In short
A listed old town, pedestrian in the evening, surrounded by rice paddies and four kilometres from a beach. Hoi An is small, covered by bicycle, and lived slowly.
People come for a month and stay three. It is also the tailoring capital.
What it really costs
Rents are low, including for a house with a garden. Eating out costs less than cooking, which holds across Vietnam.
The budget derails at the fabric market: made-to-measure suits are cheap, and you always order more than planned.
When to go
February to May, dry and mild. From October to December the town takes regular flooding, sometimes up to the first floor.
June to August is very hot but workable if you live near the beach.
What nobody tells you
The town is saturated with tour groups during the day. Its beauty comes back early in the morning and after nine at night.
The floods are not anecdotal: they close businesses for days and cut the road to the beach.