Multigenerational trip to Việt Nam

Vietnam | Jun 30 - Jul 6, 2024

We took our children ages 10 and 12 to Việt Nam for the first time in 2024. We knew we wanted to do some sightseeing in addition to visiting my husband’s family in Huế and had decided to go for three weeks. In all of my googling for ideas for how to sequence the trip, I kept coming back to the trips on the KimKim website. That’s when I realized what I needed was an old school travel agent to help me and I found the perfect person in Ashley. We were able to converse seamlessly back in forth through the KimKim platform. She took care of all of the logistics and made things so simple. As a busy working mom, it saved me so much time not to be endlessly searching on multiple websites but simply choosing amongst the amazing options Ashley presented. If I wasn’t sure something was exactly the right fit for our family, she took that feedback and adjusted things within hours. When my 75 year old parents decided to join us for a week of the trip and extend their travels on to Thailand and Japan, she handled that with ease. Ashley was also very engaged during our travels. While we never needed her help because everything ran perfectly, she checked in daily via WhatsApp to be sure it was all great and going according to plan.

And the trip itself - wow! Realistic Asia is the way to go if you want door to door service and top notch local guides. My husband and I have traveled extensively on our own but it was so easy with kids and grandparents to know someone was always meeting us and taking us all the way from point A to B. Mai in Ha Noi was an encyclopedia of knowledge and a great first guide to orient us to the country. We loved Train Street, the Old Quarter, and the Temple of Literature. Our absolute favorite of the trip was Sa Pa. It was so peaceful and cool! We loved staying a bit outside the town in an ecolodge with an infinity pool overlooking the fields. Our guide Do was incredible. She shared so much about local Hmong culture and took us on a walk with the Red Dao people - we were the only tourists in sight. Sa Pa town itself was lively at night and beautiful by the small lake. Our Doris Cruise in Ha Long Bay was a perfect end to our tourist week in Việt Nam.

Hotel Reviews

Somerset Grand Hanoi

Location

Easy walk to old quarter

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Some of the rooms were a little dated

Laxsik Ecolodge

Our stay here was the highlight of our trip. The infinity pool overlooking the rice and corn fields was perfection.

Authenticity & Character

Loved the Hmong architecture

Location

A 10 minute drive from Sa Pa but an easy taxi and the views and peacefulness are worth it

Staff

So friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Doris Cruise

Really lovely and the sunset happy hour was perfect. We would have liked more swimming time and a boat with more water activities (slide, SUP) would have been grand.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Goes to Lạnh Ha bay which was fewer boats

Staff

Kevin and Michael were the best!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore the History and Beauty of Hanoi - Full Day Sightseeing

Hanoi

We were sad the Museum of Ethnology was closed but the Women’s Museum was a good substitution. The lunch place was just ok.

Quality of Experience

Food

Would have preferred a more local spot, less tourists

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walk To The Love Waterfall And Heaven Gate

Sapa

We love to hike and the waterfalls were great. We didn’t get to go to Heaven’s Gate as it was too foggy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fansipan mountain with Cable car

Sapa

Sadly the rain and clouds kept us from seeing the views but we still appreciated the feat of engineering as well as the village museum

Quality of Experience

Only due to weather

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trek to Lech Dzao & Thanh Kim Villages

Sapa

The hands down most memorable part of our trip - a must do

Quality of Experience

Food

The food at the local home was just ok and there were tons of tourists there - would have preferred a quieter spot

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Do is the absolute best. She is from the valley and shared so much of her life story and also taught us about the farming.

Transport

Onboarding - Lan Ha Bay – Ba Trai Dao/ Tra Bau (Doris Cruise)

Vietnam

Loved the kayaking and the sunset cruise

Quality of Experience

Food

It was just ok, typical of cruises

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Did not love having to stop at the tourist area on the way to and from