Hoi An local market in the Old Town is a visually stunning place to be in the mornings, when the locals are picking up their fresh vegetables, a staple of Vietnamese cuisine. Any visitor to Hoi An is bound to stumble upon the bustling riverside market in the Old Town. Get immersed in the area and if you love to shoot photos, you’ll have many things capture your attention.

woman selling vegetable

 

Hoi An Market in the early morning

Arrive before 7 am and you’ll witness some frantic wheeling and dealing of seafood down at the riverside wet market. The air is thick with the smells of fish while it teems with market-goers, predominantly women, clambering to score the best and most affordable fish, shellfish and mollusks to peddle at their tiny market stands.

The market is lively and conical hats are everywhere: the good, the bad and the ugly. It is full of sights, sounds, colors and smells. Everybody is busy doing something: selling, buying, hanging around, getting on and off the boat. It seems a sustainable industry and this similar scenes must have been repeated throughout the centuries, and by the time the sun is up the market is already at full swing.

Hoi An fish market situated on the bank of Thu Bon river, near the town centre.

Must try local food at Hoi An Market

Hoi An market is also famous for food. They’re popular with tourists because the prices are displayed, there are fans, and they don’t have to sit on miniscule stools. You can get delicious and cheap lunch at Hoi An market. You can find all local food and other type of food that is not in the restaurants like Chao (savoury rice porridge) and rice with your choice of dish (mix rice). All servings are quite small allowing space for more. The prices are advertised and foreigners don’t pay more than locals. Even with those not advertised, the prices are pretty standard 15-20,000 a bowl.

This video takes you around Hoi An market

You also can try our Hoi An Food Tour to visit Hoi An Market with our students