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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Vietnam is the perfect introduction to South East Asia. Whether you are new to travelling with kids or consider yourself expert travellers, Vietnam will be sure to have your travelling tastebuds tingling. It is a country that is packed with historical, cultural and natural delights from the Cu Chi Tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City, to experiencing the rush of Train Street in Hanoi.
Why Travel to Vietnam?
Even before kids, Vietnam has always been at the top of our travel list. When we decided to leave our full time jobs, pack up our house and begin our worldschooling adventure, we knew that we had to make the journey over to Vietnam. We spent a year living and travelling full time in our self converted van but the backpacking dream was calling us even louder. That was when we decided to leave our van in the safe hands of family and jump on a plane across the world for 5 months backpacking around South East Asia.
Is Vietnam safe with kids?
Like with any country, there are always safety risks when travelling. During our 5 weeks in Vietnam, we felt extremely safe. During our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels, our tour guide told us that Vietnamese people a brought up to value kindness and welcome others. This could not be more true to what we experienced when in Vietnam. We were made to feel welcome wherever we went. Vietnamese people especially love children and our boys were treated like royalty by the locals wherever we went.
Despite the roads being chaotic, travelling around Vietnam is very safe. Believe it or not, there are very few traffic accidents. One of the scariest things about travelling around Vietnam is crossing the roads. There are zebra crossings around but they do not act like they do back in England. My best advice is to just go for it.
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Here are our top tips for crossing the road in Vietnam:​
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Sandwich the kids in between the adults- that way the children are better protected from oncoming traffic.
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Place one hand in the air as you cross.
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Walk slowly but do not stop- this is so much harder than it sounds. Your natural instinct is to stop when you see traffic coming towards you but I promise, the bikes will just move around you. If you stop, you mess up the flow.
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The green man doesn't always mean that it's safe to cross! You will still have some bikes and cars coming towards you so still be alert as you cross.​​
Overall, yes Vietnam is a safe country to travel to with children. You just need to follow the usual safety precautions as you would when travelling anywhere.
Photo: Exploring Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue
Vietnam Highlights
Vietnam is full of incredible, culturally rich destinations. There is so much to pack into a Vietnam Itinerary, it is hard to know where to start. Many backpackers take the famous North to South route, starting in the Capital Hanoi and ending in Vietnam's largest city, Ho Chi Minh. Where as many worldschooling families like to base themselves more central in Da Nang and Hoi An.
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We decided to spend 5 weeks travelling North to South allowing a mix of short stop overs and longer stays. Despite spending 5 weeks in this beautiful country, we still did not manage to see everything. We were travelling on a very small budget, therefore we had to prioritise and make certain decisions about where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. Here is a list of the places we visited:
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​​​Hanoi
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Hue
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Mui Ne
Worldschooling Guides
Worldschooling guide
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Worldschooling guide
Here is a list of other destinations that you will want to consider when travelling to Vietnam:
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Sapa​​​
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Ha Long Bay
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Ninh Binh
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Da Nang
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Mekong River
The fact that we didn't get to visit these places just means we have an extra excuse to come back to Vietnam!
Photo: Nha Trang beach front
Getting around Vietnam with kids
​Going between destinations in Vietnam is very easy. The country has a good, reliable transportation system and using websites/apps like 12Go and Baolau makes it easy to book train and bus tickets.
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Flights
Some people choose to fly between destinations. There are any internal flights linking some of the main cities like Da Nang, HCMC and Hanoi. We personally try to limit the flights we take. Not only is it environmentally friendlier but it is also much cheaper to catch a train or bus.
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Train
The railway network in Vietnam is fantastic. The rail network spans over 2000 kilometers from Hanoi down to Saigon, stopping at over 20 stations in between. It runs along the coast and offers some of the most beautiful and scenic views along the way.
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There are many options when booking a train ticket, from standard air conditioned seat to sleeper cabins. Sleeper cabins cost more but they are definitely worth it if you are travelling a long distance with kids. Whilst the trains run throughout the day and night, for those longer journeys I would recommend doing a night train. That way you get a night of accommodation and the kids can sleep for most of the journey.
Photo: Enjoying the view on the train from Da Nang to Nha Trang
​​Bus
When it comes to busses, you have many options to choose from. Busses are quicker than train journeys and often slightly cheaper. Like the rail network, Vietnam has a good reliable bus network that can take you to pretty much anywhere around the country. There are different types of busses to choose from depending on your journey: Sleeper bus, VIP bus, Limousine bus and mini bus. Each offers different services and different prices. When using Baolau and 12Go, they will give you all of the different bus options so you can compare prices. ​​​
Taxi​​
You will never be short on Taxis when travelling in Vietnam. When booking a taxi in Vietnam, I would personally avoid getting a taxi without using Grab. Grab is Asias version of Uber, it is reliable, you don't need to negotiate a price or try to explain where you need to go. It's hassle free which is exactly what you need when travelling with kids.
