Our Hanoi family trip was for two adults and two kids aged 12 and 9. We spent 3 days in Hanoi in November as part of our Vietnam itinerary. There is a lot to see and do in Hanoi with kids. As a family, we enjoyed our time strolling the streets of Hanoi. Below is our 3-day Hanoi itinerary.
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How many days in Hanoi with kids?
We had 3 full days in Hanoi with kids. Our time in Hanoi was split into two separate stays. The first was between our stays in Ninh Binh and Sapa. The second was between Sapa and flying home. When planning our family trip, I was worried that 3 days would be too much time in Hanoi. I had seen the crazy traffic videos and read that a lot of people didn’t like the city.
We found ourselves surprised by how much we enjoyed Hanoi. Our 3 days were spent strolling around the streets and taking in the sights. I would have liked an extra day for a visit to a nearby area, such as the pottery village or the silk village. When planning your Hanoi with kids itinerary, allow a day to wander around and observe daily life.
Where to stay in Hanoi with kids
I found it difficult to book accommodation for our family in Hanoi. Reviews seem to be very mixed, with some stating they were given a different room or even a different hotel from what they booked. On closer inspection, many reviews also appear to be fake. This seemed to be a common theme for hotels and restaurants in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi. I rely a lot on reading reviews, so this was a challenge for me.
In terms of area, I think you should stay somewhere within walking distance of Hoàn Kiếm Lake. We loved this area so much (I mention it several times in this post). The roads around the lake are closed to traffic all weekend, with events and festivals held in the area. It was such a fun vibe with lots of families enjoying their weekend.
Hanoi Airbnb
I ended up booking both of our stays through Airbnb because the reviews felt more genuine. This also allowed us to have accommodation with two rooms. We were really happy with both of the apartments we stayed in and loved being in more local neighbourhoods. I will link them both here, but please read the recent reviews because things can change.
Indigo – the hosts were lovely and left fresh flowers and fruits in the apartment. We washed our clothes and hung them on the line on the balcony. It had a local feeling with a little supermarket next door and ladies selling produce from the entrance. We had to wear earplugs to block out some loud music and construction noise.
Full of light – located across from the train street, so some street noise as expected from a busy area. We loved the natural light that filled the space. The second bedroom was tiny but fine for 2 kids. We liked that it had a dining table and a cute reading nook area.
If Airbnb is not your thing, I understand. Have a look at some of the hotels in Hanoi with family rooms.
When to visit Hanoi
The rainiest months in Hanoi are June, July and August. These months also see the highest temperatures and humidity. The weather is much cooler from late December to March. Vietnam Travel says the best times to visit Hanoi are April to June and September to December. We stayed in Hanoi in November and had lovely weather and no rain.
I normally wouldn’t recommend visiting places on a weekend, but Hanoi is the exception. With roads closed to traffic, the area around Hoàn Kiếm Lake becomes a set of walking streets from Friday night through to Sunday night. It was such a fantastic experience to see people out having a good time.
Hanoi with kids itinerary – 3 days
Please see below for detailed daily itineraries, but here is an overview of our 3 days in Hanoi with kids.
Day 1: Strolling the streets of Hanoi, St Joseph’s Cathedral, Vietnamese Women’s Museum, Old Quarter, Hoàn Kiếm Lake
Day 2: Egg coffee & pastry, Temple of Literature, walking through Hanoi, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Night Market
Day 3: Train Street, attempt to visit One Pillar Pagoda, Water Puppet Theatre, pizza dinner
Day 1: Exploring the culture of Hanoi
Strolling the streets of Hanoi
We set off from our apartment just outside the French Quarter and walked to exchange money. Our Airbnb host recommended the gold shop. Unfortunately, we arrived to find it closed. Walking through more streets, we took in the sights around us and found an ATM to withdraw some cash. We browsed in some stores along the way, including a ceramics shop with lots of cute mugs. We loved how green Hanoi is, with trees lining most of the streets.
St Joseph’s Cathedral
St Joseph’s Cathedral is Hanoi’s oldest church. It has been standing since building works were completed in 1888, surviving wars that destroyed parts of Hanoi. St Joseph’s Cathedral was one of the first architectural works built by the French in Indochina. The exterior design is similar to that of Notre Dame in Paris. You can enter the cathedral to view the interior or attend mass. I think it was closed when we visited, as it was a Sunday. We were happy to admire the exterior and watch people taking photos in front of the cathedral. One couple were having their wedding photos taken.
Lunch by Hoàn Kiếm Lake
Feeling the French vibe, we purchased croissants from a nearby bakery and ate them by the lake. We loved the area around Hoàn Kiếm Lake so much, we visited multiple times.
