Basket Boat & Cooking Class in Hoi An: Learn from Local Fishermen
Row a basket boat through a palm forest, then cook lunch in a fisherman's home
A 4.5-hour class in Cam Thanh village near Hoi An where you learn to navigate a bamboo basket boat (thung chai) in a water coconut palm forest with local fishermen, then prepare and eat a traditional Vietnamese meal in their home. The experience includes hotel pickup, an English-speaking guide, market shopping for ingredients, and hands-on instruction in both fishing techniques and cooking.
Step-by-step itinerary
Basket boat and cooking class experience
- Visit local market and buy ingredients
- Transfer to fishing village via car
- Take basket boat trip in palm forest
- Learn fishing and make palm leaf souvenirs
- Hear stories about Vietnamese–American war
- Attend cooking lesson at local home
- Enjoy meal with local family
- Hoi An 30m
- Bay Mau Coconut Forest Entry included 2h
- Cam Thanh 1h 40m
What’s included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off.
- entrance fee to the fishing village and palm forest.
- cold water and wet tissues.
- English-speaking guide.
- market visit to buy cooking ingredients.
- basket boat instruction and fishing experience with local fishermen.
- palm leaf souvenir making.
- cooking lesson in a local home.
- traditional lunch or dinner with the family.
- Every day 08:30
Information
Learn to row a bamboo basket boat and cook traditional meals with a local family in Cam Thanh fishing village on this 4.5-hour tour with hotel pickup.
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The experience
The day starts at a local market in Hoi An where you shop for ingredients you'll cook later, learning how residents source what they need. From there, a short drive takes you past rice paddies to Cam Thanh fishing village, about 5 kilometers away, where the Cua Dai river opens into Bay Mau: a grove of water coconut palms that local fishermen have worked for generations. This is where the basket boat work begins.
You'll climb into a thung chai, the bamboo-woven boat that fishermen rely on for their livelihood, and learn to row it through the narrow waterways of the palm forest. Working alongside your guide and local fishermen, you'll try your hand at their fishing nets, catching fish and purple crabs the way they do, and you'll make small souvenirs from palm leaves. The fishermen share stories about daily life on the river and the area's history during the Vietnamese-American War: details that ground the experience in the place itself rather than a scripted narrative.
After the water, you head to a local home (typically Mr. Cu's) for the cooking lesson. You prepare a traditional lunch or dinner using the ingredients you bought that morning, working in the family's kitchen with instruction on technique and local flavors. You eat the meal you've made with the family, which is where the class closes, not in a restaurant, but at their table.
Top questions
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Youth (12 to 17 years); Child (4 to 11 years); Infant (under 4): free.
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.
What exactly is a basket boat and why do fishermen use them?
A thung chai is a small, lightweight boat woven from bamboo that's been used in Central Vietnam for generations. Fishermen favor them because they're easy to maneuver in shallow rivers and narrow waterways, and they're simple to repair and maintain with materials at hand.
Will I actually catch fish, or is it more of a demonstration?
You'll fish alongside the local fishermen using their nets and techniques, catching fish and purple crabs yourself. It's hands-on instruction in how they work the water, not a passive watch.
What kind of food do you cook, and is it difficult if I've never cooked Vietnamese food before?
You prepare a traditional Hoi An meal using ingredients you selected at the market that morning. The instruction is designed for beginners: the family walks you through each step in their home kitchen, and the focus is on learning their methods rather than culinary skill.
How far is Cam Thanh from Hoi An, and how much time is spent traveling?
Cam Thanh is about 5 kilometers from Hoi An's ancient town. The drive there passes through rice paddies and takes roughly 15–20 minutes, leaving most of the 4.5-hour experience for the boat work and cooking itself.
Is the basket boat ride physically demanding?
Rowing a basket boat requires moderate physical fitness and balance. The boat is stable, but you'll be moving your arms and shifting your weight to steer. The experience is not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries, poor cardiovascular health, or pregnancy.
Operated by Hoi An Village Experience. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.
Prices and times updated 7 days ago
Basket Boat & Cooking Class in Hoi An: Learn from Local Fishermen
4h 30m · EN · at your hotel
from US$ 28 per person
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