Handpicked experience · Da Nang
Da Nang, Vietnam
A town preserved by the accident of a silting river, a bridge with a shrine built inside it, and boats designed to not be boats.
Immerse yourself in the daily hustle and bustle of Hoi An by exploring its streets with your guide
Marvel at its most celebrated landmarks like the Japanese Covered Bridge and more
Visit the Cam Thanh Village, hop on a basket boat and paddle down a river, and go crab fishing!
Cap off this exciting adventure by feasting on an authentic staple Vietnamese dish
A guided walk through streets closed to traffic
The town's emblematic covered bridge, seen up close
Lantern makers and craft workshops along the way
A woven hull that turns in its own length
Regional seafood eaten between the two halves of the day
Six hours from Da Nang taking in Hoi An's old town on foot and a round basket boat ride through the water-coconut channels at Cam Thanh, with a seafood lunch and a local guide.
Hoi An was one of the great trading ports of Southeast Asia, where Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and Portuguese merchants met for two centuries. Then the Thu Bon river silted up. Ships could no longer reach the quays, the trade moved north to Da Nang, and the town became a backwater — too poor to knock anything down and rebuild.
That is precisely why it looks the way it does. Everywhere that stayed prosperous replaced its wooden shophouses; Hoi An could not afford to, and four hundred years of merchant architecture survived by accident of sedimentation.
The covered bridge was built by the Japanese community in the late sixteenth century to connect their quarter with the Chinese one across the stream. It has a small temple built into its northern side — a shrine to a weather god, set into a working footbridge — and stone animals guarding either end. It is the emblem of the town and appears on the country's banknotes.
The round bamboo basket you ride in at Cam Thanh has a story attached: that villagers built them in response to a colonial tax on boats, on the reasoning that a basket is not a boat. Whether or not the tax explanation holds, the design is genuinely clever — woven bamboo sealed with resin, cheap to build, almost impossible to capsize, and able to spin on the spot in a channel too narrow to turn a hull.
The dense water-coconut channels look ancient and are not. This area was a base during the war and the palm forest was destroyed; what you paddle through is regrowth, replanted over the following decades. Local families now farm and fish it, and the boat trips are part of what pays for keeping it.
The old town charges an entry ticket that covers a set number of heritage houses; it is not included here, so carry local currency. Hoi An is best early or late — the middle of the day is hot and crowded, and the tailors need more than an hour if you are serious about ordering anything. Wear shoes you can get wet at the basket boats.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
Because the river silted up and the trade left. Hoi An became too poor to knock down its wooden shophouses and rebuild, so four hundred years of merchant architecture survived by accident.
A small temple built into its northern side, dedicated to a weather god, with stone animals guarding either end. It was built in the late sixteenth century to link the Japanese and Chinese quarters.
Tradition says villagers built them to sidestep a colonial tax on boats, arguing that a basket is not a boat. Whatever the origin, the shape is cheap, near-impossible to capsize and can spin on the spot in a narrow channel.
No. The palm forest was destroyed during the war and what you paddle through is regrowth, replanted in the decades since and now farmed and fished by local families.
No — it is bought at the booths in town. The ticket admits you to a fixed number of heritage houses, and you choose which ones.
Not seriously. Ordering anything made properly needs more than the free time this itinerary allows — treat browsing as the realistic option.
Early or late. The middle of the day is hot and the streets are at their most crowded.
Possibly — the boats sit low and are spun deliberately. Wear shoes and clothes you do not mind splashing.