ART

FOOD

CULTURE

 Specialty itineraries designed to enhance your creativity

Experience

Colour, Food, Textiles, Architecture, Markets, Living Culture & the Arts

Slow Travel with your host Anna Barnes

artist, chef & anthropologist

PREMIUM ART FOOD CULTURE RETREAT

TUTOR - Estelle Calandri

lululaberlue.e

Travel Journalling

HOST - ANNA BARNES

Estelle Calandri - April 8-17th, 2025

  • Each morning you will work with Estelle participating in well planned and prepared studio based workshops. Afternoons with Estelle, Anna and expert local guide Ngoc are carefully designed excursions to inspire and foster curiosity and learning.

  • We eat the freshest and best food in Hoi An.

    In recent years Hoi An has become a creative hub for many of Vietnams best chefs, attracting some of the most skilled hospitality staff from over the country. We visit chefs who have elevated the Vietnamese ingredients to new levels, and showcase local, organic and the best Vietnam has to offer with great skill.

    You will enjoy local, fusion, elevated and creative Vietnamese cuisine. No need to worry about not being able to use chopsticks. On this trip you are seated in comfortable restaurants, savouring high ranking and award winning meals.

  • The best part of a Premium Art, Food & Culture Retreat is connecting with the local culture. The people of Central Vietnam have a fascinating history, a delightful way of life and always a warm friendly smile for visitors. Connect with the people and their lives to further develop empathy and a rich satisfaction during your time spent in Vietnam.

  • The highlight of a Premium Art, Food & Culture Retreat is the focus on the art workshops. We learn from our expert teachers in a comfortable studio style area on our hotel grounds. You will be close to your rooms and restaurant services. All meals are in restaurants that provide an elevated dining experience. You arrive, unpack and relax - let us take good care of you, while you delight in good art, good food and good company.

Premium Art Retreat

Anna Barnes founder of Art Food Culture is your host, working closely with her experienced senior local guide.

A Premium experience. meticulously designed. the perfect trip to unwind.

Gorgeous private Villa with pool & Gardens riverside.

A perfect balance of tutored art sessions, local town guided history & culture tours and rest.

delicious food, comfortable restaurants & enjoyable relaxed evenings out

No early mornings, and no long drives.

This is the comfortable trip for those who wish to participate in creative workshops in a studio setting, enjoy comfort, good food and plenty of rest time.

Your workshops throughout the programme will take you from being a complete beginner to feeling confident in 8 progressive lessons. They’re held on location in our hotel studio setting with Estelle. Your daily outings will be accompanied by Anna and bilingual local guide, Ngoc.

For those who would like to experience slow, responsible travel with like-minded people. The emphasis is on creative skills being taught in a studio style setting with Estelle Calandri, alongside a delightful exploration of the living culture of Central Vietnamese people.

  • Estelle Calandri April 8-17th, 2025

    An Villa

    You will be staying in the gorgeous An Villa (4 star)

    Our private Villa is a small boutique resort with six unique living spaces, including 4 studios, 1 two-bedroom villa and 1 three-bedroom villa. Designed by the well-known local French-Vietnamese architect Helena Tran Quang Man and tastefully decorated in vintage Vietnamese style, each living space features a kitchen area, an outdoor sitting area, distinctive artwork and photographs, thoughtful amenities and books for your reading pleasure.

    We will have it all to ourselves, so our art sessions and free time will be a delight by the pool where you can order a drink and snacks whilst practicing some new techniques.

    The Villa is nestled on the banks of the Co Co river, in a peaceful tropical oasis in beautiful Hoi An. Surrounded by rice paddies, gardens and open spaces, its designed with artistic detail and supports ecologically sustainable travel experiences.

    We guarantee safety, cleanliness, and comfort for a good night's sleep. Essential amenities such as power, WiFi, and air conditioning are always provided to ensure a convenient stay.

    Anna's Art, Food, and Culture Experiences do not pair strangers together for shared accommodations, and they do not charge single supplements, ensuring fairness and affordability for all participants.

    All our trips are organised and priced based on single occupancy at all the places we stay. However, if you are traveling with a friend or a family member and prefer to share you will reap some savings. We do not match people up that are strangers and we NEVER charge a single supplement.

    Occasionally, when we stay in private Villa properties that are uniquely designed, some might need to share a bathroom. This will be clearly marked when booking.

    You have the opportunity to make room choices in the drop down menu when you book.

