Hoi An also Faifo, is a city of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea in the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is located in Quang Nam province and is home to approximately 120,000 inhabitants. It is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Hoi An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site.

The city possessed the largest harbour in Southeast Asia in the 1st century and was known as Lam Ap Pho (Champa City). Between the seventh and 10th centuries, the Cham (people of Champa) controlled the strategic spice trade and with this came tremendous wealth. The former harbour town of the Cham at the estuary of the Thu Bồn River was an important Vietnamese trading centre in the 16th and 17th centuries, where Chinese from various provinces as well as Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled. During this period of the China trade, the town was called Hai Pho (Seaside Town) in Vietnamese. Originally, Hai Pho was a divided town with the Japanese settlement across the "Japanese Bridge" (16th-17th century). The bridge (Chùa cầu) is a unique covered structure built by the Japanese, the only known covered bridge with a Buddhistpagoda attached to one side.

Hội An translates as "peaceful meeting place". In English and other European languages, the town was known historically as Faifo. This word is derived from Vietnamese Hội An phố (the town of Hội An), which was shortened to "Hoi-pho", and then to "Faifo".

The early history of Hội An is that of the Cham. These Austronesian-speaking Malayo-Polynesian peoples created the Champa Empire which occupied much of what is now central and lower Vietnam, from Huế to beyond Nha Trang. Various linguistic connections between Cham and the related Jarai language and the Austronesian languages of Indonesia (particularly Acehnese), Malaya, Cambodia and Hainan has been documented, and they are sometimes grouped under Inner Western Malayo-Polynesian languages. In the early years, Mỹ Sơn was the spiritual capital,Tra Kieu was the political capital and Hoi An was the commercial capital of the Champa Empire - later, by the 14th century, the Cham moved further down towards Nha Trang. The river system was the transportation for goods between the highlands, inland countries of Laos and Thailand and the low lands.

In 1535 Portuguese explorer and sea captain António de Faria, coming from Da Nang, tried to establish a major trading center at the port village of Faifo. Hội An was founded as a trading port by the Nguyễn Lord Nguyen Hoang sometime around 1595. The Nguyen Lords were far more interested in commercial activity than the Trịnh Lords who ruled the north. As a result, Hội An flourished as a trading port and became the most important trade port on the South China Sea. Captain William Adams, the English sailor and confidant of Tokugawa Ieyasu, is known to have made at least one trading mission to Hội An (around 1619).In the 18th century, Hội An was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants to be the best destination for trading in all of Southeast Asia, even Asia. Japanese believed the heart of all of Asia (the dragon) lay beneath the earth of Hội An. The city also rose to prominence as a powerful and exclusive trade conduit between Europe, China, India, and Japan, especially for the ceramic industry. Shipwreck discoveries have shown that Vietnamese and Asian ceramics were transported from Hội An to as far as Sinai, Egypt.

Hội An's importance waned sharply at the end of the 18th century because of the collapse of Nguyễn rule (thanks to the Tay Son Rebellion - which was opposed to foreign trade).Then, with the triumph of Emperor Gia Long, he repaid the French for their aid by giving them exclusive trade rights to the nearby port town of Da Nang. Da Nang became the new center of trade (and later French influence) in central Vietnam while Hoi An was a forgotten backwater. Local historians also say that Hội An lost its status as a desirable trade port due to silting up of the river mouth. The result was that Hội An remained almost untouched by the changes to Vietnam over the next 200 years.

Today, the town is a tourist attraction because of its history, traditional architecture and crafts such as textiles and ceramics. Many bars, hotels, and resorts have been constructed both in Hội An and the surrounding area. The port mouth and boats are still used for both fishing and tourism.

Calm mild weather is now limited to the season of May/June - end of August when the seas are calm and wind changes direction and comes from the South. The remainder of the year the weather is intermittent between rain & cold and hot and mild. Popular activities such as visiting offshore Cù lao Chàm islands are only guaranteed to be likely during the short season of end of May - end of August, which is the high season for domestic tourism.

