Definitely one of our favorite stops on the whole trip, Hoi An is a much smaller city than most of the other places we’ve stayed, much more laid back than Hanoi or especially Ho Chi Minh City.
After our night at the family run guesthouse in Lang Co Beach we got another cab to Hoi An - another hour south via a new Austrian-designed tunnel through the mountains. It is interesting (but somewhat scary!) to see Vietnam from the road as well as via trains and buses. The taxi ride cost I think 700,000 Dong (about $40). We could have gone via the older route over the Hai Van pass, which would have taken quite a bit longer, cost a bit more but is said to be very scenic.
We stayed at the Phuoc An Hotel in Tran Cao Van Street. We booked the Phuoc An by calling their number in the Lonely Planet book while we were in Lang Co Beach and looking for a place to stay in our next stop, Hoi An. We enjoyed our time at the Phuoc An, and posted a positive review for them on Tripadvisor when we returned.
The hotel is a 5 or 10 minute walk to the center of the old town, Le Loi Street and Bach Dang and so on, where most of the tailors etc are located. We had two rooms for a total of $50 per night, free internet, breakfast included (baguettes, jam, cheese, pancakes, omelettes etc) - very nice. They also offered free pushbikes which you can use to explore the city if you like. A nice beach is maybe 4 or 5 km away - that's about $2 in a cab.
One of the best things we liked about staying there was the food at the 'Laugh Cafe', which is just across the street from the hotel. It looks pretty basic, but the family who run it (I think Hong was one of the girl's names) are lovely and make wonderful food. For example, we had 'chilli and lemon grass chicken' (ga xao xa ot?) all over Vietnam and theirs was definitely far and away the best. The girl was very friendly and we had many conversations with her about all sorts of things - gave us a few tips with the language and so on.
We booked a snorkelling/diving boat trip and the Red Bridge Cooking Class (highly recommended!) from the hotel, as well as organizing a driver to take us to Da Nang train station at the end of our stay in Hoi An. We found the staff to be helpful and friendly. The driver taking us to Da Nang was more than happy to stop to let us take photos of Marble Mountain etc along the way.
The Red Bridge Cooking Class was very good - they take you through the Hoi An markets first to buy the ingredients, then a chef teaches you how to make 4 or 5 Vietnamese dishes. At the markets we also bought some special tools which they use to make those carrot flowers, decorative salads etc. The snorkeling trip to Cham Island was OK, quite a fun day, met lots of other travellers. The snorkeling itself is not that impressive though, compared to our Great Barrier Reef - almost no color to the corals really, a few tropical fishes but nothing to compare.
Hoi An is the tailoring capital of Vietnam, and we all got stuff made for us - suits, skirts, jackets, shirts, shoes, boots etc, as well as buying silk ties and scarves etc for about $5 each. They have the clothes ready for you a day or so after you get measured and pay the deposit.
Click here to see our photos from Hoi An.