Ho Chi Minh city with kids is busy, chaotic and modern. This is Vietnam’s largest city, with as many as 9 million registered residents. The actual number is estimated at 15 million. It is the economic and financial heart of the country, which can be easily seen by its many high-rise buildings. Many buildings are still in French colonial style, built during the French occupation. The city also breathes a lot of history of the war with America: you can see combat vehicles in many places, there are several museums and you can visit the Cu Chi tunnels. We visited the city with our family and in this blog we list the best children’s activities in Ho Chi Minh City for you.
Best travel time Ho Chi Minh city
In Ho Chi Minh City, you have high temperatures all year round. The rainy season is from May through October. The best time to travel to Ho Chi Minh City with kids is between December and March, when there is less rain and cooler temperatures.
Tip! Vietnam is an elongated country with different climates. If you are visiting both the north and south during your trip, check out the different climates and determine your itinerary based in part on the weather.
Transportation to and in Ho Chi Minh City
There are several ways to travel to Ho Chi Minh City with kids: by plane, bus or train, depending on where you are coming from. From the airport or train station, you can easily arrange a cab, and be in the center of Ho Chi Minh City within 20-30 minutes. We came from Hoi An, and by plane the trip took 1.5 hours.
Ho Chi Minh City is divided into many districts. We were within walking distance of various attractions with our hotel, but the city is quite large. You can easily get around Ho Chi Minh City using Grab cabs. This is the Uber cab of Southeast Asia. This works very nicely. Just be sure to buy a local SIM card at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City so you can have coverage anywhere in the city and order a cab.
Children’s activities Ho Chi Minh city
#1 Cu Chi tunnels
The No. 1 activity for tourists in Ho Chi Minh City is visiting the Cu Chi tunnels. This is also fun to do in Ho Chi Minh City with kids. These underground tunnels were used by the Vietnamese during the war and were as long as 250 km! The tunnels were at three different depths: 2-3 meters, 6-8 meters and 12 meters.
The center of these tunnels is a 2.5-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City. For the Vietnamese, this was a strategic spot because of its soft sand (easy to dig) and proximity to the Mekong Delta and Cambodia as escape routes. You will learn a lot about life in the tunnels here. For the kids, it’s fun that there are life-size dolls in clothes of the time, and moving dolls that make bombs, for example.
Staff show traps from that era and shoes made from old tires. You can also see the rooms where cooking used to be done. You also got to crawl through a small hole to experience how tight the tunnels were. Our son shouted, “Where is Daddy now?” as his father suddenly disappeared down the tunnel. The kids were excited and proud after their “tough” tunnel adventure.
A fun activity with kids because of the variety and the walk through the forest past all kinds of sights. Tip! The route takes you past a shooting range with loud noise. This startled our kids, but you can get ear protectors for the kids at the box office. These help well.
#2 See the French colonial buildings
In Ho Chi Minh City, you can see French influences at many important buildings. A fun activity with kids is viewing some beautiful French colonial buildings. You can visit Notre Dame Cathedral in downtown Ho Chi Minh City with kids.
When we were there, there were scaffolding, but the building looks a lot like Notre-Dame in Paris, only here the stones are warmer in color (red/orange). The inside is also very nice to look at.
Opposite Notre-Dame is the old post office and this is the first post office in Vietnam. The French wanted to be able to send postcards and letters home during the occupation. The building has a yellow exterior with green windows and a large entrance with a clock above it. You can have fun sending a card home with the kids here.
Next to the post office is Book Street, a street full of bookstores. The kids enjoyed walking around here and playing in the play area with climbing equipment and tunnels.
#3 Visit the War Remnants Museum
Our hotel was a 7-minute walk from this museum and we decided to go there. This impressive museum tells the story of the war between America and Vietnam. For children ages 6 to 15, admission is half the regular rate, and kids under 6 go free.
Our son loved the war vehicles in the plaza at the entrance. Inside, there are several floors with stories of the war and items such as guns and ammunition. You also have many pictures here that give a good impression of what things were like during this time. Be careful with younger kids because of the sometimes violent images.
Outside are cell blocks with dolls and punishment devices such as guillotines and barbed wire “tiger cages. Our daughter found it interesting and wanted to know all about life in the cell.
