Just completed blitz trip through Vietnam with my family of 5. Perhaps the information will be helpful for other families travelling together. The itinerary took us through Ho Chi Minh city for 2 nights and three days, a day/night in Hue, a day and night in Hoi An followed by 2 nights in Hanoi, a night in Halong Bay and finally a night back in Ho Chi Minh city.

Accomodations for five are always a challenge as not all hotels have suites to accommodate five and connected rooms are not always assured. In general, I have booked hotel rooms directly with the hotel to insure that there are no misunderstandings while leaving transfers and guides to travel agents. For this trip, we used Tonkin travel based in Hanoi. Although I've seen mixed reviews, I found them helpful for directed bookings. They are not as helpful for troubleshooting itineraries.

We began in Saigon at the Sofitel. They have a Prestige suite in which two beds can be added to accomodate five. They did not charge us extra and booking the suite includes breakfast for all members of the group. The suite also has 1.5 bathrooms and a small kitchen. Despite the cost of the suite, it turns out to be less expensive than two rooms with a breakfast package. In Saigon, we took a day trip to the Mekong delta. Given 5 persons, it is usually less expensive to hire a guide and van rather than pay per person on a large group. In addition, with a private guide, you are free to ask all curious questions one has about life in Vietnam that otherwise might go unanswered. We left at 8 AM and returned at 5pm. The floating markets were fairly sparse in comparison to other markets but the overall experience was nonetheless worthwhile. The kids liked it but were pretty much unfazed.

The next day was spent throughout the sights of Saigon including the tunnels, markets, war museum and major buidling. The tunnels were a bit touristy but nonetheless worthwhile. There's nothing like actually crawling through the tunnels to get a better sense of what it must have been like. The Museum was helpful to illustrate to my children that there are two sides to every coin. Kids didn't really like the market but fun to see and try new foods. Had our meals at Pho 24 (cheap but unspectacular) and Quan An Ngon (didn't order right but fun).

We then flew to Hue on Vietnam airlines. The ticket was about $60 and was told that Jetstar was more cramped and had less reliable schedules. Can't vouch for that but Vietnams airlines was efficient. At Hue, we stayed in connect rooms at Life Pilgrimage Resort. Had connected rooms at about $120 each but had to pay >$250 for a mandatory Christmas dinner. The dinner was the worst! The grounds and room, however, were spectacular and made up for the terrible dinner. Breakfast was the best in Vietnam. We toured the tombs at Khai Dinh (wonderful!) and Tu Duc (less impressive but nice) and the Citadel before driving to Hoi An across the pass. The kids loved the tombs. The pass was totally fogged in and we saw nothing. Had I known, we could have taken a shortcut through the tunnel. Marble mountain was uninspiring. Nothing much in Danang lots of weddings going on. Cham Museum was nice but if you've been to Angkor Wat, you might be spoiled for the Cham Museum.

Next, we stayed at the Victoria An Resort in Hoi An. The most expensive hotel that we stayed in. There are connected rooms that a beachfront but they are called junior suites. The "beachfront" rooms are not connected and are actually behind the junior suites. The suites are very nice but very expensive. The hotel is also 5 km from the town which makes eating out tougher. Hoi An was very touristy although the shopping was good. The sights were just so so. We also went to My Son ruins which even though we had been to Ankgor Wat, was nonetheless worthwhile. Onward to Hanoi from flight from Danang.

We chose the Sofitel Metropole because of its 5 star reputation and central location. They had connected rooms in the Opera wing but didn't let us have 5 persons in the Prestige suite. Booked a room and breakfast special for about $225. Everything in the hotel such as room service, massages etc are very very expensive. On the plus side, there is shoppiing mall just 2 blocks away with a food court. We spent the first part of the day on a Cyclo tour. I thought it would be cheesy and wanted to get out of it but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Fell totally asleep during the Water Puppet show, even at 9:30 in the morning! The Ho Chi Minh tomb, the Museum of Ethnography, temple of literature were all better than expected and highly recommended. The kids did not get bored at all. Lunch at Quan An Ngon in Hanoi which is different than the one in Saigon. Sticking to salads and other less known entrees, it was better than the Saigon branch. 5 persons about $25. Also had a laundry done in Hanoi which we dropped off midday and had delievered to our hotel for about $2/kilo at the Singh (?) cafe travel agency in the old quarter.

The next day began with a very nice breakfast at Sofitel then a very very long drive to Halong Bay. We chose Indochina Sails 3 because it was the most modern boat. Also pricey though. They did not have connected cabins and actually put our rooms quite far from each other. Our boat had three family with kids whereas the other boats had no kids. Probably not a coincidence. Halong Bay did not disappoint. Along with the hikes in islands, the scenery, kayaking and visiting the caves, the kids rated this part as the best part of the trip. I agree. After a day of cruise over very still waters (no worries about sea-sickness), we docked at around 11-12 and returned to Hanoi airport at around 3-4 pm.

Since we were flying out at 6 AM the next day, we stayed at the First Hotel in Saigon near the airport (7-9 minutes by car). I was worried about the mixed reviews the rooms were fantastic. Again, connected rooms. In a surprise twist, the restaurant across the street was among the nicest that we went to from the standpoint of unusual dishes and desserts. 5 people about $20. Not exactly white linen though.

Then a long flight home . . . .

thanks for the report

wow - that really was a blitz! Would you recommend this approach to other families or would you recommend something different?

Am I right in adding the days up that you spent a total of 8 days? Also, what age are your kids?

Thanks for sharing this report. How impressive it is that your family of 5 can travel so well together through such a briskly scheduled itinerary -- bravo.

I too am curious about how many of the 5 travelers were children and the ages of the children. (I have personal reasons for asking this -- I fantasize about an eventual family reunion in central coastal Vietnam, but wonder how much young children would enjoy it.) Also, you seemed not to be troubled by jet lag so I was wondering if you traveled a great distance for this trip.

My kids range from 10-15 so not really "children" but come with their own challenges. Being that Vietnam is fairly reasonable, once you get there, I think that it is a good family destination. It combines a bit of everything--culture, sightseeing and natural wonders. The only thing that it doesn't offer easily is wild life viewing.

If I had unlimited time, I would have spent an extra day in Saigon, 1-2 extra days in Hue and added 2-3 days in Hanoi in order to get to Sapa. On the other hand, no time to get bored in this itinerary. Jet lag there is minimal since we arrived at night but jet lag back was a bit more challenging.

Thanks for your report. We've just confirmed our reservation for the Indochinasail too. Can't wait to experience it ourselves!

Thanks for taking the time to report. What a great trip that I am sure the kids
will never forget!