Our Trip
In December of 2009 after visiting Luang Prabang and Hanoi we took a sleeper train to the coast of the South China Sea to stay in Hoi An and enjoy some relaxing beach time.
First of all let me say the sleeper train was the perfect method of travel from Hanoi to Hoi An. We made sure to book the Livitran Express train because we read it was the cleanest and most comfortable. When we boarded the train we received complimentary tea and bread and they also had a cart with snacks and beer for purchase. All four of us slept in one cabin on bunk beds. Sean and Sophie loved sleeping on top. The train left Hanoi at 7:00pm so we slept most of the way. The scenery is the prettiest the last three hours of the ride and it is amazing. The only drawback is that there was only one bathroom per car. I think one night on the sleeper train is enough for this reason. The whole family enjoyed this and we would recommend it to anyone tired of spending hours in airports.
We arrived in Hoi An at lunch time and drove ½ hour to our hotel. We stayed at the Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort and Spa. We had the Junior Suite which allowed all of us to share the same room and included one refill of the mini-bar, 1 cocktail per day per adult and 4 pieces of laundry per day. Breakfast was also included in the room and it was decent. I loved the café su dat which is Vietnamese coffee and sweetened condensed milk over ice. By the way, Vietnamese coffee is outstanding; make sure to try some if you go. I probably had like 5 cups a day and I’m a tea drinker! Our room had a large deck overlooking the beach one king size bed, one twin and a mattress on the floor for Sophie.
All in all Hoi An is a great place to visit before it gets too touristy. The city is small enough you don’t need a driver and the shopping is fabulous. Hoi An is the land of tailors. We all had shoes and clothes made overnight to fit us at amazing prices. Those people work fast!The beach was raked every morning by water buffalo and was one of the cleanest beaches we’ve visited. (insert pic) We still have South Vietnam to explore but ran out of time this trip. We need to go back to see Saigon sometime and visit all the war museums. Maybe next year….
Fun Facts &Tips
Hoi An has a population of 80,000 people Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa is located on south China Beach (many battles were fought just north of here in DaNang during the Vietnam war). When we visited in 2009 there were only a few hotels but many resorts were in the process of being built. Five years from now it’s going to look completely different.
Since it was rainy season, I’d planned on going to a lot of places to see interesting things but the weather was beautiful, and, after Laos, Hanoi, Halong Bay and the sleeper train we all just wanted to chill. We did make it into town a couple times which turned out to be very interesting. There are lots of great things to do there if the beach gets old, below I’ve listed a couple we were interested in:
My Son to see the ruins of religious monuments of the sacred Cham city much like a mini Angkor Wat.
Marble Mountain to see temples and caves used during the war.
Miscellaneous Pics:
Welcome to Hoi An, Vietnam
Livitran Sleeper Train.
Victoria Hotel pool and beach.
We especially liked the outdoor shower. At first I was a little skeptical taking my showers with the bugs and lizards etc. but it turns out I didn’t see anything. I guess the little critters are good at hiding. It was our own private shower and had walls just didn’t have a ceiling. When we took our showers at night while we were looking at the stars.
