🇻🇳Hoi An for Digital Nomads
Vietnam · Small, pretty, cheap
Photo: Daniel Klein / Unsplash
Costs
from €946/mo
Wifi
35Mbps
Mild months
3of 12
Safety
—
no data yet
Overall
4.7
Hoi An at a glance
Hoi An is the small option done right: a lantern-lit UNESCO old town where daily life moves by bicycle between rice paddies and An Bang beach, on Vietnam's gentle price arithmetic8 (source: World Bank — price level of household consumption, US = 100 — national figure 28.9). The café economy is real for the size — 315 cafés mapped within 15 km4 (source: OpenStreetMap — July 2026, within 15 km) — and the measured internet runs a workable 35.4 Mbps median download5 (source: M-Lab — median download speed).
The scale sets the terms. Services stay village-sized (the hospital run is Da Nang, 24 km up the coast, where the major airport also sits6 (source: OurAirports — distance to the nearest major airport)), day-trip crowds flood the old town's core hours, and the autumn brings genuine flooding — the Thu Bồn river enters the streets most years, a rhythm locals plan around with boats and shrugs. Visa maths is Vietnam's: 45 free days for most EU passports11 (source: Government sources — checked 2026-07-29), e-visas for the rest, no nomad route.
It suits you if you want beauty at bicycle speed, a beach-and-paddy routine, and a first Asia base with training wheels. It suits you less if you need depth — of scene, of services, of anonymity — or an October without wet feet.
What works
Living in Hoi An
Neighbourhoods, finding a place and getting around — the practical layer the data tiles below cannot carry. Working, money, people and time off live in their own sections.
Where to stay
The choice is concentric: the Old Town itself is for atmosphere-first stays (and their acoustics); Cẩm Châu's paddy-edge lanes hold the homestay-villa sweet spot between town and sea; An Bang puts the beach at your door with a village of its own; Cẩm Thanh's coconut-palm waterways are the quiet extreme. Everything is fifteen bicycle minutes from everything — the decision is view, not logistics.
Finding a place
Homestays and small villas dominate, found through the local Facebook groups and by the time-honoured method of cycling around and asking — monthly rates drop far below the nightly ones, and long-stayers negotiate directly with families. Check flood history for ground floors (locals answer precisely), mosquito screening, and the wifi under load.
Getting around
Bicycles are the town's true tempo; scooters extend range to Da Nang and the hills. Taxis and Grab cover rain days. The old town pedestrianises through the evening hours, which is both its charm and your detour.
Cost of living
#9of 101 destinations
€946–€1,045/mo
a coliving room to a place of your own, plus everyday spending
What a month actually costs, as a range — housing you can verify, everyday spending modelled from national price levels, and every line labelled with which it is.
Money
Cash and local QR for the market and street kitchens; cards in the tourist tier. Tailoring — the town's famous industry — negotiates warmly, and everything else stays gentle. ATMs cluster near the old town edges.
