Six of the best family activities in Vietnam

Charlotte Bower Southeast Asia specialist

Vietnam is brilliant for curious families. And some of the best family adventures happen when you make, taste and create together, rather than simply sightseeing.

Paint your own conical hat, learn the secrets of a bowl of phở, race a basket boat or find out how Vietnamese cacao becomes a chocolate bar. These are experiences where everyone gets involved, with plenty of opportunities to meet local people and learn a little about the skills, ingredients and traditions behind everyday life in Vietnam.

Tell us what your family loves doing, and we’ll weave it into your Vietnam adventure. Speak to our Vietnam specialists.

Decorate a traditional conical hat

One of Vietnam's most recognizable sights is the nón lá, the traditional conical hat worn everywhere, from city street vendors to farmers working the rice paddies. Made from palm leaves and bamboo, these hats have protected generations of Vietnamese people from the tropical sun and heavy monsoon downpours.

At a workshop, you’ll turn a plain nón lá into one that could only be yours. Pick up a brush and add colors, patterns or a classic Vietnamese motif, with guidance along the way. It’s simple enough for younger children to get involved, while anyone feeling particularly artistic can make the design as elaborate as they like. Best of all, you’ll leave with a souvenir that has more of a story behind it than something picked up in a shop.

Painting a conical hat, with completed designs hanging on the wall in the background

Make your own chocolate bar

Vietnam might not be the first country you associate with chocolate, but cacao is grown in several parts of the country, from the Central Highlands to the Mekong Delta.

At a artisan chocolate shop in Ho Chi Minh Cty, you’ll learn how chocolate is made locally, from cacao bean to chocolate bar.

Choose your ingredients, make and decorate your own chocolate bar, and taste different Vietnamese flavors along the way, from mango to mac khen milk chocolate, made with wild peppercorns. Whether that chocolate bar survives the journey back to the hotel is another matter.

Race basket boats

While traveling around Vietnam you might have spotted the curious round basket boats bobbing along the coast. Known as thúng chai they’ve been used by local fishermen for generations, but don't be fooled by their simple appearance. Steering one is far trickier than it looks! Challenge the family to a friendly basket boat race and put your skills to the test. Expect plenty of splashing, cheering and good-natured competition along the way. Some of you may make it across the water in something approaching a straight line. Others may spend rather more time spinning in circles. Either way, that’s half the fun.

Brew a cup of egg coffee

Egg and coffee are two words that don’t usually go together but when milk was scare during the Vietnam war a little creativity was required. Whisked egg yolks, sugar and condensed milk became a thick, sweet topping for strong Vietnamese coffee, and the drink has stuck around ever since

Now, it’s your turn to make one. Whisk the ingredients into a creamy foam then carefully layer it over the coffee below. The result sits somewhere between a drink and a dessert, with the bitterness of the coffee cutting through the sweet topping. Teenagers may prefer to swap the coffee for matcha, while younger children can try it with chocolate instead, so everyone can have a go without necessarily ending up over-caffeinated.

Turn trash into treasure

Creativity and sustainability go hand in hand in modern Vietnam at Gaea, one of Hanoi's most inspiring social enterprises. Here, old materials are given a second, stylish life as everyday items.

You'll hear the everyday stories behind some of the materials that might otherwise end up in landfill before having a go yourself. Armed with scissors, fabric and a little guidance from the Gaea team, you'll create your own second-hand souvenir, perhaps a wallet, keychain, coaster or scrunchy.

Create a colorful kite

Over hundreds of years, kite flying has been a favored pastime for the Vietnamese, from villagers to emperors. In the former imperial capital of Hue, elaborate kites are fashioned in the shapes of birds, goldfish and mythical creatures and have become an art form in themselves.

You’ll learn the craft with Mr Cu, a local kite maker whose family has been making kites for three generations. Pick up your paint brushes and decorate one yourself. Go bold and bright or try a more classic Vietnamese design. The real test… can you get it to fly?