  • 7-8:30am Breakfast

    9am-12pm Studio Style Art Workshop

    12:30pm Lunch

    1-4pm Guided Tours & Supervised Free Time in the UNESCO town and surrounding hamlets.

    4-6pm Free time

    6-8pm Dinner

    *Subject to change pending best choices re weather and local circumstances.

  • Small group (8-12) ensures you will receive plenty of personal tuition during the sessions

    9 nights accommodation in Hoi An

    Fully hosted by an English speaking Art Food Culture Host

    9 breakfasts

    8 lunches (street food, market vendors and local restaurants)

    6 dinners (street food, market vendors and local restaurants)

    8 x 3hr Art Workshops led by your Georgina Forbes & Rachael King

    Vietnamese (and English speaking) Licensed International Guide on all outings

    Entry ticket to Hoi An Ancient Town

    Private licensed, insured, air conditioned van trips with our dedicated driver

    My Son tour- historic Cham ruins

    Sunrise riverboat trip (unless you prefer to sleep in)

    Organic Herb Village experience

    Rice Paper making

    Cooking demonstrations

    Award winning restaurant dinners

    Guided Market Tours

    Coffee culture

    Chocolate tasting

    History and Architecture Tours

    Drinking Water will be made available. Please bring your own stainless steel refillable bottle. Say NO to straws and single use plastic.

    Transfers via private car to and from airport at your chosen time (if arriving from Danang and going directly to our Villa and back again within 48hrs of start and finish times)

  • International airfares

    Visas

    Travel insurance

    Some meals

    Beverages- alcohol and imported soft drinks 

    Extra activities and tours organised in your free time (at your own cost)

    Personal expenses, laundry, minibar, tips, extra nights accomodation etc.

    Tips and gratuities (not compulsory)

    Anything not mentioned in the Included list

  • Hoi An, Central Vietnam.

    The closest airport to our starting point in Hoi An is Danang. Airport code for Danang is DAD.

    Our Experience begins at 4pm on the first day advertised in Hoi An.

    Please ensure that you have arranged your airline tickets so you arrive with plenty of time to settle in before we begin.

    The Experience ends at 10am (checkout from hotel is noon) on the last day advertised. You will need around 45 minutes to transfer to Danang Airport, and a few hours for check in (check with your individual airlines guidelines).

    We will pick you up in a private car upon arrival and bring you to your Villa in Hoi An. (45min drive)

    It is imperative you arrive in time for our first night of festivities.

    If you need help organising your transport from your home town to the retreat please email or call Anna. We provide travel agents details to help you navigate the details, or take care of everything for you.

    Onward travel and additions to your itinerary can be organised for you. Please get in touch should you wish to explore other areas of Vietnam. Anna knows them well and has many good people to connect you with.

  • All prices in USD.

    A $500 non refundable deposit is required to reserve your spot. (Fully refunded if Anna's Art Food Culture Experiences cancels the trip).

    taying at An Villa, Hi An

    • Large Private Room with Ensuite USD$4,700

    • Medium Private Room with Ensuite USD$4,600

    • Small Private Room (adjacent bathroom) USD$4,500

    • Private room in large 2 bed riverfront Villa with share bathroom and seperate toilet USD$4,500

    • Twin Travellers US $4,470 (when booking two places at the same time, double bed room share, no twin available)

Guaranteed Departure

⋆

Guaranteed Departure ⋆

Estelle Calandri

  • Master in Finance

    Art journalling for more than 20 years

    Lulu laberlue, Aka Estelle, is a French artist based in Grasse. Passionate about journaling and vintage materials, she creates unique artist's journals from reclaimed papers and found objects. Her work, a blend of painting, collage, and writing, invites contemplation and dreams.

    Estelle's Instagram

  • Create your own travel journal with restructured pages using a mix of papers including local paper

    Mix sketching and writing in your journal to create a "gratitude" travel journal by keeping memories of little things that brings you joy while traveling

    Create your own collage elements

    Develop a routine to get comfortable in writing and lettering -use Vietnamese poems-

    Pimp up your watercolor using mixed techniques such as gouache

    Add material to your journals (collage, fabrics, embroidery, etc)

    Focus on techniques to draw gouache flowers and leaves

    Make embellishment for the TN with local beads

    • Travelers Notebook (brand) style journal (standard Midori TN ) with: 

    -one hand made insert (junk journal) that we will create together

    -one squared or doted journal for gratitude writing

    -one other insert

    • Watercolor travel palette with 1/2 pans of your favourite colours

    • Water brushes or travel brushes

    • small water container with screw top lid

    • Gouache (colours of your choice)

    • Brush Pen

    • Fine liner pens

    • Scissors, pencil, glue, eraser

    • tissues/old cloth rag

  • Personal journalling experiences in Vietnam 2024 with Anna's Art Food Culture.

