We are a family of 4 living full time in our self-converted van.
We currently are swapping van life for 5 months back-packing around South East Asia.
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After 5 weeks of backpacking around Vietnam with our two boys, we decided that it was time for a little treat. We had been in Saigon (also known as Ho Chi Minh City) for a week, exploring the hustle and bustle, and decided that we needed a little escape. That is when we discovered Dam Sen Water Park.
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However, we were a little disheartened when we started reading some of the reviews online. We had read various reviews stating that the park needed a good clean, had some safety issues and the general attitude of the staff were unfriendly. This last one shocked us the most because we have had nothing but friendly and welcoming attitudes towards us in the last 5 weeks from locals. A little deeper digging and I concluded that a lot of these reviews were from a couple of years ago and the more recent ones I had found were more promising.
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So, we decided to take a gamble and go for it. Taxis are easy enough to get in Vietnam thanks to Grab so we decided if we didn't have a good experience then we would just head back and try something else another day.
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Well... here is what we thought...
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Is Dam Sen worth visiting?
Yes! We absolutely loved it and we were so pleased that we decided to just go for it and decide ourselves. We had a wonderful day and spent 6 hours there! However, there are some things that you need to note before visiting...
Photo: Escape the sun by floating down the wandering river
Dam Sen Water Park not Dam Sen Park
Dam Sen Water Park is next door to the theme park Dam Sen Park. These are different places and therefore require separate tickets to enter. There is an option to buy a combined ticket for both parks but our boys aren't currently into rides so we decided just to buy the water park tickets.
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Dam Sen Water Park also has a separate entrance. Our taxi driver dropped us off at Dam Sen Park despite us saying 'water park' a number of times. Luckily the water park is literally a few metres around the corner and the lady at Dam Sen Park directed us where to go.
The cost
The cost is much cheaper than a day out in England and if you're able to stretch out your day over a few hours then you are guaranteed to get your monies worth. We paid 700,000 VND for all of us to go (2 adults and 2 children) that works out about £21 in total. Children under 0.8m are free and anyone above 1.4m is an adult price.
Photo: The wave machine pool at Dam Sen Water Park
Hiring Lockers
It is really important that you are smart with your belongings. Like anywhere, there is a risk of things being stolen if left alone. Do not take any valuables with you if you do not need to. We took the minimum- our phones, a bank card and some cash with us. However, we made a mistake.
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As soon as we arrived we headed straight to the locker hire and hired out a locker for 25,000 VND (£8) however, it turned out we did not need the locker hire. You can buy waterproof bags for your phones when you get there so we were able to keep our phones and money on us at all times. If you are just taking a phone and some cash then I recommend avoiding the locker hire and just keeping your valuables on you in your phone pouch. We left our clothes, towels and water bottles at our chairs and didn't have any problems. Nothing valuable was left unattended.
Photo: Locker hire- here you can hire out lockers for the day
Keep your phone safe
You will have the option to purchase 2 different waterproof pouches for your phones. One is a cheaper pouch which we were told was not waterproof, the other was more expensive and was guaranteed that it was waterproof. We decided to test them both out. Robin got the more expensive one and I got the cheaper one. Both worked just fine, however it is important to note that I did not fully submerge mine in the water! But not a single drop got in when we were being plummeted by the water shoots on the wandering river and when going down the slides.
Visiting Dam Sen Water Park with younger children
Dam Sen Water Park has a fantastic splash zone for younger children. It has an area for children under 1.4m with 11 different water slides for them to explore, water squirters and pretend animals in the water. It has a big canopy over the area too which provides much needed shade for the little ones whilst they splash about. Both my 4 year old and 9 year old loved this area and spent the majority of their time in this part of the park.
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One thing to note is that anyone above 1.4m are not allowed on the slides, therefore if you have a slightly nervous child, you will not be able to go down with them. However, there are so many different types of slides which are different heights and speeds, there is something for everyone.
Photo: Younger children will have a great time splashing around in the kids zone
Younger children are also able to go on the wandering river, which is a lazy river that snakes around the park. You have the option of floating down on a rubber ring, or some people chose to swim/float around. Our 4 year old was slightly too small to go in the rubber ring on his own so he just sat on my lap. It is a nice slow pace and shaded throughout by trees which makes it a lovely little escape from the excitement and craziness of the splash zone. Look out for lizards when floating around the river, we spotted 3 huge ones in the sides.
