Hoi An’s countryside is as stunning as Hoi An’s Old Town. It’s part of the Thu Bon River Delta that stretches around an area of 450,000 km2. Here, visitors can see peaceful villages, vast green or yellow rice fields, calm rivers with hanging fishing nets, well-protected coconut forests, lush vegetable and herb farms, fruit gardens, animal farms, craft workshops,… One of the best ways to visit it is riding the bike; Now, let’s HoiAn Day Trip Company tell everything that you need to know about Hoi An countryside.
You may also like: Best Things to Do in Hoi An, Vietnam
• 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
Better to Know about Hoi An’s Countryside
– Location: Hoi An city, Quang Nam province, central Vietnam
– Other name(s):
– Opening hours: 24hrs a day, 7 days a week
– Ticket price:
– Reason(s) to visit:
– Best time(s) to visit: early morning, late afternoon
– Time to spend: we recommend 1/2 day
– Travel blog: https://hoiandaytrip.com/hoi-an-countryside
– Tour guide: contact +84968009827 (hotline/whatsapp/line/zalo)
– Fact:
Hoi An Countryside on Map
Where are Rural Areas in Hoi An?
There are 3 rural areas in Hoi An:
– Northern countryside (Tra Que – An My): This rural area stretches from Hoi An’s city centre (Ly Thai To street) to De Vong River, including rice fields, fish & prawn farms, Tra Que Vegetable Village, and An My village. Tra Que village is famous for its long-standing vegetable and herb growing tradition. Here, there are many coffee shops and hotels with a view of rice fields. Amid rice fields, visitors can see the water buffalos, white stork, duck farms, and ancient tombs as well as chilling coffee shops.
Distance: 2 km away from Hoi An Old Town
– Eastern countryside (Cam Thanh): This rural area is surrounded by three rivers – Song Do River to the west, De Vong River to the east, and Thu Bon River to the south. Visitors can see rice fields, prawn farms, nipa palm forests (‘water coconut forests’), small palm-lined waterways, hanging fishing nets, flocks of cows, water buffalo, herbs of storks, duck farms, ancient tombs and cemeteries, and genuine villages. The most famous places are Cam Thanh Coconut Village and its Bay Mau Water Coconut Forest. Here, tourists can do a tour by basket boat to discover the coconut forest and watch ‘spinning boats’ performance or join a cooking class.
Distance: 3 km away from Hoi An Old Town
– Southern countryside (Cam Kim Island): This rurala area is surrounded by the Thu Bon River at all sides, including Cam Kim and Duy Vinh communes. Visitors can see rice/corn/peanut/sweet potato fields, vegetable farms, pagodas, sedge fields (for weaving sleeping mat), flocks of cow, water buffalo, duck or storks, fishing boats, and villages. Two most famous villages here are Kim Bong Carpentry Village and Tra Nhieu Fishing Village. Both of these villages are accessible by boat, from the city centre of Hoi An. Besides farming, local inhabitants also go fishing, making mat, making rice wine, making rice papers, building fishing boats, carving sculptures,…to earn for living.
Distance: 3 km away from Hoi An Old Town
The rural area near Tra Que Village and in Cam Thanh are easiest to get while Cam Kim Island is least touristy. If looking for an accommodation in Hoi An’s countryside, there are more options in two first-mentioned areas.
Things to See & Do in Hoi An’s Countryside
Tra Que Vegetable Village
3km away from Hoi An Old Town, on the way to An Bang Beach, Tra Que Vegetable Village is a well-known tourist attraction in Hoi An’s countryside. It looks like an island, with rivers and swamps at all sides. Thanks to this special geographical location, the soil here is fertile and the water is available all year round, making it ideal for growing vegetables.
People in Tra Que Vegetable Village have grown vegetables since 400 years ago. They still continue using traditional organic farming techniques, instead of machines and chemicals (for example, they use sea/river weeds to fertilize). For that reason, for locals, fresh herbs coming from here are the best ones to eat.
In this village, visitors can see many gardens, farmers, a variety of veggies, herbs and fruits, or join daily work with locals or an eco cooking class. If going with a guide, he/she will inform each kind of herbs.
Visitors are easily get to Tra Que Vegetable Village by car/taxi, electric car, bicycle, and motorbike. See more information & details
Cam Thanh Coconut Village
6km away from Hoi An Old Town, Cam Thanh Coconut Village is a top tourist attraction in Hoi An’s countryside. It’s widely known for lots of coconut and prawn farms, and an extensive water coconut forest where fun-filled basket boat tours occur. In addition to the boat tour, visitors can learn how to cook Vietnamese foods (cooking class), do a local massage, or go crab fishing in nearby rivers. See more information & details
Basket Boat Ride in Coconut Forests
Basket boat is a round bamboo boat unique to central Vietnam. It means that visitors can’t see it anywhere else in the world. Local fishermen use it to catch fishes on the rivers or offshore sea areas.
