Thanh Ha Pottery Village, Hoi An

A 500-year-old working pottery village about 3km from the old town, where families of potters still throw clay on foot-powered wheels the way their grandparents did. The entry ticket covers the village walk and museum, with a small voucher thrown in – pottery classes cost extra on top of that.

The hands-on pottery session is the main draw here. You sit down with a local artisan, get your hands muddy, and walk away with whatever lopsided bowl you managed to produce (30 minutes is about the right expectation, not an afternoon).

The village itself is compact and the ‘tour’ moves fast if you’re not doing a class. Worth it for the craft context and the rare chance to watch genuinely traditional production, not for the shopping.