Family Holidays

Children doing Angkor Thom Scavenger Hunt

Like you, we know that easy, relaxing family holidays take meticulous preparation and planning. That’s where we come in.

Over the last two decades, many of us at InsideAsia have gone from solo travellers to family travellers. We know the importance of ease, safety, cleanliness and comfort. With younger children, you’ll want to spend less time on transport and more time relaxing by the pool. With teenagers, activities and learning experiences make the whole trip richer. We’ve been to the accommodation, met the guides and tried the activities.

Speaking of activities – if your family is the energetic kind, try a Vietnam holiday with kayaking on Halong Bay, cycling in Ninh Binh, and caving in Phong Nha National Park. If art and culture is more up your street, build your family holiday around cooking classes, craft workshops, and scavenger hunts through historic cities and temple complexes. Throw in fabulous beach resorts, wildlife sanctuaries, and all sorts of fun and unusual transport, and you have a pick-n-mix of exciting and engaging experiences for all ages, all just waiting to be shaped into a family holiday just for you.

We've collected a few of our favourite family-friendly itineraries and experiences here, but don’t stop with these – get in touch and we’ll design the ultimate Asia family holiday for you.

Vietnam

Hanoi

Combining canary-yellow French palaces with colourful and chaotic market streets dating back to the imperial dynasties, Hanoi is the place to soak up the atmosphere of old Vietnam.

Vietnam

Hoi An

It may be best-known for its lantern festival and World Heritage architecture but, for us, Hoi An’s true appeal lies in its charming rural outskirts and mouth-watering foodie experiences.

Vietnam

Mekong Delta

Buzzing with longtail taxi boats and crowded with barges piled with mangoes, pineapples and fresh fish, a Mekong Delta tour is all about getting to know the rhythms of life on the water.

Cambodia

Siem Reap

The laid-back, low-rise town of Siem Reap is the gateway to one of the most spectacular man-made sights on the planet: the sprawling, root-strangled ruins of Angkor.

Cambodia

Kratie

A tatty yet alluring colonial town on the Mekong River, not far from the Laos border, Kratie is one of a handful of places left in the world to spot the endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin.

Cambodia

Kep

This former bolthole of Phnom Penh’s wealthy urbanites is now a chilled-out seaside escape, offering crab markets, crumbling villas, island day trips and unbeatable seafood.

Laos

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is Laos’s Shangri-La: sweeping golden roofs and colonial shophouses against a lush backdrop of jungle-covered mountains, and a laid-back atmosphere of peace and serenity.

Thailand

Bangkok

Bangkok is an assault on the senses. Clouds of aromatic steam battle with exhaust fumes, neon signs blink jarringly alongside confection-like temples, and 30-degree heat and humidity heightens the sensation that you’re simmering in a heady, spice-laden stew.

Thailand

Chiang Mai

In contrast to the mile-a-minute chaos of Bangkok, Chiang Mai is a breath of fresh air. Here, leafy boulevards and European architecture survive alongside temples dating back to the twelfth century.

Thailand

Phuket

The largest and most popular of the Thai Islands has as many different personalities as it has beaches — and that’s quite a few! Pay no heed to those who say Phuket is past its prime: there are pockets of paradise here to compete with anywhere in the world.

Thailand

Ko Samui

With its trifecta of swoon-worthy tropical scenery, cutting-edge spas, and unbeatable, ocean-fresh dining, could Ko Samui be the most indulgent island getaway in the world?

Malaysia

Penang

World Heritage architecture, 130-million-year-old rainforest, world-class street art and a countryside peppered with spice gardens and durian groves: the island of Penang is an intoxicating medley of natural and cultural treasures.

Siem Reap • Cambodia

Phare, The Cambodian Circus

When it comes to Phare, “circus” barely begins to cover it. This is world-class performance art — telling the stories of Cambodian legend and history through ambitious choreography, spine-tingling live music, and almost terrifying acrobatics that’ll have you gripping the edge of your seat.

Siem Reap • Cambodia

Angkor zipline

Take a monkey’s-eye view of the jungle as you fly, climb and swing though the treetops on a mixture of ziplines, hanging bridges and platforms.

Hoi An • Vietnam

Organic Farm Cooking Class

We've road tested our fair share of cooking classes in Vietnam, and this is one of our favourites.

Siem Reap • Cambodia

Kayaking on Tonlé Sap Lake

If exploring Tonle Sap’s sunken fields and stilt villages by longtail boat is like taking a bus, we like to think of kayaking as the waterborne equivalent of a leisurely stroll.

Battambang • Cambodia

Soksabike tour of Battambang

Soksabike is one of our absolute favourite partners in Cambodia. A local company with a wholehearted commitment to forging real connections between travellers and local people.

Kuching • Borneo

Semenggoh Orangutan Sanctuary

Just south of Kuching, the Semenggoh Wildlife Reserve has provided a sanctuary for rescued orangutans since 1975.

Champasak • Laos

Treetop explorer

Not for the faint-hearted, this two-day guided jungle adventure will take you deep into the mountains of Doung Hua Sao National Park.

Kinabalu Park • Borneo

Mount Kinabalu climb

Watching sunrise from the top of the highest mountain in Southeast Asia is an unforgettable experience.

Kuching • Borneo

Rainforest kayaking

On this tour, your guide will take you out of Kuching, through rice fields, rubber plantations and pepper farms, to the ancestral heartland of the Bidayuh: the second-largest minority group in Borneo.

Kota Kinabalu • Borneo

Whitewater rafting

Whitewater rafting is one of the most exhilarating ways to see the Bornean jungle, whether you want heart-pounding drops and tricky manoeuvres, or a more relaxed ride through the forest.