It’s hard to imagine a more thrilling adventure for children and their parents than a trip to Vietnam. One day you could be visiting the floating markets on the Mekong Delta, the next exploring some of the most incredible caves in the world or riding down a river in a dragon boat. Even trying to cross the road in Hanoi is an adventure. Our trip to Vietnam with kids was one of the best holidays we’ve ever had.
It’s not just because Vietnam is staggeringly beautiful – though it is – whether you’re gazing at the serene beauty of the limestone karst mountains in Lan Ha Bay, lying on the white sand beaches of the South China Sea or exploring the lantern-filled streets of Hoi An.
There’s just so much to see and do there. A trip to Vietnam is a wonderful opportunity to introduce children to a completely different culture. The colours, sights, smells, sounds and tastes of Vietnam will stay with you forever. We had so much fun doing so many different activities, from taking boat trips to pagodas and visiting local villages on a bicycle, to trekking into the jungle and doing a cooking class
We’ve picked 20 of our favourite things to do in Vietnam with kids and asked a few families who have visited Vietnam to tell us some of their favourites too.
The 20 Best Things to do in Vietnam with Kids
Wander around a food market
Hold onto their hands tightly as you wander round the market. The sheer otherness of it all can be overwhelming combined with the incessant honking of scooters, the fresh meat that’s being cut up in front of you and the crowds of people milling around. If you’re nervous about experiencing it on your own, consider visiting a market as part of a guided tour. Cooking classes often include a visit to a market in a small group, with a guide on hand to help explain what you’re seeing.
Watch someone rowing with their feet
Tam Coc is known as Halong on Land because it has the same beautiful rock formations as the famous Halong Bay. It’s in the province of Ninh Binh, a two-hour drive south of Hanoi.
Slurp a bowl of Pho in Hanoi
One of the best places to eat Pho in Hanoi is also one of the cheapest. The kids were a bit nervous when I led them into Pho Thin, which looks more like a backstreet shack than a restaurant. Customers sit on wooden benches around a long metal table and the only food on offer is a steaming bowl of Pho from the big pot at the entrance. Simple but delicious, and a bargain at around £1.70 per bowl.
Pho Thin, 13 P Lo Duc
Explore the palaces and pagodas in Hue
The Imperial Citadel is very large so don’t try and see it all with kids but be sure to look for the emperor’s throne in Thai Hoa Palace and time your visit to coincide with a traditional dance performance in the Royal Theatre where you’ll also be able to see the extravagant theatrical masks on display.
Don’t miss the gardens and the beautifully restored To Mieu Temple Complex. Our kids loved the two dragons in the courtyard here.
The Imperial Citadel is open every day. Adults, 150,000 Vietnamese Dong (about £5); children, 30,000 Vietnamese Dong (about £1).
Go inside one of the world’s most spectacular caves
Paradise Cave is in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, the Unesco World Heritage Site famous for its hundreds of caves. Paradise Cave is a particularly good cave to explore in Vietnam with kids because a well constructed wooden walkway makes it easy to walk into the first part of the cave where you’ll find rocks that look like lions’ manes and petrified waterfalls.
Paradise Cave is open every day from 7.30am until 4.30pm although rain closes most of the caves in the area from November to January. Adults, 250,000 Vietnamese Dong (about £8); children, 125,000 Vietnamese Dong (about £4).
Find out more about visiting Paradise Cave by reading The Incredible Paradise Cave in Vietnam.
Build sandcastles on a sublime white sandy beach
Choosing the perfect beach depends on the time of year as Vietnam’s varied weather pattern means it’s nearly always wet season on some of the outlying islands and bays. We found our slice of paradise on Ninh Van Bay, a speedboat ride away from Nha Trang.
Here we built sandcastles, paddled kayaks along the shore, swam in our private pool and read books in a hammock. We could have stayed there forever.
Go kayaking in Lan Ha Bay
Paddling a kayak is one of the best ways of getting up close to this extraordinary landscape. The hour we spent paddling around the bay was one of the most peaceful and memorable moments of our entire trip to Vietnam with kids. We could hear the calls of the birds and monkeys in the trees and enjoy being among the limestone peaks and emerald green water of the most famous spot in Vietnam, virtually on our own.
We went to Lan Ha Bay in a converted junk ship on a 24-hour boat trip with Peony Cruises.
Read about our wonderful experience on a junk boat in Lan Ha Bay: Halong Bay without the Crowds.
