Vietnam is a colorful country with dramatic green mountains to the north, white sand beaches along the South China Sea, and ancient towns. Halong Bay steals the show with her mysterious sandstone peaks jutting straight out of the water. This Vietnam tour will introduce you to a little of everything that makes this country delightful.
Your family will experience Vietnam’s rich culture and captivating history with the help of a local guide, trained to work with kids. For your family-friendly Vietnam vacation, we’ve picked hands-on experiences kids enjoy and opportunities to connect with local families.
Your visit to Vietnam begins in Hanoi. Vietnam’s colorful history is captured by Hanoi’s temples and historical sites like Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the ancient Temple of Literature. But a traditional water puppet show tells the stories of the people. In the heritage village of Duong Lam, farmers still plow their rice fields with water buffalo. Visit the lively farmer’s market with a local chef and learn to prepare traditional Vietnamese food. Your Vietnam travels would not be complete without a visit to Hoi An, a UNESCO world heritage site. Meet local artisans and make your own silk lantern.
Meanwhile, nestled within the skyscrapers of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) discover delightful pockets of Saigon’s French-colonial heritage. Vietnam War era relics like the Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels are fascinating for kids and history buffs alike. This Vietnam tour package wraps up with one night in the Mekong Delta. This river is the lifeline of Southeast Asia.
This family-friendly Vietnam vacation includes all the highlights of Vietnam. Your private tour can be customized with the help of our South East Asia travel experts.
Trekaroo has negotiated exclusive perks for Southeast Asia trips with this partner.
Trekaroo families may choose one of the following complimentary upgrades for this trip:
– Half-day guided walking food tour
– A custom-made piece of clothing from a local tailor
Available exclusively to families who book through Trekaroo. Fill in in the contact form on this page.
Arrive into Noi Bai airport where you will be met by your guide and driven the 1 hour journey to Hanoi.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at Hanoi La Siesta Classic Hotel – Family Suite
Begin your half day by discussing with your guide what you would like to do and see. There are so many options that we like to leave it up to you and your guide to decide what suits you best. Some interesting highlights that you may want to consider are the Temple of Literature, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and his House on stilts, One Pillar Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple, and Tran Quoc Pagoda, the Ethnology Museum, and the Art Museum.
Take a one-hour cyclo tour of this charming capital city. Your guide will tell you about the places you are passing amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life that surround you.
Attend a water puppet show unique to Vietnamese culture. Water puppets tell the stories of the daily life of an older Vietnam when people traditionally worked the fields. After the rice harvest, farmers and the local community would celebrate and entertain each other with musical tales using puppets they held up as they stood waist-high in the water of the harvested rice paddy field.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Hanoi La Siesta Classic Hotel – Family Suite
It is best to start earlier today so as to enjoy the coolest and quietest time in the area. Your guide will meet you at your hotel reception at 7am for your 1.5hr road transfer to Duong Lam Village, a heritage agricultural village on the Northern Red River Delta that escaped the bombing during the Vietnam War. We have a wonderful time planned for you centered in and around the village today. Your guide will introduce you to our lovely village host on your arrival.
Your fun will begin at the local market, where you will not only feel part of local village life, but you will be shopping for ingredients to make one dish yourself. Your host and guide will be there to coach you and support whenever you need a bit of help. You will be given a list of ingredients (in English and in Vietnamese) needed for you to make the “Nem Ran” (spring rolls) and a Vietnamese Dong budget. Nem Ran is a typical north Vietnamese staple dish you will see on any home kitchen table. Explore the market as you choose your ingredients, ask for the things you need in Vietnamese, and pay for everything you will need to make your dish together today.
Return with your chef to put your dish together under your chef’s guidance. The other main dishes for your lunch today take longer to prepare and so due to time some of these will have been pre-started, however, your guide will help you to chat with your chef and you may lend a hand with any final preparations needed before settling down together to enjoy your lunch.
The village maintains many traditions amongst which are local candies that are enjoyed at various festivals and events throughout the Vietnamese year. After your family lunch, your host will show you how to make a selection of these. Amongst our team favorite is kẹo lạc (peanut brittle), delicious! You will join in and have a go at making some to take home with you.
