Central Vietnam

After spending 5 days in North Vietnam, we thought it couldn’t be topped, but we enjoyed Hoi An in central Vietnam just as much. We took a motorbike tour of the countryside and enjoyed a coconut boat ride. We had a driver take us on a day trip to explore the ancient My Son ruins and the sanctuaries in Marble mountain.

HOI AN GOLDEN HOLIDAY HOTEL AND SPA

We got pampered at our nice 4 star hotel (rooms were only $50/night) where we got massages (only $18/hour), a swim pool, and a huge buffet breakfast every morning which included freshly made fruit crepes.

 

HOI AN ANCIENT QUARTER

Old Town Hoi An has a special charm with its yellow buildings and lantern lit streets. We learned about various traditional handicrafts and took a lantern making class.

We loved the Morning Glory restaurant. We loved it so much that we ate there twice. 

We took a fun lantern making class.

COCONUT BOAT RIDES

MY SON SANCTUARY

MARBLE MOUNTAIN

It was hot, but it was nice to re hydrate with a coconut.

LANTERNS

TAILOR SHOPS!

We visited the tailors for some custom clothing. It was nice get clothes to fit perfectly.

Brooklyn and Audrey got their own ao dai too!

MOTORBIKE TOUR 

We took a nice motorbike tour of the countryside.

We visited a boatmaker

We visited a wood carving shop

We visited the beach

We also learned about traditional rice farming and fishing

Visiting a water buffalo up close

Tra Que Organic Vegetable Village

MORE HOI AN PICTURES 

LANTERN RELEASE

We took a boat out at night to release paper lanterns on the water.

DRIVE TO HUE

We drove from Hoi An to Hue, stopping at the Lang Co and My Khe beaches on the way (we definitely want to come back to have a Vietnam beach vacation). We also drove through the gorgeous Hai Van pass and stopped at the Lap An Lagoon.

Lang Co Beach

Dragon bridge

Hai Van Pass

My Khe Beach

Lap An Lagoon

HUE

 The next day we explored a village where we learned how to make incense, and then visited the impressive tombs of Emperor Tu Duc and King Khai Dinh. Last, we visited the imperial citadel and palace dating back to when Hue was the capital city in the 19th and early 20th century.

We have found that the traditional non la to be the best hat in the heat. It provides shade while letting the breeze cool your head. 

Brooklyn enjoying her daily banh mi chay. 

In Hue we took a dragon boat ride on the Perfume river to the Thien Mu pagoda.

INCENSE VILLAGE

We learned how to make incense while visiting the village.

DONG BA MARKET

TOMBS OF EMPEROR TU AND KING KHAI DINH

IMPERIAL CITADEL AND PALACE

We visited the imperial citadel and palace dating back to when Hue was the capital city in the 19th and early 20th century.