Hoi An, Vietnam with Kids

If I had to choose just one place to recommend in Vietnam, it would be Hoi An. Situated around the middle of Vietnam, it has a beautiful blend of culture and colour and is within 30 minutes drive from a big city, a beach and an airport. The City of Lanterns is an incredible place to visit as a backpacker, couple or family.

We decided to explore this area  with three different bases on our recent trip, so we spent a few nights in An Bang beach which is a very laid back beach town around 15 minutes drive from Hoi An ancient town.  We spent time in Hoi An and then a few days in Da Nang, the city 30 minutes away that also has an international airport.  You can read our 2 weeks Vietnam itinerary here for more on this.

I took so many photos in Hoi An and we loved it so much that I wanted to give it a separate blog post to share a bit more about three things we loved there, the ancient town, the lantern boats and the cookery class that we did.

Hoi An Ancient Town.

Vietnam is well known for the fact it is more motorbike friendly than pedestrian friendly.  The pavements are uneven and narrow with obstacles making it almost impossible to use a pushchair.  The ancient town however is car and motorbike free zone and it was lovely to not worry about traffic for a little while.  You can still use pushbikes and there were people cycling around passenger bikes too .  It is a very touristy area and the streets are lined with souvenir stores, art shops and tailors offering to custom make anything you can think of.  There are plenty of restaurants and cafes too and the children got very used to the fact that they all sold Oreo milkshakes.

All the walls are yellow and there are pink flowers popping up everywhere.  It makes for a beautiful place to wander. The mornings are quiet but as the sun starts to set and the lanterns start to shine, the town comes alive.  You can buy street foot or eat at one of the restaraunts looking out over the river.  We found a stall who made necklaces which had your name written on a piece of rice - a brilliant souvenir! There is a wonderful atmosphere and whilst it is very busy, it also felt welcoming and safe and very family friendly. 

There are shops where you can take part in lantern making workshops and across the river from Hoi An is An Hoi, famous for its silks.  The Japanese covered bridge is a famous landmark in the centre of the ancient town and worth a walk over, although it was so busy that I didn't take any photos.  

The Lantern Boats

As I said above, as the sun sets, the city comes alive and the lantern boats are part of the reason for this.  The row boats hold between 2 and 6 people and start sailing as it gets dark.  For your fee you get a 20 minute ride up and down the river and under the lantern bridge and it is something not to miss.  It felt like a moment of calm in a busy city and the colours lighting up the water are magical.  

We spent the first night just watching them all and you can buy paper boats with a candle to send out your wishes (There is a photo of this at the very top of this post).  It might look like some kind of festival, but these boats sail every night.

The Cookery Class

There were several experiences you could book in Hoi An but we sat down as a family to decide and the outcome was a unanimous vote for the cookery class.  There were plenty of options to book either through websites or your hotel and we found one that had reviews from other families as we hoped it would be the best option for our gang.  

Most cookery classes include drop off and pick up from your hotel or hostel and we were collected by mini bus and taken along with the rest of the group (there were 4 other people in our class) to the market. We walked through and then were taken to a food stall where our guide explained what foods are important in Vietnamese cuisine and how they choose which ones to buy.  We saw the meat and fish being sold as well as all the vegetables before heading back to the bus to be taken to a river.

We went out on traditional basket boats on the river and there was entertainment further down with men making the boats dance and spin as music played (offering tourists a chance to sit in the boat as it span too).  We were shown how to cast a net and the children each had a go, then on the way back we went along the river banks catching small crabs.

Once the basket boat trip was over, we went to the restaurant where we would learn to cook four different meals.  As we had booked for four children, there were extra staff around to help them and there were people desperate to hold the baby too so Ed and I could both have a go at cooking.  The instructors spoke great English and had everything ready to make it an easy experience for us. The first two dishes we ate immediately after cooking but the last two we ate along with some other Vietnamese food that the instructors had cooked, so there was a huge spread on the table.  They were happy to modify recipes for me to make sure there was no egg despite the fact I hadn't declared the allergy when I booked.

The children all loved learning to cook and we took away a sheet with all the recipes on so we could make them again at home. It was a fantastic trip and I am so glad we booked it. I think it worked out around £22 per person for the day which included all food, drink and transport.

There is so much more to do in Hoi An and the surrounding areas and my Vietnam Itinerary shows you what we got up to in An Bang and Da Nang, which could both be just days out from Hoi An.