After transferring from your hotel by jeep board the Chic boat to begin your one and a half hour cruise up the Thu Bon river into the  heart of the old town. The river is a hive of activity as the day is  drawing to a close. Fishermen preparing to head to the ocean for a  night of fishing, locals catching ferries home. The Thu Bon river is a highway of everyday life.

18:00 After relaxing with a glass of wine, observing all the river has to offer, your 6 course family meal will be served  as the river and surrounding countryside is bathed in orange by the sun setting beyond the distant mountains.

19:00 Ahead of you is the UNESCO town of Hoian. Hundreds of colored lanterns hanging from centuries old buildings, a kaleidoscope of colours reflecting off the river as candles float downstream to greet  you and lead you into the heart of the old town. Make your wishes for the candles to guide them to the gods.

19:30 Disembark at An Hoi dock. A couple of minutes walk down the road leading to the dock will bring you to the night market and the river, across from which is the Japanese Bridge. You are back in the heart of Hoi An old town

08:00 Pick up at your hotel. Take the boat trip on Thu Bon river.  Then the morning  is spent strolling through the narrow streets of this atmospheric old town. This former port, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is full of architectural gems that show a range of influences. Visit the fish & vegetable market, the Fujian temple, the Quan Cong templeand the Japanese covered bridge.

Around the 17th century Hoi An was one of the busiest ports in South East Asia, with Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, Dutch, French and English merchants visiting the town in search of spices, lacquer ware, and ceramics. Enriched by the proceeds of this trade many merchants constructed beautiful homes. You can admire these charming houses along Tran Phu street, one of the oldest in Hoi An.

08:30 Ride a bicycle to a local farm in Tra Que village. You will take a trip around the vegetable garden and join the farmers in preparing the land and fertilizing it with seaweed from the local lake. Continue doing some next steps such as: raking the ground, sowing, watering greens, picking greens and many more gardening activities. Then spend the rest of the morning working the land in the time honored way, before breaking to prepare lunch with a local family. Your lunch with consist of many local delicacies including ”tam huu” spring roll, banh xeo or local pancake of people’s middle region. After your lunch and the exertions of the morning, take an even more traditional Vietnamese post-prandial nap before learning how to harvest and wrap the vegetables.  Around 13:00, bid farewell to your host family before  riding back to Hoi An, on the way back we will stop at a Japanese tomb.

Hoi An afternoon street food walking tour will give you a chance to discover street food which you would not get if you were just a tourist walking around by yourself.

Hoi An afternoon street food walking tour is really great for foodies who love trying not only normal food but also adventurous and unusual foods. All of the food available in Hoi An’s narrow alleys and tree-lined boulevards is just as much a part of the ancient town.

Joining our Hoi An afternoon street food walking tour, you will feel very smart. You eat and then walk as a way to loose energy and have more space to continue to eat.

Our guides are mostly lovely, knowledgeable, fun and young people who can bring you great moments walking around the town. They are willing to share all the things about local life or even their personal life if you are curious. The guides will be your true local buddies! Trust me!

Hoi An afternoon street food walking tour is available in the afternoon when street vendors are starting their business. Our 4-hour signature food tour combines food tasting with off-the-beaten sightseeing. This tour is designed to give you the confidence to go out and try street food on your own when you visit a heaven of street food as Vietnam. You also discover a different Hoi An – not beautifully decorated restaurants, not expensive clothe shops…This tour is a delicious and fun way to explore Hoi An just like a local.

Time: 15:00 PM – 18:30
For hot summer: 16:00 – 19:30 

Highlights
Taste many delicious street food
Many delicious samples (enough for dinner)
Special herbal wine tasting
Laugh and learn about local culture and food history
Explore some places that are not in your guidebook
Visit Hoi An market and tiny alleys

15.00       Meet Mr Xe and enjoy a 30 minute  buffalo cart ride followed by a 15 minute  walk through the rural villages within Hoi An, learning about local farming, life and customs.

15.45       Return to the rice paddies we sit in plush massage  chairs in the open air and enjoy a traditional and relaxing foot, neck and shoulder massage.  Using natural oil that is made locally, your dedicated masseuse  will pamper  you and massage  your cares away. A time of peace  and tranquility.

17.00       Once  you are  refreshed  and  rejuvenated, indulge  in local delicacies and  enjoy an outdoor BBQ, as the sunsets in the peaceful rice fields.