Ride in a cycle rickshaw through Hanoi’s Old Quarter
People have been trading in these narrow streets for 1,000 years and each street specialises in a different trade from baskets and shoes to lamps and jewellery. Women balance baskets filled with fruit from a pole carried on their shoulders and the shop fronts are crammed with colourful products, from paper lanterns to red candlesticks and clothes.
Climb up to Hang Mua Peak in Ninh Binh
The climb up is long and sweaty and a great way to keep kids motivated is telling them about the ‘Lying Dragon’, an enchanting statue of a dragon guarding the top of the second peak. For adults, the reward for the hard climb are the panoramic views over the Ngo Dong River and the imposing limestone karsts that rise from the valley below.
It is easy to visit Hang Mua in Ninh Binh with kids although you will need to bring plenty of water and snacks. Definitely consider a baby carrier if you are travelling with really little ones. The best times to visit are early morning and late afternoon when the crowds are thinner and the heat less intense.
The entrance is located about three miles north of Tam Coc village. Admission costs 100,000 Vietnamese Dong for adults (about £3.36). Entrance is free for young children.
By Kirsty, World for a Girl
Drift down the river on a boat lit by lanterns in Hoi An
Do you remember that scene in the Disney film, Tangled, where they float along the river in a boat, surrounded by colourful lanterns? That’s exactly what it’s like every night in Hoi An, when the town is lit up by thousands of gorgeous lanterns.
Hoi An is one of the most charming towns in Asia, influenced by the Chinese and Japanese merchants that traded here hundreds of years ago. The tradition of lighting a paper lantern with a candle and putting it into the river as you make a wish began many centuries ago. Hoi An is at its most atmospheric in the evening when you can take a ride in a small wooden boat lit by lanterns and put a couple of paper lotus flower lanterns into the water. It’s quite touristy but the kids will love it.
Boat rides in Hoi An cost about 20,000 Vietnamese Dong (about 67p per person).
Cycle through the countryside
Cycling is a wonderful way to see more of the countryside in a country where two wheels are more common than four. Bicycles are cheap to hire and lots of tour operators offer cycling tours as part of a package for a family tour.
We loved exploring parts of Vietnam on the back of a bike. We cycled down quiet lanes with virtually no traffic, cycling past paddy fields and pagodas, and through local villages where we had to stop to let a brood of ducklings cross the track in front of us.
Visit the floating markets in the Mekong Delta
Located in Can Tho, a large Vietnamese city, the Cai Rang floating markets are the biggest of their kind in the Mekong Delta. Visiting these markets was certainly an eye opener for my little Australian family.
At the markets large boats are piled high with fruits and vegetables. There are also ladies in smaller boats selling coffee, baguettes and drinks. There are even people cooking pho right there on their tiny boats, like little mobile cafés.
To arrive in time to see all the action it’s best to arrive as soon as there is daylight. We were staying not too far from the markets, but still had to get up well before sunrise. We then boarded a small boat which putted along the canals which took us to the Cai Rang markets.
Seeing the Cai Rang floating markets was a wonderful experience for us all and one I highly recommend for families visiting Vietnam with kids.
By Melissa, Thrifty Family Travels
Watch a water puppet show in Hanoi
Water puppets are unique to Vietnam. They were invented 1,000 years ago by farmers who wanted to do something to pass the time after planting rice in the paddy fields. The shows are a fantastic way of introducing kids to some Vietnamese culture and include scenes with turtles, a phoenix, water buffaloes and fishermen trying to catch fish.
The Lotus Water Puppet Theatre near Hoan Kiem Lake has performances several times a day. The shows last for 50 minutes.
Take a boat trip into Phong Nha Cave
The trip to get to Phong Nha Cave is almost as exciting for kids as the cave itself. You ride in a longtail boat down the Son River for half an hour, past impressive limestone peaks, water buffalo and riverside villages, to reach one of the first caves to be discovered in Phong Nha-Ke Bang.
Once inside the dark cave, the boatman turns off the engine and moves the boat slowly along using a long pole so that you can see the impressive stalactites and stalagmite up close. Phong Nha Cave is about two million years old and it was used as a hospital during the Vietnam War. Once you’ve done a circuit of the cave in the boat you can get out and explore a small area by clambering over the rocks.
