Family Vacations in Vietnam

Needless to say that arranging vacations for families is never easy and making each family trip a smooth experience is even harder for most tour operators and travel agencies. Western travelers are often hesitant about bringing their families to Vietnam on vacations for a number of reasons… Some reasons are easy to understand and some are related to past memories.

Practical Guide to Family Tours in Vietnam

For several decades since opening its border to international travel, Vietnam tourism is getting more professional and more refined to offer personalized and individualized services to its clientele.

Below are some guidelines from our experience which hopefully could be of help for you planning a family trip to Vietnam.

1/ Family Tours in Hanoi

Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam, one of the major hubs for international travel in the country, an important base for making trips to places in Northern Vietnam. You travel with your family to Vietnam, you may like it or not, you are likely to pass through Hanoi if your family is to have holidays in the North.

Luckily, Hanoi was among the first cities in Vietnam to be visited by international travelers and the city has always been among the most busy travel destinations in Vietnam, hence tourist services in the capital city has had a good time to evolve. There is a full range of tourist services which cater to families with kids, be it babies or children under twelve years of age. There is a good range of services catering to senior travelers, too.

In case you do not bring your own facilities, babies pushchairs or armchairs can be ordered at the airport. Several hotels in Hanoi provide these amenities for free and several properties have reserved paths for these transports. Baby-sitting service or kid corners are available at many hotels in town. Some even have a whole kid park with lots of trees which is good for your entire family. Baby food of a wide range is available at several outlets in the city.

2/ Family Holidays in Ninh Binh

Ninh Binh is located to the south of the Red River and it is only 120km south of Hanoi via roads in great conditions. It takes only 2-3 hours to get to Ninh Binh from Hanoi and the only obstacle is traffic jams in the capital city.

Ninh Binh offers idyllic countryside with vast paddy fields dissected by limestone mountains, rivers, bird sanctuaries and Vietnamese traditional villages. If your family wants to get lost in primeval tropical rain forest, then why not have some days at the Cuc Phuong National Park? If your family wants some historical experiences, then the Ancient Capital of Hoa Lu is just the place to hand around for a couple of days. There are also several century-old pagodas and temples in Ninh Binh for those who want to learn more about the Vietnamese spiritual practices.

If you want highways or great roads, there are a few which travel through Ninh Binh Province. If you want country roads without traffic, there are plenty in Ninh Binh. It is convenient to get around Ninh Binh by private car, public bus, bicycle, on foot… And wherever you go, you are surrounded by heavenly landscape of this amazing backwater!

For the families who love some education on the flora and fauna, Ninh Binh offers amazingly rich wildlife that you may want to explore: private tours, bird watching tours, botanical tours… It is a very peaceful world that after active days filled with activities, you can enjoy relaxing moments either in the comfort of your hotel, resort, or in the quiet and idyllic countryside...

3/ Nature Tours for Families at Cuc Phuong National Park

Primate Rescue Center at the Cuc Phuong National Park

4/ Honeymoon Tours, Family Vacations on Halong Bay

5/ Family Tours in Sapa

6/ Tours for Families in Mai Chau

7/ Adventure Tours for Families at the Pu Luong Nature Reserve

The Pu Luong Nature Reserve is an amazing place for families. There are two main range of mountains running in parallel along a northwest-southeast axis. Wedged between these two main ranges of mountains are rice terraces, valleys and Thai and Muong Villages.

There are big paved roads on higher altitudes and small dirt paths on lower altitudes and on mountain slopes. Even the big roads are very quiet and almost traffic free. For accommodation, there are boutique comfortable lodges on mountainsides and there are homestays with basic facilities at houses on stilts with local Thai families.

Golden rice terraces agaist green mountain backdrop at Pu Luong

So, if your family has kids, then you will not have difficulty moving around a village using a baby push cart provided you choose the right village to stay at. If your kids are older than 4 or 5 years old, then you should not have difficulties at all. If your kids are older than 7 years old, then you can even take part in some hiking tours with moderately difficult trails around the village.

A trekking trail amid forest at Pu Luong

Also, you can learn a great deal from local culture: learning to cook steamed rice in a bamboo pipe, learning about the brocade weaving process, or bamboo weaving techniques… You can go on bicycle tours or take sightseeing tours by car and walking tours visiting villages, valleys, rice terraces… Pu Luong is still relatively off-the-beaten track and except for the long Vietnamese public holidays, you will find this amazing place peaceful and just a wonderful place of your own family!