In 1999, the old town was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences. According to the UNESCO Impact Report 2008 on Hội An, tourism has bought changes to the area which are not sustainable without mitigation.

Museums

The city has various small museums highlighting the history of the region, especially ceramics, such as the Museum of Trade Ceramics. The Museum of Sa Huỳnh Culture was built in 1995, and has over 430 ceramic items from 8th to 18th Century. The items originating from Persia, China, Thailand, India and other countries are proofs of the importance of Hội An as a major trading port in South East Asia.

By plane

The nearest airport is in Da Nang which has domestic connections to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hue and some international flights to Bangkok, Singapore Siem Reap, Cambodia (for Angkor Wat) and charter flights to China.

A taxi from Danang airport to Hoi An costs about US$22 using a taxi with a meter. This is one occasion where haggling to set a fixed price is cheaper than going by the meter. As of November 2011 one traveller reports paying around 300,000 VND while the meter read over 400,000 VND. Air-conditioned Minibus-Taxis cost 5 US$ per person (there are no minibuses in airport, you should go first to the city). The ride takes about 45min.

A word of caution about flying Jetstar: they are frequently up to 8 hours late, many times arriving at Danang from Saigon at 2AM. If you arrive late, you should arrange an airport transfer in advance if you don't want the taxi haggling hassles.

By train

There is no railway station in Hoi An. The nearest is in Da Nang, which receives several trains a day from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Nha Trang etc. Most travel agents and hotels can book a train ticket for you.

Da Nang Railway Station: 202 Hai Phong, Tan Chinh Ward, Thanh Khe District, TP Da Nang , Phone:  (+ 84 511) 3750666.

See note above regarding transfers between Hoi An and Danang train station for 80,000 VND with Go Travel Vietnam.

By bus

There are two different bus stations in Hoi An now (older guide books just show the one on D Hung Vuong) But the public buses to Da Nang leave from the station about 2km north west from the centre on Le Hong Phong. A xe om from Hoi An bus station to the old town should be around 10-15,000 dong.

There is a public bus (#1) from Da Nang bus station to Hoi An bus station (15,000 dong, the fare is written on the side of the bus (June 2012), they try to charge foreigners 50'000 dong, just grab all your stuff and stay in the bus, they can be very aggressive... same goes for Hoi An - Da Nang). The bus passes through downtown Da Nang as well. If you come from Da Nang airport, the closest bus stop of the same route to Hoi An is at the roundabout where the streets Nguyễn Tri Phương and Điện Biên Phủ meet (a nice 10-15 minutes walk, since you can walk along the lake). This bus stop is clearly marked with a road sign.

There are no shortage of travel companies and private buses traveling to and from from Hoi An to destinations such as Hue, Hanoi, Saigon, Dalat and Nha Trang.

Open-tour buses run daily up and down the coast from Da Nang, Hue (3.5-4 hours, 60,000-100,000 dong as of March 2012) and Nha Trang (9-10 hours).

By motorbike or taxi

It is easy to take a motorbike or taxi to and from Da Nang via the Marble Mountains (see below), from where you can catch a train onwards. This trip cost vnd 460.000 from Da Nang bus station, by the meter. Mai ling taxi in Jan 2012.

By boat

Hoi An has a river system stretching hundreds of kilometers - this was the ancient transport network of the Cham Kingdom as they moved goods between the highlands and then thru Hoi An and onto China. Speedboats or traditional ghe nang sailing on the river or sea.

The centre of Hoi An is very small and pedestrianised, so you will be walking around most of the time. Motorbikes are only banned from the center of town during certain times of day, so keep an eye out for motorized kamikazes, even in the most narrow alleys. However, the city's government does not allow motorbikes to enter the Old Town on the 14th and 15th of each lunar month. On those evenings, a lot of activities, including traditional games such as bai choi, trong quan, anddap nieu are held in all over the town.

To go to the beach or reach some of the more remote hotels, it is easy and cheap to hire a bicycle (ca. 10.000 VND per day March 2011). Taxis can be found in the middle of Le Loi Street, over the river on An Hoi or called by phone. When busy, taxis may refuse your fare back to your hotel from town if it is too close, opting for larger fares. Arranging a shuttle from your hotel may be a better option although prices can be higher.

