Things to See & Do in Cam Kim Island Hoi An

Kim Bong Carpentry Village

On the northern side of Cam Kim Island, Kim Bong Carpentry Village is one of the most famous traditional craft villages in Hoi An. Its history goes back to 500 years ago. When Hoi An was used to be an international trading port, this village is home to many skillful carpenters who build boats for merchants, and build houses or temples for residents living in the town. Many constructions they made still survive, such as the Japanese Bridge, Tan Ky House, Phung Hung House, Museum of Folklore, Museum of Trade Ceramics, or Duc An House. Today when a restoration is needed, next generations of Kim Bong carpenters will assist local authorities and owners to remake.

When come to Kim Bong Carpentry Village, visitors will see artisans at work (carving, building boats,…), artisan-owned galleries where a variety of products made by wood (sculptures, statues, furnitures,…), souvenir shops that are good to look, photograph, and go shopping. Here, several workshops organize a class to instruct visitors how to make small things, such as carving names on a piece of wood. See more information & details

Visitors can use the boat to go to Kim Bong Carpentry Village from the Hoi An Old Town (and vice versa). If have a bicycle, just carry it into the boat.

Tra Nhieu Fishing Village & Nipa Palm Forest

On the easternmost place on Cam Kim Island, Tra Nhieu Fishing Village is a non-tourist attraction in Hoi An. It’s known for rural scenery (rice fields, peaceful villages, vegetable & herb gardens, corn/peanut/sweet potato/bean farms, lotus lakes, waterways, coconut forests) and authentic lifestyle. This village has a quay where fishing boats dock and a boat-shaped temple is built, to worship the whale. Not far away, on the Thu Bon River, there are plenty of hanging fishing nets that are used to catch fishes and other creatures. See more information & details

Besides sightseeing, visitors can go on an extremely relaxing basket boat ride in the water coconut forest, go crab fishing by locals, learn how to make rice papers or rice noodles, or join a cooking class. Compared to the basket boat ride at Cam Thanh Coconut Village, here visitors enjoy watching an untouched forest and a sense of peacefulness. See more information & details

Traditional Craft of Mat Weaving

The mat is a familiar item in Vietnam. It’s traditionally made by sedge (a kind of grass-like plant growing in swamps and wet fields). People will spread it on the floor to sit on (to have meals or parties or meetings) or on the bed to sleep on. In Hoi An, most mat making artists live in Cam Kim Island where sedge is still grown to provide the material. Local families here are often visited by visitors who want to know about their daily life, daily work and try hand at weaving a mat. This experience is unique to the countryside of Hoi An and sure, difficult to see in somewhere else. See more information & details 

Traditional Craft of Rice Paper & Noodle Making

Rice paper is popularly used in Hoi An local cuisine. People will use it to wrap meats, raw vegetables, herbs, noodles together and then dip the roll into the sauce (fish sauce or other kind of local sauces). Around Cam Kim Island, there are many households still making rice paper and noodles. If have the chance to visit, family members will show all steps to make and then instruct and let visitors try their hand. Rice paper is made first and then it’s just needed to use the knife or manual machine to cut them into noodle sticks. This experience is unique to the countryside of Hoi An and sure, difficult to see in somewhere else. See more information & details

Traditional Craft of Basket Boat Making

Besides sedge mat and rice paper making artisans, Cam Kim Island is also home to some artisans who make the basket boat by traditional method. This special boat is made of bamboo and used to catch fishes in small rivers. In Hoi An, particularly at water coconut forests, local people will use it to take visitors to discover them. See more information & details  

Cycle Around Cam Kim Island

One of the best ways and the best experiences in Cam Kim Island is cycling around its villages or across rice fields. Along peaceful and low traffic paths, visitors will have the chance to visit a woodworking village where local carpenters have made sculptures and built boats, visit families where sedge mat, rice paper and noodles are produced, or meet farmers while working in the field. If possible, visitors should go with a local guide to know better about local life and customs as well as to follow his/her recommended route (nobody knows better than locals!).

If can not cycle, visitors choose to discover Cam Kim Island, the last countryside of Hoi An, by motorbike. For more experience, why not take a boat ride across Thu Bon Island to the island?

Visitors who want to freely discover Cam Kim Island, make sure that you have a good route to go. See our recommended Cam Kim self-guided bicycle route