hoi An things to do ideas offer an intriguing mix of experience from shopping, cultural immersion, great cuisine…..The challenge is to know what to do or how to squeeze it all in. So save our bucket list and try all Hoi An activities above, you won’t regret it!
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