A Guide To 5 Hoi An Beaches | Vietnam

If you’re heading to the Da Nang and Hoi An area, you may be wondering what the beaches of Hoi An are like. There are 2 ‘main’ beaches, with a couple of smaller ones between them. In this guide, I will share what you can expect! Especially if you were wondering the difference between Cua Dai and An Bang and which is the best beach in Hoi An!

Beaches of Hoi An

For the most part, the beaches have soft white sand and although the water doesn’t look ‘blue’ it is completely clear. One day I walked the length from Cua Dai to An Bang, which took me almost an hour. Beware of jellyfish too. During my visit in March, there were hundreds washed up on the beach and I saw several in the sea too. They are also MASSIVE.

From my research, the coastline between Da Nang and Hoi An was hit by the effects of 2020, among other things. There are businesses that are empty, and several developments that were started, but for various reasons, the projects were then abandoned. There’s also a lot of rubbish (and I saw a dead rat), so they aren’t exactly ‘idillic’ beaches, but there are sections that are OK.

Cua Dai

• Facilities:🚽🍽️⛱️
• ⭐️Pro: Quieter but still with facilities

Starting from the most southern Hoi An beach, Cua Dai is the first one you’ll come to. This is where my hotel was located (Hoi An Beach Resort) and despite people saying it’s not the ‘best beach in Hoi An’, personally I liked it.

The hotel I stayed at had a private section, so this may help my opinion. I was able to use sun loungers, umbrellas, and towels for free. There was also toilets and a beach bar. As a solo traveller, because it was tucked up a quiet end, I felt confident leaving my belongings unattended while in the water (with one eye always on there as usual!).

If you’re not staying at the Hoi An Beach Resort, there are bars and restaurants that offer the use of sun loungers if you buy food or drink. Alternatively, there’s plenty of space to lay down a towel.

For eating, personally, I ate slightly in land, going to Cua Dai Central Restaurant one day and Chien Kitchen Restaurant and Bar (they have the BEST spring rolls I have EVER eaten). There are also a selection of little supermarkets along the main road selling drinks and snacks.

Coconut Beach

• Facilities: 🍽️⛱️

Once you leave Cua Dai Beach it’s then part of the Cam An neighbourhood.

The next beach along is just a small little section called ‘Coconut Beach’. Here, a big part of the beach was scattered with coconut basket boats. These are the boats that are typical in the ‘Coconut Village’, a short drive away, that offer tourist rides (and is a fun experience). 

However, they are still used by fishermen, and during my visit I saw them going about their day-to-day activities of checking the fishing nets, etc.

There’s a small beach bar that serves food and drink, and some sun loungers and umbrellas, but there’s not much else along this stretch. This is probably the most ‘remote’ of the 5 of the beaches listed in this post.

There aren’t many access points to this area and it’s only surrounded by large plots of land, rather than lots of businesses.

Hidden Beach Hoi An

• Facilities: 🚽🚿🍽️⛱️👗

Hidden Beach is on a bit of a rocky outcrop, so if you are walking along the beaches, you will need to scale a bit of an incline! 

Here has sun loungers, a restaurant, toilets, showers, and even a clothes tailor, that you will see hundreds of in Hoi An! Being ‘hidden’, this section of the beach is quite quiet. If you purchase food and drink, use of the sun loungers is free.

The rocky area is unfortunately a bit of a rubbish trap (and this is also where I saw the dead rat). I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to visit this particular part of the beach, as it’s not the easiest to reach, but that’s just my opinion. The restaurant has some good reviews though.

It’s located at the end of a road with a handful of other restaurants and a couple of villas.

Tan Thanh

• Facilities: 🚽🍽️🍺⛱️🏄🏼‍♀️

Most people will say that the best beach in Hoi An is An Bang. It’s kinda split into two sections, Tan Thanh beach and the main An Bang beach. Personally, I liked the Tan Thanh end, just because it was a little more quieter. 

The An Bang stretch reminded me of Klong Dao Beach in Koh Lanta, Thailand…if Klong Dao got crowded and full of backpackers. (Klong Dao seemed to be mostly families and couples during my trip).

Here you’ll find a wide variety of beachfront bars and restaurants. They all advertise free sun loungers and umbrellas if you purchase food or drink. The sun loungers are on the beach (of course) but then there are stairs leading up to the main restaurant areas which have tables and chairs overlooking the beach.

I went to Sound of Silence coffee shop. It was very expensive in comparison to other coffee shops in Hoi An.

I bought a coconut coffee for 80k. It was probably the least coconutty coconut coffee I had while in Vietnam. It tasted like it was made just with coconut water rather than coconut milk. (I also went to a Vietnamese coffee-making workshop in Hoi An town, which I recommend!). The coffee was also served with a little cup of coconut water.

There were several power outlets attached to trees, if you were in need of somewhere to charge a phone.

For riverfront accommodation (that’s more budget-friendly than where I was staying in Cua Dai) Tan Thanh has some options. However most are located on the other side of the main road, approximately a 5 to 10-minute walk from the beach.

An Bang

• Facilities: 🚽🍽️🍺⛱️🏄🏼‍♀️🛍️🛟
• ⭐️Pro: More lively, lots of choice for places to eat and drink

The main An Bang Beach was similar to Tan Thanh, but with more people and more restaurants. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and I can see why people like it. But for me, I often like to relax, swim, read my book, etc when I go to the beach. If you are looking for that type of a beach experience, just be aware that there’s a lot going on!

There are also on-duty lifeguards along this section as it is the most popular area.

Just like the other sections of the beach, the bars advertise free use of the sun loungers and toilets if you buy a drink/food. Several companies also hire surfboards and bodyboards, starting for 30-minute rentals for 100k for a surfboard. The day I was in Da Nang, the surf was HUGE and it had red flags for swimming!

I went to Phuong’s Beach restaurant at the far end of An Bang. I had a passion fruit smoothie for 40k (fairly average price for a smoothie) and Cao Lau, a Hoi An specialty with noodles and pork for 70k. This was slightly more expensive than other Cao Lau noddles in the area, but then I guess you are paying for location. 

(Personally, my favourite Cao Lau was from BUP Cafe in the Old Town and that was only 35k. The food from Phuong’s was fine though and the views from the restaurant were nice!)

There’s a central area up on the road that is rammed with Grab drivers ready to shuttle people back to the Old Town. As well as parking for scooters/mopeds and bicycles. In this area, there is also a shop selling inflatables and beach toys, which is good for those travelling with children that may need additional entertainment!

Out of all the beachfront areas in Hoi An, An Bang Beach has the biggest selection of budget accommodation.

Final Words

If you’re looking at the best places to stay in Hoi An, I will have a whole guide comparing the beach area vs the Old Town. I stayed in the Old Town for 6 nights and at Cua Dai Beach for 3 nights, for me this was the perfect balance.

I do recommend staying at Hoi An Beach Resort, it is slightly more expensive though, and not particularly budget backpacker-friendly.

The nightly rate of the Hoi An Beach Resort was double what I was paying for a private room in Hoi An Old Town (and Da Nang). But if you can afford a bit of luxury for a few days, it is worth it, purely for the infinity pool that overlooks the river, and the private beachfront (with a relaxing atmosphere).

For those looking for a more lively beach atmosphere, An Bang would be perfect for that. It may also be the best choice for day trippers from the Old Town. 

Alternatively, there are also more budget-friendly accommodation options near An Bang Beach compared to Cua Dai!

A Grab taxi from Hoi An Old Town to Cua Dai Beach cost me 62k one way.

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Last Updated on May 23, 2025