Family Holidays in Vietnam

Vietnam is a great place for family vacations. It's inexpensive, beautiful, and full of friendly people. The best part about it is that it has activities that are perfect for teenagers, small children, and adults alike.

Below is a guide for families traveling to Vietnam, including information about family travel and ideas on where to go.

Quick facts

• Traveling with kids in Vietnam is fun and exciting.
• Vietnam has many activities that are fun for the whole family.
• Some of the most popular family activities in Vietnam include rickshaw rides, boat rides, cooking classes, and beach days.
• Vietnamese culture is a mix of traditional Vietnamese values and French and Chinese influences.
• There are tour options to small villages, where visitors can learn about the life of locals and about ethnic minorities.
• The best destination for family vacations include Hanoi, Hoi An, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City.
• If you plan on travelling during summer vacation, southern Vietnam should be avoided, due to extremely hot weather.
• Winter vacation is the peak season in Vietnam, and all bookings should be made well in advance for this period.
• It is quick and convenient to fly domestically within Vietnam.

2-Week Vietnam Family-with-Teenagers Holiday

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Family-friendly destination

Vietnamese people are known to be very welcoming and kind. This makes traveling with kids a fun and delightful experience. In most places, western children are met with excitement, and local businesses will often go out of their way to make children happy.

Another reason why Vietnam is a great destination for families is, that it offers plenty of experiences that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Some of the most popular activities include having fun on the sandy beaches, checking out the world-renown museums, tasting the local food, and learning about new cultures.

Furthermore, Vietnam offers stunning landscapes, bustling cities, and delicious food, all at a reasonable price. Adults and kids of all ages will discover something breathtaking and exciting during a trip to Vietnam.

Family bonding activities in Vietnam

The best part of family vacations is the time away from work and school, just to be together and create new memories. Vietnam is a great place for these family bonding adventures and has a lot of activities that families love.

Some examples of popular family activities include taking exciting rickshaw rides through the bustling streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. This is a fun and inexpensive way to see the city and get a feel for the local culture.

Another great way to have some family fun is to go on food tours in the Vietnamese cities. These tours often take groups around the city to try out the best local places. If you're feeling more adventurous, Vietnam also offers plenty of cooking classes which teach visitors how to cook authentic Vietnamese cuisine.

Lastly, a well-loved family activity in Vietnam is, taking a boat cruise through the many scenic areas. The most popular locations for boat tours include Halong Bay, with its incredible karst mountains, and the Mekong Delta, with its floating markets and distinct culture.

7-Day Northern Vietnam Family Discovery Tour Hanoi - Pu Luong Retreat - Halong Bay

A chance to increase cultural knowledge

Vietnam is also a great place for kids to increase their cultural understanding. Vietnamese people have a very distinctive culture that is a mixture of traditional Vietnamese values and Chinese and French influences. Vietnam also has multiple groups of ethnic minorities who have a culture that is entirely different from the majority population.

Many of the ethnic minorities in Vietnam are very welcoming to outsiders and tour groups. Sapa Valley has 8 different Vietnamese minority groups and is the perfect place to learn about the intricacies of these ancient cultures. Here, visitors can hike through the villages or take a boat trip and interact with the local people.

Hoi An is a great place to learn about Vietnamese culture by experiencing the life of local farmers. In Tra Que Village, visitors can work with farmers and learn how they grow their organic vegetables. Taking cooking classes or bicycle tours are also options here.

Near Ho Chi Minh City, visitors can travel through the ancient Vietnamese capital of Ninh Binh with its thousands of temples, palaces, and pagodas. Here tourists can get a glimpse of ancient Vietnam, then travel back to HCMC and learn about colonial-era history while surrounded by beautiful French architecture.

Explore similar itineraries:

13-Day Vietnam Classic Tour with Sapa

15-Day Best of Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam Tour

Top destinations for families in Vietnam

Here are our suggestions for places in Vietnam which have something for everyone in the family.

10-Day Best of Vietnam with Mekong Delta

How to plan your family holiday

After choosing which cities you want to see during your trip, the next step is to start planning. Below, we have included three things to think about when planning your trip, to make sure that you and your family have the best possible vacation.

Airfare

There are three international airports in Vietnam. They are located in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hanoi. For visitors who want to travel within Vietnam, domestic flights are a quick and easy option. They are more expensive than buses and trains, but much more convenient, especially when traveling with large groups or children.

Infants under 2 years can fly for free with Vietnamese domestic airlines, as long as they share a seat with their parents. For children from 2 to 12 years, the price of the ticket is 75% of an adult ticket. Children over 12 are charged the same price as adults. Children are allowed 20kg of luggage with their tickets. However, no checked luggage is allowed for infants.

13-Day Vietnam Classic Tour with Sapa Ho Chi Minh - Mekong Delta - Danang - Hoi An - Hue - Hanoi - Sapa- Halong Bay

Safety tips

Vietnam is generally a very safe country, however, like most places, there are still a few things to look out for.

In Vietnam the traffic operates differently than it does in other countries. The streets are often full of motorcycles, scooters, and cars, driving fast and not necessarily following traffic laws. It is important always to be careful when crossing the street.

Be aware of too-good-to-be-true hotel prices or tour prices. Often these cheap prices indicate that the hotel or tour doesn't follow the same safety precautions as the more expensive options. It is best to avoid the cheapest prices and to ask about safety regulations before booking.

It is rare, but sometimes in Vietnam credit card information is stolen after the card is used in a store or restaurant. This doesn't happen in larger places, but it is still a good idea to carry local currency (VND) with you and always pay cash rather than swipe a card.

Tips about Vietnamese cuisine

At first, the food in Vietnam may cause stomach problems for travelers because they are not used to the cuisine. It is a good idea to give yourself a few days to adjust to the food in Vietnam and ease your way into the cuisine. A good food to start with is the delicious Banh Mi sandwich.

Once used to the food in Vietnam, it is an amazing cultural experience to try the different dishes that the country has to offer. Kids normally like the fresh fruit as well as the spring rolls and Pho noodle soup. If you have picky kids, then don't worry. Almost every restaurant in Vietnam has some western options like French fries and pizza.

One important precaution is to be careful with the water from street stalls or cheap restaurants. Water from the tap is not safe to drink, and it is a good idea not to drink too many iced drinks or eat too many iced treats. It is also important to wash and dry fruit that cannot be peeled, before eating it.

Staying healthy

Full-coverage travel insurance for everyone in the family is a good idea to have as a safety precaution. For people who need to take medication regularly, it is important to bring enough to cover the length of the trip and some extra, just in case.

Vietnam has many pharmacies, but it is difficult to find the same dosage and brands. If at any time, it is necessary to purchase medicine from a Vietnamese pharmacy, it is a good idea to stick to brands you recognize, just to be safe.

The tropical climate in Vietnam can have strong effects on travelers who are not used to the Southeast Asian weather. It is important to bring sunblock to protect your skin from burns and also to use mosquito repellent whenever outside at night or near the jungle.

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