18.00       After a short return walk to Hoi An Chic, your excursion concludes.

DAY 1: HOIAN – BOHONG VILLAGE [-/L/D]

08:30 You depart Hoi An bound for your two day action packed adventure in the Co Tu minority region of Vietnam.
09:30 After taking the countryside and laneways route out of Hoi An, you begin your ascent into the mountains. Here you stop for a local Vietnamese coffee and rest break.
11:00 You arrive at the home of the former Co Tu chief and his family. You enjoy a tyour of the tea plantations the area is known for before enjoying a cup of local tea or coffee, or for the more adventurous, some local rice wine.
12:00 After your your and introduction to Co Tu culture you enjoy a traditional Co Tu meal
13:00 It’s time to continue your journey. Bidding your hosts farewell, you continue your journey up the mountains making your way to the ethnic minority village of Droong.
14:00 Arrival at Bohong village, you have time to refresh and check in before meeting a local resident who will escort you for a walk around the village and surrounding areas.
On the village walk, you will learn about to local culture and lives of the people who live in the village.
15:30 Returning from your walk you are free to enjoy a beverage, rest or take a swim in the local river.
18:30 It’s dinner time and you make your way to the communal house for a traditional Co Tu banquet. Overnight at Bohong bungalow or homestay.

Optional: Dancing performance if the group size is 4 or more

DAY 2: BOHONG VILLAGE – HOIAN [B/L/-]

08:30 It’s a leisurely start to the day and you enjoy breakfast.
10:00 You have an opportunity for an early morning swim before saying farewell to the village. Boarding your vehicle you make your way to another Co Tu village, known throughout Vietnam for its brocade weaving. You have an opportunity to watch the weavers work and inspect the weaving, and even buy a keep sake if you please.
11:00 After your visit to the village you make your way to the famous Ho Chi Minh highway. The views are stunning on this largely deserted piece of road. Have your cameras handy. There are many opportunities for photos.
13:00 It’s time to unpack a delicious picnic lunch and enjoy it by the side of a waterfall. Take a swim if you like.
14:00 Winding your way down the Ho Chi Minh Trail you make your way into the delta area at the base of the mountains, taking in the lush scenery and photo opportunities as you make your way to Hoi An.
16:00 Arrive Hoi An and return to your hotel.

13:30 Setting off from Café Zoom in Hoi An, you head out west along the banks of the Thu Bon river, first stopping at a bustling local fish market before heading into the rice paddy rich with countryside and local villages, stopping to meet a local family making mung bean cakes and another producing the local rice crackers. Crossing a bridge over the Thu Bon river takes us through more quiet villages and then into beautiful farmlands.

You take a break for some local food while surrounded by seasonal vegetables in the picturesque fields of corn, aubergine, sweet potato, cucumbers and herbs. As the sun starts to go down, you set off through the rice paddies again, passing duck farms, visiting a local mat weaving family and then riding along by the prawn farms and over the river to sample the local coffee in a riverside café. Then it’s a short ride to Cam Kim harbour and on board the local ferry into Hoi An as the sun begins to set on this beautiful heritage town.

08:00 Setting off from Café Zoom in Hoi An, this day tour will start on the river aboard a local bike ferry and head into the morning melee of Cam Kim island’s fishing port, stopping off at an Ancestral House and a traditional boat builders’ yard before you set off to explore the sleepy island villages. Zig-zag through breathtaking scenery of rice paddies and farmland, taking stops along the way to learn from friendly local families the art of mat weaving, farming and how to make (and eat) the perfect Banh Dap (rice cracker). Meeting local families is a must-do to see the real way of life in Vietnam.

Ride into a small village, stop at a local café to fuel up on local drip-coffee, gearing up for an adrenaline pumping 300 metre bamboo bridge river crossing to the opposing landscape of the seaboard side of the island making your way to the coast at the Thu Bon river mouth. Finally, it’s up high and over the new bridge offering spectacular panoramic views of Hoi An, which takes you to the water coconut palm fringed Cam Thanh and then on to a sensational seafood lunch on Hoi An’s most glorious and lesser known beach. Finish the tour at 13:00

08h30: Meet our guide and start your cycling to Cam Thanh village, we have chance to enjoy the rice paddy-field view and learn the traditional method of rice production of the local people. At this village, we will be amazed how nice is the coconut characteristic house of the countryside, and enjoy the handicraft man manipulating the furniture made of water coconut and bamboo.

Continue to the fishing village to explore the water coconut palm with the unique basket boat and visit the lake of shrimp, there  you will have chance to touch the fishing life by catching fish with the local fishermen’s net , that will be an unforgetable experience on your trip to Vietnam. Relax with lunch at local family.

Take a ride back to your hotel

RED BRIDGE CLASSIC HALF DAY TOUR (8.15am to 1pm) 

08:00 Start the day with a welcome drink at the Hai Café.

