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If you are planning a trip to Vietnam then you have likely heard of the small town of Hoi An. A must visit spot on the Vietnam travel circuit, Hoi An offers plenty of activities for all types of tourists.
The very best part of Hoi An, however, is its spectacular beaches which offer a world of relaxation and fun all their own. In this Hoi An beach guide I’ll share everything you need to know to enjoy an incredible Hoi An beach vacation!
Getting to Hoi An, Quang Nam Province
Hoi An is a coastal town, located just south of the larger, bustling city of Da Nang. Thanks to its close proximity to Da Nang it is relatively easy to get to Hoi An from anywhere in Vietnam.
First, you will need to get yourself to Da Nang!
Flights to Da Nang
Flights arrive daily at the Da Nang International airport, which is the third busiest airport in Vietnam! This means there are plenty of flight options from within the country of Vietnam, and also from the neighboring countries of Laos, Camobodia, and Thailand.
Trains to Da Nang
Da Nang is also a major stop for Vietnam Railways, and many visitors choose to arrive by train. Tom and I took the train from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, and it was an incredible experience with spectacular coastal scenery. The train ride also gave us a chance to meet and chat with plenty of locals, which made the train ride a really special experience.
Getting from Da Nang to Hoi An Beach
Once you reach Da Nang you can hire a car to drive you to Hoi An. It’s about a 45 minute ride, and you can expect to pay anywhere from $15 to $25 for the ride.
To get the best deal on this ride see if your Hoi An hotel can arrange a car for you. This is an extra convenient option because it saves you money AND your driver will meet you at the train station or airport, making the entire process very simple.
Another way to find an affordable ride to Hoi An is to use the Grab app. This is a rideshare app similar to Uber, and it’s a great way to find taxis in Vietnam.
When to Visit a Hoi An Beach
February to July are the driest months of the year in Hoi An. For the best beach weather you should plan a visit in March, April, or May when the temperatures are warm and there’s very little rainfall. We visited Hoi An in March and the weather was beautiful!
Where to Stay- Hoi An Beach Resorts and Hotels
Hoi An has two very popular beaches, and both offer plenty of hotel options. Deciding where to kick off your shoes is a big decision so we’ve narrowed it down to our three favorite hotels based on budget type!
An Bang Beach Hotels (the best beach in Hoi An)
An Bang Beach was our favorite Hoi An beach. With plenty of white sand and beautiful ocean views, this beach felt like a real vacation spot.
At the north end of the beach there are also tons of tours and activities available for adventurous travelers. Paragliding, jet ski rental, and deep sea fishing tours were just a few of the activities we saw on offer.
As far as hotels go there are TONS of great options, but here are our three favorites based on your budget:
Best An Bang Beach Budget Hotel- An Bang Beach Town Homestay
This property is located just a block away from the beach, and for $17/night you get a clean, well-appointed room with a small terrace. The nightly price also includes free American style breakfast every morning.
Keep in mind that homestays are slightly different from hotels because you are staying in the owner’s home. This means that you should plan to respect quiet hours in the late evening, and be prepared to meet family members during your stay.
Click here to explore An Bang Beach Town Homestay!
Best An Bang Beach Moderate Priced Hotel- An Bang Beach Villas
This property offers a beach front bar/lounge, as well as lounge chairs right on the beach where you can relax with a cocktail. The rooms are well-appointed with plenty of luxurious details, and there is also a pool for those days when the ocean surf is a little too wild to swim in.
At $47 per night you really get some bang for your buck at this lovely property. Breakfast is also included in the nightly price.
Click here to explore An Bang Beach Villas!
Best An Bang Beach Luxury Hotel- Ocean House
Ocean House offers a luxury oceanfront villa where the staff will deliver breakfast to your terrace each morning. This property features multiple terraces and patios where you can relax and enjoy the sea breeze. The open-air bathroom is a real treat, allowing you to shower in the fresh ocean air.
At $170 per night, this property is a splurge for Vietnam, but provides a true luxury beach vacation for anyone needing to deeply relax.
Click here to explore Ocean House!
Cua Dai Beach Hotels
Cua Dai Beach is south of An Bang Beach. Cua Dai Beach is a bit quieter than An Bang Beach, making it an appealing spot for honeymooners and anyone who enjoys peace and relaxation.
However, Cua Dai Beach has suffered from severe beach erosion in recent years so it doesn’t have the wide swaths of sand for beach lounging that you’ll find at An Bang Beach. To make up for this, many of the Cua Dai Beach hotels feature beachfront pools.
The hotel options on Cua Dai Beach are a bit more limited than An Bang Beach, and it is harder to find budget accommodation. With that said, there are still good value accommodations to be found on Cua Dai Beach. Below are our three favorite hotels for each budget level.
