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After Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, arriving in Hoi An feels a bit like someone has quietly reached over and turned the volume down. Vietnam’s two biggest cities have a habit of announcing themselves the moment you step outside, all horns and heat and purposeful motion, and I mean that mostly as an observation rather than a complaint. Hoi An, by contrast, greets you at something closer to a murmur. It is smaller, slower, calmer, and considerably more intimate, and for a solo traveller over 50 who has spent the last few days dodging motorbikes with the reflexes of a man half his age, that murmur is remarkably welcome.
The Old Town is compact and entirely manageable on foot, which after the larger cities feels suspiciously luxurious. There is none of the constant low-level urban assault you get elsewhere in Vietnam, none of the need to plan a route like a small military campaign. You can simply walk, and Hoi An, unusually for a destination, is genuinely content to let you.
Wandering Is Rather the Whole Point
The main attraction in Hoi An is not any single building or museum, though there are plenty of those too. It is the act of wandering itself. The Old Town is full of beautiful yellow-painted buildings, narrow streets, and historic Chinese merchant houses, with a strong Japanese influence woven through the architecture in a way that makes the whole place feel visually distinct from anywhere else in Vietnam. Lanterns hang above almost every street, which I will come back to shortly because they deserve their own section and, frankly, their own small shrine.
Cars and larger trucks are restricted from the smaller streets during parts of the day, which makes an enormous difference if you are over 50 and would rather not spend your holiday wondering whether a delivery van is about to turn you into a historical footnote. It means you can stop for coffee or food whenever the mood strikes, without needing a complicated itinerary. Hoi An itself is the itinerary.
A Trading Port With Rather a Lot of History Behind It
Hoi An was once an important trading port, and the mix of Chinese, Japanese and European influences that passed through has left the town looking unlike anywhere else in the country. The old merchant houses are worth exploring in their own right, and the Japanese Covered Bridge, one of Hoi An’s best-known landmarks, is the sort of small, quietly impressive structure that photographs beautifully and somehow still manages to feel understated.
It is a good place for anyone with an interest in history who does not necessarily want to spend every day of a holiday inside a museum. You can simply walk around and see the history built directly into the streets, which suits my own approach to historical tourism rather well: a bit of reading beforehand, a great deal of looking around, and no pressure to appreciate every plaque in chronological order. It is also, I should add, the sort of place where even getting slightly lost feels culturally productive.
The Lanterns, Obviously
No account of Hoi An can avoid the lanterns for very long, so let us deal with them now. They are everywhere, and they are especially beautiful after sunset, when the streets take on an entirely different character and the coloured light reflects off the river in a way that explains, almost immediately, why Hoi An turns up in so many photographs. It is genuinely lovely.
There is, I will admit, a slight problem. After the first hundred or so lanterns, you may well find yourself photographing exactly the same lantern in slightly different lighting, purely out of habit. Other photographers will understand completely. Everyone else will simply wonder what on earth you are doing crouched by a shopfront for the third time in an hour.
Get There Before Everyone Else Wakes Up
If I have one genuinely important tip for Hoi An, it is this: get into the Old Town early. The streets are much quieter, the temperature is still bearable, the light is better for photographs, and you can actually see the buildings without several hundred people standing in front of them. Later in the day the tour groups arrive in earnest, and by evening the lanterns come on and the atmosphere changes again, in a good way, but a different way.
Early morning Hoi An, with locals quietly starting their day and the streets more or less to yourself, is probably one of the best experiences the town has to offer. Get your wandering done before everyone else wakes up and remembers they are tourists.
The Food Situation, Which Is Very Good Indeed
Hoi An is genuinely excellent for food. Cao lau noodles are a local speciality worth trying largely because you are actually in Hoi An, which is considerably more convincing than eating the same dish somewhere else entirely. Banh mi, meanwhile, makes an excellent cheap lunch while wandering, and between the street food, the small restaurants and the cafes on every corner, you are never more than a few minutes from something cheap, filling and genuinely delicious.
It is an excellent destination for solo dining too. You can sit alone without feeling remotely awkward about it, and there is no need for anything formal unless you particularly want it. Food here is part of the experience rather than simply something to slot in between attractions.
Coffee as a Way of Life
Coffee shops are everywhere in Hoi An, and most of them are cosy and relaxed in a way that suits solo travellers particularly well. It is easy to sit alone and watch the world go by, and coffee becomes a good way to escape the heat and, just as importantly for an introvert, a good way to escape people for a while too.
Hoi An lends itself to slow travel, and coffee tends to become part of the itinerary rather than a break from it. Occasionally, if I am honest, coffee simply becomes the itinerary.
An Bang Beach, for When You Have Had Enough Culture
An Bang Beach is an easy escape from the Old Town and a good place to spend a slower day. Sit by the sea, swim, have some fresh seafood, and enjoy the contrast with the historic centre. You could easily spend several hours there doing absolutely nothing, which is sometimes exactly what a holiday is supposed to be for. If beaches generally leave you weighing solitude against sunburn, my beach guide for introverts covers the calculation in more detail.
It is a particularly good option for mature solo travellers who do not want every day packed with sightseeing. Take a book, find somewhere comfortable, and let everyone else rush around trying to see the entire town in one afternoon.
Cooking Classes and Other Painless Ways to Meet People
A cooking class is an excellent solo activity in Hoi An, and I would recommend one without much hesitation. Classes are usually run in small groups, often include a visit to a local market, and give you a proper introduction to Vietnamese ingredients before you cook the food yourself. It is a good combination of activity, food and social interaction, and about as painless a way to meet people as travel offers. For a longer, fully guided option built around the same low-pressure socialising, I reviewed a small-group Vietnam tour worth a look.
