Morning or Afternoon.
Same Great Tour.
Two daily departures — pick whichever fits your itinerary. Morning guests get cooler light for photography. Afternoon guests catch the golden hour on the rice fields.
Returns approx. 1:00 PM
Returns approx. 6:30 PM
Jeep, Lunch, Basket Boat.
Everything Covered.
One fixed price covers the Jeep, guide, all village entrance fees, basket boat, crab fishing, lunch, water, petrol, road tolls and hotel pickup. Nothing to pay on the day except drinks with your meal.
Private US Army Jeep
A restored open-air US Army Jeep — just your group. Never shared with strangers. The open sides mean every village road, every canal bridge and every rice field is fully visible and fully felt.
Local Lunch Included
A sit-down local lunch at a riverside or garden restaurant on the island — included in the $80 USD price. Drinks at the meal are ordered and paid separately.
Basket Boat & Crab Fishing
The highlight for most guests — a basket boat (thuyền thúng) rowed by a local through the narrow channels of the coconut water forest, with crab fishing lines dropped into the water. Included.
All Entrance Fees
Entry to Kim Bồng Carpentry Village, the Mat Weaving Village, the Rice Cake Making Village and all paid stops on the route — fully covered. Nothing to pay at any gate.
Water & All Road Costs
2 cold bottles of water per person in the Jeep, plus all petrol, road tolls and parking fees throughout the 50 km route. No extras.
Hotel Pickup & Drop-off
Door-to-door from your accommodation anywhere in Hội An city centre — both directions, fully included in the $80 per person price.
Six Stops.
All Hands-On.
Every stop on this route involves doing something — weaving, rolling rice paper, carving wood, paddling a basket boat, fishing for crab. This is a participation tour, not a sightseeing tour.
Kim Bồng Carpentry Village
The craftsmen who built Hội An's ancient merchant houses still work here. Intricate carved panels, wooden boats and furniture — all by hand, all by eye. Your guide shows you the tools before you pick one up.
- Explore the riverside workshop with working craftsmen
- Try wood carving and take your piece home
- See traditional boat building in progress
Mat Weaving Village
A village of weavers who have produced these colourful sedge mats for generations — sold across Vietnam as floor mats, sleeping mats and table mats. The looms are simple but the speed and precision of the artisans is remarkable.
- Watch weavers work at traditional bamboo looms
- Try weaving on the loom yourself
- See the full process from raw grass to finished mat
Rice Cake Making Village
A family kitchen where bánh tráng (rice paper) and rice cakes have been made the same way for generations — over wood fires, on round clay griddles. You learn the technique, then taste the results fresh off the flame.
- Watch the full rice paper process from batter to finished sheet
- Try making rice paper on the griddle yourself
- Taste fresh rice cakes — the freshest you will ever have
Coffee Stop
A pause in the middle of the route at a local coffee roastery. Vietnamese Robusta, roasted on-site, brewed the slow Vietnamese way with a phin filter. Time to sit, rest and watch the island pace of life go by.
- See coffee beans roasted and processed on-site
- Enjoy a cup of traditional Vietnamese drip coffee
- A genuine island café — not a tourist shop
Basket Boat & Crab Fishing
Round woven bamboo boats — thuyền thúng — pushed through the narrow channels of the nipa palm waterway by a local boatman using a single oar. Drop crab fishing lines into the water and see what bites. One of the most memorable 20 minutes of the trip.
- Ride in a traditional round basket boat
- Navigate through the shaded coconut water forest
- Try crab fishing with a local boatman
Local Lunch on the Island
A sit-down lunch at a local restaurant on the island — Vietnamese home cooking in a genuine setting. Not a tourist restaurant. Fully included in the price; drinks ordered at the table are paid separately.
- Local Vietnamese dishes at a riverside garden restaurant
- Relaxed pace — time to eat, rest, explore
- Fully included — no bill at the table
5 Hours.
Island Life, Start to Finish.
The Jeep crosses the bridge over the Thu Bồn River and the island opens up — narrower roads, slower pace, coconut palms and workshop sounds. The kind of morning or afternoon that stays with you.
-
08:00
or 13:30Hotel Pickup — Hội An City Centre
Your driver arrives at your hotel in the open US Army Jeep. Introductions, a brief route overview — then out onto the Hội An streets toward the river.
-
08:15
Cross Thu Bồn River Bridge — Enter Hội An Island
The Jeep rolls across the bridge over the wide, slow Thu Bồn River. The island begins immediately on the other side — the roads narrow, the trees close in, the pace drops. You're in a different Hội An.
