One-of-a-Kind Shopping in Hoi An

**CLICK HERE for special room rates, discounts and reservations on Hoi An Hotels**

Hoi An is that charming city in Vietnam that is known for its many artifacts and historic treasures. Its most popular attraction is the ruins of a sacred Hindu sanctuary called My Son, an entire valley of about 70 ancient towers. Besides My Son, Hoi An’s beaches and town center are also top tourism draws that could easily keep a tourist engaged and interested for an entire day. After sightseeing, touring and immersing into the history of this intriguing city, there will always be time to shop. Shopping in Hoi An is unlike anywhere else since the items and commodities for sale are only found in this part of the world

First on the shopping list is silk. Vietnam has always been known for its silk, and Hoi An is no exception. Walking around the tiny historic city you are sure to bump into clothes shops selling silk and all kinds of linens. A well-known silk shop is Adong Silk, which not only sells silk but is also a dress shop. Hoi An has well-known tailors that have satisfied hundreds of international customers with their custom-made dresses, blouses, pants and suits. Adong Silk has a number of tailors and staffers to make sure all customers are served well.

Then there is Ants Silk at Ba Trieu Street, which is also known both for its linens and tailors. The price here is very reasonable, but as a rule of thumb, bargaining or haggling is fine in all Hoi An shops. Ants Silk sell 100% authentic silk at discount price.

Another silk shop is the Cloth Market, which looks like a clothes warehouse. It is located near the Central Market.

Second are the tailors. There are about 400 clothes and tailor shops in Hoi An. That’s a lot considering that this is a small city. Good quality, custom-made suit costs about US$50 to US$100, dresses about US$20, skirts US$15 and shirts US$10. Paying lower could mean poorer quality cloth and un-expert-like workmanship. Again, bargaining is fine. An experienced shopper could haggle for a 15% discount. There’s technique to haggling, and often the seasoned buyer begins to ask for a 50% cut all the way down to a reasonable price both for the buyer and seller.

The leading tailor shops in Hoi An are Nhat Vy on Tran Hung Dao Street near Thien Trung Hotel, Elegant on Le Loi Street, and Mr. Xe’s shop on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street near Cargo Club. Mr. Xe is a popular figure in Hoi An and is known to be a very friendly, lively and detailed tailor.

Third, go shopping in Hoi An for authentic Vietnamese art. Vietnamese art is greatly influenced by the Chinese and French. It is therefore a dramatic mixture of East and West. Pieces of traditional and modern artworks are popularly sold in several galleries around town, the most famous of which are the galleries on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street near the Japanese Bridge.

Another form of distinguishable Vietnamese art is traditional pottery. Visitors to Hoi An normally bother to visit Thanh Ha Pottery Village about 2 km away from the city, just to buy a piece of unique and authentic Vietnamese pottery. They make for an interesting conversation piece in the West.

Finally, go shopping in Hoi An for all sorts of hand-crafted souvenir items at Reaching Out Store on Nguyen Thai Hoc, Central Market on Bach Dang Street, and NuNi on Tranhung Dao, just to mention a few.