The Seven Hectare Coconut Forest Eco-tourism Area in Hoi An is a must-visit destination in Hoi An as it offers a completely different experience from the ancient town heritage of Hoi An. The Seven Hectare Coconut Forest Eco-tourism Area has a very “Western” appearance with endless stretches of water coconut bushes in a spacious area.
In this article, Cuong will provide you with detailed information about the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest Eco-tourism Area in Hoi An, offering travel experiences including:
Where is the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Hoi An located?
Means of transportation to get to the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Hoi An?
Best time to visit the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Hoi An?
Ticket prices, boat ride prices at the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Hoi An?
What is interesting about the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Hoi An?
Historical stories about the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Hoi An
Let’s explore right away:
1. Location of the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest Eco-tourism Area in Hoi An
- Address: The Seven Hectare Coconut Forest Eco-tourism Area is located in Cam Thanh commune, Hoi An city, Quang Nam province.
This Hoi An tourist spot is conveniently located for visitors, only about 7km from Hoi An Ancient Town. Those traveling to Hoi An independently can choose to stay at hotels or resorts in the Ancient Town area, which is very convenient for visiting and exploring the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Cam Thanh. During the recent trip to Hoi An, Cuong also stayed in the Ancient Town area, which is about
The Seven Hectare Coconut Forest Eco-tourism Area in Hoi An
2. Means of transportation to the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest Eco-tourism Area
There are 2 ways to get here, from Hoi An Ancient Town you can reach the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Cam Thanh by road or by river.
- If you go by boat, start from the boat dock on Bach Dang Street, near Hoi An Market, follow the flow of the Hoai River eastward, about 5 kilometers away.
- If you go by road, drive along Tran Phu Street, go straight to Nguyen Duy Hieu, at the intersection turn right onto Tran Nhan Tong Street, go about 4km more and the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest in Cam Thanh will appear before you.
That day, Cuong rented a motorbike from Hoi An Ancient Town to the Seven Hectare Coconut Forest, taking about 20 minutes including the time to stop and check the map. The motorbike rental cost 150,000 VND with a full tank of gas. The road was well paved, wide, and asphalted, so the journey was fast, but trucks tended to speed. If you ride a motorbike, remember to pay attention to pulling over to the side of the road, use turn signals, and look ahead and behind before crossing the road.
Traveling by motorbike to Bay Mau Coconut Forest is very convenient
3. When is the best time to visit Bay Mau Coconut Forest in Hoi An?
With the climate conditions in Hoi An, you can visit Bay Mau Coconut Forest at any time of the year, specifically:
- February to April: This is a very suitable time for those who want to come here to relax and enjoy the cool and pleasant weather.
- May to July: This period is perfect for you to visit Hoi An to admire the lanterns during the festival season. This is the time for you to travel to Hoi An to visit Bay Mau Coconut Forest, An Bang Beach, and Cham Island.
According to the travel experience of Bay Mau Coconut Forest shared by the locals with Cuong, the best time to visit is in late August in the lunar calendar. During this time, there may be rain, but the high water level allows boats to penetrate deep into the coconut groves for exploration. Moreover, you can admire the lush green coconut forests in the season of ripe fruits, experience picking mature coconuts, extracting the core to make sweet soup.
Cuong recommends traveling to Hoi An at the end of August, with mild and cool weather. However, you may not be able to penetrate deep into the forest to admire the Coconut Forest, only able to follow the small streams along the Coconut Forest.
Visit the coconut forest in Hoi An on a cool, sunny day
4. Ticket prices, boat rental prices at Bay Mau Coconut Forest Hoi An?
Cuong needs to divide this into 2 cases for you, due to tourism development, some households have opened their own boat tour service to visit Bay Mau Coconut Forest, with a price of 100,000 VND per person. These houses are located right on the main road, so many tourists mistakenly think they belong to the Bay Mau Coconut Forest Tourist Area in Hoi An, but in reality, they are not. Cuong went there and felt suspicious because he remembered researching on Google that there should be a ticket gate. So Cuong turned around to find the main entrance to the Bay Mau Coconut Forest Tourist Area.