    Art journalling for more than 20 years

    Experiences in teaching art and standard courses.

What Guests Have Written about us

  • Dear Anna, Thank you for showing me the Vietnam you have come to know and love. Thank you for being so generous with your time, your friends, your knowledge and your life. You exceeded my expectations on what a trip like this can be. This trip expanded my knowledge of Vietnam- the people and the food and I certainly came away with some new skills and inspiration creatively. xx Julie

    Julie H

  • I was truly astounded by your knowledge of everything Vietnamese. Any questions we had, you had the answers. Everything we did and everywhere we went was so thoroughly thought out, planned and researched that we never had any doubts that it wouldn’t be incredible. I found you to be a real inspiration - watching the way that you urban sketched, how you chose your subjects, but also how you were interacting with the locals. I really did find all of this very inspiring and it made me really think about what I want from my life.

    Karina D

  • Love Anna! Her knowledge of Hoi An and Vietnamese food was invaluable. She had great recommendations for anything you wanted from restaurants to tailors to massages. I would travel anywhere with you, Anna! I really enjoyed walking around with Anna. My Dad and I agree that this was a trip of a lifetime and it is hard to describe to people. Thank you for helping us create that memory together.

    Sarah H

  • Hi Anna, I just wanted to say that overall the trip was fantastic. Extremely well organised.

    Karen T

  • "I highly recommend Art Food and Culture’s Western Sydney Travel Sketching classes. Anna has a wealth of knowledge on art, food, culture, and travel sketching and is such a warm friendly person. I have had so much fun travel sketching, eating delicious, authentic foods, and learning about each culture in the suburbs we visited. It’s been such an immersive experience, making it feel as if I traveled to a new country each week. I hope to attend one of Anna’s Vietnam Retreats in the future

    Cathy C

  • Google traduction : « This is not an ordinary trip, it is a human experience where all the senses are solicited, tastes, smells, sounds, colors and time seems suspended. Difficult to resume our daily life, even if coming home is pleasant, a part of us stayed there and with the group, with whom we shared all these moments. There is a before and an after, we do not come out unscathed from this stay where Anna was able to share with us her passion for this country which oscillates between tradition and modernity.

    Virginie F

  • Hello Dear Anna , I take time for transmet you my feelings …. With my little English… It was a super trip ! Your organisation is top , your energy 👍 I like the way to be attentive to ecology (plastic, river …etc ) It was super to discover so much different food and to cook some. Super also the visits , galleries, special place like the green garden…. Bref ….. difficile to tell you all

    Isabelle C

  • Hi Anna, We thoroughly enjoyed the Vietnam Art Food Culture workshop . You did an amazing job curating an authentic Vietnam experience. Thanks again for your efforts in pulling it all together, educating us on Vietnam and making our trip special.

    Bev and Graham

  • Wow ! Vietnam is amazing! I have had two weeks of just the best experiences with a small group of like minded souls from around the Globe. I truly enjoyed the ART, FOOD & CULTURE in and around Hoi An, Co Tú, Lang Co, Hue and Da Nang. The trip curated by Anna was a fantastic way to learn and really feel we were being immersed in the Vietnamese Culture. I came away with a much better understanding of what is all about Central Vietnam and I definitely want to go back to Vietnam and explore more in the North and South. Having all the great sensory experiences with Anna including a variety of culturally appropriate experiences and exciting Street Food & Markets too.

    Alyson L

  • Is there anything else to say other than I have been back home for less than a week and am anxiously waiting to see the dates for next year's trips. I need more! Wonderful, superlative experience in every way. Thank you Anna Barnes for sharing your in-depth knowledge of Vietnam.

