Do you have a babe in arms? Do you have keen, enthusiastic and sensible primary school aged children? Do you have teenagers interested everything exotic? Are you a group of adults?  If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of or all of these questions then let me just wax lyrical about Hanoi, Vietnam.

An absolute treat of a Vietnamese City – Hanoi has charm even in its crevices and cracks. I would be very shocked to hear of anyone who visited Northern Vietnam and skipped Hanoi. You’ve missed a gem! Oozing with culture, delicious food and a vibrant and appealing everyday life to watch unfold.

Even with a baby in a carrier or sling, you can carve out a great family visit to Hanoi. Leave the stroller at home and you can wander, meander and explore until your adult hearts are content.  Indulge your senses at outdoor cafes and restaurants and maybe sneak in some great boutique shopping or a massage during naptime.

BUT… (and it’s a huge BUT!)

Do you have a toddler/pre-schooler? Do you have more than one under-five? (we’re talking energetic, tantrum-throwing, runaway, too big for a sling kind of tots here).

Mmm… you do? OK…

Here’s my rather controversial advice: skip Hanoi altogether or limit your stay severely (beautiful city, that it is). Read my other blog on why Hanoi with a toddler can be very challenging.  But I love Hanoi…  And I can’t really recommend staying away because it’s an amazing, engaging, vibrant, exciting and hugely memorable city.

So, don’t worry if you’re desperate to visit Hanoi with a toddler (it wouldn’t be a Vietnam holiday without Hanoi, would it?). If you just can’t leave your terrible toddler at home, I’ve put together some family-friendly advice to help you have a successful visit to Hanoi with a toddler.

Interested in a women’s view of life in modern Vietnam, check out the superb Vietnamese Women’s Museum in central Hanoi. Read our review here.

Tips for Hanoi with a Toddler

So if you really want to go to Hanoi with a toddler (I don’t blame you, it’s great) here are some top family travel tips to help you plan a great visit with toddlers. Much of the advice stems solving mistakes that we made so you have our word that these are useful tips! But be warned, Hanoi with a toddler can be stressful at times (read here to find out what we found hard).

• Limit to your stay to the bare minimum. 1-2 days tops. Hanoi Old Town is noisy, busy and full-on in a way that makes central New York City look like a sleepy little town. Toddlers will find this hard. As parents, you will find this hard too. Limit your stay and get out into the countryside either north to Sapa or south to Ninh Binh where you can all enjoy some space, rest and tranquillity.

• Use the electric bus. There’s a great little electric bus that you can hire from the north shore of Hoan Kiem Lake. It’s 300,000 VND for a private hour-long tour. The kids loved gliding through the crazy traffic in this cool vehicle. We stopped at a couple of the stops and skipped others by choice. The tour was a great, easy introduction to Hanoi Old Town and a hit with the kids who liked to spot which shops were on which street.

• Hoan Kiem Lake – buy ice-creams, bubble wands and snacks as you wander around this beautiful, iconic lake in the heart of Hanoi. Cross the famous wooden red bridge, pose for awesome photos and enjoy being in the ‘fresh’ air. If your little ones are night-owls (or just jet-lagged) nearby traffic is banned on Friday and Saturday evenings after 7 pm making a moonlight stroll even more pleasant.

• Stay outside of the Old Town – find a hotel or apartment near Hoan Kiem Lake or in the French Quarter. There are wider pavements, (a bit) less traffic, lots of nice restaurants and the Old Town is still only minutes away by taxi or rickshaw.

• Cha Ca. My new favourite Vietnamese dish is Cha Ca (I can’t believe I have never tried it before!). Not only is it delicious but, because you assemble it yourself at the table, it’s a great ‘deconstructed’ meal to share with toddlers. A bit of fish, some noodles, some peanuts and lots of dill– the kids were very happy and so was I. Although I tried it in a couple of places, our experience at the local’s favourite Cha Ca Thang Long was brilliant. They serve nothing but Cha Ca and well, they don’t need to do anything else. Just make sure you get there early as the locals flock to the place.

• Cheap ice-cream sundaes – for breaking the day up. There are hundreds of cafes selling yummy, super strong Vietnamese coffees in Hanoi. Most of the chains and larger cafes also sell ice-creams. Perfect if you’re in Hanoi with a toddler – everyone is a winner and I got my daily caffeine fix!

• Visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex. Ok, this sounds weird… No, we’re not suggesting that you queue up with your toddler for hours to go and ogle at the preserved body of a dead politician. But the grounds are as impressive as the mausoleum itself. There’s SPACE to run around and a short Changing of the Guards ceremony to watch (and practice marching along to).

• Thong Nhat Park (Lenin Park) – if you’re desperate for green space in Hanoi with a toddler, you can walk out of town and visit this rather sad, dilapidated park. It’s big and green but the play equipment is falling apart. There is a really cool house of mirrors you can visit for a small fee right in the centre. The never-ending reflections kept us entertained for ages.

• The Railway. Lots of family travel bloggers recommend walking the railway tracks in Hanoi. When there are no trains running, you can walk the tracks and catch fascinating glimpses into the houses and shops that back on to the tracks. If you’re in Hanoi with a toddler then I totally wouldn’t recommend this for safety and sanity reasons. Instead, plan your trip so that you arrive or leave Hanoi by train. As we left for Ninh Binh, both kids sat spell-bound at the train window as we pulled out of Hanoi absorbing the cacophony of smells, sights and sounds from all the homes bordering the tracks.

• Research family-friendly hotels. The apartments that we stayed in were poky, noisy and difficult to contain the children in safely. Perhaps splash out on a hotel with a swimming pool for a refreshing interlude after a busy day sightseeing.
• Give Halong Bay a miss(!!). I adore Halong Bay – it’s beautiful, stunning and awe-inspiring, if a little crowded and polluted nowadays. I would love to go back. Unfortunately, neither of our children can swim. That was the primary reason we gave it a miss. The idea of them wandering around a boat for 24 hours, trying to escape from sweaty, oversized life jackets and throwing tantrums in a tiny, sweat-box cabin was too much for us to contemplate. From experience, the drive to and from Halong Bay is long and arduous. We will happily wait until they are older when we can go kayaking together and I can trust that they won’t just jump off the ship when I’m not looking.

• The Vietnamese Women’s Museum. Zizi and I loved our visit to this awesome women’s museum. Toddlers will love the Vietnamese fashion displays – colourful and eye-catching as well as the Children’s Discovery Room that has books and resources aimed at young children. There are a few hands-on exhibits and the square in front of the cafe is a great place to run around. Read more about this fantastic women’s museum here.

• Vietnamese Museum Of Ethnology. This museum comes highly recommended by families with young children. It’s quite far outside town but if you can brave a long taxi journey with your toddlers it’s worth it. Children can clamber in and out of traditional Vietnamese houses and adults can learn about Vietnamese tribes and homes.

• Ho Tay Lake. If you have time to venture out of the Old Town. Ho Tay is a huge lake (15km in circumference) and at various points around the edge, you’ll find restaurants, cafes and hotels. A great place to stay in Hanoi with a toddler as it is much calmer than the Old Town.

• Lotte Observation Tower. Most toddlers love taking lifts up to the top of tall buildings – that’s probably their highlight of a visit here to the 65^th floor. For adults, the highlight is the view over greater Hanoi. You can really get a sense of perspective and marvel at how quickly the city is expanding. Toddlers love playing count the cranes!

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Have you been to Hanoi with a toddler? Do you have any family travel tips or advice about travelling to Hanoi with a toddler? We’d love to hear about your family travel experiences in Hanoi with a toddler. Thanks for reading.

Linking up for #fearlessfamtrav by Wandermust Family and TraveLynn Family