Crab fishing is a fun and authentic thing to do in Cam Thanh Coconut Village, Hoi An Vietnam. It’s often an activity within a tour by basket boat, a unique type of fishing boat to central Vietnam. In which, visitors will try luck with rob and bait, to catch small crabs which run very fast and hide very well. If traveling with kids, don’t miss it! Now, let’s HoiAn Day Trip Company tell you everything that you need to know about crab fishing in Hoi An.
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• Content by Tam Le, founder of HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD
• Designed by Giang Cong Minh, co-founder of LS E&C LTD and his team
• Photo by Dang Cong Loi, Dao Xuan Son, Tam Le & others
Must Knows about Crab Fishing in Hoi An
– Location: Bay Mau Water Coconut Forest, Cam Thanh Village, Hoi An city, Vietnam or Tra Nhieu Nipa Palm Forest, Tra Nhieu Fishing Village, Hoi An
– Duration: 10-20 mins
– Reason(s) to do: do what local fishermen do
– Best time to do: morning or late afternoon when it’s not too hot, low tide days
– Travel blog: https://hoiandaytrip.com/crab-fishing-hoi-an
– Tour guide: contact +84968009827 (hotline/whatsapp/line/zalo)
– Food & drink: not available
– Shopping: not available
– Fact: an activity within basket boat tours in Hoi An
Better to Know about Fiddler Crab (Con Cay)
Visitors will catch fiddler crabs (or brackish water crabs) in Hoi An’s water coconut forests. This crab is known as con cay in Vietnamese. About the size, it’s smaller than the common crab, and has red claws, so sometimes it is called ‘red claw crab’ by locals. Their living habitat is brackish bodies of water and estuarine mangroves. In geography, Hoi An’s coconut forests are by the estuary of the Thu Bon River, a 205-kilometers-long river or its confluence with other rivers. For that reason, since a very long time, they have become ideal places for the growth of paddler crabs. Likewise, coconut or nipa palm grows vigorously there also.
Local inhabitants who live around water coconut forests will catch and use fiddler crabs (con cay) to make these food:
– cay um (stewed snails): piddler crabs are washed carefully by tap water, and then people remove their bib. After that, put them into a clay pot, add spices (salt, sugar, chilli, turmeric, oil, fish sauce, purple shallot) and then cook. When crabs have boiled, sliced turmeric leaves are added and quickly then, turn off the stove. Locals will eat savoury stewed snails with steamed common rice, raw vegetables or boiling vegetables (sweet potato, bitter grass, and so on).
– canh cay (crab soup): piddler crabs are washed carefully by tap water, kept dry, lightly grinded by mortar and pestle. Grinded crabs will be filtered to have the water only. After that, this ‘crab water’ is poured into a pot, with fresh water, to boil. When the soup has boiled, locals add chopped vegetables or slices of gourd (trai bau) or sponge gourd/Vietnamese luffa (trai muop). The crab and vegetable soup is good for health during the hot summer.
– mam cay (fermented crab sauce): piddler crabs are washed carefully by tap water, kept dry, lightly grinded by mortar and pestle, and then mixed with salt. The mixture of crab and salt will be put into a jar, and then sun dried for 3 to 5 days. Local people use this ‘sauce’ to eat with vegetables, fresh or boiled.
Crab Fishing Experience in Hoi An’s Coconut Forests
To go piddler crab fishing with local fishermen, visitors need to go to water coconut forests. In Hoi An, there are two water coconut forests (nipa palm forests): Bay Mau Water Coconut Village and Tra Nhieu Nipa Palm Forest. Both of them are 6-7 kilometers away from Hoi An city centre or the Hoi An Old Town. By the way, water coconut (nipa palm, mangrove palm) is a plant growing in estuarine habitats and coastlines of Indian and Pacific oceans. Its leaves can be some meters in height, and its nuts are arranged in a globular cluster.