- Coliving room
- €693
- Food, groceries and eating outmodelled
- €160 – €226
- Local transportmodelled
- €12 – €17
- Leisuremodelled
- €65 – €92
- Mobile data
- €17
- Coworking deskadd-on, not in the range
- €163/mo7 (source: Published prices — Hub Hoi An, "1 Month Membership" regular-season flex-desk with 24/7 access (185 USD), Published verbatim: "1 Month Membership / $185/mo regular / $175/mo early / VND 4.600 mil", described as "The classic full 1 month membership, 24/7 premium coworking & lots of community"; the page footnotes "* All $ prices refer to USD", which is what carries this row across the ECB fence. It IS a hot desk: the operator FAQ states "Our desks are all flex desks (hot desks) as a default, but for a fee of USD 40, you can have your own dedicated fixed desk". SEASON: the page has a Peak (Jan-Apr) / Regular (May-Dec) toggle and $185 is the regular-season figure, the band containing the check date. Longer commitments are cheaper per month (2 months $175, 3 months $150). Excluded: day pass $13, 1 week $65, 2 weeks $115, 3 weeks $155, Community+ $60, Nightshift $92.50. Sole operator, no median — consistent with our OSM sweep finding exactly one coworking space within 15 km. Read from the operator's own booking system; the table is a JS widget invisible to a plain fetch. No VAT statement., checked 2026-07-30)
Spot prices: coliving room €693/mo7 (source: Published prices — Hub Hoi An coliving, cheapest private room ("G. Floor Pool Room"), 1-month rate, single occupancy (789 USD), Published verbatim: "G. Floor Pool Room" -> "1 Month" "$789/1 p" ($999 for 2 people). Full private-room matrix at the 1-month tenor: G. Floor Pool Room $789, Standard Rooms $849, Best View Rooms $989. Dorm bed ($449) excluded as not private; shorter tenors (3 weeks $699, 2 weeks $549, 1 week $349) are not monthly rates and were ignored. BUNDLE, as at Ubud: the rate includes electricity, internet, water, weekly room service, airport pickup, shared kitchen/pool/bicycles AND a full coworking membership (which the same operator sells standalone at $185/month) — the same shape as the stored Ubud figure, whose operator likewise states "incl. free coworking", so the two remain comparable. Two caveats: the block is headed "Introductory Pricing" and the operator states that from June to August a "Nomad Summer program" constrains bookings to start on the 1st or 15th, so this is promotional, date-constrained pricing; and a 3-month commitment drops the same room to $679/month. Coliving house is ~900 m from the coworking. No VAT statement., checked 2026-07-30) · 3-star hotel €23/night7 (source: Published prices — Booking.com, 3-star Hoi An, night 12-13 Aug 2026, 2 adults, Filter state verified on-page ("3 stars 114" checked, header "Hoi An: 114 properties found"). Median of the first 3 listed, each "Includes taxes and charges" and — unlike the Da Nang search — each a conventional private hotel room: NA Hoian Hotel EUR 23 (Double Room with Terrace), Nam An Mama Villa EUR 21 (Superior Queen, breakfast included), Hoi An Ivy Hotel EUR 23 (Double or Twin, city view). Ordering shuffles slightly between loads (a second load replaced card 3 with Uptown Hoi An Hotel & Spa at EUR 35) but the median was EUR 23 on both. Searched separately from Da Nang; no price carried between the two baskets., checked 2026-07-30) · café latte €1.867 (source: Published prices — Phuc Long, "Ca phe Latte" (size M) — the chain's own official menu; Hoi An store confirmed at 111 Tran Hung Dao (55,000 VND), National list price from the chain's own online menu, not a delivery platform. Same category page: Ca phe Cappuccino (L) 65.000, Ca Phe Sua Kem Silky (L) 65.000, Phin Sua Da (M) 39.000 — note the latte is quoted in size M and the cappuccino in size L. Hoi An presence verified in the operator's own store list; that table files it under Da Nang because Hoi An became a ward of Da Nang city in the 2025 merger, which is administrative rather than a location error., checked 2026-07-30. Converted at the Vietcombank rate for 2026-07-30 ("Transfer" (chuyển khoản) rate for EUR from Vietcombank's published daily rate feed, timestamped 30/07/2026 21:08 — the non-cash rate, which is what a card payment or bank transfer realises. Vietnam's largest bank by FX turnover and the country's reference quote. The State Bank of Vietnam's "tỷ giá trung tâm" of 25,320/USD for the same day is a policy anchor, not a transactable quote, and is not used.). ⚠️ A transfer rate, not a cash rate. Vietcombank the same day: EUR buy 29,327.47 / transfer 29,623.71 / sell 30,873.62 — so changing EUR cash realises the buy side, about 1.0% below this figure, and buying EUR back costs the sell side. Converting at the SBV central rate instead, as this entry did until 2026-07-30, read 2.7% dearer than the market.) · Big Mac €2.517 (source: Published prices — The Economist Big Mac Index, national average (76,000 VND = 2.89 USD), July 2026 release — data CC BY 4.0)
Work
#62of 103 destinations
35Mbps
median download, measured in the city
Connection, desks and whether a day here meets yours — the three things that decide whether you can do your job from this city.