Best Cua Dai Beach Budget Hotel- Fivitel Hoi An Hotel
While it falls on the higher end for budget travelers, Fivitel really provides a lot of value for the cost. The hotel features a stunning lobby and bar area, and the rooms are beautiful and very clean.
The hotel also features an infinity pool with a killer ocean view, and hotel guests also have access to a small swath of sandy beach on Cua Dai Beach with loungers and umbrellas.
For $31 per night you definitely get your money’s worth at Fivitel Hoi An Hotel.
Click here to reserve your room at Fivitel Hoi An Hotel!
Best Cua Dai Beach Moderate Priced Hotel- Little Beach Hoi An
Set back just one block from the beach, Little Beach Hoi An offers a true resort experience in the Cua Dai Beach area. This property features luxurious rooms with jacuzzi bathtubs, a real rarity in Vietnam. There is also a large pool and fitness center onsite, along with a restaurant serving a variety of dishes.
Little Beach Hoi An is $65/night including breakfast.
Click here to reserve your room at Little Beach Hoi An!
Best Luxury Cua Dai Beach Hotel- Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort
Just a few blocks west of Cua Dai Beach sits the Hoi An River, and Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort takes full advantage of this lovely waterway. Rooms feature covered terraces that overlook the river, and a beautiful pool is surrounded by lush greenery, giving the entire place a jungle-like feel.
This property features all the amenities- a huge, beautiful pool, first-class fitness center, bar/lounge, and a luxury spa featuring a variety of treatments.
Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort comes in at $126 per night.
Click here to reserve your room at Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort!
Where to Eat at Hoi An Beaches
Vietnam is known worldwide as a foodie hub, and the beaches of Hoi An are no exception to this rule! While fresh seafood certainly prevails, you’ll have no trouble finding traditional Vietnamese food, awesome street food, or even decent American food along this stretch of sand.
An Bang Beach Restaurants
Tuan Trung Seafood Restaurant
With a gigantic menu of seafood options, you will have no trouble finding a dish you like here at Tuan Trung. Like most Vietnamese restaurants you may have to ask twice for drink refills, but the huge plate of fresh seafood at very fair prices will make the effort worthwhile!
Passion Restaurant and Bar
This is a short walk from the beach, but well worth it! They serve delicious, traditional Vietnamese dishes and fancy cocktails here at much lower prices than the restaurants located right on the beach.
They don’t open early, so try to come here around sunset or later.
Burger Craft
If you need a break from Vietnamese food, this is the spot for an American style burger and fries. We were super impressed by the quality of the food here, especially after many disappointing cheeseburgers throughout Southeast Asia.
Plus, we were able to wash our burgers down with craft beers! Since we were about 3 months into our Southeast Asia adventures this restaurant was absolutely heavenly.
Cua Dai Beach Restaurants
Hoi An Golden Nut Restaurant
The restaurants on Cua Dai Beach tend to have slightly higher prices than their An Bang counterparts, but this is not the case at Hoi An Golden Nugget! Large portions and reasonable prices combined with high quality Vietnamese food make this a must-eat spot at Cua Dai Beach.
Blue Wave Restaurant and Cafe
This restaurant consistently gets high reviews thanks to their commitment to quality food. Even the Western dishes here are decent, though Vietnamese food is definitely their specialty.
Lots of seafood options are available, and this restaurant sits right next to the beach, making it an easy spot to stop after a long beach day.
Chez César
This is the go-to spot for a fancy or romantic dinner at Cua Dai Beach. It’s also a great option if you need a break from Vietnamese food, as this is a French restaurant!
Fresh ingredients and attention to detail make for a delicious meal, and their extensive wine list is a real treat in Southeast Asia.
What to do at Hoi An Beaches
Sip Cocktails at a Beach Bar/Lounge
This is the number one thing most people imagine when they picture a beach getaway, and Hoi An beaches will not disappoint you on this one!
When we arrived in Hoi An we were coming off of a very challenging month of travel through Cambodia, and we really needed a vacation from our vacation!
An Bang Beach definitely delivered! We spent three days relaxing on beach loungers at Salt, our very favorite Hoi An beach bar. Though it’s on the spendy side, Salt offers a super comfortable bar/restaurant area as well as rows of comfortable beach loungers and umbrellas on the sand.
Salt’s menu is huge, with plenty of Vietnamese and Western choices. Plus, when you grab a lounger at Salt you don’t need to move all day because a waiter will grab you whatever you want, whenever you want it. Combine that with some awesome craft beers on tap, and we were two very happy Oregonians in Vietnam!
Bicycle from beach to beach
Most Hoi An Beach hotels offer free bicycle rental for guests, and we took advantage of this daily. Bicycling is a great way to get from An Bang Beach to Cua Dai Beach, and it’s a fun way to get a little extra exercise after all those cocktails!
