Hello everyone, welcome back to central Viet Nam. Today I will take you to a lovely little beach village about 4-5km outside of Hoi An Ancient Town. An Bang (pronounced on-bahng) is the perfect little escape for someone seeking natural beauty and a calm beachy vibe. The center of Hoi An, around the old town, can get quite crowded during many parts of the year, so when I visit the area, I will usually choose to stay in An Bang.
Despite being just a short bicycle or motorbike ride through the rice fields away from Hoi An’s bustling city center, the atmosphere here feels worlds apart. The roads here are much narrower, usually only accommodating a single car to pass at a time. Many of the small side roads around the beach won’t even be paved, progressing from gravel to sand the closer you get to the beach.
The architecture of the buildings in An Bang is quite different from the style you will find in near Hoi An’s ancient trading port. The buildings in Hoi An’s Ancient Town are much more traditional-looking and closely packed together. In An Bang, the style is more rustic and immersed in nature, with large gardens, lots of wood, bamboo, thatched roofs, and even open-air bathrooms.
This can often lead to interactions with local wildlife, especially lizards, spiders, frogs, and even snakes. I have personally seen all of these things while staying in An Bang, but with no problems, as they all mostly keep to themselves.
More than likely, you will meet a few dogs when you visit here. There are many wild dogs, as well as dogs of locals, that roam freely throughout the village. I have never had anything but positive experiences with the dogs here, but you should be careful about touching them since some of the wild ones will carry disease. That being said, dogs in Viet Nam are generally pretty shy around humans, and usually carry on with their business without acknowledging you.
Beach culture is kinda funny in this part of the world, as it is kinda flipped from that of the West. Here, the beach will be crowded with locals very early in the morning 5-7 am, with many swimming laps, dancing, or doing exercise. By 7 am, all of the locals have cleared out, and the beach becomes a ghost town until foreigners wake up and go. Any Vietnamese who comes to the beach during the sunny part of the day will likely be completely covered by hats, long sleeves, and masks, usually to serve drinks or sell things. Most Vietnamese will try to avoid the sun as much as they can during the day, but once the sun comes down a bit, many will come back to the beach.
Around sunset, it is common to hear music, either from one of the local beach bars or from some nearby karaoke. The beach stays shallow for a while, so the water is usually pretty warm and easy to manage for weak swimmers. Chairs are available for rent or typically provided along with the purchase of a drink.
This place has certainly gotten more popular with tourists over the years, but I always find a nice, quiet corner to rest and recharge whenever I visit.
I hope you enjoyed reading about An Bang Beach, a peaceful little village in Hoi An, on Viet Nam’s central coast.
All photos are my own. Have a nice day.