Working from here
A handful of work-friendly cafés and small cowork corners serve the town, with the villa desk as the standard office and 4G backup as the insurance layer. The time zone flatters European afternoons. The deeper adjustment is social: the town is small enough that focus requires intent — the beach is always ten minutes away, arguing.
Internet
Coliving & coworking
- Coworking spaces mapped
- 14 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Cafés mapped
- 3154 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
Time zones
Workday overlap with Europe
2 of 8 h1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — Nomadbase overlap of a 09:00-17:00 day against Open-Meteo time zone (Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh), standard time; Europe reference UTC+1)
Workday overlap with US East
0 of 8 h1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — Nomadbase overlap of a 09:00-17:00 day against Open-Meteo time zone (Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh), standard time; US East reference UTC-5)
Overlap is the hours a 09:00–17:00 day here meets a 09:00–17:00 day there, at standard time.
Climate & air
#86of 103 destinations
3of 12
mild months — felt temperature between 18 and 27 °C
Month by month, not as one annual average. 18–27 °C is the range where being outside feels good — we count how much of the year sits inside it.
Seasons
The good run is roughly February to August: dry building to hot, the sea calm, the paddies cycling through green and gold. September to January is the wet arc — the flood window at its centre, cooler grey stretches after — with the town's lantern glow doing its best work on rainy evenings. The tailor-made month is spring; the honest advice for autumn is flexibility.
Tap a month for details.
feels-like monthly mean · ticks = rain days1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — 2025 monthly means (felt temperature, rain-day share, cloud share))
comfortable & clearcomfortable, wetter/greyeroutside the 18–27 °C band
- Dry days a year
- 128 days/year1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — 2025 full-year count)
- Cloud cover, annual mean
- 79%1 (source: Copernicus ERA5 — 2025 annual average)
Air quality — PM2.5, recent median
17.3 µg/m³ · poor3 (source: Copernicus CAMS — modelled 30-day mean)
The climate score is built from that band plus rain and cloud cover, month by month — so a hot summer costs a destination points rather than earning them.
Safety & everyday life
#94of 103 destinations
7.1/ 10
women's safety — Georgetown WPS index, country level
Country-level indicators — a practical baseline for the whole country, not the vibe of one neighbourhood. Community reports refine this picture over time.
Staying safe
Petty risk is low and violent risk lower; the ledger here is environmental. The roads: evening scooter traffic without lights on the beach lanes. The sea: seasonal rips at An Bang that the flag system and lifeguards mark — swim where they say. The water: the autumn floods are the town's serious season, announced days ahead and managed with local calm — follow the family's lead, move what matters upstairs, and treat the boats-in-streets days as the cultural experience they weirdly are.
- Homicide rate, national
- not measured yet
- Hospitals & clinics
- ≈ 3.5 / 100k4 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Pharmacies
- ≈ 6.6 / 100k4 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
Safety for women
7.1 / 10
Georgetown WPS index — inclusion, justice and security, country level
16 mapped within 15 km
30 mapped within 15 km
Getting by in English
4.0 / 10
moderate English proficiency
LGBTQ+ legal position · Vietnam9 (source: Nomadbase country research — checked 2026-07-29)
4.0 / 10- Same-sex relationshipsLegal
- Partnership recognitionNone
- Employment protectionsNo
- Legal gender changeNot possible
Never criminalised and increasingly tolerant in urban areas; a 2014 law removed the ban on same-sex weddings but grants no legal recognition. The 2015 Civil Code recognises a right to gender change after reassignment, but the implementing Gender Affirmation Law is still pending, so marker changes remain largely unobtainable in practice.
Tap water · Vietnam9 (source: Nomadbase country research — checked 2026-07-29)
1.0 / 10Unsafe
Bottled advised
Mostly fine
Drink the tap
Not safe without treatment
Tap water is not potable anywhere, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; locals boil it and visitors should use bottled or filtered water.
