Hoi An Digital Nomad Guide + Cafes & Cowork Spaces

Digital nomad guide to Hoi An, Vietnam

In this guide I’ll be summing up:

• The official coworking spaces in Hoi An, Vietnam.
• The best cafes for coworking in Hoi An (those that aren’t official coworking spaces but work well for digital nomads).
• Other useful information for digital nomads in Hoi An including visas, costs of living, data plans and finding your home comforts.

Hopefully this blog will serve as a digital nomad guide to Hoi An for current residents and provide guidance for those considering it as an option.

Before I begin, let me just say I thoroughly enjoyed the two months I lived in Hoi An. I can’t think of many places more chilled or affordable for focussing on work while still enjoying daily life.

Read next: a complete Hoi An itinerary

If you’re considering basing yourself as a digital nomad in Hoi An, you’re on to a winner!

Co-working spaces in Hoi An

Most of the time, I like to work from cafes in Hoi An rather than dedicated coworking spaces. However I see the benefits of these: no loud coffee shop music and no chatty customers distracting you from work.

At the time of writing, there is only one dedicated coworking spaces in Hoi An…

The Hub is the main coworking space in Hoi An and the only one listed on Coworker.com.

If you’re not aware of Coworker.com yet, utilise it now! Most listed spaces offer a free day pass for your first visit.

I liked the pretty interior of The Hub as well as the leafy garden. Head straight to the glass room for some seriously effective aircon. Group lunches are organised for those who want them which is a good way to befriend the regulars.

I can’t fault the Hub. It’s was the best co-working space I visited during my time as a digital nomad in Vietnam.

The best cafes for coworking in Hoi An

Don’t fancy a coworking space in Hoi An? Most of the time I don’t either. I prefer cafe culture and watching the world go by.

There are tons of cafes in Hoi An though, understandably, some are more touristic and designed for socialising. These listed below are my favourite coworking cafes in Hoi An based on the vibe, WiFi capacity and quality of the coffee…

The backroom at Rosie’s is great for coworkers with long bench tables as well as small individual ones. The only downside is there’s no aircon and it gets quite hot so make sure you sit beside a fan.

The menu more than makes up for it with amazing brunches, smoothie bowls and fresh juices – I always feel more motivated to work when I can order a feast as a reward!

Price: Coffee from 25,000 VND (less than £1), brunch dishes and smoothie bowls from 60,000 VND.

Address: 8/6 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai.

Dingo Deli will probably interest you because it’s one of the few coworking cafes in Hoi An with aircon. 

It’s quite pricey but with cheeseboards, deli boards, dip platters and chocolate eclairs to die for, it’s perfect for places for Hoi An expats to get their home comforts while they work. People come to socialise too but expect to see a handful of digital nomads there at all times.

Insider tip: There’s an ice-cold, super quiet office space towards the back – ask the staff to show you.

Price: Sandwiches, salads and deli boards from 130,000 VND (£4.50) upwards: expensive for Vietnam but the ingredients are luxurious for when you need a treat. If you’re not bothered about fancy coffees, you can get bottomless filter coffee with the breakfast dishes. My fruit and syrup French toast included this and, yes, I refilled three times.

Address: 277 Cua Dai Road.

Le Fê Dining Place

One of my favourite cafes in Hoi An is one I stumbled across by accident. Le Fê Dining Place is the most peaceful place I’ve found to work: the only sound is that of Koi Karp splashing in the pond. In true Hoi An style, everything is yellow, crumbling and Insta-perfect.

The iconic movie posters and old-fashioned TVs and typewriters might get your creative juices flowing, and the cafe will quench your thirst with a solid collection of teas, coffees and cold drinks. I can vouch for the passionfruit smoothies.

Price: Coffees from 30,000 VND and smoothies at 50,000 VND. Standard Western-style coffee prices for Vietnam.

Address: Phan Chu Trinh.

I’ve really enjoyed working at Avos & Mangos. The interior is Insta-pretty, the food and coffee are affordable, the WiFi is speedy, and the music is mellow. No complaints here!

Unsurprisingly, the Avo & Mango menu features mainly avocado and mango dishes. The set meal (min. 2 people) includes coffee, avocado toast, avocado salad, avocado and mango spring rolls, and mango and peanut butter toast (the last bit grossed out my friend but I liked it).

The best bit? It’s only 90,000 VND! If that doesn’t sound like your thing, you can pop next door to Phi Banh Mi for a cracking meaty or veggie baguette then carry on working.

Price: Coffee from 28,000 VND and smoothies from 55,000 VND.