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One thing to be aware of is drivers cancelling your booking and trying to get you to pay them direct. We only had this happen once. The driver accepted our booking (he was parked right next to us), then when we were about to get in he cancelled it and said he would take us. Luckily we weren't actually sat in the taxi so we just said no thank you and booked another via the Grab app. I haven't heard of this happening before and it only happened once to us so hopefully it isn't common occurrence. ​​
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Grab taxis are great for short distances and getting around cities like Saigon. The prices of Grab taxis are relatively cheap, we were paying on average £2/£3 for a taxi to places but for shorter trips it was generally under £1.
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Grab also offers bike taxis. This is great if one of you wants to nip to the shops or pop out on your own. These are much cheaper than the car taxis. Robin used these a couple of times when he headed off to do things.
Photo: On the sleeper bus from Nha Trang to Mui Ne
Motorbike/ Moped​​
Vietnam is a country of bikes! You will see millions on your travels here. There are over 14 million in Saigon alone! Everywhere you go you can hire mopeds. In order to hire a moped you will need to present your passport, driving licence and have an International Driving Permit.
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Some families choose to book onto motorbike tours which is particularly good if you are travelling with older children. This is great way to get out and see the country side and all of those hidden gems that you would not normally get to see.
Bicycle​​
If you are visiting Hoi An then one way to see the town and its surrounding areas is by bike. Most hotels and homestays offer free bicycles or bike rental for guests to use. It is a fantastic opportunity for the whole family to get out and see the rice fields during a lovely bike ride.
Photo: Basket boat experience in Hoi An
Exploring Vietnamese Cuisine with Kids
Ok, I knew Vietnamese food was good but I didn't realise HOW good it actually is!! One of the main experiences we wanted our boys to get out of our trip to Vietnam was to explore the cuisine and try new flavours and foods. Vietnam offers so many delicious dishes for the whole family to get involved in and whichever part of the country you are in, you will end up experiencing totally different flavours and dishes.
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One way you can introduce your children to the culinary delights of the country is through a street food tour. This was the first thing we did when we arrived in Hanoi at the very start of our trip and was probably one of the best things we did.
Check out our Street Food Tour Guide
Vietnam offers a wide range of cooking classes where the whole family can learn about Vietnamese cuisine and learn to cook dishes that the locals eat. If you're lucky enough you might even get invited to join the family for a meal if you stay in a Homestay.
Photo: We were made to feel like family at our Homestay in Hoi An
If you are travelling with fussy eaters then I promise you, you do not need to worry. Whilst myself and youngest son will eat anything, my husband and eldest son are a little more restricted when it comes to their pallets. In all of the different places we stayed, we were able to find food for everyone. Even if it was a plate of french fries alongside noodles and rice! Places like Nha Trang and Ho Ch Minh City have a wide range of international foods and we were able to eat a wide range of cuisine including Greek, Italian, Indian and Hungarian.
Photo: Sampling Vietnamese food during our Hanoi Street Food Tour
When is the best time to visit Vietnam?
Vietnam has 2 seasons- wet season and dry season. The wet season begins April until October and the dry season is October to April. We travelled around Vietnam throughout October and November. At the start of our trip we experienced rainfall in Hue and a typoon at An Bang Beach but as we headed south the weather was beautiful. Some days it reached 34 degrees in Ho Chi Minh during November.
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It gets cooler in the north during December and you can expect to see a blanket of snow covering the grounds in Sapa.
Photo: The rain didn't stop us exploring the Imperial City, Hue
Worldschooling in Vietnam
Vietnam offers such rich and cultural worldschooling experiences. Many worldschooling families visit Vietnam therefore you will often find many worldschooling hubs and meet ups throughout the country. As well as worldschooling families, you will find many local home educating families that meet weekly.
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From our experience, Da Nang, Hoi An and Nha Trang have a big worldschooling/home educating community.We were in Nha Trang during halloween, we used facebook to help us find lots of different home ed and child friendly events throughout the city.
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The best way to find out about these hubs and meet ups is through home ed and worldschooling groups on Facebook.
Photo: Learning about Vietnams history at the Cu Chi Tunnels
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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.