This afternoon cycle Duong Lam village and the surrounding villages and countryside for a wonderful opportunity to trace back the origin of Vietnam’s culture and Vietnam’s traditions. This is also the great chance to explore the architecture of ancient houses along narrow alleyways, visit temples dedicated to former kings, and most interesting of all, chat with locals living in the ancient houses. It is worth noting that Duong Lam village is the only hamlet whose original village entrance gate remains intact. Our guides are experts and will discuss with you on how to avoid the heat of the day, take advantage of shady routes. and you’ll meet wonderful locals along the way. Helmets will be provided.
In the late afternoon, your driver will be ready to transfer you back to Hanoi.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Hanoi La Siesta Classic Hotel – Family Suite
Your guide will meet you at your hotel at 8 am. Today, you leave bustling Hanoi behind on your private transfer to your cruise connection point. Your journey will take around 3.5 hours by road and along the way, our team will advise you of the best places to stop for a comfort break and photo opportunities depending on your timing.
Arrive at Halong city by midday where you will transfer to the pier to board your junk. Enjoy a welcome drink before relaxing with a fresh seafood lunch, while cruising through the magnificent Bai Tu Long Bay (the peaceful northern part of Halong Bay, commonly overlooked by most visitors). Take in the breathtaking serenity of your surroundings, before stopping mid-afternoon to visit Thien Canh Son cave. A short cruise further will bring you to Hon Co Island where you can spend the late afternoon relaxing on board the junk or on the white sandy beach. If weather permits, enjoy some kayaking around the bay. You will finish the day on board with dinner around 7pm followed by time to relax and reflect on your Vietnam vacation so far.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Overnight at Prince Junk – Charter
Today’s early start with breakfast around 7:30am is a wonderful opportunity to admire the bay waking up around you. After breakfast you will be taken on rustic rowboats to Vung Vieng Fishing Village which once housed hundreds of residents. Today the village is a museum of floating houses, a school and pearl farms allowing a glimpse into the floating lifestyle of its past residents. Enjoy your lunch as you cruise back to Hon Gai Harbor to disembark at the pier around midday.
Your guide will meet you as you disembark and will transfer you to Noi Bai Airport. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to take a comfort break and stretch your legs. You will arrive at Noi Bai airport in time to connect with your flight to Danang. Your guide will meet you at Danang Airport for your private transfer (around 45 minutes) to your hotel in Hoi An for check-in.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Hoi An Beach Resort – 1 Double & 1 Twin Deluxe Garden View Room
Your guide will meet you at your hotel at 8am and together you will head out on a walking tour of Hoi An for a few hours. Visit the Ancient Town, which is home to the beautiful Chua Cau, (roofed bridge), as well as Hoi Quan, the ancient meeting places, some ancestral family homes and some of the lovely hidden pagodas.
Time permitting, you have the option to head outside the Ancient Town and learn more about the Hoi An of today. In the spirit of tradition, you’ll also have the chance to enjoy the famous cuisine of Central Vietnam in a local restaurant in the old part of town. You have up to 4 hours to explore with your guide today.
As part of your half day experience you will visit the Hoi An cloth market, choose your material, meet with our favorite tailor and work with both the tailor and guide to design and make your own unique ‘Ao Dai’ that you can take home (Please note: the cost of material and the tailor’s labor is not included in the tour, you must pay for these separately). An Ao Dai can take a few days to complete and need one or two revisits, so we advise that you plan in the time you need with your guide and tailor at your first meeting today. End your morning with lunch at a local restaurant.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Hoi An Beach Resort – 1 Double & 1 Twin Deluxe Garden View Room
Your guide will meet you at your hotel at 8am and transfer you to the rendezvous point for your bike ride. After setting up your bicycle, start your ride to the island Along the way you will meet the families that produce traditional crafts such as ornate furniture, coracles (traditional bamboo basket boats) and sleeping mats. If you wish, you will also have the chance to take a short ride in a coracle on one of the small canals. With your guide, follow the winding paths in and out of the country hamlets. The island is accessible by a private 30-minute boat journey, or by bicycle over the new bridge.
