Hoi An workshops: tailoring, cooking, lanterns

Beach Vietnam ends right here; what begins is the territory of tailors, cooks and craftspeople who still work the way their grandparents did a century ago. Hội An is one of the few towns in Vietnam where you can order a bespoke suit, cook cao lầu and make a silk lantern by hand, all in a single day. Tailoring is the main event: this is the country's tailoring capital.

Prices current as of July 2026, converted at roughly 26,000 VND to $1.

• Hoi An Old Town (Phố cổ Hội An): Tailors and lantern studios — 500+ tailor shops in a couple of km²
• Red Bridge Cooking School (Trường Dạy Nấu Ăn Cầu Đỏ): Cooking class ~$35–45 — Market + boat ride + kitchen
• Green Bamboo Cooking School (Green Bamboo): Cooking class ~$25–35 — Home-style, up to 8 people
• Tra Que Herb Village (Làng rau Trà Quế): Organic herb farm — Hands in the beds + cooking
• Cam Thanh Coconut Grove (Rừng dừa Cẩm Thanh): Round basket boats — 150,000–300,000 VND (~$6–12)
• Thanh Ha Pottery Village (Làng gốm Thanh Hà): Pottery from 50,000 VND (~$2) — 500 years of tradition
• Kim Bong Carpentry Village (Làng mộc Kim Bồng): Woodcarving — Reached by boat across the river
• Hoi An Central Market (Chợ Hội An): Where cooking tours start — Fresh produce from early morning
• A Dong Silk (62 Trần Hưng Đạo): Tailor house, 30 years in business — Suits and silk
• Chau Kitchen and Bar (Châu Kitchen & Bar): Cooking class 500,000–750,000 VND (~$20–30) — 2–3 h · the cheapest option
• The Lantern Lady (Lantern studio): 150,000–200,000 VND (~$6–8) — 1 h · walk-in

Tailoring — Hoi An's signature craft

People come from across Asia for the tailoring. More than 500 shops are packed into a couple of square kilometres of the Old Town. Turn up in the morning with a photo from Pinterest, go for a first fitting that evening, and collect the finished piece a couple of days later. Suits, dresses, coats, shirts — all cut to your measurements in two to three days.

The process is simple. You show a photo or pick a model from the catalogue, the tailor takes your measurements and suggests fabric. After 12–24 hours comes the first fitting, where they adjust the fit. Another 12 hours for any tweaks, then you collect it.

Prices 2026

Price tracks the cloth, not the shop front. Cheap market tailors work in synthetics and eyeball the pattern — a $40 suit will hang like a $40 suit. For real wool and clean seams you go to a reputable shop, where a two-piece starts around $90–120. The rule is blunt: you get what you pay for.

Trusted tailors

Yaly Couture — the best-known house in town, with several large showrooms. Premium end, designer cuts, consistently even quality. This is where you go for a tricky cut or an evening gown.

A Dong Silk — 30 years in business and a long-time fixture near the top of Tripadvisor. Its own factory, specialising in men's suits and silk. Pricey but predictable.

Kimmy Tailor — its own production, with every seam checked before pickup. Mid-range prices, an easy first visit.

Bebe Tailor — popular with women travellers: dresses, skirts, blouses and a big fabric range.

Mr Xe — an old menswear name with a solid reputation for suits and shirts at a fair price.

How to choose and not get burned

Tailoring in Hoi An is a lottery. At the same price, neighbouring shops can turn out a suit fit for a boutique or a lopsided fit with loose threads. There is no guarantee, so choosing the shop matters more than anything.

At the first fitting, check everything: the shoulders, the sleeve length, how the back sits, the neatness of the seams. Don't be shy about asking for a redo — it's included. Once you've taken it home, fixing anything is hard, and from another country it's nearly impossible.

While I really like the dress, in the end it doesn't quite fit perfectly around the bust. I should possibly have asked for more amendments, but I was staying in An Bang and didn't want to come back into Hoi An again the following dayEm, Em's Globetrotting Gems, 2025

Haggling is fair game, especially on multiple pieces, but don't squeeze too hard — a rock-bottom order isn't one the tailor wants to sew carefully. Shipping home is available at $30–60 a parcel, 2–4 weeks by sea or air.

If your country charges import duty above a threshold, a custom suit can tip you over it — worth a quick check on your customs allowance before you ship rather than carry.

Cooking classes — make cao lầu and bánh xèo

Hoi An is one of the few places where a cooking class starts not in the kitchen but at the market. First you head to Chợ Hội An (the Central Market) with the cook, buying herbs, shrimp and rice flour. Then it's off to a farm, or straight to the stove. You make three to five dishes and eat everything yourself.

…the market traders, on seeing you with a guide, switch into a mode of uncontrolled greed, and you are unlikely to make any good buys. It's enough to walk around, ask questions about choosing the produce and try the local coffee at the marketCath, Vinsky Forum, 2016, translated by VietnamSpot

The dishes classes cook most often:

• Cao lầu — a noodle dish Hoi An claims as its own. Local lore credits water from the Bá Lễ well with its texture
• Bánh xèo — crispy pancakes with shrimp and greens
• Gỏi cuốn — fresh spring rolls in rice paper
• Phở — the famous rice-noodle soup with beef

Groups are small — 6 to 10 people. The cook explains in English (or through an interpreter) and shows every step. Even if you have never stood at a stove, you'll manage.

Reviewers often compare Green Bamboo to cooking at a grandmother's: a tiny group, fresh market produce, and you make everything yourself from start to finish.