You need to pay special attention if you use the services of local households according to the regulations of the tourist management board, each boat can only carry a maximum of 2 tourists and 1 child. To avoid being forced to sit with many people on one boat, please ask before using the service.
For safety and accuracy, you should go to the Bay Mau Coconut Forest Tourist Area, right at the foot of the overpass turn, very easy to find.
- The entrance fee for Bay Mau Coconut Forest Tourist Area is 30,000 VND per person
For boat rental, go to the inner area to rent from local households.
- Boat rental price for visiting Bay Mau Coconut Forest: 150,000 VND per boat, maximum for 2 adults and 1 child.
Note that some websites mention boats or canoes, but in reality, we did not see any here.
Boat rental price for a coracle is 150,000 VND for 2 people
5. What’s interesting about the Seven Acres Coconut Forest in Hoi An?
When you hear about the Seven Acres Coconut Forest in Hoi An, most people probably think it’s just about taking a boat tour and nothing else. However, the reality is quite different. Honestly, Cuong finds the Seven Acres Coconut Forest Tourist Area to have many interesting experiential activities, which may be a bit surprising because you wouldn’t expect it to be that exciting.
Some of the activities include:
- Trying your hand at fishing with a net on the river: There is a man who anchors his boat at a fixed location, and as visitors pass by, if anyone wants to experience it, he will guide them on how to throw the net. Afterward, depending on how much the visitor wants to tip, they can give 50,000 VND – 100,000 VND, as there is no fixed price for this activity.
Test your skills at throwing nets in the seven-hectare coconut forest
- Listen to Quang folk songs: We saw two women sitting on a boat, with a microphone. When a boat approaches, each woman will sing a song. Their voices may not be perfect, but they carry the essence of the Central region. After listening to them, our group tipped each woman 50,000 VND.
- Experience the thrill of the “Basket boat spinning” game: Oh my, this game is usually played by men, or simply watching the locals perform is already entertaining. With just a familiar paddle, a bit of jumping around, the boat spins dizzyingly. Amidst the cheers of tourists, the boat drivers seem to gain more energy. Truly, the people of the rivers and waters, they are something else.
Experience dizzying boat spinning
- Listen to music by the coconut grove and take photos: this is also a service that you can experience, at the junction of the main river entering the branches, there will be 1-2 young men with a loudspeaker, playing lively music to attract tourists. Korean tourists quite like this performance, they can wade into the water and dance to the music. The water in this area is shallow, so be careful.
- Fishing is also an activity that children love, as Bay Mau Coconut Forest is a brackish water area with many fish. With just a fishing rod and some bait like snail guts, you can catch a bunch of fish.
Fishing is particularly loved by children
- Admiring and picking coconut flowers: Coconut flowers in Bay Mau Coconut Forest can be harvested for making sweet soup when they are mature. Therefore, around the 8th lunar month when the whole forest is filled with the dark yellow color of coconut flowers, locals and tourists grab their knives to cut the flowers for making sweet soup. When we visited, there were only 1-2 clusters of mature coconut flowers, so we didn’t get to experience this activity but heard the boat driver telling the story.
These coconut flowers have delicate seeds
I was surprised and fascinated by the simple, rustic gifts from the boatwoman for tourists. They are cute little coconut leaf grasshoppers folded from the very leaves of this seven-hectare forest, such as rings, flowers, bracelets, glasses… They suddenly reminded me of the “intense” childhood, the extremely beautiful days in each of our lives.
In short, with a small expense, the whole group had a very interesting experience at the Seven-hectare Coconut Forest in Hoi An.
Interesting gifts from the people of Central Vietnam
6. History and achievements at Seven Beauties Coconut Forest Hoi An of our army and people
Now, swaying on the water, following the paddle and listening to me tell a bit about a historical period of the Seven Beauties Coconut Forest in Cam Thanh Hoi An, because Cuong came here not only for the love of the river experiences but also to know about a fierce period of the Seven Beauties Coconut Forest.