Vietnamese Women’s Museum
The entry fee was 40,000VND per adult and 10,000VND per child. Spread across multiple floors, the museum is divided into three main themes: women in the family, women in history, and women’s fashion. We learnt about marriage rituals, family traditions, and different ethnic groups. Various displays show craftwork created by women throughout history. We read stories of women and their roles during wars and the many invasions of Vietnam. There were displays of beautiful, coloured clothing and information about the dying process used by women to create the pieces.
A visit to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum was sad, humbling and empowering. It served as a reminder of just how powerful and important women are to their families and society.
Hanoi’s Old Quarter
After a little rest back in the apartment, we headed out again to explore Hanoi’s Old Quarter and visit the night market. The footpaths in the Old Quarter are narrow and often obstructed by items from shops or scooters and motorbikes parked on them. This meant we had to walk along the road, and the traffic was hectic. We made our way back to the area near the lake and waited for the night market to start. Around Hoàn Kiếm Lake, there was a fashion parade, a Japanese festival, live music and kids playing with bubble wands and driving little cars.
The night market is listed to start at 6 pm, but the road was still open to traffic, and only a few stalls were starting to set up. We hung around, and our 9-year-old bought a pair of sunglasses. There didn’t seem to be much food, and we were feeling tired, so we gave up and bought noodles from the convenience store and the famous Hanoi Trang Tien ice cream to take back to our apartment.
Day 2: Visiting historical Hanoi sights
Trying egg coffee
Drop In Cafe was located near our new apartment (we stayed in Sapa in between) and across from Hanoi’s train street. We ordered pastries for breakfast, and I had to try a Vietnamese egg coffee. It looked delicious, but I found it too rich and struggled to finish it. We then walked to the Gold shop to exchange the cash we had brought with us.
Temple of Literature
We walked about 20 minutes to the Temple of Literature. The entrance was busy with tours and graduates. I think there was a graduation ceremony happening within the grounds. The Temple of Literature was Vietnam’s first university, so it is an important place for students to visit. It was founded in 1070 to worship the Chinese philosopher Confucius before becoming a university for over 700 years.
During our visit, it was busy with tourists and graduates. I think they were setting up a graduation ceremony in one of the courtyards.
The gardens that surround the buildings feature beautiful bonsai-style trees, as well as stunning ancient trees with roots that grow over the walls.
Walking through a lovely area of Hanoi
If you’ve read my other blog posts, especially our latest from Japan, you will know that my husband is a sourdough baker and likes to visit sourdough bakeries on our trips. Google Maps showed Gezellin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe was a 2.5km walk from the Temple of Literature. We always love strolling through different streets, and the walk to the bakery was lovely.
The footpaths were wide, and trees lined the streets. We walked past multiple historical landmarks, including a 19th-century city gate and a Catholic church with a Christmas tree in front. These were on the same road, and all along the footpath were beautiful flower arrangements. People were choosing bouquets to hold for photos in front of the landmarks.
On the corner of a bustling intersection is a large tree with an impressive root system sprawling over what looks to be a piece of an old wall. We’re assuming it has been there for a very long time. We loved seeing that the city was built around these old trees.
Lunch at a bakery
Gezellin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe is a modern, light, open space with Japanese cafe vibes. They had some Ghibli-inspired products in the cabinet. We ordered a multigrain sourdough loaf and cinnamon apple scrolls to take away. For lunch, we sat down and enjoyed warmed focaccia with garlic herb butter. They had a locked toilet building in the back alley for customers to use.
Tran Quoc Pagoda
From the bakery, we walked 1.5km to Tran Quoc Pagoda, passing by Truc Bach Lake on the way. At the lake, we watched people fishing, and the kids played on the exercise equipment.
Tran Quoc Pagoda dates back to 541 and is the oldest Buddhist temple in Hanoi. The temple is located on a small island of Hanoi’s West Lake with a bridge leading to the bright yellow entrance gate. There are a number of buildings, including an 11-story stupa, which can be seen from far away.
Scammed by a taxi
After leaving the temple, the kids were not keen on walking 3km back to the apartment. We considered using Grab, but the area was so crowded that we didn’t know how we would find the car. Taxi drivers were waiting nearby, and we showed one where we wanted to go and asked how much it would be. The driver said he would use the meter. The meter sped up and up until we got out and paid an incredibly inflated price for the short ride. We should have known better than to take a taxi from a tourist area.
Dinner on a busy Hanoi street
My Hai Restaurant is located on a corner in the French Quarter. We sat at a table on the street and watched traffic flow by. Several large tour groups with flags also walked past. Our dinner of veg spring rolls and tomato tofu was delicious.
Hanoi Night Market
We knew from our previous attempt to visit the night market that it doesn’t start until later than the advertised time of 6pm. We didn’t see a big variety of food here, which is why we ate at a restaurant first. Our youngest son has a Vietnamese friend who told him he had to try the rolled ice cream at a market. After looking around, we found a little stall set up and ordered our ice cream. It was fun to watch them pour liquid on the surface and spread it around, rolling it up once it froze.