You can also easily bicycle into Hoi An’s Old Town if you would like a break from the beach. It takes about 40 minutes, and you will go through some beautiful rice patties to get there!
Eat delicious street food
There are several street food stalls set up behind the central area of An Bang Beach. These stalls are a great way to save money on food, as the selections are both cheap and delicious.
I had one of the best Banh mi sandwiches ever at a little street food stall here!
Purchase knickknacks from beach vendors
While you lounge on the beach, vendors will occasionally come by with knickknacks and souvenirs for sale. Again, we aren’t big shoppers, but we saw plenty of people haggling their way to a good deal!
Wander the shops behind the beach
There are a variety of shops behind An Bang Beach, and you can easily stroll down the streets after a day of sunbathing. We aren’t big shoppers, but it was still fun to walk around and see what’s available.
For a far more extensive shopping experience bicycle (or take a taxi) into Hoi An’s Old Town, where there are loads of shops to browse.
Visit a beach spa
There are lots of massage offerings along both An Bang and Cua Dai Beaches, and at just $11 for a one hour massage you do not want to miss out on these relaxing treatments!
Ocean Spa Hoi An is a popular option, and they offer a variety of packages that combine their most popular treatments.
If you really want to splurge, many of the higher end hotels offer luxury spa packages that are still an incredible value compared to spa prices in the USA.
Paragliding and Jet Skiing- a word of caution
When you visit An Bang Beach you will likely see a long line of tourists waiting to go paragliding. While this looks like a lot of fun, it’s important to note that this paragliding company is actually operating illegally.
The local government banned paragliding on An Bang Beach due to the high number of tourists who were seriously injured participating in the activity. Unfortunately, local authorities have not done much to stop renegade paragliding companies from setting up shop, despite the fact that tourists continue to get injured.
Jet skis have not been banned, but there have been a number of injuries (and even fatalities) associated with jet ski rentals on An Bang Beach.
Be careful out there, and remember that activities in Southeast Asia are truly at your own risk!
What to Bring on your Hoi An Beach vacation
Be sure you have everything you need for your beach holiday. Here are a few items I’d recommend bringing with you from your home country. Click the item title to check current prices!
Lonely Planet Vietnam Travel Guide
We actually bought this guide in a shop in Cambodia just before we entered Vietnam, and we’re so glad we did! This guide included tons of helpful details that allowed us to make the most of our month in Vietnam.
Southeast Asia on a Shoestring Budget Guide
This is the main guide that we used throughout our 6 months in Southeast Asia. It covers several countries, and it’s HUGE so I recommend buying the ebook version of it.
Another option is to rip out the countries that you plan to visit from the paperback book so you don’t have to carry the entire thing with you.
Quick Dry Multi Towel
This is the best for beach travel! It’s lightweight and super absorbant, plus it dries so fast that by the time you’ve walked from the beach to your hotel you’ll have a dry towel again!
Travel Scarf with Secret Pocket
My number one must-have travel item for Southeast Asia is this travel scarf. The secret pocket allowed me to carry my money, passport, and phone without having to carry a bulky purse or bag.
Additionally, you can’t tell there’s anything in the scarf so I didn’t have to worry nearly as much about theft as I would with a regular purse or bag!
Coral Reef Friendly Sunscreen
You’ll need to bring this from your home country, as it’s very difficult to find in Vietnam, and if you do find it it’s VERY expensive.
Coral reefs in Southeast Asia have been dying off over the past decade, and one of the major contributing factors is the chemicals found in regular sunscreen. Please do your part and bring a reef-safe sunscreen on your Vietnam vacation.
Comfortable Sandals
I recommend
these yoga mat sandals. I wore them all over Vietnam, and they were SO comfortable.
Plus they’re lightweight and easy to transport, which is super important when you’re traveling for 6 months with just a carry-on bag!
If you prefer a more masculine sandal, Tom wore
these Teva sandals all over Southeast Asia and loved them.
Now you have all the information you need to start planning your own Hoi An Beach vacation!
Remember that when traveling overseas you should always purchase travel insurance.
We used World Nomads for our insurance. World Nomads was designed with long term and adventure travelers in mind, and their plans cover all sorts of adventure activities!
Want to read more about our Southeast Asia adventures? Check out our Southeast Asia Itinerary, and our guides to Cambodia and Laos. For even more Southeast Asia content go straight to our list of Southeast Asia posts.
We spent two years traveling North America in a Toyota Dolphin camper! We visited Canada, Mexico, and some of the most beautiful spots in the United States. Read more about our camper life adventures here.
Every summer we return to the Western United States to attend all our favorite festivals and to make our annual pilgrimage to the Black Rock Desert for Burning Man. Click here to read all about our festival hopping, and how we manage it financially!
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