#4 Cyclo tour of Ho Chi Minh city
We took the kids on a cyclo-tour of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. These are traditional tricycles, and both my husband and I were able to go with one of the kids on a bike. Thus, we saw much of the city in two hours. Our daughter enjoyed the trip: “There’s a nice breeze and we don’t have to do anything ourselves!” So this is a very fun way to explore Ho Chi Minh City with kids.
We made several stops at sights such as the Independence Palace, Notre Dame, the post office, the City Hall, the Opera House, Ho Chi Minh city Square and Ben Thanh market. We ended the tour at Trung Nguyen Legend, where we tried traditional black Vietnamese coffee while the kids drank their orange juice cocktails.
If you are with kids who are a little older, you can also get on your own bike and explore the city. Baja Bikes organizes half-day bike tours of the city for kids 16 and older. You will then go out with a guide to explore the city. Look online for this organized bicycle tour of Ho Chi Minh City.
#5 Trip to the Mekong Delta
Another fun trip from Ho Chi Minh City with kids is to the Mekong Delta. We went for two days and one night, but you can also take a day trip. That would be a very long day trip with kids, so think about what you like best beforehand. By van, we drove 2.5 hours to Cai Be, where we took a boat up the river. The kids thought the houses on stilts were very funny.
Our first stop was a store that makes all kinds of things from rice and coconut, such as candies and rice popcorn. The kids got to taste everything, which they loved. Then we switched to a smaller boat that took us through narrow branches of the Mekong Delta past houses and colorful temples. It was wonderfully quiet compared to Ho Chi Minh City.
In the afternoon, we took another bike ride. The bikes had seats for the kids, and we even crossed by pound to a small island. Here our daughter helped make a bracelet, which she wore throughout the vacation. We found this to be a very nice outing from Ho Chi Minh City with our family.
Other children’s activities Ho Chi Minh City
You can do more in Ho Chi Minh City with kids besides the activities described above. We list some more of these activities below.
#6 Saigon Zoo: you can also go to the zoo in Ho Chi Minh city with kids. There are all kinds of things for kids to do at this zoo. Similarly, there are certain attractions you can go in and there is also a botanical garden where you can take the kids for a walk. Of course, the zoo is not like the West, but the animals here are in fairly spacious enclosures. The price-quality ratio of this zoo is very good.
#7 Dam Sen Water Park: In Ho Chi Minh City, it is often hot and therefore it can be very nice to go to a water park with kids. Dam Sen Water Park has several spectacular slides and also very fun pools for the youngest kids with all kinds of play equipment. Just keep in mind that many of the slides have a minimum length of 140 cm.
#8 Landmark 81: If you want to see Ho Chi Minh City from a great height with kids, this viewpoint is a nice option. It is the tallest building in Vietnam and on the 81st floor you have a great view of the city. For more information, check out Landmark 81′s website.
Family-friendly restaurant Ho Chi Minh city
You can eat well in Ho Chi Minh City with kids. You have plenty of family-friendly restaurants in this city. We list some of these family-friendly restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City below.
Banh Nghe Street Food Market: go to this market in the late afternoon or early evening with kids, when it is still quiet. Here you will find Vietnamese dishes as well as Western dishes. At the stalls, you order food and wait at the table until your pager goes off.
Trung Nguyen Legend: This coffee shop is located near Ben Thanh market. A cozy coffee shop with traditional Vietnamese coffee and juices for the kids in cute cocktail glasses. From the upper floor you can enjoy watching the hustle and bustle of the street.
Family-friendly hotel in Ho Chi Minh city
You have plenty of nice accommodations where you can stay in Ho Chi Minh City with kids. We list some of the best-reviewed family-friendly accommodations in Ho Chi Minh City. Click on the blue link for more information.
Budget accommodation: Happy Home
MIddenclass accommodation: Shogun Hotel
Luxury Accommodation: Fusion Suites Saigon
KIjk also a in the entire list of family-friendly accommodations in Ho Chi Minh City.
About the author: I am Kim (34) and together with Karsten (35) and our kids Joy (4) and Skye (3) we form a family. We like to undertake new things such as fun activities on our days off, a day in the snow in Limburg, hiking in the mountains in Austria and a tour of Vietnam. Travel for us is the ultimate time together and always a beautiful adventure, in Europe or far away. Above all, we always want to discover something new. Have we been there yet? No? Then let’s go!
