Hoi An Biking Tour: River Islands, Villages & Local Crafts
Ride past the crowds to where locals actually work
A private 16-km biking tour through Hoi An's countryside that crosses to Cam Kim Island and three working craft villages. You make rice paper at a family home, learn incense-making, weave straw mats, and see traditional carpentry at Kim Bong Village before a scenic ferry ride back. English-speaking guide, hotel pickup, and all donations and entrance fees are included. A Vietnamese meal is optional at checkout.
Options for this experience
2 optionsStep-by-step itinerary
Bike tour through Hoi An countryside
- Start at hotel or Local Buddy Tours office
- Review traffic rules and try helmets
- Cycle across Thu Bon River to Cam Kim Island
- Visit rice paper making family and make rice paper
- Enjoy local rice paper snacks
- Visit incense-making family and craft incense sticks
- Learn and help weave colorful bed mats
- Stop for Vietnamese coffee and restroom break
- Visit Kim Bong Carpentry Village and see wood carving
- Take ferry across Hoai River back to Hoi An
- Optional Vietnamese meal at riverside restaurant
- Bike or car transfer back to hotel
- Cam Kim Island 20m
- Cam Kim Island 25m
- Duy Vinh 20m
- Duy Vinh 20m
- Kim Bong Carpentry Village 20m
- Hoi An 1h
What’s included
- English-speaking guide.
- hotel pickup and drop-off within 8 km of Hoi An.
- bike, helmet, and light raincoat.
- all entrance fees and donations at local craft homes.
- Vietnamese coffee and refreshment stop.
- local ferry ride across the Hoai River.
- hands-on experiences making rice paper, incense sticks, and woven mats at family homes.
- visit to 400-year-old Kim Bong Carpentry Village. A five-dish Vietnamese meal at a riverside restaurant is available as an optional add-on at checkout.
- Every day 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 12:30 13:00 13:30
Information
Bike through Hoi An's countryside to Cam Kim Island and three craft villages where you'll make rice paper with a local family, weave mats.
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The experience
The tour starts at your hotel in Hoi An with a safety briefing on Vietnam's traffic and a chance to adjust your bike and helmet. From there you cycle across the Thu Bon River to Cam Kim Island, where the route winds through fishing and farming villages instead of the main roads. The pace is unhurried. This is a 16-km ride spread across four to five hours, with stops built in so you're not pedaling the whole time.
At the first stop, a 65-year-old couple shows you how to grind rice using a traditional stone mill, and his wife teaches you to make rice paper by hand. You sit down and eat what you've just made. The next visit is to an incense-maker's home, where you craft your own sticks using methods passed down through generations. Then you meet a 70-year-old weaver and help her dye and weave colorful bed mats. A craft her family has kept alive for decades. A Vietnamese coffee break comes next, giving your legs a rest and a chance to use a clean washroom before the final stretch.
Kim Bong Carpentry Village, 400 years old, is where you see hardwood furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl and seashell work. After that, you board a local ferry to cross the Hoai River back toward Hoi An, watching the water and catching your breath. If you've booked the meal option, you eat a five-dish Vietnamese dinner at a riverside restaurant before the short ride or transfer home. If not, the tour ends with a bike ride or car transfer back to your hotel, depending on distance.
Top questions
Can I be picked up at my hotel?
You can choose: pickup at your hotel, or go straight to the meeting point. When you book, you choose your hotel from 63 pickup locations; if yours isn’t listed, you can type in your address. Pickup is about 5 minutes before departure.
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Youth (10 to 14 years); Child (5 to 9 years); Infant (under 5).
What's the actual distance I'll be cycling on this Hoi An biking tour?
The route covers 16 kilometers (10 miles) total, but it's spread across four to five hours with multiple stops at craft villages and a coffee break, so you're not pedaling continuously.
Do I need to be an experienced cyclist to do this tour?
No, the tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels, and the bikes are provided with helmets and light raincoats if needed. The pace is leisurely and designed around visiting local families and craftspeople, not speed.
What exactly do I get to do at each village stop?
At Cam Kim Island you make rice paper using a traditional stone mill and eat it fresh; at the incense-maker's home you craft incense sticks; at Tra Nhieu fishing village you help weave colorful straw bed mats; and at Kim Bong Carpentry Village you watch artisans create traditional hardwood furniture decorated with mother-of-pearl.
Is the Vietnamese meal included, or do I pay extra?
The meal is optional. You choose at checkout whether to add a five-dish Vietnamese dinner at a riverside restaurant after the ferry ride. If you have dietary needs, the operator can arrange normal, vegetarian, or vegan versions of the set menu.
What's included in the price, and what do I need to pay for separately?
The tour includes the English-speaking guide, hotel pickup and drop-off within 8 km of Hoi An Old Town, all entrance fees and donations at local homes, the local ferry ride, a coffee stop, bikes, helmets, and raincoats. Drinks beyond the coffee stop and personal expenses are not included. Tips are optional.
Can I choose what time the tour starts?
Yes, since this is a private tour, you pick your preferred starting time when you book. If you need a specific bike height or have other special requests, you can contact the operator before the tour.
Operated by Local Buddy Tours - Danang City. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.
Prices and times updated 3 days ago
Hoi An Biking Tour: River Islands, Villages & Local Crafts
4h–5h · EN
from US$ 40 per person
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