A weekend in Hoi An, Vietnam: Where old-world charm meets new discoveries

Hoi An, an ancient town by Vietnam’s central coast, offers undeniable allure: timeworn architecture, tea ceremonies, modern dining and a world-class circus beneath a bamboo dome. By day, browse traditional crafts and boutique stores; at night, lantern-lit boats drift along the Thu Bon River. A thriving port between the 16th and 18th centuries, trading silk, spices and ceramics with China and Japan, Hoi An faded during the colonial era, yet its saffron-hued shophouses and Chinese assembly halls are remarkably well preserved. Though mass tourism often leaves its UNESCO-listed Old Town overcrowded, some of the best new spots lie beyond it, where cafes and restaurants are springing up beside quiet rice paddies. April is especially agreeable: At night there’s a breeze, the sea is inviting, and the monsoon rains have yet to arrive.

FRIDAY

5pm | Swim as the sun sets

The locals, sensibly, tend not to swim in the midday heat. Shortly before sunset is the hour to go. As one sinks into the cool sea, the layers of haze suspended between the Marble Mountains and the Son Tra Peninsula, to the north, resemble a pastel watercolour, constantly shifting as the last rays of sunlight spread across the sky. While the crowds head to An Bang, an area with beachside bars and restaurants, find a quieter alternative for a dip a mile farther down the coast at Hit Ha Cafe, a waterside spot open since 2024, with fresh juices and a tranquil garden. The shoreline there has been restored after last year’s storms, and loungers line the sand. As night falls, sparks of bioluminescence might flicker if you swish your hands in the darkening sea.

7pm | Feast on seasonal fare

A few minutes drive south of the beach, set near a farming community on a river islet called Tra Que Vegetable Village, is Mua, a stylish restaurant whose name means “season” in Vietnamese. Sit in the outdoor area lit by rattan lamps beside a palm-fringed pond to try dishes like veal tartare with lime leaf; cured red snapper from the Cham Islands; and, for dessert, dark chocolate made with cacao beans from the central province of Dak Lak, served with calamansi peel, a tart citrus similar to a kumquat. Tasting menu of 15 small dishes, without alcohol pairing, 1 million dong (about US$38 or S$48). Book ahead.

9.30pm | Sip cocktails in the evening breeze

Drive about 10 minutes south, past sweet-scented rice paddies, toward the Old Town. Outside Hoi An Market, climb a staircase to reach Market Bar, which overlooks the Thu Bon River and a tall banyan tree from a palm-filled rooftop terrace — an ideal perch for a drink in the evening breeze. The menu favours creative gin-and-tonic combinations. Try Lady Trieu, a gin made in Vietnam, with lemongrass and star anise (140,000 dong), or the Chuoi Nui, a sour cocktail with banana-infused rice wine and Sampan Monsoon white rum, another locally produced brand (130,000 dong). For something nearer the sea, Soul Kitchen and Roots Bar by An Bang Beach — along with Eight Days a Week farther down the coast — offer rustic, down-to-earth settings with regular live music and inexpensive beer and cocktails.

SATURDAY

8am | Take in the Old Town

The compact Old Town is easy to cover on foot. Begin at the 19th-century food hall in Hoi An Market, where vendors serve local specialties behind piles of fresh spring rolls and shrimp (Anthony Bourdain ate at Hai Chien’s stall while filming No Reservations). Continue to the Museum of Trade Ceramics, which traces the town’s mercantile past, particularly with Japan and China (you can buy an Old Town ticket here, 120,000 dong, granting access to your choice of five out of more than 20 heritage sites). Then, head to the ornate Fujian Assembly Hall, one of five built by Chinese trading communities, distinguished by its fuchsia entrance and traditional yin-yang roof tiles. Next, visit Duc An Ancient House, a finely preserved example of the narrow shophouses that once defined Hoi An’s trading heyday. End at the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, the town’s most recognisable landmark.

12pm | Eat white rose dumplings in an ancient house

Head to Quan Thang Ancient House to sample some of Hoi An’s classic dishes inside a former merchant home. Try white rose dumplings — chewy, translucent rice parcels filled with peppery minced pork and shrimp, topped with crispy fried shallots — or com ga Hoi An: fragrant rice with shredded chicken, herbs and chilli sauce (each 50,000 dong). The recipes have been passed down through generations; Diep Ai Phuong, who welcomes visitors, is a seventh-generation descendant of Quan Thang, the Chinese merchant who built the house. It is a typical shophouse layout, with the former shop area at the front, the residence at the back, and a courtyard surrounded by carved ironwood in between. In one spot in the courtyard, see the high-water marks of past floods, including the historic deluge that devastated the town last year.

2pm | Go tailor-made

Leather wallets, silk gowns, cashmere scarves, ceramics — for souvenirs, the shop-lined streets of Hoi An offer ample choice. Hart Upcycled Home Decor, open since 2022, is a treasure trove, with ceramics, antiques, sculptures and elegant cotton-and-silk lanterns crafted with fabric from the White Thai ethnic group (450,000 to 1,350,000 dong). At upmarket Metiseko, find men’s shirts (from about 2 million dong) and women’s dresses (from about 6 million dong) made from organic cotton and mulberry silk — pricier, but a pushback against fast fashion that supports local craftspeople. Among hundreds of tailors, Yaly Couture and BeBe Tailor, each with multiple branches, are well known for suits and dresses (expect a day or two turnaround). For something different, try tailor-made shoes from Lucia Thoi’s stall in Hoi An Market (550,000 to 1.6 million dong; takes one day). To wind down, peruse paperbacks at Good Pages, a spacious cafe-bookshop.

