Weather

February to May: best time to visit, since its weather becomes very mild and beautiful with moderate temperature, low humidity, less rain and warm sunshine.

June to August: hottest months with the highest temperature of 38oC at day and the lowest temperature of 21oC night.

September to January: rainy season with constantly heavy rain, temperature from 19 – 24oC

TOP 5 MUST DO’S


Walk along the old charming streets is an experience to remember. The rain can even add more charm to the city.


Relax on some pleasant sandy beaches at Cua Dai where you can enjoy lunch or dinner or chill out over an evening cocktail.


Try street food, the variety and mingling with the locals while perched on tiny stools.


Spruce up your wardrobe, the speed that Hoi An tailors can whip something up is amazing at very reasonable price.


Take a boat ride, best done at night, ideally on the full moon celebration so you can admire all the lanterns and floating candles

Eating

Hoi An food is a one of the most delicious styles of food in Vietnam, its style and taste shares slight similarities with its near neighbors (China, Japan) yet the food of Hoi An is distinct and original. And not only can you rampage your way through regional cuisine, you can learn to cook it too, quite often at the very place you tried it.

Cao Lau
This is the foremost traditional food in Hoi An. Visitors to Hoi An always remember Cao Lau, which was considered by the Quang Nam people as a special symbol representing Hoi An. Cao Lau does not taste like any other Vietnamese dish, but nobody can really recognize it as being comparable to Chinese or Japanese cuisine. Despite its Chinese-like appearance, the Chinese people don’t consider it to be Chinese food. Until now, the origin of Cao Lau is still enveloped mystery.




Quang Noodle (My Quang)
This is the popular country dish in Hoian and Quang Nam. The noodle is yellow or white in color and made from rice flour. It is mixed with shrimp, pork and vegetables, and topped with grilled rice paper and spices. Similar to rice noodle and chicken or pork soup (Hu tieu), My Quang is a variety of Pho (rice noodle soup), because the noodles are made from rice and covered with soup as serving.

Where to eat
Try the stalls in the central market food hall where Tran Phu meets Nguyen Duy Hieu or one of the local one-dish restaurants that line the northern end of Phan Chau Trinh Street.
A good tip is to look out for vendors with a black and gold sign which are awarded to families with the best examples of these dishes, which generally means they have been producing that one dish for generations.

‘Restaurant Two’ (Quán Ăn Hai) where the locals like to eat. They serve two dishes there, hence the name. It’s 20,000 VND (~US$1) per bowl for either My Quang or Cao Lau.

White Rose
An appetizer named for its shape when presented properly – White Rose is a type of shrimp dumpling made from translucent white dough bunched up to look like a rose.
Ingredients such as shrimp and pork are placed on top the carefully folded noodles and topped with crispy shallot. The unique dipping sauce is made of shrimp broth, hot chilies, lemon and sugar.
Water must be drowned from the old Ba Le well, which is filtered and purified 15-20 times before being mixed with the rice paste to form airy dough.

Where to eat
Local Restaurant - Banh Bao Banh Vac, Add: 533 Hai Ba Trung St., Price: 4 USD/1 dish

Banh Beo
Banh beo is made of a mixture of rice flour and water. The mixture is poured into small, clay bowls, much smaller than the usual ones. The delicious core of Banh beo is stuffed with small shrimps, and the dipping sauce is made by mixing fish sauce, sugar, garlic, chilly, fresh small shrimps and watery grease.






Seafood
If you like seafood, you may find heaven in Vietnam. Vietnam is a country that is criss-crossed with rivers and streams, tributaries and deltas as well as being bounded by the South China Sea. Fish and shellfish, both freshwater and saltwater, are abundant.
Hoi An have Cua Dai and An Bang Beaches. The ultimate seafood experience is travelling to a seaside village or beach resort area in the south to try the local seafood restaurants that often serve shrimp, crab, and locally-caught fish. Follow the locals to a good restaurant: the food will still be swimming when you order it, it will be well-prepared, very affordable by Western standards, and often served in friendly surroundings with spectacular views.

Com ga (Chicken rice)
Add 1: Ba Buoi - 22 Phan Chau Trinh Street
Add 2: BaTy - 27 Phan Chau Trinh Street
Add 3: Ba Thuan - 17/4 Nhị trưng Street
Add 4: Com Ga Huong on the pavement outside 48 Le Loi Street (near Thu Thuy Cloth Shop).
Cuisines    : Vietnamese
Price           : Set menu US$2
Description: Hoi An’s chicken rice, with its unique spicy character, tempting smell and its simple yet very appetizing presentation, is just so Vietnamese!

Ba Le Well
Add             : 45/51 Tran Hung Dao St
Tel               : +84 (0510) 386-4443
Cuisines    : Vietnamese
Price           : Set menu US$2.5
Description: a set menu of nem nuong, the kind of spring rolls that you make yourself, rolling chicken, beef, or pork with fresh greens and condiments into sheets of rice paper. You might also want to try the good pork satay, savory banh xeo (pancakes), or good fried spring rolls. The restaurant is in a little alley just off of Tran Hung Dao Street.

Banh my Phuong
Add             : By the market entrance on Hoang Dieu St
Cuisines   : Vietnamese
Price           : 20,000 VND (around US$1)
Description: Madam Phuong serves Banh My from a cart and has been doing so for 25 years. The baguettes are perfect, unbelievable fresh, crisp on the outside and soft in the middle
It is the great mixture of baguettes in the western and Vietnamese way with many favors and raw vegetables. A loaf of Banh My combine French ingredients, the baguette, pate and mayonnaise plus native Vietnamese ingredients including cilantro, hot peppers and pickled carrots, that’s a lot of history in one delicious roll.

Getting there and away

Air
Most visitors to Hoi An arrive from Danang International airport 30kms away.

Rail
Danang’s railway station is the most convenient rail access point to Hoi An. A number of travellers use the rail network to reach Danang and Hoi An from Hanoi to the north and Quy Nhon and Nha Trang to the south.

Road
Hoi An is an easy three hour road trip to or from Hue to the north.
Road travel south will likely be to Quy Nhon or Nha Trang - both much longer journeys.