Hoi An Coconut Village & Ancient Town Tour: Release lanterns on the Hoai River

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/23

Duration6h 30m

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Glide through coconut groves in a basket boat and light your own lantern on the river

A full-day tour of Hoi An and Cam Thanh Coconut Village combines hands-on fishing, a bamboo basket boat ride through water coconut trees, guided exploration of UNESCO-listed ancient architecture, and an evening boat ride on the Hoai River where you release a flower lantern. Hotel pickup, local dinner, entrance fees and an English-speaking guide are included; the tour runs about 6.5 hours and welcomes children from age 1.

6h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Cam Thanh and Hoi An Town

Hotel pickup from Da Nang area
Ride basket boat in Cam Thanh Coconut Village
Try traditional fishing with locals
Visit Phuc Kien Chinese Assembly Hall
Tour Phung Hung and Tan Ky Ancient Houses
Explore 150-year-old Chinese merchant house museum
See Japanese Bridge and learn its history
Shop at handicraft stores and art galleries
Enjoy local specialty dinner
Evening boat ride on Hoai River
Release flower lantern for good luck
Walk through lantern-lit night market

The Experience

The day starts at Cam Thanh Coconut Village, where you board a bamboo basket boat—a small, round vessel locals have used for generations—and row through narrow waterways lined with coconut palms. You'll watch a local fisherman demonstrate how to cast a large net into the water, then try it yourself. The guide explains how families in this village have lived off the river and its resources for centuries, and you get a direct sense of that rhythm as you navigate the quiet channels. Afterward, you walk through the village to see how people live and work in the coconut groves.

Next, you head to Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site where the architecture has survived centuries of weather and war. The guide takes you through the Phuc Kien Chinese Assembly Hall, then into one of the preserved merchant houses—either Phung Hung or Tan Ky—where wealthy traders once lived while doing business with merchants from across Asia. You'll visit a museum housed in a 150-year-old Chinese merchant building that displays artifacts from daily life over two floors. The Japanese Bridge, built more than 400 years ago to connect the Japanese and Chinese communities, is a key stop; the guide explains the symbolic carvings and paintings inside. You also have time to browse handicraft shops and art galleries before sitting down to a local dinner with regional specialties.

As evening falls, the town transforms. You take a boat ride on the Hoai River, where lanterns light up the old buildings along the water. You release a flower lantern onto the river—a moment many travelers find meaningful—and then spend time at the night market, walking through the lantern-lit streets and taking in the sights and sounds of the old town after dark. The tour ends with hotel drop-off.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off.
Cam Thanh Coconut Village entrance fee and basket boat ride.
hands-on fishing net casting.
Hoi An Ancient Town entrance fees and guided walking tour of the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, a preserved merchant house, and the 400-year-old Japanese Bridge.
museum entry.
local dinner with regional specialties.
evening boat ride on the Hoai River with flower lantern release.
mineral water.
English-speaking guide throughout.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomeNot for heart conditionsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Venus Travel

Is this one for you?Book the private option if you want the flexibility to set your own pace and ask questions without a larger group; the shared tour works better if you're traveling solo or with one other person and prefer to split the cost with other travelers. Either way, the basket boat and lantern release are the same—the difference is group size and how much time you spend at each stop.