Hoi An

Train

The nearest train station is in Da Nang. Heading to Hoi An, you won't have any trouble catching a xe om willing to take you to Hoi An -- if anything, you'll likely have to fend off willing drivers. Expect to pay around $5, including a stop at the Marble Mountains on the way.

Bus

There is a bus station in town -- on Nguyen Tat Thanh at the corner of Le Hong Phong. One might assume, as we did, that you can save big by catching a regular bus rather than booking something in town. But we learned otherwise. There are departures from this station to the north and south, especially Da Nang, which costs locals 10,000 VND and foreigners 20,000 VND. But by the time you factor in a ride to the bus station, the fact that these are packed local buses that take two hours to cover 35km, that tour buses pick you up at the hotel, cost only US$3 and take just 40 minutes -- the beaten path suddenly becomes the most attractive way to go.

Some sample Open Tour tickets:

Da Lat: takes 18 hours and costs US$15
Da Nang: takes 45 minutes and costs US$3
Hue: takes 5.5 hours and costs US$7
Mui Ne: takes 17 hours and costs US$15
Nha Trang: takes 12 hours and costs US$10
Qui Nhon: takes 6 hours and costs $7
Saigon: takes 21-22 hours (depending on via Mui Ne or Da Lat) and costs US$18

Through buses to Laos are also available:
Savannakhet: US$21
Vientiane: US$22

If you're headed elsewhere than the major destinations, you can get the Open Tour bus to drop you off, but the arrival times may be in the middle of the night. To catch a regular bus, you'll need to get to the nearest town along Highway 1A, Vinh Dien, 10km away. You can reach it by heading west out of Hoi An on Hung Vuong. There is no bus service to the town from Hoi An, but a xe om should cost 20,000 VND. From there, you have to stand by the road and flag down a south-bound bus for most alternate destinations. Otherwise, just head to Da Nang and get the bus where you want to go from there.

You can also get a motorcycle to Da Nang for around US$5.

Getting Around

Hoi An is small enough that you can hoof it around the Heritage Town without difficulty, and even if you're staying up on Hai Ba Trung, it's only a kilometre walk into town itself. Bicycle rentals make life a bit easier a and extend your range -- cheap, too, at 10,000 VND per day. Many hotels simply throw in the use of a bicycle for free. There are so many motorbikes for rent, prices are good -- US$4 is pretty standard, but bargaining, especially if you need a bike for more than a day, will get you far. Be sure to check the bike out -- many are falling apart.

Xe Om to beach should cost 20-30,000 VND. Late at night you won't find a Xe Om, but there are always taxi's and any of the businesses will happily order you one, you need to make sure they run the meter and it costs about 100,000 VND to the town centre (in the day its about 70,000 VND). An Bang is nearer town than Cua Dai and you are less likely to get scammed from here and it's a million times better for late night eating and drinking. Cua Dai closes down at about 8-9pm while at An Bang there are at least four places which stay open until you decide you have had enough.

At Cua Dai you can ride right past the guard trying to get you to park and leave your bike at the restaurant on the beach you stop at for free. New laws are in place that if you take your bike on the beach it will be impounded. At An Bang you have to park your bike at one of the numerous bike parks, but they are almost on the beach, most will charge anything from 10,000-100,000VND (I kid you not) for parking, but if you go to the big one at the end on the left run by Huggy (he hugs everyone) he charges 2,000VND and if your bike and you are still there when he goes home he will bring it to you for free. It's not a great idea to ride a bicycle home in the dark (check the dynamo works, they rarely do). The bike parking laws on An Bang mean if you take your bike beyond the parking lots your bike will be impounded.