Hoi An Countryside by Bicycle: Tra Que, Cam Thanh Basket Boats, Kim Bong, Cam Kim Island, and the Rice Fields

Hoi An sits on a flat delta between the river and the sea, and within ten minutes of the old town the lanes run through rice fields, shrimp ponds, herb gardens and villages where the water buffalo still plough. There are no hills, little traffic on the back lanes, and everything worth seeing is within a 15-kilometre loop. Half a day on a bicycle is how most visitors find the Hoi An they came for, and the tours here get the best reviews of anything in the town.

Out through the fields to Tra Que, the herb village where 200 families grow the basil, mint and coriander for the town's kitchens on beds fertilised with lake weed, with a stop to try the watering cans; on to Cam Thanh, the coconut-palm waterways where the round bamboo basket boats (thung chai) take you through the channels, with a spinning demonstration from the boatmen; across to Cam Kim island by the bridge or a small ferry, where the Kim Bong carpenters have built boats and temple beams for 400 years; and back by the dyke road. Four to five hours with a lunch stop in a village house.

A three-hour morning ride does Tra Que and the fields. Full-day rides add An Bang beach for a swim, or the My Son Cham temples 40 km inland by van with the bikes for the last stretch. Sunrise rides leave at 5:30 in the hot months and see the farmers at work; sunset rides end at the beach. E-bikes are offered by a few operators for the longer routes.

The Cam Thanh basket-boat ride is a short (20 to 30 minutes), fun and slightly staged experience: boatmen spin the round boats, sing, and make rings from palm leaves; some channels have loud music from other boats. Go with a tour that uses the quieter channels or early in the morning. It is included in most countryside rides and is worth it for the coconut forest itself, which the war defoliated and the villagers replanted.

Bikes, helmets and water are provided; wear a hat and sunscreen, the lanes have little shade. The fields are greenest from February to April and again in August and September, and gold just before the harvests in May and September; October and November bring rain and sometimes flooding to the low lanes. Book a day ahead in high season. Pair with a cooking class at Tra Que to do farm and kitchen in one morning.