Thanh Ha Pottery Village, Hoi An (2026)
Thanh Ha is the working pottery village three kilometers west of the Hoi An Old Town, where families have been throwing clay on foot-powered wheels for around 500 years. It is one of the traditional craft villages around Hoi An - alongside Tra Que vegetable village and Kim Bong carpentry village - and the only one where the craft is still the primary trade. Most families here are still potters, and most of the kilns you walk past are still firing.
For visitors, the right framing is half-day side trip, not full destination. You ride out from the Old Town, walk the village in 30-45 minutes, sit down for a hands-on turn at the wheel if you want one, and head back. Rolled into a river boat trip it stretches to a comfortable morning; as a pure walk-through it is 90 minutes door to door.
Tickets and hours
Entry to the village is 35,000 VND for adults and 15,000 VND for children, and it buys more than a gate pass. The ticket covers the village itself, the Nam Dieu Temple and Xuan My communal house, a short turn at a potter's wheel with an artisan, a little clay-whistle souvenir to take away, and the electric-cart transfers around the site. It is one of the better-value craft-village tickets in the area.
The village runs 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. The kilns fire mostly in the mornings, so if you want to see production rather than finished shelves, get there before 11 a.m.
What to do there
Watch the potters work. The paths run between family workshops with doors open onto the street. Each family throws the same handful of forms - water pots, tea sets, planters, small lanterns - and they work fast: a 30-second bowl, a 90-second teacup, the rhythm of someone who has done it 20,000 times. The wheels are foot-powered wooden discs and the technique is the original. It is the closest thing to a pre-industrial workshop scene you will find in central Vietnam.
Try the wheel yourself. The village ticket includes a short go, but several workshops also run a longer, dedicated hands-on session for around 80,000-100,000 VND, where a potter gets your hands in the clay and walks you through a full pot. You will produce something lopsided. Take it home anyway - it is the photo your grandkids will hold up at Christmas in 40 years.
Visit the Terracotta Park (Cong Vien Dat Nung), a separate ticketed attraction at the edge of the village built by a local sculptor in the 2010s. It is mostly large terracotta sculptures of world landmarks - the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa - reproduced in fired clay at miniature scale. Camp, fun for kids, weird in a memorable way. Around 50,000 VND on its own, or roughly 70,000 VND on a combined ticket with the village and museum. Open 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Skip it if you are short on time and here for the pottery.
Browse and buy direct. Buying from the workshops runs 30-50% cheaper than the same pieces in the Old Town souvenir shops. The shop at the village entrance carries the broadest range; the family workshops sell what they threw that week.
The full directory entry for Thanh Ha Pottery Village has the listing details and map.
How to get there
From the Old Town it is 3 km southwest along the Thu Bon River. Four ways to get there.
Bicycle. The best option, and the one I would push first. The route runs along the riverside on a flat, scenic, mostly traffic-free road - about 20 minutes one way. A bike rents for 30,000-50,000 VND a day in the Old Town.
Boat. A river tour that stops at Thanh Ha (often combined with the coconut village in Cam Thanh) is the most scenic way out. Operators run morning and afternoon trips - see Thu Bon River Tour and the wider boat tours for current options.
Grab car. Around 80,000 VND one way, 8-10 minutes. Easy if it is hot or you are pressed for time.
Motorbike. 5-10 minutes. The road is fine for confident riders; do not bother if you are not already comfortable on a Vietnamese road.
Combine with a half-day boat trip
The standard scenic loop out of the Old Town runs Old Town to Cam Thanh coconut village to Thanh Ha and back - a half-day on the water with two compact, photogenic stops, neither over-long. Most Old Town operators set up the route for 300,000-500,000 VND for a small private boat carrying up to four; group tours run 200,000-250,000 VND per person.
It also works as a slow-cycling loop for fitter visitors: Old Town to Thanh Ha along the river (20 minutes), through the back lanes to Cam Thanh (25 minutes), back to the Old Town (20 minutes), plus stops for swimming or coffee. Three to four hours all-in if you keep the breaks short. A bike from one of the cycling tour operators makes the loop easy to plan.
What to know before you go
The village is a working community, not a sanitized attraction. The streets are dusty, the paths between workshops are narrow, and dogs and chickens wander where they like. The trade-off is that what you see is what happens here every day.
Children are welcome and the workshops are good with them - the hands-on session works as well for an eight-year-old as for an adult.
What it is not is a place to eat. There are a couple of drink stands and one or two simple lunch spots, but for a proper meal, plan to head back to the Old Town or detour to Cam Thanh.
What to buy and how to get it home
The headline buys are tea sets, planters, water pots, and small ceramic lanterns. Workshop prices:
- Small tea cup: 30,000-50,000 VND
- Tea set with pot and four cups: 200,000-400,000 VND
- Small decorative planter: 80,000-150,000 VND
- Large decorative planter: 250,000-700,000 VND
- Wall-hanging ceramic lantern: 100,000-300,000 VND
Breakage on the flight home is the limiting factor. Small pieces wrapped in clothes inside checked baggage make it; larger planters and pots almost never do. For anything bigger than a tea set, ask the workshop about shipping - most will pack and send via DHL or Vietnam Post for around USD 30-80 depending on destination, usually cheaper than buying a hard case. Pay in cash; most workshops do not take cards.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to visit Thanh Ha Pottery Village?
Entry is 35,000 VND for adults and 15,000 VND for children, which includes the village, the Nam Dieu Temple and Xuan My communal house, a short turn at a potter's wheel, a clay-whistle souvenir, and the electric-cart transfers. The Terracotta Park is a separate ticket (around 50,000 VND, or about 70,000 VND combined with the village).
What are the opening hours?
The village is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the Terracotta Park runs 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Come before 11 a.m. if you want to see the kilns firing rather than just the finished pieces.
How do I get to Thanh Ha from Hoi An?
It is 3 km southwest of the Old Town. The nicest way is a 20-minute riverside bike ride; you can also take a river boat tour, a Grab car (about 80,000 VND), or a motorbike. Cycling and boat both make it a half-day outing.
Is the pottery-making worth doing?
Yes - it is hands-on, quick, and good with kids, and the village ticket already includes a short turn. For a full pot guided start to finish, the longer workshop session runs 80,000-100,000 VND.
Can I ship pottery home?
Yes. Small pieces travel fine in checked baggage wrapped in clothes. For anything larger than a tea set, ask the workshop to pack and ship it - most use DHL or Vietnam Post for around USD 30-80, usually cheaper and safer than flying it home yourself.
Related Hoi An guides
- Best Day Trips from Hoi An - My Son, Ba Na, Hai Van, Marble Mountains
- Hoi An Old Town Tickets - prices, sites and scams
- Things to Do in Hoi An - what is actually worth your time
- Hoi An Central Market - what to buy, eat and skip