Private & tailor-made · 1–4 guests
Bat Trang Pottery Village Tour from Hanoi: Old Kilns, a Family Workshop and Your Own Piece
Four and a half hours with your own guide: the old village behind the market street, a family workshop still making pottery, and an hour at the wheel beside a potter. The class and every ticket are paid before you travel.
A sample day at a glance
What changes when the day is yours
A private car for your group alone
Private, 1-4 guests, and nobody outside your party is added to it
Your own licensed local guide
Fluent in English and explains each step of the craft, from clay to kiln — to your group alone, not a van of strangers
Collected at your own hotel
Anywhere in central Hanoi. No meeting point to reach on your own, and no shuttle round of other hotels
Every ticket and the class prepaid
The pottery class and the museum are paid for you. Nothing is collected from you on the day
No shop stops, in writing
No detour to a ceramics showroom that pays to have you delivered
A potter beside you at the wheel
An hour with a potter who shows you how, not a few minutes in a queue at a market stall
Duration
4.5 hours
Departure
08:00 or 13:30 hotel pickup
Pickup
Any central Hanoi hotel
from · $48 · / person · ›Check your price ›
Choose your group size · price is the total for the group
Solo traveller$130 BOOK →2 guests$150 BOOK →3 guests$170 BOOK →4 guests$190 BOOK →Free cancellation up to 3 days before · every tour tailored on request
The half day, stop by stop
This is a sample day: add, skip or linger over any stop and we will adjust it. Times follow the 08:00 pickup; the 13:30 pickup runs the same stops in the afternoon.
Hotel pickup · 08:00 or 13:30 · anywhere in central Hanoi
Drive east over the Red River · about 40 minutes
The old village of Bat Trang
08:45 · about 45 minutes · on foot, flat
Included in the tour price
4 photos · tap to enlarge
Behind the market street, Bat Trang is still a village. Your guide walks you through narrow brick lanes to an old merchant house that keeps a collection of old pottery, past a wood-fired kiln of the kind the whole village once used, and to the communal house where the craft’s founders are honoured.
A family workshop at work
09:30 · about 45 minutes · on foot, flat
No entry fee — and no obligation to buy
4 photos · tap to enlarge
Most households in Bat Trang still make pottery in their own courtyards. Your guide takes you into one that is at work, and explains each step as you watch: shaping or moulding the clay, drying, hand-painting in cobalt blue, glazing and firing.
Your hour at the wheel
10:15 · about 1 hour · seated
Pottery class included
4 photos · tap to enlarge
A potter sits beside you at the wheel and shows you how to centre the clay and raise a small bowl or cup, then how the glaze and the kiln finish it. A piece made at the wheel has to dry for several days before it can be fired. If you are staying in Hanoi for three more days, we bring the fired piece to your hotel; if you leave sooner, you take it home unfired and wrapped, as a keepsake rather than something to use.
Bat Trang Ceramics Museum
11:15 · about 40 minutes · indoors
Museum ticket included
1 photo · tap to enlarge
A museum built to look like stacked potter’s wheels, where the floors trace Vietnamese ceramics from the earliest wares to the work of today’s Bat Trang artists. Your guide picks out the pieces that explain what you saw in the workshop.
Back to Hanoi · about 40 minutes
Back at your hotel · around 12:30, or 18:00 after the afternoon pickup · 4.5 hours after pickup
Half a day, one village, your group only
No stops we did not tell you about, nothing to pay at any gate, and any part of it can be changed.
Group total · everything included
Solo traveller$130 BOOK →2 guests$150 BOOK →3 guests$170 BOOK →4 guests$190 BOOK →Price is the total for the group · free cancellation up to 3 days before
WhatsApp · +84 368 938 081Want a different route, pace or group size? We will plan your day and send you an all-inclusive quote. ›What is in the price
Included
- Private car and driver
- Licensed local guide, fluent in English
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in central Hanoi
- Pottery class with a Bat Trang potter
- Bat Trang Ceramics Museum ticket
- Bottled water
Not included
− Lunch and drinks beyond the water we provide
− Ceramics you choose to buy in the village
− A tip for your guide and driver — never expected, always welcome
− Travel insurance, which we recommend you carry
Is this the right tour for you?
A good fit if
You want to see how the pottery is really made, not only buy it.
You would like to make something yourself with a potter beside you.
You are travelling as a couple, a family with children or a small group.
You want one price that covers the class, every ticket and the car.
Look elsewhere if
You are one person on a tight budget.
You only want to shop for ceramics; the market street needs no guide.
You have less than five hours before a flight.
You want the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake on the same day.
If you want the rest of the day in Hanoi too, the full day adds a village banquet lunch, the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake. See the Bat Trang and Hanoi day. Or tell us what you want to see, and we will plan a day around it.
Questions before you book
About the day
How long is the tour and when does it start?
It runs 4.5 hours door to door, departing 08:00 or 13:30 hotel pickup from your hotel. Both slots cover the same stops; the morning is cooler in summer.
Where do you pick us up?
At your own hotel, with no meeting point to reach on your own. Free pickup and drop-off at any central Hanoi hotel. Hotels further out are possible on request. Your guide waits in the lobby for 20 minutes.
Can I take home what I make?
A piece made at the wheel has to dry for several days before it can be fired. If you are staying in Hanoi for three more days, we bring the fired piece to your hotel; if you leave sooner, you take it home unfired and wrapped, as a keepsake rather than something to use.
Can we change the route or the pace?
Yes. This is a sample day and every part of it can be adjusted: longer at the wheel, skip the museum, or add a stop. Tell us before you book and we confirm the plan and an all-inclusive price in writing.
Does the guide speak good English?
Yes. Your guide is a licensed local who speaks fluent English and explains the village, the families and each step of the craft as you go.
Booking and practicalities
Is the price per person or for the whole group?
For the whole group, from one to four guests: four people pay less each than two, and the car is the same car. Children under 5 travel free and do not count towards the group size; from 5 a child counts as one guest. Groups of five or more travel in a larger vehicle — message us for a quote.
How do I pay, and when?
Two ways: pay the full price online by card, or pay a 30% deposit online and the rest in cash on the day of the tour, in US dollars or Vietnamese dong. We can also send a secure payment link on WhatsApp. The booking is confirmed once the online payment goes through, and your pickup time and guide’s name arrive in writing.
Can I cancel or reschedule?
Yes — free cancellation up to 3 days before departure for a full refund, and free rescheduling subject to availability. Within 3 days of departure, 30% of the tour price is charged because the car and guide are already committed. Date changes are arranged over WhatsApp.
What should I bring, and do I need cash?
Clothes you do not mind getting a little clay on, and comfortable shoes. You do not need cash for the tour, since the class and tickets are paid for you; bring your own money only for ceramics you choose to buy, and the balance for your guide if you chose to pay it in cash.
Is it suitable for children?
Yes, and children usually love the wheel. The village is flat, the class is seated, and the potter adjusts to small hands. Children under 5 travel free.
Book the Bat Trang half day
Private car and licensed local guide, hotel pickup, every fee already settled.
Group total · everything included
Solo traveller$130 BOOK →2 guests$150 BOOK →3 guests$170 BOOK →4 guests$190 BOOK →Price is the total for the group · free cancellation up to 3 days before
WhatsApp · +84 368 938 081Want a different route, pace or group size? We will plan your day and send you an all-inclusive quote. ›