A ride on the basket boat is totally fun. Because it’s quite light and circle, so a set of skills is required to keep it balanced and move forwards. It’s also really fantastic to see how a local man can stand in the boat and spin it by legs (while using his hands to spin the paddle). Plus pop music, it’s very interesting. This ‘performance’ is what many travelers wait to see!
In Hoi An, visitors can go to Bay Mau Coconut Forest (in Cam Thanh Village) or Tra Nhieu Nipa Palm Forest (in Tra Nhieu Village), to experience a ride on a basket boat. Both places are about 15 mins drive from Hoi An city centre, but there are some differences between them. The boat ride in the first forest is more popular and easier to do, but it’s more touristy. The boat ride in the second forest is lesser known and more difficult to find (if going by your own), but it’s more peaceful and authentic.
Walk/Cycle Through Hoi An’s Rice Fields
Rice fields are what visitors like to see in Hoi An. In many months of the year, these fields look green or yellow (when the rice is ripe), giving a good chance to see and take photos. On tours, especially bike tours, the guide will explain how to grow and harvest the rice, the most important grain in Vietnam.
The easiest way to see rice fields is going to Hai Ba Trung street (between the City centre and An Bang Beach). On the way to My Son Sanctuary, visitors can see rice fields in Cam Kim Island. Along Tong Van Suong street, on the way from Hoi An to Cam Thanh Coconut Village, rice fields are immense, dotted with ancient tombs.
In Hoi An’s rice fields, besides seeing and taking pictures, visitors can experience a water buffalo ride, cycling through them on small paths, learn how to transplant rice (in beginning of the crop only), learn how to harvest rice (in the end of the crop only), watch sunrise/sunset, fly the kite,… See more information & details
Water Buffalo Ride Experience
Water buffalo is the animal representing Vietnamese long-standing agricultural culture (especially rice cultivation). It’s the best friend of Vietnamese farmers when it can help for farming work and carrying goods. Riding the water buffalo is a popular activity for locals in Hoi An’s countryside, but a new, strange experience to visitors. See more information & details
Although there are many water buffaloes around Hoi An’s countryside, riding them is still dangerous without the owner. We recommend participating in a tour or going with a local guide, to meet a ‘gentle’ buffalo and then have a safe ride.
Learn How to Make Vietnamese Food
If visiting Tra Que Vegetable Village or Cam Thanh Coconut Village, a cooking class in which visitors learn how to make Vietnamese foods, is highly recommended. During a couple of hours, the local chief will introduce different ingredients and spices, and instruct learners to prepare some Vietnamese dishes. All ages can join this fun hands-on class, so families should consider. After cooking, learners will eat foods they just made, for lunch or dinner.
In Tra Que Vegetable Village, cooking classes are often combined with the bicycle ride to the village & a farming experience (learning how local farmers grow herbs by traditional methods). ‘Schools’ are embraced by lush vegetable gardens.
In Cam Thanh Coconut Village, cooking classes are often combined with a basket boat tour. ‘Schools’ are in a tranquil environment, embraced by waterways and nipa palms.
Kim Bong Carpentry Village
Kim Bong Carpentry Village is in Cam Kim Island (Hoi An’s Southern countryside). It’s widely known for its long-standing craft in boat building and woodworking. Local inhabitants here have kept this cultural tradition for some hundreds of years already. In the past, local carpenters constructed the most intricate wood buildings in Hoi An such as Tan Ky Old House, Phung Hung Old House, Japanese Bridge, Duc An Old House, Quan Thang Old House,… See more information & details.
Tra Nhieu Fishing Village
Tra Nhieu Fishing Village is located on the westernmost side of Cam Kim Island, with Thu Bon River on three sides. Not far away from its fishing harbour, there is Tra Nhieu Nipa Palm Forest where visitors can do a basket boat tour (boat tour here is much peaceful than the one at Cam Thanh Village) and go crab fishing. The rest of the village has rice fields, vegetable and animal farms, corn or peanut fields, sedge fields, and craft making households. Visitors often cycle to this village to enjoy the unspoil countryside en route. See more information & details
Thanh Ha Pottery Village
Thanh Ha Pottery Village is 4 kilometers away from Hoi An city centre. It’s well known for its long tradition of pottery making. Local inhabitants here have made pottery by clay, by using hand and manual potter’s wheel that disappeared across the country. If visit, tourists have the chance to try hand at making a pottery, with instruction of local artisans. See more information & details
Hoi An Rice Field Café
Along the edges or in the middle of Hoi An’s rice fields, there are numerous coffee shops and café. They are good places to go for a drink, having a break, enjoying the serenity of the countryside, and taking photos. In the sunset, it’s breezy and also romantic. See more information & details
Rice Paper Making Experience
Rice paper (banh trang) is popular and typical of Vietnamese cuisine. In Hoi An, visitors can see locals using it to roll/wrap barbecues with vegetables, or make fresh/fried spring rolls. Grilled rice paper is one of ingredients in many dishes, such as Mi Quang noodles, stir-fried baby clams, banana flower salad, etc. In rural villages of Hoi An, there are many families still producing rice papers.