For an introvert, the appeal is fairly specific. Nobody has to open with the terrifying question, “so, where are you from”, because you are already discussing food. It is a far easier way in, and one of several reasons Hoi An is noticeably easier for socialising than some of Vietnam’s larger cities. Cooking classes, small-group tours, food tours and cafes all provide natural opportunities to meet people without forcing yourself into anything. You can be sociable for a few hours and then disappear again, which is, frankly, the perfect arrangement.
My Son Sanctuary, a Half-Day Away From Yourself
Just outside Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary makes a good half-day excursion and is best visited in the morning. The ancient temple ruins belong to the historic Champa civilisation, and the contrast with Hoi An’s own Chinese and Japanese influences is genuinely interesting if you have any appetite for history or photography. A half-day trip means you can explore in the morning and still have plenty of time back in Hoi An in the afternoon, and I would generally recommend taking an organised tour (paid link) or a similar day trip booking (paid link) rather than overcomplicating the transport yourself.
Getting Around
The Old Town is very walkable, and that is one of Hoi An’s biggest advantages over almost anywhere else in Vietnam. For trips outside the centre, Grab is genuinely useful, whether that means a car or, for those feeling brave, a motorbike taxi. Fares are cheap compared with most Western destinations, and downloading Grab before you arrive avoids the entirely unnecessary business of arguing over taxi prices. Let the technology do the negotiating. It is considerably easier.
Where to Stay
There are two obvious options in Hoi An: near the Old Town, or near An Bang Beach. The Old Town is best if you want easy access to sightseeing, restaurants, cafes and the lanterns, all on foot. An Bang suits a slower pace, with more of a beach atmosphere and a quieter feel generally. For a first visit, staying near the Old Town probably makes the most sense, since it is easy to return to the hotel during the day, which becomes rather useful once you are over 50 and realise that “just one more attraction” is often how an enjoyable day ends in complete exhaustion.
For anyone looking for well-regarded options, La Siesta Hoi An Resort and Spa is a top-tier boutique resort just outside the Old Town known for exceptional, personalised hospitality and lush grounds. Little Riverside Hoi An is an intimate, upscale riverside hotel with a rooftop pool and easy walking access to the historic centre. Hoi An Chic in Cam Chau is a small eco-boutique hotel overlooking rice paddies, better suited to a relaxed, nature-focused stay. I have researched all three rather than stayed in them personally, but they come well recommended and are worth a look via Agoda (paid link), and if you are weighing up booking platforms I have compared Agoda and Booking.com here, or Trip.com (paid link).
Getting There and the Practical Basics
Hoi An has no airport of its own; the nearest is Da Nang, roughly 30-45 minutes away by taxi or Grab, with regular domestic connections from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and a growing number of international routes. British passport holders can currently enter Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days, though it is always worth checking current requirements before booking, since these things do have a habit of changing. A local eSIM through Airalo (paid link) is the easiest way to get connected on arrival, and I have reviewed it in full if you want the details, and if you plan to continue on from Hoi An by train, 12Go (paid link) covers most of the onward routes worth knowing about.
A Few Things Worth Keeping in Mind
Hoi An can become very touristy, and the Old Town does get crowded, with some of the more popular streets feeling more like an attraction than a working neighbourhood. Early mornings solve most of this, as already mentioned. Heat can still be an issue too, so take breaks, avoid walking everywhere during the hottest part of the day, and pack comfortable shoes, a hat and plenty of water. My packing guide for Vietnam goes into the full list. Coffee helps. More coffee helps further. A tactical nap in the early afternoon is not admitting defeat, whatever your younger self might think.
Why It Works Particularly Well If You Are Over 50
Easy walking, a calm atmosphere, plenty of cafes, excellent food, and history built into the streets rather than locked behind museum glass. It is easy to take your time here, easy to spend a day without a rigid schedule, and there are plenty of optional social activities if you want them, and none at all if you do not. The combination of culture and relaxation suits Hoi An particularly well, and none of it requires the energy levels of a 22 year old backpacker who has apparently decided sleep is optional. You can explore in the morning, have lunch, sit somewhere cool for a while, and go back out later. Nobody is keeping score.
Would I Recommend Hoi An?
Without much hesitation. It is safe, walkable, beautiful and historic, with excellent food and enough optional social activity that you can meet people without ever having to become excessively sociable about it. The Old Town provides the culture, An Bang provides the beach, the cafes provide somewhere to hide when you have had quite enough of humanity for one afternoon, and the early mornings provide the peace that makes the rest of it bearable.
Hoi An does not really feel like a city you need to conquer. It feels like somewhere you simply wander through. You walk, you eat, you drink coffee, you photograph a lantern you have almost certainly already photographed. You eat again. Eventually you realise you have spent three hours doing absolutely nothing, and somehow it still feels like a rather productive day.
A note on how I write: Every trip starts with a journal, filled in wherever I happen to be; on a bus, plane, train, or in a backstreet cafe that has clearly seen better days. It’s not tidy, and it’s not always legible even to me. When I get the time, I use AI to help turn those notes into something readable, organising drafts and occasionally rescuing a sentence that has wandered off without me. The experiences, the perspective, the humour and every editorial decision remain entirely mine. As for the photos, I’m not remotely fond of having my picture taken, family portraits included, so I also use AI to help visualise the places and moments I write about.