-
08:30
Kim Bồng Carpentry Village
The craftsmen who built Hội An's famous ancient wooden houses. Carved panels, boat building, furniture — all by hand. Your guide introduces you to the history and the craftsmen, then you pick up a chisel and try it yourself.
-
09:15
Mat Weaving Village — Hands-On Experience
Colourful sedge mats being woven on simple bamboo looms at a pace that looks effortless but isn't. A local weaver shows you the technique and lets you try — most guests get about one row done in the time it takes the weaver to do twenty.
-
10:00
Rice Cake Village — Make & Taste
A family kitchen with wood fires and round clay griddles producing bánh tráng. You learn the technique — how the batter is spread, how long each sheet takes, how the rice paper is lifted — and then you make one yourself. Taste it fresh. No better way to eat it.
-
10:45
Coffee Stop — Village Roastery
The midpoint of the tour: a local coffee roastery where the beans are roasted on-site and the coffee is brewed the traditional Vietnamese way. Sit down, drink something genuinely good, and watch the village go past.
-
11:15
Basket Boat Ride & Crab Fishing
The coconut water forest: nipa palms growing out of the water on both sides of the narrow channels, with just enough room for a round basket boat. Your boatman poles you through the shade while you fish for crab. Slow, quiet, extraordinary.
-
12:00
Local Lunch on the Island
A full lunch at a local restaurant — Vietnamese home-style cooking in a garden or riverside setting. Fully included. No bill at the table. Time to eat well and sit down after a full morning.
-
13:00
Return to Hotel — Hội An
Back across the Thu Bồn bridge and to your accommodation in Hội An city centre. Drop-off included.
Real Guests.
Real Island.
Everything You Need to Know
Full transparency. Nothing hidden.
Local Operator.
Real Island Access.
DDTravel is based in Hội An. We have built relationships with the craftspeople, weavers, rice cake makers and boatmen on the island over years — which is why your experience here is genuine, not staged for buses. Our drivers know every family on this route. Book directly and talk to the people who will be with you.
What Guests Say.
Unfiltered.
"The basket boat is unlike anything I've done before — just you, the boatman, and these narrow channels through the palms with the fishing line in the water. We caught three crabs. Everything on this tour felt genuine — not a single moment felt staged for tourists."
"We did the morning tour with our two kids (8 and 10) and both of them were completely absorbed the whole time. The rice cake making was the favourite — they've been talking about making their own rice paper ever since. The Jeep is a hit with children."
"The lunch was genuinely one of the better meals of our trip — simple Vietnamese food at a riverside place that clearly doesn't cater to tourists. And crossing that bridge in the open Jeep into the island is a moment I'll remember. Book the morning slot."
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything guests ask before booking.
-
The tour crosses the Thu Bồn River to Hội An Island and visits: Kim Bồng Carpentry Village (wood carving experience and boat building); a traditional Mat Weaving Village where you try weaving on the loom; and a Rice Cake Making Village where you make and taste bánh tráng rice paper fresh off the griddle. The route also includes a local coffee roastery stop, a basket boat ride and crab fishing through the coconut water forest, and a local lunch.
-
Yes — a full local lunch is included in the $80 per person price, along with the US Army Jeep, English-speaking driver, entrance fees to all villages, basket boat ride, 2 bottles of water per person, petrol, road tolls and hotel pickup and drop-off. The only costs not included are drinks ordered at the lunch restaurant (beer, soft drinks) and personal travel insurance.
-
The tour departs daily at 8:00 AM and 1:30 PM. Both options cover the same route and activities. The morning departure gives cooler temperatures and quieter villages; the afternoon departure catches the golden hour light on the rice fields. Both run for approximately 5 hours. Let us know your preference when booking.
-
Yes — the basket boat ride through the nipa palm waterway and the crab fishing experience are both fully included in the tour price. No additional payment is collected at the boat dock. The basket boat section typically takes around 20–30 minutes depending on conditions.
-
Yes — this is one of our most family-friendly tours and a favourite with children of all ages. Kids love the open Jeep, the rice cake tasting (fresh off the griddle), the basket boat ride and the crab fishing. The tour is always private so it runs at your family's pace, with as much time at each stop as your group needs.
-
The only costs not included are: drinks (beer, soft drinks, juices) ordered at the lunch restaurant; personal travel insurance; and any services not mentioned in the inclusions list. Everything else — the Jeep, driver, all entrance fees, basket boat, rice cake tasting, coffee stop, lunch, 2 bottles of water per person, petrol, tolls and hotel pickup and drop-off — is covered in the $80 price.
