Hoi An Cooking Class: Bay Mau Coconut Forest & Market

Market, basket boat, rice-pounding, then cooking lunch at a family home

A cooking class in Hoi An that starts with a market tour to learn Vietnamese ingredients, moves through a bamboo basket boat ride in the Bay Mau coconut forest where you'll pound rice and make rice paper by hand, then settles into a local kitchen where you cook and eat what you've made. Hotel pickup and an English-speaking guide are included. The whole day runs from morning until early afternoon.

The experience

The morning begins at your hotel with pickup, then heads straight to a local market where your guide walks you through the herbs, spices and fresh ingredients that define Vietnamese cooking. You're not just looking. You're choosing what goes into the dishes you'll cook later. From there, a car takes you to Cam Thanh Coconut village and transfers you onto a bamboo basket boat to drift through the Bay Mau coconut forest, the waterway locals call the Mekong Delta in miniature. While floating through the palms, you learn how to pound and separate rice, grind rice into milk, and shape rice paper using traditional tools: a stone mortar, wooden pestle, and the kind of equipment families have used for generations.

Once back on land, you move into a local home's kitchen to cook. The menu shifts depending on the class (Vietnamese salad rolls with pork and shrimp, sizzling crepes filled with shrimp and bean sprouts, beef vermicelli, or Hanoi-style pho), but the structure stays the same: you prepare the dishes yourself with the ingredients you selected that morning, then sit down and eat what you've cooked. A bottle of water is provided throughout. By 1 p.m., you're back at your hotel.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off in Hoi An.
• English-speaking guide.
• entry to the local market.
• bamboo basket boat ride through Bay Mau coconut forest.
• rice-pounding and rice-paper-making demonstrations.
• cooking class at a local home.
• lunch or dinner of the dishes you prepare.
• a bottle of water.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 08:20 and 13:30

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (10 to 90 years) · Youth (3 to 9 years) · Infant (under 3): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 7 days ago

Good to know

Public transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Bay Mau Eco Cooking Tour

Is this one for you?Book this if you're staying in Hoi An without a car: pickup from your hotel means you don't arrange transport to the market or the village, and the guide handles the route and timing so the day flows from one stop to the next without gaps.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (3 to 9 years); Infant (under 3): 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 24h before the start.

What exactly do I cook in the kitchen, and do I choose the menu?

The cooking class menu includes Vietnamese salad rolls with pork and shrimp, sizzling crepes, beef vermicelli, pho, and dipping sauces like nuoc cham and peanut hoisin. Your guide selects the dishes based on the day's class, so the menu is set when you arrive, but you prepare each one from start to finish yourself.

Do I need to know how to cook, or is this for beginners?

This class is built for travelers with no cooking experience. Your guide teaches you step-by-step in English, from selecting ingredients at the market through plating the finished dish. The focus is on learning traditional Vietnamese techniques, not on prior skill.

What's the bamboo basket boat part of the tour actually like?

The boat ride through Bay Mau coconut forest is a slow drift through narrow waterways lined with water palms and coconut trees. While you're on the boat, your guide demonstrates how to pound rice, separate the grains, grind rice into milk, and make rice paper using hand tools, so you're learning food preparation techniques while floating through the landscape where locals have done this work for centuries.

How long is the whole experience, and what time does it end?

The class runs from 8:20 a.m. pickup until 1 p.m. return to your hotel, covering the market visit, boat ride, rice-pounding demonstrations, and the cooking and lunch at the local home.

Is the market visit just a quick stop, or do I spend real time there?

The market visit is one of the highlights of the tour. Your guide takes time to explain the main ingredients in Vietnamese cuisine, point out the herbs and spices, and help you choose fresh ingredients for the cooking class, so it's an educational stop, not a rushed errand.