Highlights
- Try Hmong batik and indigo dyeing in a family's own home
- Choose a 2-hour workshop or a full day of Thai village life
- Full day includes a stilt house visit and traditional weaving
- Cycle through villages and learn about Thai culture and daily life
- Full-day option comes with an English-speaking guide throughout
Description
This is a family's home, not a shop. Fewer people make batik and indigo by hand now. This family is trying to keep a fading tradition alive. They hold on to the skills and the know-how, and they welcome visitors to come in and try it. You can choose a short 2-hour workshop, or a full day that adds the culture and daily life of a Thai village near Mai Chau.
① Batik & Indigo Workshop Only (2-3 hours)
A simple, hands-on visit. You arrive, choose a design, sit down, and try batik and indigo dyeing yourself. Your instructor speaks basic English, enough to guide you step by step. The dye needs time to dry and set, so we deliver your finished piece to your hotel later the same day. A morning session is usually ready by the afternoon.
② Full Day: Batik Workshop, Village Life, Stilt House & Weaving (about 6 to 7 hours)
This option goes deeper into Thai culture. It has two parts: the same batik and indigo workshop, and a bike tour with an English-speaking guide. You can choose which one comes first.
If you start with the workshop, you make your own way to the family's home, and your guide meets you there with bikes when you finish. If you'd rather ride first, your guide meets you at your homestay or hotel, and the tour ends at the family's home for the workshop.
The ride is easy, through Mai Chau's rice terraces and villages, and your guide tells you about Thai culture and daily life along the way. Sometimes grandmothers dance sap by the road. If they're out that day, you can stop and join in, but it doesn't happen every time. At a traditional stilt house, you watch cloth being woven by hand on a wooden loom, and you can try a few passes yourself. Lunch can be added if you like.
Your batik piece needs time to dry. If it's ready by the end of the day, you can pick it up at the house. If not, we deliver it to your hotel.
If you want to slow down for a couple of hours and make something with your own hands, the 2-hour workshop is a good fit. If you want to learn more about Thai culture and village life, choose the full day, which adds a guided bike tour.
Solo travelers, couples and groups of friends all join this tour. The workshop is done sitting down, and the bike ride is flat and easy, so it's even suitable for families with young kids and grandparents. The 2-hour option is also wheelchair accessible.
For the full day, if your child is under 8 or isn't used to cycling for a while, let us know after booking. Your guide can plan a shorter route. The same goes for anyone with specific mobility needs.
Most tours in this area are run from Hanoi, with guides who travel up for the day. We work with families and guides who were born and raised in Mai Chau instead, so they get a more direct way to meet travelers and share their own home. We also run tours in Pu Luong, Ninh Binh, Da Nang, Hue and Hoi An.
Includes
Batik and indigo dyeing session with a local instructor, materials included
Delivery of your finished batik piece to your hotel (2-hour option, or full day if it isn't dry in time)
English-speaking guide for the bike tour (full-day option)
Bicycle and helmet (full-day option)
Stilt house and weaving visit (full-day option)
Bottled water
Excludes
Lunch (can be added for the full-day option)
Alcoholic drinks
Personal travel insurance
Tips (optional)
Personal expenses
Transport to the family's home for the workshop (full day: only if you do the workshop first)
Important Information
- You'll be a guest in a family's home, not an art studio.
The 2-hour workshop is simple and quick: you pick a design and sit down to try it. Your instructor speaks basic English.
For a closer look at Thai culture and village life, the full day is the better choice. It has the same workshop, plus cycling, a stilt house visit.
On the full day, the workshop is led by the instructor (basic English). Your English-speaking guide is with you for the bike tour.
The sap dance is not guaranteed. It depends on whether the grandmothers are out that day.
Your batik piece needs time to dry. With the 2-hour option, we bring it to your hotel later the same day. On the full day, you can pick it up at the house if it's ready, or we deliver it to your hotel.
For the full day, please tell us if you want the workshop or the bike tour first.
Dye can stain, so wear clothes you don't mind getting a little blue.
Adding lunch? Tell us about any food allergies or diet needs in advance.
Easy cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