Motorbike taxis, of course, are always an option. You can also charter boats for about US$1/hour.

Traffic in Hoi An is minimal, so if you've been avoiding getting on a bike in the big cities, small towns and the surrounding countryside like Hoi An are ideal to get used to the road rules.

Get a car to visit My Son early in the morning, about an hour away, or the Marble Mountains, about forty minutes north towards Da Nang.

The old Champa way was to travel by the river system. The rivers of Hoi An cover hundreds of kilometers and offer an interesting & adventurous alternative to travelling by road. Get on a boat and you'll begin to see a whole lot more of Hoi An and the Delta.

By motorbike

Cost of bike rentals in up at the current. Rent a bike for US$5 per day (100,000 dong) for a semi-automatic or $7.5 (160,000 VND) for a fully automatic (19th may 2012). After a few minutes fiddling with gears you'll be ready to roll. When renting make sure you get a helmet. Take a short ride down to the beach and enjoy the water or travel toward Danang to visit the stunning Marble Mountains. It's standard practice for the bike to have only enough gas to make it to the next gas station. In addition to gas stations, there are also little hand-operated roadside pumps everywhere; these can be convenient, but they're more expensive and the quality of the gas is open to question. Gas costs around 22,000 dong/litre and one litre is enough for sightseeing to the beach and back and zipping around town.

Note: foreign International Driving licenses are NOT valid in Vietnam and in case of accident, a foreigner driving a motorcycle without a valid license is at fault and will pay! Also personal insurance may not valid for someone riding on a motorcycle with a driver who does not have a valid license.

Entry to all historical sites in Hoi An is via a coupon system, where 90,000 dong (US$5) gets you a ticket that can be used to enter five attractions: one museum, one old house, one assembly hall, the handicraft workshop (and traditional music show) or the traditional theater, and either the Japanese Covered Bridge or the Quan Cong Temple. Tickets are sold at various entry points into the Old Town, including Hai Ba Trung Street, and also at some of the attractions, including the Cantonese Assembly Hall. The city requests that visitors dress "decently" while visiting sites in the Old Town, as in men wear a shirt and women don't wear a bikini top, sleeveless

louse or skirt above the knees. Respect the local culture and remember that you are not on the beach.

        First, you may choose one of the two landmarks of Hoi An:

Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau or Lai Vien Kieu), on the west end of Tran Phu Street. The bridge was constructed in the early 1600's by the Japanese community, roughly 40 years before they left the city to return to Japan under the strict policy of sakoku enforced by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and renovated in 1986. Today, it's the symbol of Hoi An. Entry is one coupon, but it's possible to cross back and forth several times without meeting a ticket-checker. If your scruples are bothering you, feel free to leave tribute for the pig statue or the dog statue who stand guard at opposite ends of the bridge.

Quan Cong Temple, 24 Tran Phu Street.

       The ticket allows admission to one of the four museums in the Old Town:

Museum of Folk Culture, 33 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street. Some may be put off by the bizarre-looking plaster sculptures of Vietnamese peasants, but this museum documents the dress and culture of rural Vietnam

Museum of Trade Ceramics, 80 Tran Phu Street. The dusty, unlabeled displays of broken pottery are eminently forgettable, but the house itself is nice enough, and it provides a better opportunity to explore the shape and layout of an old Hoi An home than you'll find at any of the Old Houses (below).

Hoi An Museum of History and Culture, 7 Nguyen Hue Street. The museum contains some old black and white photos of Hoi An taken in the early 20th century. It also houses an old canon, some two-thousand year old pots from the Sa Huynh period, and a case full of 9th century bricks and tiles from the Champa period.

Museum of Say Huynh Culture, 149 Bach Dang Street. The museum's main collection consists of pottery and urns from the 1st and 2nd centuries. Upstairs is another museum, the Museum of the Revolution. Its main collection consists of pictures from war heroes and a collection of weapons such as grenade launchers, machine guns and AK 47s.

