Black in Hoi An: Lanterns, Tailors and the Honest Guide (2026)
Hoi An is a preserved trading port with lanterns on every street, tailors on every corner, a beach a short ride away and the best food in Vietnam by weight. It is small, pretty and very touristy, and it is still worth it. This is a city page of our Vietnam guide.
What it is actually like
Sweet and commercial. Hoi An lives on visitors and treats every one the same; as a Black traveler you will be a novelty for the photographers on the bridge and no one else. The touts are persistent but polite. The community is tiny — a few nomads and retirees around An Bang beach — so this is a trip stop, not a base for long. Three nights is right.
Where to stay
Old town edge — walk into the lanterns at night, sleep somewhere quieter. Best for a first visit.
An Bang beach — the beach village 10 minutes away; cafés, homestays, the long-stay foreigners.
Cam Thanh / the rice fields — homestays between town and beach; bicycles and quiet.
Getting around
Bicycles inside town (many hotels lend them), Grab bikes to the beach, a car from Da Nang airport (45 minutes). The old town is closed to motor traffic in the evening.
Do these first
The old town at 6:30 a.m. when it is empty, and again at lantern time after 6 p.m.
A tailor: choose one with real reviews, allow two fittings, and pay a fair price — cheap suits fit like cheap suits.
Cao lau and white rose dumplings — the two dishes made only here.
A basket-boat trip through the coconut palms, and a cooking class that starts at the market.
Everything bookable in Hoi An — cooking classes, My Son ruins, lantern boat, Cham islands.
What it costs
Cheap to stay, cheap to eat, and the tailors are where people spend. A good made-to-measure suit costs a fraction of home; a rushed one is money wasted. Entry to the old town is a small ticket.
The three rules
Early and late in the old town; the beach in between. The tour buses own the middle of the day.
Two fittings minimum at the tailor. Never accept a same-day suit.
Book the Cham islands only in calm season (March to August); boats stop in the storms.
Book it
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Before you land
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