Getting there & staying
#98of 103 destinations
45 days
visa-free on an EU passport · set in Your setup
How you get in, how long you may stay, and what it takes to run a business from here.
Visa & entry requirements
Most EU passports get 45 days visa-free — guaranteed until 2028 under two government resolutions — while US, Canadian and Australian passports need the 90-day e-visa (US$25). There is no nomad visa; the much-hyped 10-year golden visa was still only a draft as of spring 2026.11 (source: Government sources — checked against the official source on July 29, 2026)
How long you can stay
- 45 days visa-free for 13 unilaterally exempt nationalities — Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Japan, South Korea — locked in until 14 March 2028 (Resolution 44/NQ-CP).
- Another 12 European countries — Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Czechia, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia (tourism entries) — get 45 days until 14 August 2028 under the tourism-stimulus Resolution 229/NQ-CP.
- Everyone else — including US, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Portugal — needs the e-visa: open to all nationalities, 90 days per stay, single (US$25) or multiple entry (US$50), issued online in a few working days. Entry points expanded to 83 in late 2025.
- Back-to-back exempt entries and visa runs are common and rarely blocked, but nothing in the rules guarantees them — officers can question frequent returns.
Staying longer as a remote worker
- There is no digital-nomad visa and no legal remote-work status. Working online while on a tourist exemption or e-visa is the standard practice and a genuine grey area — tolerated in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, never formally permitted.
- The realistic long-stay pattern is stringing 90-day multiple-entry e-visas together with border runs.
- ⚠️ Pending, not law: a 5-to-10-year "golden visa" for investors, talent and nomads has been proposed to the Prime Minister, but as of April 2026 it had no decree and no application channel. The only enacted long-term routes are DT investor visas, which require real capital in a Vietnamese company.
- A digital arrival card pilot started at Ho Chi Minh City airport on 15 April 2026 — expect more pre-arrival paperwork, not fewer checks.
Visa rules change frequently. This information was last checked on July 29, 2026. It is not legal advice — confirm before booking with the official source.
Flights
The nearest major airport — Da Nang International Airport — is 24 km6 (source: OurAirports — nearest major airport is Da Nang International Airport) out, with 2 airports6 (source: OurAirports — major and regional airports with scheduled service) within 100 km overall.
Company & banking
Setting up a company
4.0 / 10
partly remote · foreign ownership restricted · no real minimum capital · ~45 days to register
Opening an account
5.3 / 10
personal account difficult · business account straightforward · branch visit needed · limited EMI cover
Setting up, in practice
This changed on 1 March 2026: the Law on Investment 2025 introduced ERC-first incorporation, so a foreign investor now registers the company first and files the Investment Registration Certificate within 12 months — but may only run the investment project once the IRC is issued. Statutory times are 3 working days for the ERC and 15 for the IRC; realistically 6–10 weeks with document legalisation. No statutory minimum capital, though the authority assesses whether the stated capital fits the project.Banking, in practice
A registered company gets an account without much friction. Personal accounts for non-residents are hard, and the capital-contribution account for the foreign investment is a separate, mandatory thing that trips people up.Not legal or tax advice. Company law, fees and bank policy change without notice — confirm with the registry linked on each figure and with a local adviser before you act on any of it.
Going out
#70of 103 destinations
5.9/ 100
bars, pubs and clubs per 100 restaurants & cafés
Evenings, eating and what there is to do once the laptop closes.
Time off
Da Nang supplies city needs and the airport; Huế's imperial city is a train ride through the pass; the Chàm Islands snorkel trip runs in season from the town's own pier. My Sơn's ruins make the classic half-day, and the cooking classes double as the region's best souvenir. When more is needed, the whole Vietnamese ladder starts at Da Nang's departures board.
CafésClick the map to open it — 14 places mapped in Hoi An altogether.
- Bars, pubs and clubs
- 584 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Restaurants
- 6724 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Vegan-friendly places
- 564 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Vegetarian-friendly places
- 604 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
mapped within 15 km
mapped within 15 km — the base the shares below are measured against
5.7 per 100 restaurants & cafés
6.1 per 100 restaurants & cafés
Being active
#89of 103 destinations
8spots
gyms and yoga studios mapped in town
Gyms, studios and board sports in town, and the nature within reach — counted where counting is honest, shown as a badge where the map is too sparse to rank.
