Where to buy souvenirs in Hoian?

While I maintain that the best souvenirs are the ones you made yourself at a workshop, sometimes you just want to buy a small gift or simply don’t have the time to make something. Sadly nowadays many souvenir shops line the streets of the old town of Hoian selling plastic-imported-AI-generated-slop souvenirs. Here are shops I recommend you buy souvenirs in Hoian at instead.

Overview of where to buy souvenirs in Hoian

• Souvenir Shops in Hoian
• Workshops where you can make or buy souvenirs
• Museums where you can also buy souvenirs
• Map of where to buy souvenirs in Hoian

Souvenir Shops in Hoian

Art stamp Engrave shop

As the name suggests this shop specialises in carved stamps and engraved chopsticks. They have many different chopsticks you can choose from and engrave them with a name, or a date, or both. The stamps they sell are unique and are carved to the shape you like. I bought a stamp here that was carved based on a picture of my parents dog and it came out so well!

-> 1st picture in the gallery below

Mountain’s Color 3 Hoi An Handmade Shop

If Sapa is on your list or you already bought souvenirs there, skip this one. However if you are interested in handcrafted bookmarks, Sapa lanterns (different to Hoi An lanterns), wallets or even a backpack made from hemp – this is the place for you! They get most of their things from the ethnic minorities living in the mountains in northern Vietnam and have explanations on how most things in the store were made. Staff is very friendly, there are fixed prices on everything and no pressure to buy!

-> 2nd picture in the gallery below and post picture

Hart Hoi An

At Hart Hoi An you can find old tea sets, swaths of handwoven cloth and hand-loom-woven brocade as well as jewellery and upcycled home decor. Ideal if you want to avoid buying something entirely new when there is already so much stuff on this planet.

-> 3rd picture in the gallery below

La Kao Teahouse

At La Kao Teahouse you can’t just do a tea tasting or drink many different Vietnamese teas, they also sell teas for you to take home. I picked my favourite ones from their seasonal collection from their shelves on my tray and once I was done they packed it for me and wrote down instructions for all the teas.

-> 1st and 2nd picture in the gallery below

Reaching Out Teahouse

In the back of the Reaching Out Teahouse you can find a workshop where artisans with disabilities craft jewellery, while at the front you can buy take-away sizes of the handmade cookies they serve along their teas and coffees.

-> 3rd picture in the gallery below

FeFe Roastery

While there are many roasteries in Hoian the beans at FeFe Roastery were my favourite to bring home so far, so they get my recommendation for this years post. Here you can buy Vietnamese Coffee Beans, freshly roasted in Hoian.

Alluvia Chocolate House

At Alluvia Chocolate House in Hoian you can buy Vietnamese Chocolate. You can try the chocolates they sell by grabbing a small piece from their tasting boy with metal tongs. While the standard size is one bar of chocolate you can also pick and choose many different ones in smaller sizes to put into one of their truly beautiful present-boxes. The only problem? You’ll want to eat it long before you get home… My recommendations are the lime chocolate, the mango chocolate and the matcha-white-chocolate.

-> 1st picture in the gallery below

SOI handmade

At the store of SOI handmade you can buy handmade things from many different crafters. They got together one day and decided one shop would make more sense than if every single one of them had their own. Here you can find jewellery, crocheted things, embroidered clothing, soap and much more! And since they are close to one of the beaches of Hoian it’s a great stop on your way.

-> 2nd picture in the gallery below

Nightmarket

While a lot of stands at the Hoian nightmarket sell the same things (not just similar, but the exact same! DO NOT BUY THERE unless you want something mass produced), some places still sell handmade things. One of my favourite stands was one with hand-painted handheld fans. The best ones to buy are those where you can see the seller paint new ones right in front of you. There are stands with handpainted fans, handpainted pictures (calligraphy and watercolour), handpainted Hoian lanterns and handpainted conical hats.

-> 3rd picture in the gallery below

Workshops where you can make or buy souvenirs:

ECODENIM

Here they make new things from old jeans: Backpacks, wallets, fanny packs, etc. Inside the small shop you can browse their items, look at art they make from jean-scraps or even make your own if you are interested!

-> 1st picture in the gallery below

Lotus Leaf Fine Art and Jewellery

At Lotus Leaf Fine Art and Jewellery you can make your own ring, pendant or bracelet during a jewellery workshop or peruse their collection of silver jewellery with inlays of local materials and precious stones. In 2024 I made myself a ring at a workshop and in 2026 I bought I beautiful delicate Ginko Leaf necklace from this shop.

