Vietnam Family Adventure

Most Inspirational Moment

So many to choose from! Hanoi and Hoi were beautiful cities which retain their exotic charm and heritage, with Saigon being a bit more metropolitan. Standing in front of the Presidential Palace felt like a moment in history, however snorkelling amongst the Coral on Whale Island has to be the best memory.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Huyen was an amazing group leader who ensured we were well briefed on what was coming and gave really

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't pack clothes for cold weather - you won't need them. Laundry service was available at Hanoi, Saigon and Hoi An at cheap prices. There were cashpoints around but Vietnam seemed quite safe and we carried cash around without any issues. VISA payments were available in most places.

Most Inspirational Moment

What an amazing country - we loved all the places we visited and really enjoyed all the activities! Hoi An was probably our favourite - cycling past rice fields with a water buffalo lazing about is an iconic image of Vietnam (and the town is spectacular at night).

Thoughts on Group Leader

Huyen is a wonderful ambassador for Vietnam - her knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for her country were infectious. We learnt so much about her country and culture, and would never have known a quarter this if we had attempted this trip independently. She was incredible with the children and her organisational skills were faultless. She is also not bad at karaoke!

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are worried about the 'homestay' don't - it is relatively basic, but the rooms are individual (per family) and even had en-suite bathrooms (albeit Mekong-style). The food is also amazing! Although no air-con, many of the families wish they could have stayed longer (though we thought that about all the places we visited). Most people had a sleeping bag liner for the overnight train - and probably worth taking some toilet roll (just in case).

Most Inspirational Moment

Sharing this two week adventure with my 16 year old daughter! The views from Whale Island beach were breath-taking and we loved swimming until dusk.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Duc was an exceptional group leader who looked out for everyone and made sure our every needs were accommodated for. Duc was passionate about sharing the history of his country and made everything go so smoothly. The best tour leader!

Advice for Potential Travellers

This tour is aimed at 13-16 year old and think this is the right age for the amount of travelling and variety of activities.

Most Inspirational Moment

Kayaking in Ha Long bay, then being taken to a secret beautiful beach to swim. We were all so delighted, and stayed for ages in the beautiful water chatting and getting to know one another.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Absolutely excellent. As I said above - Ashley was sweet, caring, capable, funny, knowledgeable helpful and enthusiastic. We all loved her. I particularly appreciated the fact that I could eat a whole variety of delicious food despite my severe nut allergy. Ashley explained it to chefs everywhere we went. In other countries I have accepted that I need to just eat plain, boring food. But everywhere we went, the cooks made special nut-free delicious food after Ashley had explained.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You have to go - it’s a beautiful country and an extremely well organised trip. Also, I worried about mosquitoes, but we hardly saw any.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Meekong Valley was beautiful , a chance to unwind, relax with the group. Very peaceful, great food, staff were friendly. Would have liked a couple of nights there. Vegetarian restaurant in Hoi Chin Ming City- fantastic

Thoughts on Group Leader

Doan made our holiday very special. Looked after all of our group, a joy with the kids, very knowledgeable about the places. Pre-empted our requests and coped with our demands. Took us to wonderful places to eat. We wanted to take her home with us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Arrive a day earlier to get over the jet lag and do some of your own exploring of Hanoi. Take tea bags and cups on the train overnight and sheet sleeping bags. Take lots of sun cream as easy to get burnt when snorkelling or swimming in Whale Island. If you get burnt use aftersun NOT oil or cream. Watch out for the Urchins. Take rain macs as when it rains it pours.

Most Inspirational Moment

One of the children singing ‘all star’ on the bus. It livened up one of the lengthy bus trips. Halong Bay was picturesque. The weather was excellent which resulted in good swimming and kayaking not to mention the photographs from the glorious sunset. Whale Island was beautiful though the weather was windy owing to a nearby typhoon which brought in a lots of debris to the island. Walks around the island are well signed and worth exploring.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ngoc personality and sense of humour drove the trip. He was flexible and understanding and handled all group members diplomatically. He also explained clearly Vietnam’s geopolitical and environmental challenges, the religious and cultural diversity, and the population pressures particularly on housing and incomes. He got the balance right and occasionally fooled parents / children on elements of the trip - in particular the homestay!!

Most Inspirational Moment

A trip to the War Remnants Museum in HCMC. This provided a graphic account of events during the Vietnam war. The viewpoint given is not particularly balanced as atrocious acts were known to have been carried out by both sides in this conflict. That being said, the factual information provided and the photographic records displayed give a sobering account of a very dark moment in time. Some of the material exhibited is quite upsetting and this museum is not really a good one for young children. What is particularly inspirational is the contrast between the events of the war and moving forward 40 years to the Vietnam of today. Modern Vietnam seems to have come through it all and is in a pretty good place.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Duy Nguyen was an excellent group leader and the tour was a great success. He clearly knows his job well and gets things organised. He has a degree in history and tourism and is a font of information about his country. No question is ignored and he has considerable patience answering the same series of enquiries from different families! We learned a lot about modern Communist Vietnam as well as its ancient history, colonial conflicts and all things in between. Best of all, he is very good with children. All of the kids on our tour really liked Duy, and he clearly very much enjoyed their company which made the holiday even better than anticipated.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We were advised to consider an extra day at the beginning of the trip to help get over jet lag. We followed the advice - the extra time was nice to get in a bit of extra sight seeing, but we feel that it is really not that necessary. Just turn up Day 1 and get into it!

Most Inspirational Moment

Halong bay by boat was stunning .We all loved the old town of Hoi An and enjoyed our Vietnamese cookery lesson there .The Cu Chi tunnels were fascinating .

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader Tam was truly outstanding .He worked tirelessly to ensure that we all had a fabulous time .He helped the group to bond and took us to fantastic restaurants to eat .He showed great humour and patience and his local knowledge and English were superb .

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a busy and varied itinerary with not much free time to laze by the pool but we all loved it .

Most Inspirational Moment

Mekong delta's big skies and slow pace of life. You can only go at the speed of the river!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent, excellent, excellent with both adults and children alike.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take lots of bug spray Vietnamese Dong, not dollars are more widely used

Most Inspirational Moment

Snorkelling with my 6-year old twins for the first time in open water in Nha Trang. An amazing homestay in the Mekong, where we were the only guests. Our kids helped to cook the evening meal and the wonderful guide Chinh entertained our kids all evening.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He organised everything, picked some great restaurants that we would not have found ourselves and went out of his way to find some Tiger balm for us in Saigon. We even met his family. Occasionally maybe did not make enough allowances for the extra time required for organising travelling with small children.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If your kids are not great at getting up early without complaint, travelling long distances and moving on frequently, this is probably not the trip for you. The War Remnants Museum in Saigon, although a highlight of the trip and a must-see exhibition, shows graphic pictures of death, mutilation and deformity and in our opinion was definitely not suitable for young children. Other than that, just book it!