Hanoi Craft Classes: Lacquer, Hat & Incense Making

Nine hours, three villages, three crafts you make yourself

A full-day small-group class in Hanoi where you learn lacquerware, conical hat making and incense production by working alongside artisans in Ha Thai, Chuong and Quang Phu Cau villages. The day includes a home-cooked lunch, an air-conditioned vehicle with pickup, a conical hat to take home, and a live English-speaking guide. Half-day options focus on hat and incense making only, without lunch.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore traditional crafts in Hanoi villages

• Visit Ha Thai lacquerware village
• Meet local lacquer artisan
• Create your own lacquer painting
• Travel to Chuong conical hat village
• Visit war veteran or local artisans
• Enjoy home-cooked lunch
• Paint or make a conical hat
• Visit Quang Phu Cau incense village
• See incense stick dyeing household
• Tour largest incense factory
• Return to Hanoi, optional drop-off

The Experience

The morning starts in Ha Thai village, where a celebrated lacquerware artisan teaches you the craft that has flourished there since the 17th century. You paint your own lacquer piece under their guidance—a souvenir you can take with you, though larger pieces carry a fee. From there, the driver takes you to Chuong village, a 300-year-old center of conical hat making. You walk through the working village, then sit down with skilled craftspeople to either paint a hat or join the hat-making process itself. A local female artisan prepares lunch at her home, serving both vegetarian and meat dishes—this is where you eat and rest before the afternoon.

After lunch, the route heads to Quang Phu Cau, the incense village. You walk through the center to see family-scale production in action, visit a household where workers dye incense sticks in vivid colors (the bundles photograph well), and tour the village's largest incense factory to watch the full production line and learn how rural workers operate it. By 5:30 p.m., the driver returns you to Hanoi, with the option to stop at Train Street or drop you at another location you choose.

The full-day option includes all three crafts, lunch and the conical hat. The half-day version covers hat and incense making only, skipping the lacquer stop and the meal. Both run with a live guide in English and air-conditioned transport. Groups stay small—the private option requires a minimum of two people per trip.

What’s included

• Bottled water throughout the day.
• one conical hat per person to take home.
• all entry fees and taxes.
• air-conditioned vehicle with pickup included.
• home-cooked authentic Vietnamese lunch (full-day option only) with vegetarian and meat dishes.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Vietnam Village Vibes

Is this one for you?Choose the full-day tour to learn all three crafts and share a meal with a local artisan; pick half-day if you want to focus only on hat and incense making and need to finish by early afternoon.

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Top questions

What exactly do I make or paint during this class?

You paint a lacquer piece in Ha Thai village under an artisan's instruction, then either paint a conical hat or participate in the hat-making process in Chuong village. The hat comes home with you; the lacquer piece is yours to take if it's small, or you pay a fee based on its size if you want to bring a larger one.

Is lunch included, and what kind of food is served?

Lunch is included on the full-day trip only, prepared at a local artisan's home and served in her house. Both vegetarian and meat dishes are offered. The half-day option does not include lunch.

How long is the drive between villages, and what's the schedule?

The itinerary spans nine hours total. You start in Ha Thai village in the morning, move to Chuong for midday hat-making and lunch, then head to Quang Phu Cau for the afternoon incense experience. The return to Hanoi takes place between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.

What happens at the incense village—do I make incense too?

At Quang Phu Cau, you observe and walk through family-scale production, visit a household where incense sticks are dyed in bright colors, and tour the largest incense factory to see the full production process. You watch workers and learn about their daily lives, but incense-making itself is not a hands-on activity in this tour.

Can I choose where the driver drops me off at the end?

Yes. The return journey ends between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m., and you can ask to be dropped at Train Street or another location in Hanoi of your choice instead of a standard hotel or meeting point.

Is this tour wheelchair accessible?

The tour is wheelchair accessible. Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller, and specialized infant seats are available in the vehicle. The tour suits all physical fitness levels.