Culture You Can Take Part In
It might begin with the scent of star anise drifting through a Hanoi market. Or with a family recipe you’ve just learned to prepare, hands dusted with rice flour and fresh herbs. Sometimes, it happens when you lower your camera because the conversation in front of you becomes more interesting than the photograph. These are the moments when you stop simply seeing Vietnam and begin to truly experience it.
If you’re looking for more than famous sights, Vietnam offers plenty of ways to connect with the people, traditions and stories that shape it. From food and craft to village life, photography and performance, these experiences give you a chance to see a different side of the country.
They invite you to slow down, get involved and spend time with the people who make each place what it is.
This is travelling through Vietnam beyond the usual itinerary.
Taste Vietnam
Food gives you an easy way into Vietnam’s geography, history and everyday life. The ingredients found in a market, the way a dish is prepared and the stories behind a recipe can all tell you something about the place you are visiting. With both our experiences highlighted below – Hanoi Cooking and Culture and Dining with Purpose – discover how a cooking experience can offer more than a memorable meal: it can introduce you to the people, customs and influences that have shaped its cuisine.
With Hanoi Cooking and Culture, you step beyond the dining table and into an ancient villa, where a chef and storyteller introduce the cultural meaning behind Vietnamese recipes. First, you begin with seasonal ingredients, then learn how they are combined and prepared, gaining insight into the traditions behind the food as well as the techniques. It is a chance to understand why certain ingredients matter and how recipes connect to regional identity and family life.
Dining with Purpose approaches food from a different angle. Here, the meal is also an opportunity to support skills and employment. Vocational restaurants provide disadvantaged young people and people with disabilities with training in hospitality and culinary skills, giving them practical experience and pathways to future employment. Choosing to dine at any one of our recommended restaurants, means that your meal contributes directly to a training environment, while allowing you to enjoy food prepared by people developing their professional skills. Start the day with a coffee and pastry at Bloom, enjoy a Vietnamese lunch at MaiSen Bistro or end your day with an elegant and serene meal at Reaching Out Tea House.
“Two things always stand out to me when I visit restaurants with a social purpose. First, the beautifully prepared food that shows the care that’s gone into it – you don’t have to compromise on quality to support a good cause. Secondly, how shy and humble the staff are, often teenagers just working hard to improve their lives.”
– Dave, Our Vietnam Expert & Director
Food can offer a different way to experience Vietnam. One experience explores the stories and traditions behind its cuisine, while the other shows how food can create opportunities for people today. Both can be woven into a wider Vietnam itinerary around your interests, whether you want to spend more time learning in the kitchen, meeting local people or simply finding meaningful ways to connect with the places you visit.
“It feels good to be able to directly help local disadvantaged people and give something back to the place you’re visiting, all while getting a great meal! Each restaurant is a unique experience and offers a chance to support inspiring projects and see how your holiday helps them survive and thrive.”
– Dave on Dining with Purpose
See Vietnam Differently
Travel can be about more than seeing a place. It can be about looking more closely, learning something new and finding a different way to connect with it.
In Hoi An, two very different experiences invite you to do just that. Through our Photography Masterclass experience, you’ll learn to slow down and see the city through a more thoughtful lens, while the Kim Bong Wood Carving Workshop gives you the chance to get hands-on with a craft that has been passed down through generations.
A camera can change the way you travel, encouraging you to slow down, notice the quality of the natural light and look beyond the obvious frame. Photography shapes how we experience a place and the stories we bring home. Being intentional about what we capture encourages us to look beyond the obvious, notice the details and connect more meaningfully with the places and people we encounter.
Our Hoi An Photography Masterclass helps you to take a deeper look at the culture surrounding you. With guidance from a local photographer, you can explore markets and lantern-lit streets while developing practical skills in composition and observation.
There is also an important lesson in how you photograph people and places. Asking before taking a portrait, being aware of daily routines and allowing a moment to unfold naturally can make the difference between simply collecting an image and creating one with greater respect and a stronger sense of context. The experience invites you to look more carefully at Hoi An, giving you the skills to tell its visual stories thoughtfully.
For something more practical, the Kim Bong Wood Carving Workshop offers a very different way to experience Hoi An’s heritage. Rather than browsing the town’s shops or looking at traditional craft from a distance, you can work with local craftspeople and learn about a skill that has been passed down through generations. Using reclaimed flood wood, the workshop also gives you the opportunity to create a distinctive piece to take home, while supporting the continuation of local craft traditions.
Together, these experiences encourage you to engage with Hoi An rather than simply pass through it: one through observation and photography, the other through making something with your own hands.
Step Into Vietnam’s Living History
Vietnam’s heritage isn’t simply something to look at. It’s something you can experience, share and understand through the people, traditions and creativity that keep it alive. From everyday life in a historic village to contemporary performance in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, these experiences offer two very different perspectives on Vietnam’s past, present and future.
In Duong Lam Ancient Village, you can experience heritage as a part of everyday life, found in village lanes, family kitchens, local crafts and the stories shared by the people who live there. A two-day stay gives you time to experience this at a more natural pace. With a local host, you can explore the village and its market, learn to prepare traditional dishes, meet craftspeople and take part in activities such as shadow puppetry.
Staying locally means that your visit supports the people who host, cook, guide and create, while giving you a closer understanding of how village traditions continue into the present.
Then, back in Ho Chi Minh City, heritage takes a very different form. A Night at the Opera House brings you to the historic Saigon Opera House for the AO Show, a contemporary Vietnamese performance combining acrobatics, dance, live music and bamboo staging. Its story moves between rural life and the energy of modern Vietnam, offering a creative interpretation of how the country is changing.
The contrast is part of what makes these experiences so interesting. In Duong Lam, culture is encountered through daily routines and skills practised within the community. At the opera house, Vietnamese artists reinterpret familiar ideas through contemporary performance. Neither asks you simply to look at the past. Both invite you to consider how traditions are hosted, practised and reimagined today.
Choose Experiences That Leave Something Behind 
The value of a cultural experience is not only in what you take away from it. It can also be found in what your visit contributes while you are there. The six experiences highlighted here are just some examples of ways to make that connection more tangible on your travels.
Travel can have a positive impact when we think carefully about where our money goes, who we meet and how we experience a place. Choosing locally led experiences, staying with local hosts, supporting traditional crafts, eating at social enterprises and engaging respectfully with communities can help keep skills, stories and opportunities within the places we visit.
For us, responsible travel isn’t about travelling perfectly. It’s about making more thoughtful choices that benefit local people and communities, while creating richer and more meaningful experiences for you as a traveller.
Plan Your Cultural Journey Through Vietnam
The most memorable way for you to experience Vietnam is to leave room for curiosity. A cooking class can lead you into the stories behind a recipe, a photography workshop can change the way you see a familiar street, while time in Duong Lam can offer a glimpse into village life that you would miss on a shorter visit. The key is choosing experiences that feel right for you.
“We always listen carefully to what our guests want and use our own knowledge and experience of the tours to pick the best ones, as well as the expertise of our local partners who often have amazing ideas. All our experiences are chosen with positive impact in mind, so we’re confident they’ll feel even more special and memorable.”
– Dave, Our Vietnam Expert & Director
Vietnam has far more to offer than its famous sights. Dive into our full range of Vietnam travel experiences and discover the food, people, creativity and places that can take your trip beyond tourism.
Got a trip in mind? Chat with Dave, our Southeast Asia specialist, and let’s turn it into an adventure worth travelling for.
For more inspiration, read about Dave’s Slow Travel Adventures in Vietnam or explore Family Travel in Vietnam for ideas on travelling with children or grandchildren.
