If you’re planning to visit Vietnam with children or daydreaming of Vietnam family tours in the future, here are our best tips for family travel in Vietnam with a baby, a toddler or a teen. I love the food, the people I met and the experiences I had there. There is so much to love about traveling in Vietnam with children. The scenery is fantastic, and the food is some of the best in the world. There is also much to enjoy in Vietnam with kids – the enchanting water puppet theatres, laid-back beach resorts and islands, friendly local communities and of course the trains, boats and cyclo rides. Cycling, kayaking, hiking and snorkeling will keep energetic teenagers entertained, and there is an excellent balance of culture and nature, chaos and tranquility, allowing families to plan the perfect, personalized itinerary.
We certainly don’t recommend a trip to any of Vietnam’s zoos or animal parks unless you want distressed children on your hands, but you can get up close to several species of endangered langur in Cuc Phuong’s Primate Rescue Centre. The centre runs a successful breeding programmer, and also supports carnivore and pangolin conservation programmers. Ethical, educational – and fun.
The Mekong Delta is a wonderful world for children to discover. Travelling by car, minibus or boat, the delta has plenty of opportunities to explore floating markets on small wooden sampans, see how coconut sweets are made, trek out to traditional villages and meet the people whose lives depend on this immense river.
If you’re worried about navigating the metropolises of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi with kids, try laid-back Hoi An – whose name means “peaceful meeting place”. It’s small and beautiful with little traffic. There are plenty of cycling options outside the town – and the beach is just a short hop away.
There are educational lessons to be learned everywhere, too: from science (the biodiversity in the Mekong Delta) to social studies (the hill tribes of Sapa), to the country’s rich and complicated history — both recent (the war) and much older (ancient empires and Chinese influence).
Reference one of our best holiday for family: Family Holiday in Vietnam
