In April 2017 we travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Vietnam with the family for two weeks. We travelled from north to south and booked two local flights ahead to safe time. Vietnam is a beautiful country and easy to travel with kids. You’ll find small booking agencies throughout the whole country and the tourist busses are well organized. You will see rice fields, mountains, sea, beaches, caves, national parks, temples and old palaces. And the food is absolutely terrific. We are happy to share our top 7 fun things to do in Vietnam with kids.
Top 7 Vietnam with kids
1# Water puppet show
If you want to escape the heat for a bit there’s a water puppet show that’s really fun to do with kids in Vietnam. It’s an ancient tradition in the north of Vietnam and well known by tourists by now. The show is accompanied by an orchestra and singers, a real treat for the ears. Even though the story is told in Vietnamese you can understand it through the music and the puppets. The most well-known show is the Thang Long Water puppet show in Hanoi.
2# Sapa
Sapa may not look like the best destination for kids at first but our kids (5 and 8 years old) thought this to be the highlight of our holiday. We booked a two night hike with an overnight stay with locals in the mountains. Sapa is well known for its rice fields and its inhabitants. In two days we walked for 14 km total without any whining kids.
3# Ha Long Bay
We booked a two day cruise in Ha Long Bay. It’s about a 4 hour drive in a minivan from Hanoi. It’s just stunning to see the 2000 rocks emerge from the sea. This is an absolute must do when you visit Vietnam with kids. And let’s not forget Ha Long Bay is one of the 7 wonders of the world. The cruise takes frequent stops to partake in activities such as visiting a cave, a beach, kayaking, swimming and visiting a floating village by rowing boat. When you book a cruise all meals are included. You only pay for your drinks at the end of the tour.
4# Hué – imperial palace
The imperial palace in Hué made our kids feel like they had arrived in a fairytale. The enormous domain, on which the imperial families once used to live, are one of the oldest structures of Vietnam. Hué has a small airport about 20 minutes from the city.
5# Hoi An
When you visit Vietnam it’s really nice to spend a few days on the beach. We chose Hoi An because of the cozy town and its colorful lampions that light up the streets at night. Most hotels and b&b’s let you use their bikes for free to explore the city. Traffic is less hectic than Hanoi for example. Hoi An is well-known for its custom made clothes. If you need a dress or suit custom made this is the best place in Vietnam to go. Hoi An is on the World Heritage List of Unesco too. Do note that the winters are rather cold, too cold to go the beach for example. The nearest airport is Da Nang. After our trip to Hué we took a private chauffeur to Hoi An that stopped at certain places for us to take photo’s such as the Marble Mountains and Lang Co beach.
6# Mekong Delta
We stayed in Ben Tre, the less touristy part of the Mekong Delta. We booked a private tour from the hotel we were staying at and went cycling past the coconut trees, went on lovely boot trips and even visited a coconut factory, brick factory and rice paper factory. All small, local companies that are really worth a visit. On the way we came across pristine nature and authentic small villages. Be sure to try some of the local coconut sweets! A must do if you visit Vietnam with kids and certainly our favorite.
7# Cu Chi tunnels
In Ho Chi Minh City we booked a tour through the Cu Chi tunnels. Perhaps not the first thing you think of doing with kids but we wanted to educate our kids a bit on the history of Vietnam. During the Vietnam war communists used to hide out in tunnels for the Americans during the day. From here they would often attack at night. You really get the chance of experiencing what it was like living in these tunnels by going on short walks through them. In many locations you can still see large craters in the ground, left by the bombings. After the Cu Chi tunnels we also visited the War museum where you can see horrific pictures of during and after the war. We don’t really recommend visiting this museum with kids because of these pictures though. Check out this article if you are looking for more Ho Chi Minh daytrips.
Vietnam definitely deserves a spot on your bucket list if you like adventures travelling with you children. Looking for more top places to visit in Vietnam? Vietnam is a perfect backpacking destination as well, check out all the backpacking Vietnam tips and these tips about travelling Vietnam before you go.
This article “7 Tips for Vietnam with kids, from crawling through tunnels to sailing Ha Long Bay”is written by Zoë. Zoë moved to Kuala Lumpur with her family in 2016. Her husband works in tech and was offered a position in Asia. Zoë used to work as a teacher and is a happy stay at home mum at the moment. Zoë and her husband have two children Jules (2008) and Lily (2011), they go to the international school. During school holidays and long weekends they try to see as much of South East Asia as they can!