(98 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hoi An Ancient Town, Tel: 3863210) – your meeting point.

Visit Hoi An’s colourful market, and experience the amazing sights, sounds and aromas of this busy market. We will have the opportunity to interact with the local sellers and learn about all the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson later.

Board the Red Bridge boat for a leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. This is a chance to view local river life, so make sure your camera is handy. On arrival,  explore the cooking school’s herb garden, before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes. The cooking lesson runs for about 2 hours – the Red Bridge chefs first demonstrate each dish before we prepare the same dish ourselves. Included in the class is a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carving (plate decoration). After the lesson, sit down and eat what you have cooked.

Bring your swimsuit and after the cooking tour has finished relax and enjoy free use of our 20 metre swimming pool – towels and showers provided.

Recipes:

– Rice paper (making)
– Fresh rice paper rolls of shrimp
– Crispy Hoi An pancakes with shrimp, herbs, bean sprouts & a peanut sauce
– Seafood salad with mixed Vietnamese herbs served in half a pineapple
– Vietnamese eggplant in clay pot
– Food decoration – pineapple boat, 3 coloured flowers & Vietnamese hand fan
– Vegetarians are provided with replacement ingredients.

Lunch includes the above meals as well as:
Steamed ocean fish on a bed of fresh vegetables (not included in the demonstration).

Inclusions:

– Welcome drink (non-alcoholic) at Hai Scout café.
– Welcome drink (non-alcoholic), and 1 water at Red Bridge.
– Local English speaking tour guide and chef.
– Boat trip.
– Cooking demonstration and lunch.
– All recipes and notes.
– Transfer from Red Bridge Cooking School to central Hoi An.
– Free use of the new Red Bridge swimming pool (towels & showers provided).

Taxis are available back to town / beach area for around US$3-4 per car.

08:00 Start the day with a welcome drink at Hai Café (98 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hoi An Ancient Town, Tel: 3863210) – your meeting point.

Travel by minivan (10 mins) to Tra Que Organic Village, and walk through the market gardens where local farmers work their fields using the traditional methods of hundreds of years ago – no electrical machinery here. Pick fresh saw-tooth coriander and Vietnamese mint for our cooking lesson later, before trying a special herbal drink at a local home. To the local village market and with shopping list in hand we purchase a range of local ingredients, including star anise, cardamom, sesame rice paper, water spinach and banana flower.

Arriving at Red Bridge Cooking School you have a chance to freshen up before beginning our class. Working together with our Red Bridge Chef you learn the traditional ways of preparing and cooking Vietnamese food from scratch. Using the freshest ingredients and traditional Vietnamese utensils (still in use today) we cook 4 famous dishes, including the national dish ‘Pho’.   After the class , sit down and a chance to savour the dishes we have prepared. Leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River back to central Hoi An. Bring your swimsuit and after the cooking tour has finished relax and enjoy free use of our 20 metre swimming pool – towels and showers provided.

Recipes:

– Beef noodle soup (Pho) – includes the making of fresh rice noodles
– Clay pot fish with fresh dill (Cha Ca)
– Lemongrass shrimp grilled in banana leaves (Tom nuong la chuoi)
– Grilled chicken and banana flower salad (Goi hoa chuoi ga nuong)
– Vegetarians are provided with replacement ingredients.

Inclusions:

– Lunch and all drinks (including house wine, soft drinks, and beer).
– Guided tour of Tra Que organic village with herbal drink at a local home.
– Red Bridge apron and recipe booklet.
– Boat from Red Bridge Cooking School to central Hoi An.
– Free use of the Red Bridge swimming pool (towels & showers provided).
– Taxis are available back to town / beach area for around US$3-4 per car.

Green Bamboo Cooking School in Hoi An offers a unique cookery class experience. Run by mutli-lingual Vietnamese chef Van, this class gives a fabulous insight into Vietnamese culinary skills in a friendly and relaxed setting.  This wonderful course is suitable for both experienced cooks wanting to learn new techniques or amateur chefs who simply want a fun day out.

Green Bamboo class details

We will pick you up around 08:00 at your hotel.   You will then tour the local market with Van to buy ingredients and learn more about local produce.  Then we head back to Green Bamboo Cookery School to cook a variety of local dishes of your choice (contact us for the Menu).  You will have plenty of hands on participation.  Afterwards share your creations and a drink together around Van’s kitchen table!  The school’s location in Van’s beautiful home ensures a truly memorable Vietnamese experience.

We invite you to come and experience this unforgettable culinary event!

Address: Located near Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An 21 Truong Minh hung street- Cam An ward
Website: http://www.greenbamboo-hoian.com/