Staying active
The paddies are the gym floor: dawn cycling loops through Cẩm Châu and Trà Quế's herb gardens, beach runs on An Bang's firm sand, and the sea for laps in season. Small gyms cover the basics, yoga runs beachside and garden-side, and the Marble Mountains' stairs sit twenty minutes north for gradient. The Hải Vân pass is the region's cycling trophy for the ambitious.
In town
GymsClick the map to open it — 14 places mapped in Hoi An altogether.
- Gyms
- 84 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
- Yoga studios
- 04 (source: OpenStreetMap — within 15km)
mapped within 15 km — ≈ 1.8 / 100k
mapped within 15 km — ≈ 0.0 / 100k
Nature within reach
Community
Who is here, who is coming, and who has been. Counts only — never names.
Meeting people
The long-stay community is small, friendly and centred on a few cafés, the beach yoga mats and the coworking corners — a fortnight makes you a regular. The deeper network is the town's families: homestay life comes with dinners, weddings eventually, and an integration that bigger bases cannot sell. Da Nang's larger scene sits up the road when volume is wanted.
here now
arriving soon
have been
Nobody from the community has checked into Hoi An yet. If you are here, you would be the first.
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Places like Hoi An
The closest matches in the catalogue, measured across cost, climate, connection and safety — with the reason each one is here. Compare any of them against this page in one click.
How the scores work
Every score runs 0–10 and is comparative — where Hoi An lands across the catalogue, not a grade in isolation.
Cost
9.0#9 of 101 · 1 of 1 measured
What a month costs, from the cheapest way of living here to the dearest we can price.
A month runs €946–€1,045 and everyday spending is modelled from national price levels. Across the catalogue that ranks 9th of 101.
Public data 9.0
Work
4.5#62 of 103 · 2 of 2 measured
Connection, desks and whether the working day here meets yours.
Typical downloads run around 35 Mbps and 1 coworking spaces are mapped in town. Across the catalogue that ranks 62nd of 103.
Public data 3.6
Public data 5.3
Climate
4.6#86 of 103 · 1 of 1 measured
How the year feels outside, air quality included.
3 of the 12 months sit in the comfortable 18–27 °C range and air pollution is moderate (17.3 µg/m³ PM2.5, modelled — no station reports here). Across the catalogue that ranks 86th of 103.
Public data 4.6
Safety
3.6#94 of 103 · 5 of 6 measured
The country-level baseline: violence, healthcare, water, and who the law protects.
Women's safety scores 7.1/10 on the Georgetown index, 16 clinics and hospitals are mapped within reach and tap water is not drinkable. Across the catalogue that ranks 94th of 103.
Public data 1.2
Public data 7.1
Public data 1.0
Public data 4.0
Public data 4.0
Not measured here yet: safety.
Read the sectionGetting there
2.3#98 of 103 · 3 of 3 measured
Getting in, staying legally, and flying out again.
An EU passport gets 45 visa-free days, there is no long-stay route for remote work and the nearest major airport is 24 km from town. Across the catalogue that ranks 98th of 103.
Public data 1.3
Public data 2.6
Public data 4.6
Going out
3.9#70 of 103 · 4 of 4 measured
Evenings, eating and what there is to do when the laptop closes.
For every 100 restaurants and cafés there are 6 bars, pubs or clubs and 6 vegan-friendly places per 100 restaurants and cafés. Across the catalogue that ranks 70th of 103.
Public data 1.2
Public data 1.7
Public data 9.1
Public data 8.5
Being active
3.2#89 of 103 · 2 of 2 measured
Gyms and studios, board sports, and the nature within reach.
8 gyms and 0 yoga studios are mapped in town, 2 nature reserves and 0 hiking routes lie within 30 km and it sits on the coast. Across the catalogue that ranks 89th of 103.
