Vietnam Family Tours: Planning a trip to Vietnam with kids
Gorgeous scenery at Halong Bay
It’s a definite! Paul and I have agreed that our next family holiday will be in Vietnam.
So sorry dear Fiji.
Also, sorry big boys – we’d love to go just with the two younger children who are 11, a wonderful age for exploring new places and soaking up history, culture, stories and people.
This is Sapa, in the north of Vietnam
We can’t settle on dates yet, my next trip is a long one to Scotland to help Mum whose health is poor, plus Paul’s work is uncertain.
But what we can do is make some holiday travel and tour plans, so that when we have some certainty and $$ we can just book up.
And they say that planning and looking forward to a holiday is a huge part of its pleasure.
So here’s what I’ve been researching, these are the notes I’ll be using when we book the trip. Plus there’s great advice from Facebook followers and friends about must-see spots.
The Vietnamese flag
Why Visit Vietnam With Kids
- It’s a relatively secure country with few perils for tourists
- Children are loved and respected in Vietnam
- It’s not an expensive destination
- It’s rich in culture, beauty, history, has great beaches, people and food
A farmer watering his crop
When To Visit Vietnam With Kids
The northern autumn, winter and spring are the best times to visit Vietnam. From September to April the weather is cooler in the northern areas and there is less rain in the south.
This suits us Australians as our kids are on school holidays in October, December, January and March/April.
Of course, Vietnam is a diverse country, being over 1000km long, so there is great regional variety in climate.
Vietnamese food, one of the most compelling reasons to visit!
Vietnam Must See – The Essential Things To Do
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh are huge bustling cities and we’d like to see some of the attractions. But I think that we’d love to spend more of our time in the smaller, historic city of Hoi An, which means ‘Peaceful Meeting Place.”
Busy city streets in Vietnam- mind the kids
Chu Chi Tunnels: I think my children are old enough to manage a trip to visit the tunnels, chilling though I’d find them
Water puppet show: sounds a magical experience for any age
The Mekong Delta: we’d love the floating markets and visiting villages, there’s good cycling here too, we read
Halong Bay: it looks stunning, we would love to stay and find quiet places without too many tourists
Ninh Binh: a boat trip through the caves sounds so interesting and scenic too
Beaches: we love being at the beach so are poring over this article about the Top 10 Beaches in Vietnam.
Snorkelling: a family delight, so I’m investigating trips you can take off Nha Trang and also the Cham Islands on Hoi An
Train trip: I’d love us all to go on an overnight train journey – maybe taking the cushy soft sleeper option though
A very tranquil night scene
Vietnam Family Tours
I like doing tours and having a local guide when exploring a new country. My ideal combination is to do half of the time on our own and half of the time with a guide.
There are a vast variety of Vietnam tour packages and so choosing a company can be tricky. I love to use a local company rather than an international one. And a tour company that comes personally recommended by friends always wins the day.
Vietnam family tours and holidays are easy to find. There are many operators keen to accommodate families with even quite young children.
Family tours go at a slower pace and have shorter journeys each day. There’s plenty of time built in for playing at the beach and an emphasis on family-friendly sightseeing.
One of many many family-friendly resorts
I know that with our 11 year olds some sort of adventure and eco tour would be great. I’ve seen tours that offers trekking in Sapa, cruising Halong bay, cycling and historical visits.
I’d love to go on this Adventure and Eco Tour over 15 days with a week at each end spent relaxing at the beach and sightseeing at a slower pace.
Who wouldn’t??!! Haha!!
Vietnam: What Friends Report
Hey Seana, I’ve been a couple of times with kids, once on a family tour with Fin when he was still shorter than me. It was great – highly recommend, all the kids adored our guide and there was a good mix of kid-friendly activities (not too many temples).
But actually his favourite moment was probably getting a motorbike taxi home one night in Hanoi.
Deb Dickson-Smith of Where To Next and Dive Planit
Find excellent stories and advice from blog readers who have been to Vietnam on this post.
Where I’d like to end my holiday, a relaxing beach resort
Further reading: there is a huge article by a family who have travelled a lot in Vietnam on An Epic Education blog here.
Reading all this stuff and dreaming of escaping for weeks at a time is a marvellous mental holiday before the trip itself.
It’s such a pleasure to start planning a family holiday. Who knows when we will get there, we have so many family issues going on at this point. But one day we will.
And I imagine that even if we did a fab 10 or 14 day tour and stayed longer, we might come home feeling we’d just scratched the surface of Vietnam.
Have you visited Vietnam?
Can you share some top family travel tips?
Cheers
Gorgeous sunset on Ham Ninh fishing village on Phu Quoc island – book me in
This post is brought to you in conjunction with Vietnam Paradise Travel, a tour company with whom we are talking about visiting Vietnam.
PS: As I haven’t been to Vietnam yet all these photos were taken by others. I used my favourite free photo library and exchange, Pixabay, to source these shots. Thanks Pixabay.