Photo: The Wandering river is a peaceful escape for the whole family
One other thing that little ones can enjoy at Dam Sen Water Park is the wave machine pool. The waves are started up throughout the day and last for a good few minutes. When the waves aren't sploshing you about, the pool is a nice place to have a splash and a swim.
Visiting Dam Sen Water Park with older children
As well as all of the above, there are loads of water slides for older, thrill seeking children (and adults!) to enjoy. From boat slides, to single shooters, to zip lines into the water, there is something to please everyone. Prior to visiting, we read that they are very strict with the height restrictions on the water slides, therefore we were slightly worried about what our 9 year old would be able to go on.
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However, he managed to get on 3 of the bigger slides as well as the 11 in the splash zone. 3 doesn't sound a lot, but it was more than enough for him and he repeatedly went on them. 2 of them were boat slides which required another person to go on with him, so myself and Robin took turns.
Photo: Some of the slides for those thrill seekers!
Robin was able to test out the other rides for us and said they were wicked. Coming from a big thrill seeker, that must mean something!! He declared Tornado and Kamikaze as his 2 favourite rides- these are the ones to look out for if you're a thrill seeker or have thrill seeking teens.
Food at Dam Sen Water Park
There are big signs all at the entrance and around the park stating that no food and drink is allowed to be brought into the park. We read this in reviews beforehand so we made sure we had a big breakfast and only took water bottles in with us.
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There are lots of places to eat in the park, however you wont find snacks like bags of crisps. The food court offered hot meals ranging from noodles, chicken and rice to burgers. We were able to order something to please everyone. The prices were also really reasonable. As a Brit, I was expecting to be 'ripped off' by the prices of food and drinks in the park but it was cheap enough. We paid 60,000 VND for a big plate of beef and vegetable noodles which is about £1.80! You can also purchase ice creams, drinks and popcorn.
Where to sit
There are different areas to set up base around the park. We chose to base ourselves on some plastic chairs next to the kids splash zone. This area is completely undercover and therefore shaded throughout the whole day. We could also sit and watch the boys from where we were when we needed 5 minutes to recharge and recoup!
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There are also sun beds and umbrellas next to the wave machine pool where you can set up camp. Just note, that the floor around there gets very hot so make sure you have your flip flops handy.
Photo: Sun beds are located next to the wave machine pool
Is Dam Sen Water Park clean?
Some of the reviews we read about the water park was that it wasn't clean. During our time there, we felt it was clean. The pools had bits of leaves and plants floating about in the water but that is unsurprising as there are hundreds of trees around the park, shading the pools.
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The toilets were clean and as you would expect in Vietnam. The only thing to note is there was not toilet paper in the toilets so pack your own tissues if you remember. But worst case, there is a bidet-shower in each toilet.
Photo: Dam Sen Water Park on a beautiful day
Is Dam Sen Water Park safe?
Again, previous reviews highlighted safety concerns in the park. However, we did not feel that were any issues. One pool (the zip line pool) was closed for matenance (there were actually people working on it!) but that didn't have any impact on our day.
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The pools and slides were top standard and there were no slip hazards or safety issues when moving around the park. It seems like they have updated and improved the park since then. The wave machine pool was slightly slippy when entering, so just be mindful about this with little ones but once we were in it was fine.
We all felt extremely safe around the park and the staff were really helpful.
Photo: Grab a mat and race the family!
Top Tips for visiting Dam Sen Water Park
Overall, we had a great time at Dam Sen Water Park and I would recommend this as an activity to do with kids if you want to escape the bustle of Ho Chi Minh City.
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Here are our top tips for visiting Dam Sen Water Park:
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Visit on a weekday. We went on a Monday, it was so quiet and there were no queues for the slides. The park is shut every Tuesday though so keep that in mind when planning your visit.
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If you have your own waterproof phone pouch take it with you. It cost around £10 for a good phone pouch in the park so that's money you can save if you can.
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Take flip flops- the floors around the park can become very hot.
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Wear plain swimwear- by this I mean no zips, buttons or decorative things. The lifeguards are really strict with this when going down the water slide. The signs say no zips but Robin was made to pull off the button on his back pocket before he could go down the slide.
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You do not have to buy tickets online- you can just turn up and purchase them from the ticket box on the day.
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Do not take any valuables with you if you do not need them, it's just not worth the risk.
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Stay safe in the sun and have a great time!
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About 4inthVan
We are a family of 4 living and travelling full time in our self converted Luton van.Â
Our aim is to provide other families information, guides and top tips to help them on their next adventure, whether that's world travel, van life or home education.