Phong Nha Cave Tours run every day between 8.30am and 5.30pm from the Phong Nha Tourism Centre. Boats cost 360,000 Vietnamese Dong (about £12) but can take up to 14 passengers so you can share the cost with other people waiting at the ticket office. The cave entrance costs 150,000 Vietnamese Dong per person (about £5). Entrance is free for children under 1.3 metres tall.
Make a lantern in Hoi An
There are many locals that run lantern making classes. They are usually great with children and it’s such a wonderful craft for them to take home. You’d be surprised at just how many shapes it’s possible to make. Weaving and shaping bamboo sticks might be more challenging for younger kids so Mum or Dad could help a little here.
The next stage is all about picking the fabric. This is certainly the most fun part. It takes a little bit of work with glue and stretching the fabric to get it neat and presentable. The final touches include adding strings that drape from the lantern. The process takes some time so it’s worth keeping in mind little ones’ attention span.
There’s a post office in Hoi An that can ship the lanterns back for a really good price. It’s slow shipping but what a nice reminder when the parcel finally arrives for your child a few weeks later.
By Karen from Travel Mad Mum
Make your own spring rolls in a cooking class
Picky eaters look away now – we got to try stir fried frogs, spicy snails and jelly fish salad at this brilliant cooking class in Hoi An.
Vietnamese food is some of the most delicious in the world and a cooking class is a great way for kids to have fun in the kitchen and try some new foods at the same time – even if you can’t persuade them to try those frogs and snails.
At Vy’s Market Restaurant and Cooking School, we took a boat down the river for a guided tour of the market before coming back to our class. We watched the chef demonstrate how to prepare each dish and then had a go ourselves. The boys loved rolling up their own rice paper spring rolls and frying crispy Hoi An pancakes. We got to eat all our own creations for lunch.
A five-hour cooking class at Vy’s Cooking School including a boat trip to the market costs 727,000 Vietnamese Dong ($32) per person.
Explore the Cu Chi Tunnels
A visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels involves going underground (not for the claustrophobic!). The tunnels are small and dimly lit. The trap-doors that the Viet Cong used to enter and exit the tunnels are tiny. Much more suitable for children than adults! Some of the entrances have been made larger and steps put in to accommodate visitors. The tunnels are several stories deep in places, complete with living areas, kitchens, command centres, weapons factories and even hospitals. Many children were born in these makeshift hospitals. Life was hard in the tunnels, hot, dusty and dark.
The Cu Chi Tunnels make for a fascinating and informative visit while in Ho Chi Minh City.
By Nicky, Go Live Young
Trek into the jungle at Phong Nha-Ke Bang
If you want to give your kids a real adventure, take them trekking into the jungle at Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park where you can have a real off-the-beaten-track experience in an unspoiled jungle that’s still home to monkeys, bats and butterflies as big as your hand.
One of the most suitable treks for children aged eight and over is the five-and-a-half mile trek to Elephant Cave run by the experienced guides at Jungle Boss. You’ll cross rivers, walk across fallen logs and have the chance to swim inside a cave.
The Elephant Cave Trek with Jungle Boss is a full day’s trek. The price per person of 1,650,000 Vietnamese Dong (about £55) includes lunch.
Take a cyclo tour of Ho Chi Minh City
We did a tour of District 1, the main tourist area of HCMC including Ben Thanh Market, Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Post Office, the Flower Market, the Animal Market and Chinatown and we stopped for a break at a Buddhist pagoda.
I highly recommend doing a cyclo tour as they are slowly getting fazed out and you may not have another opportunity to do it. Our two-hour tour cost just $12.
By Sally, Our 3 Kids V The World
Make incense sticks in a craft village near Hue
One of our family’s favourite tours on our trip to Vietnam with kids was a half-day visit to the ancient village of Thuy Bieu, just over four miles from the centre of Hue. We took a dragon boat down the Perfume River to get to the village and hired bikes so that we could cycle down the quiet country lanes, past pomelo trees (the small grapefruits famous for growing here) and stop off to see local craftspeople along the way.
We had a go helping a lady make incense sticks and watched a man painting on silk. We saw brassworkers creating beautiful ornaments out of brass and ended our trip with a head and foot massage.
We booked our cycling tour of Thuy Bieu with Saffron Travel.
Have you been to Vietnam with kids? What were your favourite things to do?
For more inspiration on visiting Vietnam with kids, take a look at The Incredible Paradise Cave in Vietnam and Lan Ha Bay: Halong Bay without the Crowds.
