The Ancient Town gets all the attention, and it deserves most of it. But at some point the heat off the lantern-lit streets gets to you, and you start looking for water. Hoi An’s beaches are about 4–5 km east of the old town, easy to reach by bicycle, scooter, or Grab. Each one has a different character. Here’s what to expect at each.

An Bang Beach: The Busiest One, for Good Reason

  • Distance from Ancient Town: ~4 km east, 10–15 min by scooter or Grab
  • Best time: Before 9am or after 3pm — midday gets crowded and hot
  • Sun lounger cost: 10,000–50,000 VND if you pay directly. Free all day if you order food or drinks from the attached restaurant.
  • Swimming: Generally safe, with roped-off zones and a lifeguard on duty
  • Water sports: Jet skis from ~600,000 VND (30 min). Parasailing from ~700,000 VND. Boogie board rentals ~80,000 VND
  • Parking: Official fee is 5,000 VND — some attendants try to charge 10,000 VND. You can wave them off.

An Bang is the most developed beach near Hoi An — not in a resort-complex way, but in a bars-and-basket-boats, live-music-on-weekends way. The sand is soft and the water is usually clear enough to see fish near the surface. I got there at 7:30am once and had a whole section of beach to myself. By 11am, every chair between here and the road was taken. The baseline noise at peak hours is beach bar music, vendor calls, and the occasional jet ski — not overwhelming, but not quiet either.

Tip

  • Soul Kitchen and Shore Club have live music most evenings
  • The DeckHouse is a reliable spot for food — good seafood, solid cocktails, and chairs on the sand
  • Walk south along the shoreline to find quieter sections with fewer vendors
  • Most restaurants along the main strip accept cards, but small local stalls are Cash only

Cua Dai Beach: Worth Knowing the Current Situation

  • Distance from Ancient Town: ~5 km, 10–15 min by scooter
  • Best time: Weekday mornings — weekends can bring moderate crowds
  • Access: Public beach, free entry. Resort sections have their own lounger setups.
  • Erosion status: Has faced serious erosion over the past decade. Restoration work completed around 2022. Some sandbanks still visible along the shore.

Cua Dai used to be the main beach near Hoi An before the erosion changed it. The sand here is finer than An Bang, and the water is calmer. It’s genuinely less busy. The seafood shacks still standing serve grilled ray with lemongrass and turmeric — a specific local dish worth trying if you’re here anyway. The beach is quieter now, partly because of the erosion, partly because An Bang absorbed most of the bar crowd years ago. That makes Cua Dai better for an afternoon swim and a slow meal, not for the beach-bar experience.

Tip

  • Check the current state of the sand before committing to a full day here — sections closest to the sea wall are the least appealing
  • Coconut trees still line the upper beach and provide decent natural shade in the afternoon

Hidden Beach: Between the Two, Quieter Than Both

  • Distance from Ancient Town: Between Cua Dai and An Bang — roughly 5 min by scooter from either
  • Access: Look for a narrow track off the main coastal road. Easy to find once you know it’s there.
  • Cost: Free entry. Basic restaurants and bars on the shoreline.
  • Crowd level: Low. Mostly locals and in-the-know expats.

The name is slightly misleading — Hidden Beach isn’t hard to find, just easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. The track off the main road is narrow, and there’s no signage pushing you toward it. Once you’re there, it’s a different pace. Bamboo basket boats sit in the sand. The restaurants are simple, The Food is cheap, and the beach itself is genuinely uncrowded. The water smelled of salt and low tide the afternoon I visited, and two men were sorting a net in the shallows. Nobody tried to sell me anything for the first twenty minutes.

Tip

  • Bring cash — no ATMs nearby and the small restaurants are Cash only
  • Works best mid-week. Some local families use it on weekends.
  • Free sun loungers at several restaurants if you order food

Binh Minh Beach: Come Before 7am or Not at All

  • Distance from Ancient Town: ~15–20 km south of Hoi An, 25–30 min by motorbike
  • Best time: Before sunrise. Dawn is the specific reason to come here.
  • Access: Via motorbike or taxi along the coastal route. No public bus.
  • Crowd level: Very low. Local fishing village. No tourist infrastructure to speak of.
  • Accommodation nearby: Bliss Hoi An Beach Resort, Vinpearl Resort & Golf Nam Hoi An

Binh Minh means “sunrise” in Vietnamese, and the name is the whole pitch. I got there at 5:40am and the fishing boats were already coming back in, engines low, lights off. The sky went from gray to orange over the East Sea in about eight minutes. Fishermen sorted their catch in the dark at the waterline, working fast and quietly. By 7am the light had flattened, the boats were docked, and the beach was just a beach again — nice enough, but the specific thing you came for was already done. Come for dawn. You can be back in Hoi An for breakfast.

Tip

  • Bring a jacket — it’s genuinely cool on the coast before sunrise
  • Go by scooter if you can. Grab taxis are available but harder to find heading back at 6am.
  • The beach has no lifeguards and currents can be strong — swimming here is for locals who know the water

Conclusion

The beaches near Hoi An are close together and easy to combine in a single day. An Bang is where you go if you want bars, food, and a social beach. Cua Dai is quieter but know what you’re walking into with the erosion. Hidden Beach is the one to choose if you want to sit in peace without paying for it. Binh Minh is a one-time sunrise trip, not a beach day. None of them require more than a 30-minute ride from the Ancient Town.