Jewellery

-> 2nd and 3rd picture in the gallery below

Taboo Bamboo Studio

While I made my own bamboo lamp at Taboo Bamboo Studio you can buy one from their store as well, with many designs to choose from and the possibility of ordering a custom one as well. Next to bamboo lamps they also sell bamboo jewellery boxes with engravings (I went with a lotus flower one), bamboo animal sculptures and many more things. Even if it is just to look around this place is well worth a visit!

-> 1st picture in the gallery below

Hop Handi

Embroidered notebooks, tote-tags, hairclips, wallets, mini-mirros and much more is sold at Hop Handy in Hoian. I did an embroidery workshop here and made my own notebook and ordered a custom one for a friend. Then I bought a green hairclip with an embroidered sunflower for my sister-in-law.

-> 2nd picture in the gallery below – picture by Hop Handy

Thanh Ha Pottery Village

In the Tanh Ha Pottery Village you will find many pottery shops, some at which you can do a pottery workshop and in general more than you can ever shop at. Some specialise in tableware like cups and plates, others in vases and decorations. Some sell whistles and others incense holders. When you like pottery you will find something here! My advice is to compare prices 😉

-> 3rd picture in the gallery below

Not just plastic

Not just plastic produces sunglasses from recycled plastic, which they collect in the greater Hoian area. They have different types of frames and lenses and you can try them on at their workshop space in Hoian. You can also learn about the process in more detail here if you’re interested.

-> 1st picture in the gallery below

Meadows Handmade Leather Workshop

At Meadows Handmade Leather Workshop (previously blue lotus leather) you can do a leather workshop and make your own thing, or buy one-of-a-kind leather wallets, leather purses, leather backpacks, leather weekender bags and more! They also make custom orders and have a streamlined process with check-in points to make sure you are getting exactly the piece you want.

-> 2nd picture in the gallery below – Picture by Meadows Handmade Leather Workshop

Experiential Carpentry Village

At the Experiential Carpentry Village on Cam Kim Island you can do a mini woodcarving workshop or buy handcarved wooden items. From bigger sculptures, like the Japanese temple bridge famous in Hoian, a Buddha statue or an animal carving, to small sculptures and carvings and even dishes and cutlery. I bought a small wooden elephant, because I love elephants.

-> 3rd picture in the gallery below

Nhang sạch Phố Hội

At Nhang sạch Phố Hội you can take part in an incense making workshop and buy several different types of incense and infused oils. I prefer their incense, because I can be sure it is made from high-quality natural ingredients, without any synthetic fragrances or chemical binders. And the agar-wood-infused-oil roll-on works wonders to keep my headaches in check, since it has a cooling effect when applied to the skin.

-> 1st and 2nd picture in the gallery below

Khu Dệt Chiếu Kim Bồng

At this traditional workshop you can learn how to make your own straw mat (I wrote about it in my post about Cam Kim island), or buy a woven straw mat, woven straw rug or woven straw tote bag.

-> 3rd picture in the gallery below – picture by them

Museums where you can also buy souvenirs:

Folk Museum

Inside the museum of folk culture in Hoian you can do a Calligraphy Workshop. If you don’t have time, or aren’t interested but still want to hand a beautiful piece of Vietnamese Calligraphy or traditional Vietnamese Watercolour Painting in your home you can buy them at the small gallery off the side of the inner courtyard.

-> 1st picture in the gallery below, you can see it behind the workshop group

Precious Heritage Museum

At the museum shop of the Precious Heritage Museum you can buy Photo Books about Vietnam with photographies by Réhahn, who is also the person behind the museum and everything inside. If a book is too much for you they also sell posters, postcards and high quality photograph-prints.

-> 2nd picture in the gallery below. You’ll find the museum shop is directly after entering the building, the museum begins behind it

CSO Gallery

As is the main focus of the CSO gallery it’s museum shop also offers ancient coins, stamps and books for sale, as well as memorabilia related to The Tale of Kiều.

-> 3rd picture in the gallery below, the museum shop is outside in the courtyard in a streetvendors cart on good-weather days and in the roofed section of the courtyard during rainy days

Map of where to buy souvenirs in Hoian

How to read the map: Light Purple are Shops where you can buy souvenirs in Hoian, dark purple are shops where you can buy edible or drinkable souvenirs in Hoian. Orange are workshops where you can make or buy souvenirs in Hoian and dark blue are museum shops where you can buy souvenirs in Hoian.