Vietnam with 4 and 9 year olds

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Vietnam. Do you think it is possible to do all these places in 10 days: Hanoi / Sapa / Hue / Danang / Hoi An?


If not, which would be more interesting for 2 adults and 2 children (4 and 9 yrs old): Hanoi / Sapa or Hanoi / Hue / Hoi An?


We want to do the Halong Bay Cruise. Any recommendation? I've read that Handspan is highly recommended and have checked their website. For those of you who have tried it, which junk would you recommend? With 2 kids, is it too much to do 2 nights on board?


What are the interesting things to do / places to visit with children?


My son loves trains. Are there any possible train rides between the places I mentioned above?


Last but not least, any 3-4* hotel recommendation? We like hotels with lots of charm' but which are child friendly and 'refreshing' at the same time.


Thanks for your help!

If you fly - just possible - just. There are discount flights from HKG or MaCau into Hai phone which is 4 hours from Ha Noi by road.Sa Pa is a minimum 3-day trip using rail (only way); Ha Noi can be done in 2 days.


Hue is an overnight rail trip from Ha Noi and requires a day. A 4 hour bus trip will get you to Da Nang/Hoi An. Not much to do in Da Nnag and Hoi An is worth 2 days.


Da Nang has an international airport.


You will require visas for each of your family who have passports (Embassy in HongKong).


My recommendation would be to skip Sa Pa and spend more time in Ha Noi and Hoi An.

What month are you planning to go to Vietnam? Yes, 10 days is good, but as said above SaPa takes a few days travelling and such. Also, Hue is alot of Pagodas (temples) interesting, but you can see soo many in Hanoi


Hanoi has lots to see. Halong Bay is beautiful. You can do a day trip or overnight. The Opera House and water puppet show, lots of shopping, sightseeing, Market, cyclo rides, the Lake (forgot name of it)


I would take your time and maybe do a train ride for your son's sake between 2 of the Cities.

Danang not alot to see. For the kids, there is a water slide. Hoi An is very interesting. Small town, where you can walk everywhere, tons of tailors at good prices, go out to Marble Mountain and China Beach. My Son is interesting. Cui Dai Beach is nice to go for lunch and let kids play. Little boat ride down the river. Rent a driver and go on a day tour. Also, they have an Orphange in town and it is a good eye opener for children to see how fortunate they are.


As for Hoi An, I usually stay at The HoiAn Hotel as it is clean and reputable and reasonable price (when I take my 3.5 yr old, I stay there). Nice pool. It ranges from $45.00 to $80.00 US a night depending on time of year.


Are you considering Saigon (HCMC)?

We took our kids, ages 4 and 7 to Hanoi and HCMC. We stayed at the Hanoi Elegance in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. They have family rooms. The staff was extremely helpful. We stayed in the Continental in HCMC. It is a little aged, but has plenty of character and a great location.