To make rice papers, local people soak the rice in fresh water first, then grind it into milk and mix with water with a proper percentage. They use a piece of white cloth to cover the mouth of a pot (containing hot water). After that, they pour down the rice milk on it, and spread it around to have a thin layer. To steam the rice paper, they cover it with a lid, wait for a couple of minutes, and then take it with a bamboo stick. Now, it’s possible to use fresh paper to eat, or cut into noodles, or sun dry to have dry rice paper (for wrapping/rolling). See more information & details
Local rice paper making families/households are not easy to find because they may not be on the map. We recommend participating in a guided tour to make things easier.
Mat Weaving Experience
In the daily life of Vietnamese people, the mat (cai chieu) is a necessary stuff. It’s used to place it on the bed and then people sleep on it, or place it on the floor and people will sit on it to eat and drink. During the summer, visitors can go to An Bang Beach or Cua Dai Beach, it’s easy to see locals sitting on the mat and cooling off.
In Cam Kim Island, local inhabitants have weaved mats for some centuries. They use the sedge collected from farms in the area, and then sun dry. To make the mat colorful, it’s needed to dye the sedge. After that, use the traditional loom to weave. Artisans don’t mind letting visitors join hands in this step. See more information & details
Local mat weaving families/households are not easy to find because they may be not on the map. We recommend participating in a guided tour to make things easier.
Basket Boat Making Experience
Basket boat (thuyen thung) is a type of fishing boat that is unique to central Vietnam. It’s round, light, made by bamboo and waterproof. In Hoi An’s water coconut forests, local people use it to carry visitors along canals and do some activities. Today, there are only a few artisans knowing the full process to make one basket boat. If interested in this craft, visitors need to book a guided tour to know where to go and what to do (old artisans often do not know English). See more information & details
Local basket boat artisan’s houses are not easy to find because they may be not on the map. We recommend participating a guided tour to make things easier.
Crab Fishing in Nipa Palm Forests
Inside Hoi An’s nipa palm forests, rivers and canals are home to brackish crabs. They are small, hide in small holes, run around mud flats or climb on coconut leaves/trunks. Local people often use a simple rod with bait and catch them to eat. In basket boat tours, they will guide visitors to exactly the same way. This activity is kind of fun and authentic. See more information & details
Watch Sunset in Rice Fields
One of the best places in Hoi An to watch the sunset is the rice fields. Absolutely, visitors will have a great photo opportunity. See more information & details
Ways to Get around Hoi An’s Countryside
Visitors can use the bicycle, motorcycle, car or electric car to go around Hoi An’s rural areas. The cheapest way is by bicycle but riding the motorbike on your own is also cheap. Car or electric car will be more expensive, but is much cheaper if traveling with a group.
The best way to discover Hoi An’s countryside is riding the bicycle or motorcycle. Cycling will be slower, but allows visitors to see rural sceneries and life is longer and clearer. If choose a motorbike tour, it’s easier to go to far places and join local traffic culture (cycling tours often avoid the noisy traffic). Traveling with kids? You should think about a tour with an electric car, for safety reasons.
If do not want to see too much, visitors can walk to An Bang Beach and see rice fields, water buffalos, farmers, fishermen,…on the way from the town.
HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD daily organizes transfers in Hoi An. Contact us by +84968009827 (hotline/whatsapp/line/zalo) or browse www.hoiandaytrip.com for more information and book. Thank you very much!
Guided Tours to Hoi An Countryside
Here are guided tours to Hoi An’s countryside:
– Hoi An Countryside Tour by Car: Villages, Buffalo, Boat
– Hoi An Countryside Bike Tour: Paddy, Farm, Buffalo, Boat
– Cam Kim Bike Tour: Rice Paper Making, Mat Weaving, More
– Tra Que Vegetable Village Tour: Cycling, Farming & Cooking
– Hoi An Coconut Village Tour: Bike, Buffalo, Round Boat, Food
– Hoi An Basket Boat Tour with Cooking Class
– Hoi An Countryside Food Tour
– Hoi An Countryside Vespa Tour
– Hoi An 4 Villages Tour: Pottery, Carpentry, Vegetable & Coconut Villages
– Kim Bong Carpentry Village & Tra Nhieu Fishing Village
– Tra Nhieu Fishing Village Tour from Hoi An
Photos, Videos about Hoi An Countryside
Here are beautiful photos and videos about Hoi An countryside:
