We leave for our family trip to the north of Vietnam in just over a week. I am really excited but somehow it doesn’t feel real. I still feel consumed by the madness of end of term activities with the kids and am having to remind myself we are about to head off on a totally awesome adventure … and yes, I really should start packing soon!
5 things I am really looking forward to are:
Food
I love Vietnamese and good Asian food is not something really available on Waiheke Island (where we live). I cannot wait to taste all the different flavours, textures and styles of food. My girls are all pretty good at trying new things so I hope they enjoy the food too. If not … they won’t die if they eat rice 3 meals a day!!
Catching an overnight train with the kids
I haven’t caught an overnight train since my backpacking adventures 15 years ago. I can’t wait to do this as a family. We have a cabin booked to/from Hanoi to Sapa with 4 bunks in it. Wait … aren’t we a family of 5? Our 4 year old travels for free if she shares a bed. I would love to think she will share a bed with one of her sisters but let’s be real … I will snuggled in my skinny train bunk bed with her!
Kayaking in Halong Bay
We bought our girls a kayak for Christmas and they all love paddling it so we can’t wait to take them kayaking in Halong Bay during our 3 day/2 night cruise. Our 8 year old is competent enough to paddle by herself so my husband and I will be able to take a child each with us.
Hiking in Sapa
This is either going to be awesome or awful I think … hopefully awesome. We are going hiking for 3 days/2 nights from Sapa and staying in some local villages. My girls are pretty good hikers for their ages but they are still young (8, 6 and 4 years) and I do have concerns about how they will cope on Day 2 and 3 of the hike. You don’t know unless you try though! I will be taking a very big supply of Barley Sugars with us for “encouragement”.
Creating memories for all three girls
We have been to some amazing places with our children in recent years – such as France, Borneo, Bangkok and Uluru. However I think this trip is the first time all three girls will be old enough to create memories to keep and that is such a special moment for me as a Mum and keen traveller.
I am thinking about hosting a webinar event after we return to share our travel experiences and tips for Vietnam – what do you think? Let me know in the comments if you would be interested in this.
Are you thinking of travelling to Vietnam with kids? You might find this webinar replay useful. I share lots of tips about what it was really like travelling with 3 young children.
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5 Comments. Leave new
Yes please – looking for our next family holiday destination!!
Hi! I just found you through Julia Jones and so glad I did. Our youngest is nearly 2 so hopefully our adventures will kick off again soon- our last overnight train was in India, 11 years ago! Please share how it all went. The northern hill tribe regions of Vietnam have been on our to-do list for about 10 years.
Welcome Bec! Just off the overnight train back from sapa to Hanoi and have been up since 4.45am! Lots of adventures to be had 🙂 Stay tuned to blog posts when I get home and I will definitely run a webinar too 🙂
Hi Bec … slowly getting blog posts written up post trip but overnight train was great with kids. I am hosting a webinar on traveling in Vietnam with kids which you may be interested in: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/b40a9ffa8cd056e44ac87b605f06faf5 🙂