During the resistance against the French colonialists and the American imperialists, the Seven Beauties Coconut Forest in Cam Thanh Hoi An became a revolutionary base, helping our army fight and achieve many glorious victories against the enemy. Local guerrilla forces, thanks to the discreet terrain with many hiding spots, organized many surprise attacks, even when our forces were thin, we still defeated the enemy in fierce battles. The enemy had more modern weapons, including artillery and air force, but we still won battles. A notable battle was in 1948, when the French colonial infantry, supported by tanks, attacked the Seven Beauties Coconut Forest in Hoi An to eliminate our armed forces. However, without fear, the local guerrilla forces, familiar with the terrain, organized secret attacks, closely followed the enemy, and threw grenades at the enemy’s vehicles, causing them to retreat in fear, abandoning the battle and returning to Hoi An.
Visit the seven-hectare coconut forest and hear the heroic stories
Because they failed multiple times in their sweeps, they forced the people in the surrounding villages to light up the entire forest so we would have no hiding place, unable to launch surprise attacks. However, they did not achieve their goal; shortly after, the coconut forest flourished, lush and green, causing all their sweeping attacks to fail miserably. After successfully driving out the French colonialists, when the Geneva Accords were signed in 1954 and Ngo Dinh Diem took over Quang Nam, they carried out many bloody massacres in places like Vinh Trinh and Cho Duoc. Furthermore, they continued to organize relentless hunts for “pro-communists,” “exterminate communists,” relentlessly searching day and night for Communists. And during that time, the coconut forest provided safe hiding places for high-ranking officials of the Hoi An City Party Committee and the Quang Nam Provincial Party Committee, evading capture by the enemy.
In 1966, when the American empire sent troops to the South, they conducted many large-scale sweeps, and the liberated area of Cam Thanh, with the enemy’s target being the Seven-Hectare Coconut Forest, was among them. On June 13, 1966, they mobilized 4 mixed American battalions consisting of 1000 soldiers and 28 helicopter landings, advancing to attack the Cam Thanh area and the coconut forest. Equipped not only with modern weapons but also receiving support from 5 gunboats with long-range artillery support from nearby bases. Yet, in just 3 days of fighting, taking advantage of the terrain of the coconut forest, our troops organized many counterattacks that broke the enemy’s sweeps, destroyed many enemy troops, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. From 1967 until the victory of Hoi An, guerrilla forces and regular troops repeatedly immersed themselves in the coconut forest, launching many surprise attacks, making the enemy unable to react in time, and spectacularly defeating the enemy’s air force, artillery, and navy.
Coconut Forest Bay Mau Hoi An has contributed to becoming a safe haven, making Cam Thanh an important springboard for our forces to advance into the inner city of Hoi An with many glorious victories, helping Hoi An be completely liberated, ending 20 years of our nation’s resistance war against the US. The Seven Beauties Coconut Forest in Hoi An is a base that has entered the history of the homeland as a cemetery, burying the enemy because many enemy soldiers died here. Although many defensive structures of our forces from the past are no longer there, the coconut trees still exist with strong vitality, resilience, and year-round green growth, marking the glorious victories of the Hoi An people in the two resistance wars against the French colonialists and the American empire.
As you drift along the calm water admiring the lush coconut forest, listening to the boatman sing a Quang-style song or getting lost in the warm, affectionate storytelling of the Central Vietnamese people about the wartime through their voices, it will become an experience you never want to end. Thanks to its discreet hidden terrain, the Seven Beauties Coconut Forest in Hoi An has been chosen as a base closely associated with the glorious victories of the Hoi An people in the two national resistance wars.
Described as the “Mekong Delta within Hoi An,” you will truly have a fascinating experience exploring this Coconut Forest Bay Mau Hoi An with what nature brings, with friendly people. You will be delighted to watch the locals showcase their skills on coracles, receive small but heartwarming souvenirs, understand more about the homeland, the country, the people of Hoi An in particular, and our Vietnam in general. Let’s plan a trip to explore Hoi An and the Seven Beauties Coconut Forest right away!
Above are the travel experiences and detailed reviews of the Seven Beauties Coconut Forest in Hoi An that Cuong had a very interesting experience with.