Address: 82 Thai Phien.

Mia Coffee is a decent spot for a bit of coworking in Hoi An. It’s not the most grammable or exciting cafe but it’s one of the original coffee roasteries with a longstanding reputation. The upstairs is usually fairly quiet and once I had it entirely to myself – work goals!

The coffee at Mia is some of the best in town. Put it on your list if that’s important in your hunt for coworking cafes in Hoi An.

Price: 50,000 VND for coffee and 60,000 for toasted paninis. The food menu isn’t enormous but it’s affordable and fills a gap when you’re too busy working to forage elsewhere.

Address: 20 Đường Phan Bội Châu.

Mun has a very cool interior. The upstairs is loud and social while the downstairs is quieter with some quirky artwork and plenty of plants. Digital nomads should stay downstairs for sure.

Also, don’t order the matcha latte if you’re used to Western ones. I’ve had to stop drinking these in Vietnam because they taste totally different to the ones at home – strangely perfumed. I think that’s just how they are here. Numerous people have told me the Vietnamese and Western coffees are tasty at MUN so guaranteed you can still get your coffee fix as you work.

Price: Coffees are super cheap starting at 18,000 VND. At those prices, you won’t even need to worry about whether you’re outstaying your welcome by only ordering one drink…

Address: 79 Phan Chu Trinh.

Other info for digital nomads in Hoi An

Now you can be certain there are enough coworking spaces in Hoi An to meet your needs, let’s focus on useful information for those considering becoming a digital nomad in Vietnam.

Meeting other digital nomads in Hoi An

I was lucky enough to attend a meetup and connect with a group of creative gal pals on day one in Hoi An. I’m not sure it’s always this seamless but I will say that Hoi An has a sizeable nomad community.

As a small town, you’ll see the same faces crop up time and time again – especially at Rosie’s and Dingo Deli! Join some classes at Nomad Yoga and you’re bound to meet the other expats pretty quickly.

Also, join the Hoi An Expats Facebook page to connect with other digital nomads in Hoi An.

Cost of accommodation

You can live very cheaply in Hoi An. I housesat so didn’t pay any rent at all (jammy, right!?) but from what I hear, 6M VND (£200) a month should set you up nicely in a modest shared apartment or homestay.

Check out expat.com for listings or Hoi An Now for renting information and real estate agents. Personally, if I’m staying somewhere a month or so, I use Airbnb and take advantage of long-stay discounts. I find this to work out as cheaply as renting from an agency.

Cost of eating

Eating can be seriously cheap in Hoi An. Street food in Hoi An will rarely set you back more than 30,000 VND (£1) and meals in local restaurants start around 60,000 VND (£2).

I regularly survive on street food but many digital nomads like to get their home comforts or eat veggie vegan (something the street food is not renowned for!). There’s plenty of vegan food in Hoi An but I’d recommend budgeting for restaurant prices rather than street food prices.

Obviously we’ve covered this above, but it’s worth noting you may spend a large proportion of your income on coffee if you’re anything like me. Because I work from cafes with WiFi and aircon, I end up paying close to Western coffee prices. If you’re a digital nomad in Hoi An, I’m guessing you’ll be the same.

Vietnamese coffee (with sweet condensed milk) usually costs around 30,000 while lattes/cappuccinos and yummy coconut coffees are closer to 50,000-60,000 VND.

Visa info

This varies for different countries but unless you’re teaching or have a work visa, many Western passports (including British ones) can get a three-month visa before needing to leave the country.

Visa hops are common for digital nomads in Vietnam but it isn’t easy to bus it to a border from Hoi An. Leaving and returning by flight is most common and luckily, you’re not far from Da Nang International Airport. However, the flights aren’t as cheap as those in and out of Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi so that could be seen as a downside of being based in Hoi An.

Data plans

Finding WiFi is rarely hard in Hoi An and it’s just as easy to find cheap data packages. Mine costs 100,000 VND (£3) a month from Vietnamobile and includes unlimited data. Yep, you can’t get much cheaper than that!

Can you get your home comforts in Hoi An?

For the most part, yes. Dingo Deli sells wine, cheese, cured meats, croissants – you name it. The prices are high but it’s there when you need it!

It’s worth noting that Hoi An doesn’t have any big supermarkets. I shopped for fresh fruit and veggies at the local market and picked up other bits at mini marts. Often, eating out is cheaper than cooking at home.

There are also no malls or cinemas in Hoi An. Take a day trip to Da Nang (a taxi costs 250,000 VND) for shopping, movies and plentiful Western food options.

Want even more coffee?