10 tips for a successful family vacation in Vietnam

Vietnam is an ideal travel destination for family vacations. A country of tales and legends, Vietnam dazzles young and old alike with the beauty and diversity of its landscapes, amazes people with its oh-so-delicious gastronomy and is accessible to all palates, delights children with its many beaches to take a dip in, and is a country where children are of great interest to locals. Vietnam is a destination with a thousand and one surprises that will delight all the members of your tribe. To make the family trip to Vietnam a total success, here are our 10 steps and tips for an unforgettable family vacation.

1. Play Pirates in Halong Bay

A cruise in the magical Halong Bay with a night aboard a traditional junk is a great way to please the children and yourself. This grandiose natural site, listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco, has long been subjected to the most incredible legends. This maze of karst peaks with strange shapes and dressed in the jungle was for a long time the landmark of many pirates. As sailors for the occasion, your children will enjoy discovering the captain's cockpit, visiting fabulous caves with spectacular geological formations, kayaking through cavities dug by water and erosion, and seeing that schools can be floating and that you can go to school by boat. A blazing sunset and a squid fishing trip will conclude a beautiful day rich in memories while waiting for tomorrow when Halong Bay will wake up to the cries of howler monkeys.

>> Read more: 27 Best things to do in Halong Bay, Vietnam

2. Watch the water puppet show in Hanoi

The Vietnamese art of water puppetry is a cultural experience not to be missed during your family's stay in Hanoi. The water puppet show in Hanoi is born from a long cultural tradition of the Red River Delta, a great rice-growing region of Vietnam and the cradle of Vietnamese culture. Inspired by scenes from everyday life, we often find in each session a miniature rural village with communal houses and traditional festivities. The very colourful shows are staged on the surface of the water, giving life to the dolls which are a metaphor for rural life, peasants and also animals, the characters of legends and popular tales.

>> Read more: Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre

3. Meet the ethnic minorities of northern Vietnam

The mountainous region of northern Vietnam is home to a large number of ethnic minorities, the vast majority of whom are fiercely attached to their ancestral traditions. Discovering an ethnic market is a unique travel experience that will delight the whole family as the entertainment is so unique and the women's costumes are so shimmering in colour. Even the little girls don their most beautiful traditional costumes and truly look like little princesses of the altitudes.

>> Read more: Top 8 destinations to see golden rice season in Vietnam

4. Go to Tam Coc, the location of several film shoots

The fantastic limestone landscapes of Halong Bay on land have served as the setting for several films including "Indochina" and the latest "King Kong". A breath-taking natural site that is very pleasant to cycle through with the family includes the large expanses of rice fields spreading out at the feet of stone giants. During a magnificent rowing boat ride, your children will have fun seeing that here we row with our feet!!!

>> Read more: Visit Tam Coc Ninh Binh in 2 or 3 days, what to see and do?

5. Plan hotels with swimming pools

Nothing can delight your children more than a hotel with a swimming pool to relax and cool off between two visits. Throughout Vietnam, hotels with swimming pools are legion and are often very affordable. From April to October, the weather is sunny throughout Vietnam and the temperatures are hot, even very hot for some regions. Choosing a hotel with a swimming pool for certain stages can turn out to be a wise choice.

6. Take a seaside stopover

Even better than the pool, it’s the ocean. Nothing like a seaside stay during your trip to Vietnam to relax with your family and recharge your batteries. There is no shortage of seaside stops in Vietnam. Our favourite: Whale Island, 90 kilometres North of Nha Trang. A small island away from tourist flows, car-free, is licked by a calm and crystalline sea where children can paddle in peace. A haven of peace where you can play Robinson Crusoe in bamboo straw huts on the water.

>> Read more: Top 10 things to do in Nha Trang

7. Take a cooking class

This is a fun and tasty activity that appeals to all members of the family. A cooking class is an opportunity to have a good time of conviviality with your family and to taste some Vietnamese specialities that you can do again when you get home. You will have a wide range of choices for a cooking class in Hoi An or Hue, regions known for their refinement and very fresh ingredients.

>> Read more: Cooking classes in Vietnam

8. Stay with the locals

Staying with the locals in Vietnam is a unique travel experience that will allow your family to immerse themselves in the local culture and confront your children with daily realities far from those they know. In addition, you will taste sincere hospitality rarely equalled!

9. Take a bike ride in the Mekong Delta

This flat and lush region, dotted with rice fields, canals, and orchards is an exceptional destination for a family bike ride. It is also an opportunity through this enchanted labyrinth to discover very creative local crafts like the one with the coconut with which the inhabitants make a multitude of objects and tasty candies.

>> Read more: Top 10 unmissable activities in the Mekong Delta

10. Adopt a slower pace of travel than usual

Build your route and try not to go too fast. Take your time, don't rush anything so your kids can enjoy without it being the rush. We advise you to stay at least two nights for each stage and to avoid excessively long transport times which could tire them.

May you have a good vacation!

Want more ideas for a fascinating outing with your children? Come to the amusement park in Ba Na, Danang to delight them endlessly here: Ba Na Danang – What to do and see in Ba Na Hills?

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