       There are three old houses that exist in an awkward halfway state between museum show-piece and somewhat shabby   residence for the family that lives there. Your ticket allows admission to one.

       Phung Hung House, 4 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, just west of the Japanese Bridge. Traditional two-story wooden house, inhabited over 100 years by eight generations; and the current one attempts to guide you around in hope of a tip.

Golden Land Tourist: Add 265 Nguyen Duy Hieu, Hoi An, Viet Nam is a great travel agent in Hoi An, There are all kind of tour around Hoi An and tours around Viet Nam in this agent, The owner work in the office every day, she is friendly, smiling, and look after customer very well. She always give you the good recommendation about tour, accommodation, transportion...She is willing help guest to do many thing without mmoney. Go to see the Website: goldenlandtourist.com

Cooking lessons are offered at several restaurants around town. If you enjoyed your meal there, it can't hurt to inquire. There are also several established cooking schools with good reputations including "Morning Glory" and "Red Bridge" who offer a variety of courses ranging in price from 16 - 55 USD. In any of these "good reputation" schools, as a hands on experience, you can only learn as far as how to chop the vegetables and roll the spring roll. The rest is done secretly, the making of the sauce, the techniques of frying the spring roll, or the grilling the beef. What's so inadequate about these schools is that the instructors are locals who are not really used to English pronunciations and they speak very fast, and you would have to fill in the blanks and do more word solving puzzles. At the end, you will have to fill up a survey, for some reason everybody (since 100% of the students are westerners) agree about the hygiene problem (an average of below 5 out of 10).

Straightforward is learning to cook at the "Green Moss" restaurant: just walk in around midday or in the evening, choose 2 dishes, and you can watch them prepare it while you take notes on how to do it. The cook's explanations are good, and I found it quite an efficient way for only 2 Dollars (in addition to the cost of the dishes). The kitchen looks chaotic, but the food is really good.

You could also Rent a motorbike. If the traffic scared you in Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi, here is the place to learn. Note: foreign International Driving Licenses are NOT valid in Vietnam and in case of accident etc. a foreigner driving a motorcycle without a valid license is at fault and financially will pay ! Also personal insurance may not valid for someone riding on a motorcycle with a driver who does not have a valid licens

 Cham Island Diving has been operating from Hoi An since 2002. The Dive Center and international team offer daily boat and speedboat tours to Cham Island for scuba diving and snorkelling activities. Boat tours can be booked at our Dive Bar and restaurant in Hoi An old City where our diving and snorkeling team will be happy to help you, regardless of your ability or experienc

Karma Waters  operating in Hoi An since 2005 and now in Hoi An Ancient Town opposite Anh Phu Hotel 213 Nguyen Duy Hieu  is a unique vegan restaurant and Responsible Tourism operator who in 2009 created Cooperative and Homestay in Bai Huong, Cham Islands. Focused on UNESCO culture tours and low impact tours and activities such as kayaking, cycling, hiking & sailing Karma Waters provides sustainable, authentic and real experiences. Vegan cooking classe

Hội An Eco Tour is a unique cultural tourist attraction. Learn how to catch fish, row a basket boat with local fisherman through the coconut palm paradise. Rather than focusing on historical artifacts of Vietnam, the eco tour focuses on the historical, and living culture of the people of Hội An. Very friendly tour guide and staff. All drinks and a great dinner included (Fisherman to Coconut palm paradise tour). A bit more expensive than other tours but a very nice experience (doing rather than see

Gioan Riverside Restaurant Cooking Lessons, 94B, Bach Dang Street (Along the river in Old Town),☎ 0510. 3863899 (gioancookery@gmail.com). Offers cooking classes that do not require an advance reservation and they will accommodate a single person whereas many other places have a two-person minimum for classes. A class for one person and three dishes of your choice off their menu is US$12. Of course, you get to eat what you cook. Add another dollar for each additional dish and/or trip to the market to buy ingredients. They will offer to sell you some of the cooking tools used at the end of the class. The woman who teaches the classes is superb, speaks perfect English, and makes the class very fun. Price varies depending on number of students and number of meals.  

