The basket boat: short and fun
The round bamboo basket boat ride from $5 is a 30 minute spin through the water coconut palms of Cam Thanh, complete with crab-fishing demos and boat-spinning. It is touristy and brief but genuinely fun, and it often comes bundled into a cooking class. See our basket boat guide.
The Vespa tour: a half-day out
A countryside Vespa tour from $68 is the bigger experience, riding pillion through villages and rice paddies with food stops and a guide. It gets you off the tourist track and into daily rural life. Read the countryside tours guide for bike alternatives.
Which to choose
Short on time or budget? Do the basket boat, ideally as part of a cooking class. Want a proper half-day adventure and a deeper look at the countryside? The Vespa tour wins. Many travelers happily do both.
Ride the countryside
A half-day Vespa tour through villages and paddies, or a quick basket boat spin.
Preguntas Frecuentes
The basket boat is a short, cheap, fun activity, often part of a cooking class. The Vespa tour is a half-day adventure through the countryside. They are not really rivals, the boat is a quick add-on and the Vespa is a main outing.
A standalone basket boat ride is about $5 to $12 for roughly half an hour. It is one of the cheapest memorable things to do in town.
A countryside Vespa tour from around $68 typically runs half a day, riding pillion through villages and paddies with food stops and a local guide.