Red Bridge wins on atmosphere: a boat ride down the river to the school, a herb garden, an open kitchen over the water. Green Bamboo is the best value for the experience. Tra Que Water Wheel is for anyone who wants to start in a garden bed rather than at a market stall.

An honest caveat: the classes are near-identical. Market tour, basket-boat ride, three or four of the same dishes (spring rolls, bánh xèo, something from the market) and a shared meal. Do two on consecutive days and the second feels like a rerun. Pick one, and choose it on location rather than menu.

Lantern workshops — make one with your own hands

Lanterns are the signature of Hội An. Every evening the Old Town glows with hundreds of silk lanterns, and once a lunar month — on the 14th — the electric lights go off entirely and candles take over. That is the lantern festival, and it is worth catching at least once.

Making your own lantern takes about an hour and needs no booking. You walk into a studio, pick a shape (round, star, lotus, diamond), a fabric and a colour, and the artisan walks you through it step by step: the bamboo frame, stretching the silk, the trim. The finished lantern collapses off its frame and packs flat.

You usually don't need to book: walk in, sit down at a frame almost straight away, and the maker talks you through each step.

Not in the mood to build one? You can buy a ready-made lantern from about 25,000 VND (~$1) for a small decorative one; larger ones run 100,000–300,000 VND (~$4–12). They fold flat, so they travel well in a suitcase.

The lantern festival — when to catch it

It falls on the 14th day of each lunar month. In 2026 the nearest dates are 23 October, 22 November and 22 December. After sunset the Old Town's electric lights go dark and the streets are lit by candles and lanterns alone. People float paper lanterns down the Thu Bồn river — about 10,000 VND (~$0.40) each. For the full calendar, see the dedicated lantern festival guide.

The downside is crowds. If you don't like crush, come on an ordinary evening — the lanterns are lit every night; the full moon just makes the atmosphere something special.

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Herb farms and round basket boats

Trà Quế herb village — 3 km from the Old Town, 10–15 minutes by bike on flat roads. Families here have grown mint, basil, coriander and lettuce for generations, on beds fertilised with algae from the neighbouring lagoon.

For 150,000–250,000 VND (~$6–10) they hand you a conical hat and a hoe: you turn the beds, water with a shoulder pole and two cans, and plant seedlings. It's usually part of a cooking tour but can be booked on its own. Quieter and more human than the basket boats — come here for calm.

Cẩm Thanh coconut grove — 5 km from the centre. Home of the famous round basket boats (thúng chai), woven bamboo bowls that a boatman paddles through channels lined with water coconut palms. The ride is 150,000–300,000 VND (~$6–12) per person for 30–45 minutes.

An easy pairing: the Trà Quế beds and a cook in the morning, then the boats at Cẩm Thanh on the way back. Both sit on the same side of town.

Pottery, carving and other crafts

Within five kilometres of the Old Town lie craft villages where you can try your hand at clay, wood and leather.

Thanh Hà pottery village — 3 km from central Hoi An. The craft has lived here for 500 years. In the workshop you shape clay on a wheel, fire it and take it home. Price: 50,000–100,000 VND (~$2–4). Village entry is paid. Alongside traditional pottery there's a "Terracotta Park" (Công viên đất nung) — an open space of giant clay sculptures. Separate ticket. Almost no tourists.

Kim Bong village (Kim Bồng) — the woodcarvers. Furniture, sculpture, décor. There are no formal workshops, but the craftsmen are happy to show you the process. You get there by boat across the river, which is half the experience. The crossing is free.

Driftwood Village (“Lang Cui Lu” in Vietnamese) puts on 3-hour woodcarving classes after which you’ll take home a colorful ornamental fish sculpture you make yourselfJames Pham, Lonely Planet, 2026

Leather workshops — a few studios in the Old Town let you hand-stitch your own belt, wallet or card holder from Vietnamese leather over 2–3 hours with a maker guiding you. Usually from 400,000–700,000 VND (~$16–27) depending on the piece. A good pick if a lantern feels too easy.

Painting — art studios in the Old Town run lessons from 200,000 VND (~$8). You paint Vietnamese landscapes in watercolour or oil and keep the canvas.

What to pick if you only have one day in Hoi An

Short on time? Here are three combinations to choose from:

The "shopping" day: measurements and fabric choice at a tailor in the morning, the Old Town and market in the afternoon, first fitting in the evening. You collect the suit the next day (or have it shipped). Minimum ~$90 for the suit — and the main reason people come to Hoi An.

The "culture" day: a cooking class in the morning (3 hours, from ~$20), a lantern studio in the evening (1 hour, from ~$4.60). Total: about 4 hours and ~$25.

The "crafts" day: the Thanh Hà pottery village by bike in the morning (entry plus a workshop from $2), lunch in the Old Town, lanterns in the evening. Total: about $10.

Practical tips

Set aside at least two days. Day one: measurements at a tailor plus a cooking class. Day two: a fitting plus lanterns or the pottery village. Unhurried, make it three.

Budget for a day of workshops: a lantern class (150,000 VND) + a cooking class (~750,000 VND) + lunch works out to roughly 1,000,000–1,250,000 VND (~$40–50) per person. Count tailoring separately.

Bring comfortable shoes (you walk a lot), some cash in dong (not every studio takes cards) and sun protection. Cooking schools provide aprons.

The ideal rhythm: cooking class in the morning (starting at the market around 8–9), measurements and a first fitting at the tailor midday, a lantern studio in the evening. The Old Town is compact and all of it is walkable.

Hoi An lives on its crafts. Tailors sew for locals and tourists alike, cooks pass down family recipes to a fifth generation of students. Now they'll teach you too.

FAQ — common questions about Hoi An workshops