You will be able to start by boat and end via the bridge or visa versa. Your guide will discuss with you in advance about your personal preference. You have up to 4 hours to explore with your guide today.
Later, you will be taken to a local craftsman in town where you can spend a couple of hours learning about the history, shape, and color of the lanterns for which Hoi An is famous, as well as creating your own lantern to take home. Your guide will be with you so feel free to ask any questions.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Hoi An Beach Resort – 1 Double & 1 Twin Grand Deluxe River View
Your guide will meet you at your hotel for your private transfer (around 45 minutes) to the airport in Danang and will ensure that you arrive in time for your onward flight to Saigon, where you will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel.
Your guide is looking forward to taking you on a half day walking discovery tour of downtown Saigon and surrounding districts. On foot is a wonderful way to experience all that Saigon has to offer. Meet and chat with local people, try special local cuisine at the different locations you stop by and learn about daily life. Our guides are the experts, and they will discuss the plan for the time with you in advance so that you get the very best experience designed just for you.
Your guide and driver will transfer you to the Mai Family Home. The stories of Vietnamese history and culture can be heard and understood through its traditional music. Mr. Truc and Mrs. Ngo (husband and wife), along with the other members of the family, are experts at playing traditional Vietnamese musical instruments such as the monochord zither, bamboo xylophone, and stone lithophone, among others. They have been granted special permission to share their knowledge with guests in Vietnam and for an hour you will be taken on a journey back in time. Enjoy a private concert as they tell you stories and play their traditional melodies.
Then you will have the opportunity to try your hand at playing the instruments in their collection.
At the end of the evening with these wonderful people, you will have unique personal insight into the culture and history of Vietnam. You will then be taken to a restaurant for your dinner and later returned to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Hotel Des Arts – 1 Double & 1 Twin Deluxe Room
Our guides are the experts so we leave you in their capable hands to discuss and decide what you want to see and do with your day. There are some great markets if you are in the mood to shop or you can visit some of the museums like the History Museum, or some pagodas, like Thien Hau Lady Goddess Pagoda and Jade Emperor Pagoda. If you are interested in the history of the Vietnam War, then we recommend that you take the time to visit the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum. The Vietnamese Traditional Medicine Museum gives another insight into Vietnamese culture. Chat with your guide and decide what suits you!
Spend the afternoon at your leisure.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Hotel Des Arts – 1 Double & 1 Twin Deluxe Room
Have a relaxing start to the day until you meet your guide at 9:30am. Your private transfer by road to Cai Be will take around 2 1⁄2 hours, where on arrival your boat will meet you and you can sit back and enjoy the views as you cruise along the river. Enjoy lunch in a beautiful traditional garden house where you will be presented with local dishes such as Elephant Ear Fish rolled and wrapped with rice paper, as well as different Vietnamese vegetables and fruits served with tamarind dipping sauce.
After lunch you will have the opportunity to relax in a sampan as you are rowed through the tranquil waterways and can visit local families making popped rice (a favorite of the team!), coconut candies, rice paper, and various other local homemade Vietnamese products from the Mekong area.
Late afternoon you will check into your Ancient House homestay for the evening. Relax at the homestay, have a walk around the local area, and you can even take a cooking class and get to know your hosts a bit better. Your guide is with you to help you interpret, so don’t be shy!
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Ba Duc Home Stay
Have an early start today as your boat meets you to visit Cai Be Floating Market. Return to your home stay to say goodbye to your hosts and collect your bags. Board your boat for your return to the pier where your driver will be waiting. Return to Saigon to check in to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Hotel Des Arts – 1 Double & 1 Twin Deluxe Room
You will be picked up at your hotel and taken to the airport for your departure flight.
Meals included: Breakfast
Andrea Ross, the founder of Journeys Within, a Wild Frontiers company, lived in Siem Reap, Cambodia for 10 years. She lived with her two young children in Siem Reap and traveled through Southeast Asia. She developed a team of local staff in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. Together they sourced the best guides and developed rich immersive experiences that delight families. If you are looking for a Southeast Asia travel expert who will take excellent care of your logistics, introduce you to the warm hospitality of locals, and create unforgettable experiences for your family, look no further.