Gỏi cuốn fresh spring rolls and cao lầunoodles

Food in Hoi An is, even by high Vietnamese standards, cheap and tasty. In addition to the usual suspects, there are three dishes that Hoi An is particularly famous for:

Cao lầu, a dish of rice noodles which are not quite as slippery as pho and a bit closer in texture to pasta. The secret is the water used to make it, and authentic cao lau uses only water from a special well in the city. The noodles are topped with slices of roast pork, dough fritters, and this being Vietnam, lots of fresh herbs and veggies.

White rose (banh bao vac), a type of shrimp dumpling made from translucent white dough bunched up to look like a rose.

Where to eat White Rose: 533 Hai Ba Trung

 Wonton dumplings, essentially the same as the Chinese kind, served up in soup or deep-fried.

If you are really very adventurous, you can walk to the Central Market, and have a local breakfast. Seating on stools, eating a bowl of Cao Lau with wooden chopsticks, and sipping the ice cold "White Coffee with vinamilk" is an adventure. Beware though, prices will vary atrociously, as shopkeepers swarm over you to sell you things, or even shove plates of food before you. Just keep declining politely and return the food if you don't fancy it. Keep small denominations of dong with you, as you probably won't get change if you give them US$. Also, confirm the prices before you partake of the food. Prices range from about 7000-10000 dong for a bowl of noodles, and 5000-7000 dong for a coffee. The baguette is a nice snack, and should not cost more than 10000 dong. You can point and say yes or no to the vegetables and chilli that they will add. A recommended way to order is to just say "Everything" and say "yes" to the chilli. Mineral water is around 10000 dong for a big 1.5L bottle.

Walking along the river at night, you will find a lot of pubs. Beer is around 30000 dong. Cocktails are around 20000-50000 dong. There are some bar foods available, such as fried prawn crackers for around 15000 dong a plate. Just walk into any pub and have a seat.

Vegan/ Vegetarian

Hong An, 343 Cua Dai (On Cua Dai, 15 minutes walk from the center), ☎ 01225992823. Good vegan Vietnamese food. Small menu, but includes local specialties. Very cheap, $1 for a bowl of noodles.

Karma Waters, 213 Nguyen Duy Hieu (Center of Hoi An, opposite An Phu hotel), ☎ 510 3927632. 6.30AM - 8PM. Vietnamese & International food, Indian food, quick healthy vegan food, vegan ice cream - all pure vegetarian & vegan ! This place is on the expensive side. $2.5 for a bowl of noodles soup with vegetables. $1.5 for orange juice. However, the food is good and the staff nice mid range.  

Budget

Prices in the very center of Hoi An are generally a little inflated by the tourist trade - An Hoi island is no longer the bastion of cheap street stalls that it once was; or if it ever was. The tourist trade has really hurt the prices of all areas of town. Don't pay more than 10K for a baguette; 10K for a beer (most places want 10-15); and 20K for a bowl of noodles. Bike towards An Bang beach and check out some of the street side restaurants for some cheaper eats.

•                      Cafe 43, 43 Tran Cao Van. This place has the usual traveler fare with Biere Lerue for 10k and bia hoi (pronounced doy in the South) fresh beer for 3000. The food is general traveler fare but tasty. Try the Cao Lao noodles which is the local speciality; the portion size is good. The "fresh spring rolls" (steamed) are around 40k but are huge. This place is becoming more and more popular  
•                     Lantern Town Restaurant, address. Hoian is the home of lanterns and Lantern Town restaurant housed in an ancient house combines French colonial architectural influences with traditional Vietnamese style.20000 dong.  
•                     31 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street. Here you can find many small stands which serve good and cheap food quickly. 20000 dong.  
•                     Bale Well restaurant, 45-51 D Tran Cao Van. Busy in the evenings, less so at lunchtime. Set menu: Bánh Xèo, pork savoury pancakes - Barbecued Satay pork loin, wrap in a lettuce leaf, with side salad veggies. Enjoy with a local beer. Rated 9 of 110 reviews on Tripadvisor. Located off the road, up a side alley. 40000 - 75000 dong.  
•                     Blue Dragon. A restaurant by the waterfront with cheap, but good food. Choose from a wide variety of local dishes, or set menus, including meat, vegetarian or seafood choices. A portion of the proceeds goes to help the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation. 20000 dong.  
•                     Cafe Bobo, 18 Le Loi. Popular and reasonably-priced. The frappucino-style mocha shakes are great. 
•                     Huu Nghi, 56 Bach Dang, ☎ 05103910118. Very good food at reasonable prices, with a view of the river and the market. Set meals with 3 or 4 kinds of local specialities for 40.000/70.000 Dong respectively. Fresh beer (Bia Hoi) for 5000 Dong. They also provide a free tiny cup of caramel/vanilla yogurt for dessert. 
•                    Laugh Cafe, 126 Tran Cao Van St., Hoi An. Laugh Cafe is a low key Cafe with great, cheap traditional food. It provides vocational training for young people in the provinces surrounding Hoi An, to help give them future opportunities in hospitality. The manager Peter is a laugh (no pun intended) and is happy to have a chat with you about anything you want.  
•                  Pho Ha Noi, 448 Cua Dai Road, ☎ 0907269123. Early/Breakfast. The real deal. Pho and bun. Popular with locals. Try out your Vietnamese - limited English understood here. 20000 dong.  
•                Restaurant 96. One of the numerous restaurants by the river banks, this restaurant is packed every night of the week. Many of the guests are returning customers, so the food must be good. There are plenty of vegetarian options and excellent spring rolls. The wait for food tends to be longer than normal, but it's worth it. However the surliness of the owner does affect the general dining experience. 20000 dong.  
•                 Thanh Phuong, 56 Cong Dong (An Hoi island, just across bridge). Cheap and cheerful local eats. A steaming seafood hotpot for two and a large beer will set you back US$3. (As on 18.01.2011 the seafood hotpot is 109.000 Dong. Codfish hotpot 89.000 Dong)  
•                 Trung Bac, 87 Tran Phu. 100 years of cao lau and still going strong. A bowl of chewy noodles and lots of veggies will set you back all of 15000 dong.  
•                Sun Shine, 46 Tran Cao Van Street (Diagonally opposite Phuoc An Hotel), ☎ 0510 3916902. 7AM - 11PM. A homey and cheap restaurant run by a very accommodating and friendly Vietnamese family. Serves fresh and home-cooked Vietnamese and Western food. Prices start at 20000 dong for a delicious bowl of Cau Lau, and a plate of 6 spring rolls will only set you back 30000 dong. 3000 dong for fresh beer and Vietnamese ice tea is free of charge. As of September 2011, proprietor Hoi is offering cooking lessons for 120,000 dong per person, plus the actual cost of the menu items you wish to prepare (items not on the menu also can be taught). Lessons are fun and instructive; also, the lesson takes place in the house kitchen behind the restaurant, giving you an insight into Vietnamese town life with Hoi and family. *Best place to eat in Hoi An, maybe in all of Vietnam*  

In the mid-17 century, some people under the Ming dynasty in China traveled south in search of a new home. Eventually, they stopped in Hoi An where they founded their Minh Huong Village. In the generations since that time, many things have changed in the Minh Huong families. Old traditions have been lost and new ones adopted.No Chinese is spoken anymore. Dress and mannerism no longer reflected their homeland tradition.

Thanks to the mothers, past and present, a most important feature of the old culture has been preserved....an appreciation for fine food. The combination of the culinary arts handed down by the ancestors and a generous variety of local ingredients has proven to be the ideal marriage of two cultures and two cuisines.

At Bon Cafe and Restaurant, you can find it intersting in Bon specialties, the Minh Huong secret family recipes. A unique example of local food that mixes present-day freshness and 17th century inspiration, all of which is designed to please the contemporary palate.