We wandered around the market, and the boys each bought character pins (they have a collection from different countries). Our oldest son bought a Hanoi train street t-shirt and wore it the next day to the train street.
Day 3: Train Street & Water Puppet Theatre
Hanoi’s Train Street
Our accommodation was located just across the road from Hanoi’s Train Street, and we had a glimpse of the passing train from our open window. We first followed the track through the street, walking by all the shops that sit on either side. It was a dark, cloudy morning, and many of the storefronts had colourful lights and lanterns, which added to the atmosphere.
After walking down Train Street for a while, we chose a cafe and ordered drinks. We were surprised to find that in this section, most of them were not cafes. They were houses with an added-on exterior and seating placed in front next to the railway.
Our tables were in front of Railway Tuan Cafe and facing the train track. They also have more seating on the other side of the track. We enjoyed our coconut coffee and smoothies while we waited for the train. I was worried people would come and stand in front of us, but as the train got closer, the cafe owners and security were whistling and telling people to move. You are not allowed to stand anywhere to watch the train. You must have a seat at a cafe, and everyone has to remain seated.
I looked up the train timetable online, but there were some differences. The Railway Tuan Cafe had a train timetable on display. We took our seats at the cafe about 25 minutes before the train arrived. We aren’t big on touristy things, but this is what our oldest wanted to do in Hanoi, and it was a fun experience.
Espresso Coffee in Hanoi
We loved the coconut coffees in Hanoi, but we missed our usual lattes. Dream Beans Coffee Roastery was a short walk from our apartment and the train street and gave us our espresso coffee hit.
Attempted a visit to One Pillar Pagoda
Built in 1049, the One Pillar Pagoda resembles a lotus flower. It was on my list of places to visit. At first, we couldn’t figure out how to get to it after walking around and continuously coming across blocked streets. We weren’t sure if the streets around Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum are always barricaded or if something was happening at the time. Once we finally found a street we could walk down, we came to the entrance of the One Pillar Pagoda to find an incredibly long queue with tour groups. We decided it wasn’t worth a long wait to then be amongst a large crowd.
Water Puppet Theatre
We arrived at the ticket counter just after midday, expecting to get tickets for the evening. All of the evening times were sold out, but they had tickets available for a show that afternoon.
The pricing depends on seat location. Front: 200,000VND, Middle: 150,000VND, Back: 100,000VND.
We sat in the back section, and it was fine as the seating is tiered.
After grabbing a lunch of convenience store snacks to eat by the lake, we wandered around the Old Quarter, filling in time. We arrived back at the theatre early to use the restrooms and take our seats. At the door, the kids were given cushions to sit on to prop them up a little higher. This is such a nice gesture for families.
The stories show the daily life of farming and fishing, as well as folklore with dragons. The show is in Vietnamese, but I don’t think you need to know the language to understand the stories being told. It is mostly shown through the visuals of the puppet displays. At 50 minutes long, it might be a little too much for some kids. There were times when some of us almost fell asleep (the soft music is relaxing).
Overall, we found it to be a fun, unique cultural activity. It’s well put together, and the people involved are very talented. At the end of the show, the puppeteers come out from behind the curtain, and you realise they have been standing waist deep in water throughout the show.
Pizza dinner
Pizza 4P’s have several restaurants across Hanoi, and our kids had been wanting to dine in one. During our first stay in Hanoi, we attempted to walk into one but were told they were fully booked and we could get a table later, but we were too tired to wait. This time, we made a reservation on the website for the Trang Tien location.
With dimmed lighting, cloth napkins, and being led to our table, the kids labelled this ‘a fancy restaurant’. We ordered a starter and 2 pizzas, and everything was delicious. It was nice to have a more formal dining experience as a family, even though it was just for pizza.
Hanoi is a great place to visit with kids
After writing about our time in Hanoi with kids, I want to go back! Hanoi exceeded our expectations. It is often reported as one of the cities with the highest air pollution. We noticed a layer of smog when our plane landed, but during our time on the ground, we didn’t notice it at all.
There are so many trees all around the city, some of which appear to be quite old. Spotting cool-looking trees was one of our favourite things as we strolled along the streets. Some of them were right up next to buildings and had bent their way forward to get the sunlight.
It was so easy to become immersed in the culture, even though it’s a large city. People riding bicycles loaded up with wares to sell, vendors selling fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood on the streets. As we left our apartment, we had to carefully step around one lady selling vegetables and another selling meat from the building’s entryway.
Lastly, our favourite area in Hanoi, Hoàn Kiếm Lake, is so family-friendly. It’s closed to traffic from Friday to Sunday, every week. There are live performers, buskers and artists spread out around the lake. The vibe is so uplifting with many families out having fun. Kids were riding electric cars, blowing bubbles and playing in the streets. We loved hanging out here during our family trip to Hanoi.