In the coconut forest, local fishermen will use a basket boat, a light round bamboo boat, to carry visitors on small rivers to places with many paddler crabs. They know better than anybody because they come to the area every single day. Two adults as visitors can sit together in one boat. Sure, each visitor will have a simple rob, baits as earthworm chops or small insects, to catch the paddler crabs. These crabs hide in small holes at the foot of coconut trees, run around mudflats near the wateredge or climb on coconut stems. Local fishermen have quick eyes thanks to their fishing experiences, therefore can point out big crabs for visitors.
If the crab is still hiding in the hole, it’s needed to place the bait in the mouth of the hole and keep patience. Because it is hungry and has no dangers, it moves out soon and slowly goes to the bait. When it eats the bait, please quickly pull . If crabs run around mudflats or on coconut stems, please do the same way, plus patience and silence. Although everything looks simple, visitors need a fortune to catch them. When traveling with family or kids, why not have a competition to find out those who have the most crabs?
Good time to go crab fishing in Hoi An’s coconut forests is when the tide is low. In other words, visitors should not go in and around full moon days or new moon days (when tide is highest). The Vietnamese lunar calendar is available on the internet to check online and to find out most suitable days to go crab fishing.
In a basket boat tour at Hoi An, besides crab fishing, visitors also have other activities and experiences to see/do. There are watching a performance of spinning boats, a demonstration of catching fish by net in the river, listening to folk songs from local ladies or trying delicious water coconut sweet soup. See more information & details
Reasons Why & Why Not to Crab Fishing Experience
Here are reasons why visitors should have a crab fishing experience in Hoi An’s water coconut forests:
– Before going crab fishing, visitors have an experience of riding the basket boat, a type of boat seen nowhere else in the world. After that, unlock unspoiled coconut forests with dense waterways and a sense of tranquility.
– Try luck in catching wild crabs which run fast and hide well in the coconut forest.
– Crab fishing is an interesting activity for visitors, especially children. If traveling with kids, parents should make sure that this is recommended.
– Crab fishing is an activity within a basket boat tour, one of the best things to do in Hoi An.
– Have lots of joy when succeed or fail in catching crabs and lessons from that, such as patience, focus, so on.
Here are reasons why visitors should NOT have a crab fishing experience in Hoi An’s water coconut forests:
– For animal lovers or the one who have cared about animal protection or animal rights, crab fishing should be refused, to avoid any harm to crabs.
– Crabs may die if visitors have some heavy actions (although locals still catch and eat them). And then, the activity should not be fun or interesting.
– Crab fishing is too simple, and more suitable for kids than adults.
Tips to Know Before Go Crab Fishing in Hoi An
– In the dry season, from February to the end of August, visitors should bring sun cream, sun glasses, hat/cap or umbrella, bottles of water. Conical hat and/or umbrella will be in the boat to take.
– The best day to go crab fishing is morning or late afternoon when it’s not too hot.
– In the rainy season, rain poncho/jacket or umbrella, sandals are necessary to bring. In the boat, poncho may be available to get. However, don’t forget to check the weather forecast in advance.
– Visitors must go with locals to Hoi An’s coconut forests because they know the exact places to find crabs (and how to row the basket boat!).
– After catching crabs, visitors must release them to nature.
– Visitors can NOT bring home and eat crabs catched in Hoi An’s coconut forests because of environmental conservation reasons.
– Try to not hurt or kill crabs as much as possible.
– Visitors must wear life vests for safety reasons.
– It’s better to go with a local guide who can share knowledge and experiences. Contact us by +84968009827 (hotline/whatsapp/line/zalo).
Hoi An Countryside Tours with Crab Fishing
– Hoi An countryside tour by bicycle/motorbike/electric bus
– Hoi An Coconut Village tour
– Golden Bridge & Hoi An Coconut Village tour
– My Son & Hoi An Coconut Village tour
– Marble Mountains & Hoi An Cococonut Village tour
– My Son & Hoi An countryside tour
HoiAn Day Trip Company daily organizes tours to Hoi An’s countryside and rural areas. Contact us by +84968009827 (hotline/whatsapp/line/zalo) or browse www.hoiandaytrip.com to see tours and make a reservation. Thank you very much!
Photos, Videos about Crab Fishing in Hoi An
Here are beautiful photos and videos about crab fishing in Hoi An:
