During my trip across Vietnam, one of the places I was most excited about was Hoi An. I had high hopes for the historic town described as “Vietnam’s most atmospheric and picturesque town” but was sorely disappointed.
After avoiding the touristy Ha Long Bay cruises and finding offbeat Cat Ba island instead, I hoped that I could also avoid Hoi An’s tourist traps – but I was wrong.
Why Is Hoi An Famous?
The graceful, riverside town of Hoi An is one of the most famous places in Vietnam. It was once a major trading port attracting merchants from all over the world who influenced the grand and varied architecture.
Hoi An’s UNESCO listed old town features a cosmopolitan smattering of Japanese and Chinese temples, merchant and clan houses and historic warehouses
The Thu Bon River silted up in the late 19th century ending the illustrious trading days of Hoi An and left the historic town in a beguiling time warp which reversed the town’s fortunes with the advent of a tourism boom.
You can spend all day meandering through Hoi An’s old town, taking in the historic architecture and popping into explore the many different historic temples, assembly halls, pagodas and historic merchant’s houses. There are also small museums giving an insight into the trades and multiculturalism that once shaped the town.
Hoi An’s iconic Japanese covered bridge that dates back to 1593 and is guarded on one side by monkeys and the other side with dogs to symbolise the animals that represent the years of the bridge’s construction and completion.
Wandering along the river as the sunset casts a brilliant hue across the small gathering of ships to the aged yellow buildings. Once night falls watching the flickering lights of the candles floating on the river and glow of red lanterns hanging from the yellow shuttered buildings is a beautiful sight. The riverside looks incredible in the evening light as a few boats still go about their traditional business.
Hoi An is also home to plenty of delicious, atmospheric restaurants, arts and crafts shops and is especially well known as the place to go to for an inexpensive tailor made suit.
So Is Hoi An Too Touristy?
Rather than finding Hoi An delightful and being able to appreciate the historic atmosphere, I felt that the tourism boom is really damaging the authentic feel of Hoi An’s historic town.
Nearly every historic building in the Old Town was a touristy shop or restaurant which ruined the authenticity and atmosphere somewhat.
I was constantly and shamelessly harassed everywhere I went with cries of “You buy something” following me down the tourist crowded streets.
Often aggressive sales people were constantly try to engage me in conversation with the aim to steer me into their shop to be measured for a suit or to look at the cheap tourist tat on the stalls of the night market.
The tourist racket intensifies as a ticket (US$6) is required just to wander the streets of the Old Town. (For more up to date information see Travelfish’s article on the changes. )
The confusing ticketing system for the cultural sights like historic temples, houses and museums is, by Vietnamese standards, not good value for money.
The tickets clearly state that they entitle entry to any of the attractions but some will say the ticket isn’t valid and try to get extra money from you anyway. The staff were not helpful and some were quite rude and aggressive.
I understand that it must cost a lot to preserve and maintain the historic buildings, but tourists also deserve to have a pleasant experience that is also good value for money.
So Is Hoi An Worth Visiting?
Hoi An is a beautiful, historic city, it was voted by Wanderlust magazine as one of the top destinations in the world and as much as I wanted to enjoy it I can’t help feeling that it has already been ruined by tourism.
The multitude of shopping opportunities, hassle and the crowds of tourists overshadow and hide the real beauty of Hoi An and make it feel very inauthentic.
It’s disappointing, the tourist trade is ruining the very reason to visit – unless of course you come all the way to Vietnam just to buy a suit!
Have you visited Hoi An? How was your experience? Do you think Hoi An is worth visiting?
3 comments
Ugh, I was so disappointed with Hoi An, too. The best things we did were:
– Eat vegetarian food at the many veggie restaurants
– Take a motorbike out to Danang (Marble Mountains, Hai Van Pass)
– Free Hoi An bike tour to a village led by university students looking to practice English
Unless you’re into shopping or want to get something tailored, two or three days is enough.
I’m so glad to hear that someone else was disappointed with Hoi An too! The bike tour with the students sounds really good – I wish I had done that but when I visited a typhoon had just been through so some areas were still quite flooded.
This is such a shame! I agree that it’s so touristy now, and I was really disappointed with the charge to get into the old town. The funny thing was, we got in for free from one side (which happened to be the side we came in from our accommodation so we got a bit of a shock when we tried to get in from another road!). But we barely had any touts bother us, and when we did they were always super friendly and happy to chat. I even told one lady I literally couldn’t get a dress made because I was leaving the next day and she said that’s okay and chatted to me for 5 minutes anyway! One thing that really struck me was I always said ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ in Vietnamese and everyone was so surprised! Clearly no tourists bother even trying, which says a lot. 🙁 But I really loved Hoi An.