Public data 1.8
Public data 4.6
Community
Nothing measured here yet
Members on the ground, chapters and events — our own data, not a proxy.
Not measured here yet: community.
Read the sectionSources
Every figure on this page carries the source it came from and the date it was measured. Where no source exists, the field is left empty rather than estimated.
- 1
Copernicus ERA5Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information
ECMWF’s ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Temperatures, rainfall, cloud cover and wind are daily values for the last complete calendar year.
- 2
Our own reading of ERA5 data, not a measurement: a month-by-month score for how comfortable the felt temperature is, damped for rain and cloud. The formula is published.
- 3
Copernicus CAMS© ECMWF/Copernicus
Modelled air quality, used only where no ground station exists. A 40km model cell, not a measurement on the corner — the page says which of the two you are looking at.
- 4
OpenStreetMapODbL
Community-mapped places: coworking, cafés, gyms and diet options within 15km. Counts are a floor rather than a census — coverage depends on local mappers.
- 5
M-LabCC BY-SA 4.0
Internet speed from real speed tests run by people in the city, aggregated over a seven-day window.
- 6
OurAirportsPublic domain
Airport locations and types. Distances are to the nearest major airport with scheduled service.
- 7
Prices read by hand from the operator’s or authority’s own published price list — a transit tariff, a coworking rate card, an eSIM store — on the date shown. Checked quarterly; the linked page is the source.
- 8
World BankCC BY 4.0
Price level of household consumption at market exchange rates (US = 100) — a national figure that anchors the cost score where no city-level source exists yet. It measures what arriving with foreign income feels like, which is why a weak currency lowers it.
- 9
Hand-maintained country tables for the LGBTQ+ legal position and tap-water safety, compiled from advocacy databases (ILGA World, Human Dignity Trust), national authorities and government travel advice, and scored with a published rubric. Country-level by nature — city reality can differ, which is what the practical note is for.
- 10
Resident population read by hand from the responsible census or statistics authority — the figure that turns a raw count of workspaces or cafés into a per-100k comparison. The unit is named next to the number, because it has to match the 15 km radius our amenity counts use: for a beach town that is a district, for a lake it is a group of municipios.
- 11
Government sources
Visa and entry rules come from the responsible authority for each country, linked in the visa section and re-checked by hand on the date shown.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to live in Hoi An per month?
Between €946 and €1,045 a month, housing and everyday spending together. Housing is a coliving room at €693. Everyday spending — food, local transport, leisure — is modelled from national price levels rather than measured in the city, so it is an indication and not a quote. A coworking desk is extra at €163. Every figure carries its source on the destination page.
How fast is the internet in Hoi An?
Median download speed is about 35.4 Mbps. Source: M-Lab median of 1,871 tests within 50 km, last 7 days.
What visa do I need for Hoi An?
Most EU passports get 45 days visa-free — guaranteed until 2028 under two government resolutions — while US, Canadian and Australian passports need the 90-day e-visa (US$25). There is no nomad visa; the much-hyped 10-year golden visa was still only a draft as of spring 2026. Last checked 2026-07-29. Always confirm with the official source before booking.
What is the weather like in Hoi An?
Winters average 22.3 °C and summers 29.9 °C. 3 of 12 months average a comfortable 18–27 °C (felt temperature). Source: Copernicus ERA5, 2025 annual average.
Can I work European or US hours from Hoi An?
A 09:00–17:00 working day in Hoi An overlaps 2 hours with Central European time and 0 hours with US Eastern time, at standard time.
Are there coworking spaces in Hoi An?
1 coworking spaces are mapped in Hoi An, plus 315 cafés to work from. Source: OpenStreetMap, within 15km. Counts are a floor, not a census — coverage depends on local mappers.
How do you get to Hoi An?
The nearest major airport is about 24 km away. 2 airports with scheduled service within 100 km. Source: OurAirports — nearest major airport is Da Nang International Airport.
Where Hoi An ranks
Last reviewed August 5, 2026. Every figure carries its own measurement date; hover a footnote for the source, or see the list above.