08:30: The guide and driver pick you up at your hotel in Hanoi. Depart for Thanh Oai ward — the cradle of the northern conical hat craft. Thanh Oai has Don Thu village, famous for making hat rims, and Chuong village, famous for making hats. Hats here have been selected as diplomatic gifts for major domestic and international events.
09:45 - 10:00: Arrive in Don Thu village. Guests get on bicycles, pass through the village gate and the bridge connecting the two banks of the Day River (Day River dike). Cycle along the dike, admiring the rice fields. While cycling around the village and breathing the country air, the guide tells stories of Vietnamese rural life: the history of the Day River dike, and the custom of two-crop wet rice cultivation that gives villagers idle periods to make hats.
10:30: Continue cycling to a family in Don Thu village specializing in handmade hat rims. Here guests see the meticulous process of making main and secondary bamboo rims — the frame that holds the conical hat.
11:00: Cycle to an old house. Guests learn about typical Vietnamese house architecture and the distinctive features of the north. You can rest and drink green tea with peanut candy and mung bean cakes. Guests also meet an 80-year-old hat artisan (she still sews hats every day) and hear village stories, betel chewing, tea drinking, and her lifelong connection to the craft.
12:00: Lunch at a local home with Vietnamese country dishes. Bicycles are returned here.
13:30: After lunch, transfer to the hat-making experience space in Chuong village.
14:45: Conical hat making experience:
o “Shaping the hat” (building the frame): Watch artisans arrange palm leaves and materials on the mold to shape the hat before sewing.
o Sewing: Sew a few stitches yourself to understand the difficulty, patience, and precision of the craft.
o Drawing: Draw patterns yourself on the finished hat. Guests keep the mini conical hat they made to take home.
15:00: After finishing the hats, the car takes guests to the yard of Chuong village communal house. The guide tells about the market sessions held here on certain days of the lunar month (from 4:00 to 8:00 a.m.). The market not only sells hats and materials but is also a place to exchange food, fruit, and clothes for the whole region. Guests are also introduced to the trio of symbols of the Vietnamese village: the banyan tree, the well, and the communal house yard, still preserved here for centuries.
Deeper meaning. Through these stories, guests see that the conical hat is not just a beautiful cultural gift. It is a symbol of community strength, perseverance, and solidarity. That is also the spirit of the journey: Beyond souvenirs — the secrets of the Vietnamese conical hat.
15:30 - 16:00: Get on the car back to Hanoi.
17:00 - 18:00: Arrive at the hotel in Hanoi. End of tour.
Meals included: local lunch
Highlights and hands-on experiences
• Scenic cycling: Follow the Day River dike, viewing green rice fields and the peaceful rhythm of village life.
• Rim making: Make bamboo rims by hand — the main rim and secondary rims — the frame of the conical hat.
• Meet an artisan: Meet an 80-year-old artisan in Don Thu village who still sews hats every day, devoted to the craft and to the trade left by her ancestors.
• Village tea: Drink green tea, eat peanut candy and mung bean cakes — the way Vietnamese people welcome guests.
• Hat workshop: Make a conical hat step by step, from building the frame to sewing, then decorate your own hat to take home.