    Joanne M

  • Hi Anna, My time in Vietnam with Anna was incredible. I came for Renata and sketching and would come back for Anna and Vietnam. What more to say! Everything was more than I expected. Neither Anna nor Renata counted their time. Both were always enthusiastic and available for help and understanding. I trusted you both. I went on this trip to experience life in Vietnam and profit from the colors, food, art, culture of the country. Maybe I did not sketch as much as expected by you or myself, but I took in all these sensations with pleasure. Anna: congratulations for having survived so many ‘French” people. We proved ourselves to be good travelers and great eaters! Your organization was great. The hotels were all different and good standing. CoTu was different. The minority was so generous. The sleeping and shower situations were completely ‘do-able’ and a small ‘adventure” for a city person. The meals were good, swimming in the river, dancing in the fields- lots of fun.

    Deborah C

  • I highly recommend the Art Food Culture Retreats for anyone looking for a fun and interesting way to travel, stay, eat, sketch, learn about new cultures!

    Alyson L

  • I had the most amazing trip Anna - loved how you took the hassle out of ordering food, took us to different locations and different levels and pushed us beyond our comfort zone without us even realising. You have a passion for life, food and Vietnam. I think you have pretty much nailed the tour Anna - you know what works for you, your tutors and your clients. Tweak it if you need to but you don’t change it too much. It’s pretty much spot on and for me personally it met my objectives of being able to explore Vietnam with a small group of like minded people.

    Sam B

  • Anna is not your typical tour leader! She’s far more fun, unexpected, quirky and interesting. She really injected her passion for Vietnamese Food, People and Culture into every moment of the tour. Watching her sketch and record her own observations was another whole level of pleasure for me.

    Janet M

  • A trip I shall always remember with wonder and amazement. Culinary delights and in depth cultural experiences expertly curated by Anna

    Cheryl H

  • What an amazing experience. Anna is so knowledgable and organized. This tour is a must if you are looking for a fun, guided tour that shows you the local experience. We tried so many different foods and toured so many interesting places. Sitting in the local market sketching what inspired me, was my favorite experience, it is so enjoyable to absorb the atmosphere and the simple life in the local market

    Michelle M

  • The GOOD - everything. Anna's organization, the hotels including the home stay with the generous CoTu minority, the meals taken in markets, the visits to monuments and museums, her farms and markets, rice noodle making and cooking lessons. Sites, Sounds and Sensations. Renata Lahalle shared her sketching knowledge and passion without counting her time. Great job to all as most of the participants were French speakers (but not Anna). Friendships were created and a great time was had by all!

    Deb fom France

  • Wow! What an amazing Tour! Much more than I was expecting! Unforgettable! Anna is an amazing curator of her tour, so much knowledge, always helpful, very professional! I know that if I went to Vietnam on my own, I would not have seen or experienced so much! Thanks heaps Anna!

    Liza L

  • Loved the wonderful accommodation at An Villa, so tranquil. Interesting variety of accommodation, liked the luxury of Indochine Palace in Đà Nẵng All the great breakfast’s,street food, bánh mì’s, lunches, cà phê sữa đá’s ( Vietnamese Ice Coffee and dinners, Chế! OMG the unbelievable fresh seafood dinner on our last night! Awesome! I would recommend ArtFoodCulture 150%, and would love to join one of Anna’s tours in the future for sure! 🙏

    Lisa

  • Anna led us on a perfectly crafted tour that changed organically with the weather or groups interest or abilities and never felt rushed. It was like visiting an old friend who couldn’t wait to show you around their town, the best places to eat and provide a western interpretation for cultural context along the way while Lap, our Vietnamese tour guide, provided authentic and insightful cultural and historical narration.

    Sean M

  • We loved this tour!!! Anna was our trip mom who kept everyone organized and made sure we were well fed. It’s wonderful to see her share her love for this culture from a more familiar western perspective.

    Jen B

  • We loved Anna’s local knowledge of the best markets, best vendors, best food experiences in Vietnam. We loved the visit to the CoTu village, and the art experiences we were able to have. It was a fabulous tour. Do it again in a heartbeat.

    Rennie

  • There were so many fabulous things I can’t pin point just one. Anna’s local knowledge is unparalleled. Not only knowledgeable about the country but the little things like local specialty places to eat and buy gifts. Recommendations of places to eat, after she’d checked them personally, recommendations of places to spend spare time after the formal tour as well. She coordinated different experiences to cater for different tastes and personalities. And that’s never an easy task. I have recommended Anna and her tours to many friends.

    Dianna K

  • Best holiday ever, great friends and amazing places, loved sketching, will definitely do more in future.

    Peter M