5.30pm | Watch a mesmerising bamboo circus

Arrive early at the Hoi An Lune Center for the daily 6pm performance of Teh Dar, a hypnotic, daring acrobatic spectacle that fuses Central Highlands lore with world-class circus and contemporary dance (one hour; tickets from 700,000 dong). After a welcome drink, birdsong fills the dome-shaped bamboo theatre before the troupe takes the stage. Teh Dar means “going in circles” in the language of the K’ho people — and that’s how they move as they chant, then run atop spinning round coracle boats, hurl bamboo poles in the air and burst into breathtaking backflips. Musicians play traditional instruments of the Bahnar, Ede, K’ho and Jarai ethnic groups, including gongs and buffalo horns. Beneath the theatrics lies a deeper theme: the cycle of life, death and the afterlife, evoked through tribal wooden masks.

8pm | Try the local specialty

Savor Hoi An’s signature dish: cao lau. Its origins are debated, yet thin slices of sweet, marinated pork recall Chinese char siu, while thick, chewy noodles evoke Japanese udon — reflecting the town’s past as a busy trading port. Its making, however, is distinctly Vietnamese. Crispy pork skin, fresh herbs, bean sprouts and a dash of broth complete the bowl, with chilli, lime and fish sauce added to taste. Quan Cao Lau Ba Le, named after a nearby well once said to supply mineral-rich water used to make the noodles (although not anymore), is a popular spot for a bowl with juicy pork (40,000 dong).

10pm | Sample Vietnamese-made sake

Travellers to Vietnam often encounter rice wine in the mountains that can be strong, harsh, arguably closer to moonshine. But times are changing. At the new Hem Hoi An — “hem” refers to the lees, or dregs, left over from rice-wine fermentation — try an array of Vietnamese sakes and rice wines in a heritage building with fading teal walls. Pure Rice, a local sake produced by Mua (not the aforementioned restaurant), is made using a premium Vietnamese rice variety called ST25 and is especially smooth (170,000 dong a glass), while Hue’s Etsu no Hajime Junmaiginjo (140,000 dong a glass) is clean and mellow. Tasting flights of Lang rice wine and sake-based cocktails complete the menu.

SUNDAY

9am | Escape to the countryside

Start the morning at Cafe Slow, open since 2023 in Tra Que Vegetable Village, where alleys are named after herbs and plants. The cafe, in a rustic wooden building, has veranda seating overlooking the vegetable patches — ideal for sipping an Americano (45,000 dong) while listening to birdsong. Next, head to An Nhan, a cafe and cultural space inside a nha san (wooden stilt house), transported from Nghe An province. Upstairs, find handicrafts including wooden sculptures, brocade fabrics and pottery made by artisans from Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups. Downstairs, enjoy a fresh mango smoothie (60,000 dong) on ornate furniture, as the wind stirs palm fronds in the verdant garden.

11.30am | Dine beside lush rice paddies

Travel past coconut trees, waterways and buffalo cooling themselves in the mud until you reach tok., down a quiet alley. What began as a pop-up restaurant — tok. stands for ‘take over kitchen’ — is now a sophisticated eatery that blends Vietnamese ingredients with modern European cuisine. The stylish, open-plan dining space extends to outdoor tables and daybeds facing a sea of gently undulating rice paddies, a serene spot to try dishes like grilled aubergine with minced beef, chickpeas and toasted sesame seeds (190,000 dong) or torched snapper with apple, pomelo and hibiscus slaw (340,000 dong).

12.30pm | Meet artists and silk weavers

Back in the Old Town, Le Dac Tu spends hours painting on the streets each day, creating impressionistic watercolours: delicate lines sketch wires, bicycles and rooftops, while soft brushstrokes capture the amber walls of old shophouses. At Tu Hoian, his small gallery, buy postcards for 50,000 dong or larger originals from about 1.2 million dong. For a different craft entirely, visit the Daisu Silk workshop (free) to see silk being woven on traditional wooden looms. Alternatively, stay out of the Old Town a bit longer to visit Xuong Tai Sinh, or “Rebirth Workshop”. The gallery’s rusting corrugated iron walls, circular windows and a roof opening that lets rainwater nourish a tree mirror Nguyen Quoc Dan’s eccentric, environmentally conscious works: salvaged-metal sculptures and eerie human figures formed from melted plastic waste (donations welcome; contact in advance).

1.30pm | Unwind at a Vietnamese tea ceremony

After days of exploring, pause for a Vietnamese tea ceremony at La.Kao Teahouse, a cosy, personal experience in a peaceful setting. La.Kao, open since 2023, offers dozens of teas; a tasting of three varieties lasts about an hour (200,000 dong). The host pours water from a Japanese cast-iron kettle into a Chinese porcelain teapot using a bamboo ladle. Each tea is steeped three times, the taste shifting with each brew: Dragon’s Tail, a delicate white tea, begins sweet and floral before developing woodier notes; Green Snail Spring, from ancient Snow Shan trees, grows slightly more bitter; and Putaleng Red Shan starts cocoa-tinged, and deepens with each infusion. One can also smell the leaves and learn the tale behind each tea, often hand-picked from wild trees in Vietnam’s northern mountains.

By Kit Humphrey © The New York Times.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.