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When thinking of a family beach vacation, Vietnam isn’t the first place to pop in mind.

Usually it’s closer to Thailand or Goa. But for those looking for a change, or to find a quiet, luxurious place, should definitely consider it as an option. I flew to Vietnam with my kids just to spend a few months on the beach…

Mui-Ne is a small stretch of beach five hours by bus from Ho-chi-Minh city
The bus picks you up at the hotel in Ho-Chi-Minh and drops you at your hotel in Mui-Ne.

∴ One straight road. On one side the beach and resorts built one after the other, and on the other side hotels, stores, spas, and that’s it. Mui-Ne is all about relaxing.

∴ Kite-surfing enthusiasts like the place as it has great surfing, shops for renting equipment and courses.

∴ Keep in mind that on this vacation you won’t do anything other than swim, walk on the beach, play in the sand, oh, and eating.

∴ Mui-Ne is heaven for seafood lovers. Along the street (and there’s only one street) are spread restaurants showing in their aquariums all the things you can eat. Squids, Octopus, Shrimp, Prawns, and different kinds of clams and oysters, crabs and snakes, lizards, turtles…

∴ And for fruit lovers. Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Litchi, Jack Fruit, and more .they even make fresh aloe-Vera juice and also avocado shakes.

∴ The place looks completely western. Everything is clean, pretty, and modern. Not what you’d think of Southeast Asia or Vietnam.

∴ The hotels are amazing. The service, for the most part, is amazing.

∴ You can rent bicycle or scooter to get around easier. On the other hand there are taxis and scooter-taxis flooding the area. And there’s the local bus.

Fairy Springs- a charming piece of nature in the middle of the stretch of beach. It’s a fountain of water coming from the ground. They’re warm and flaw in a shallow stream to the ocean. You walk along the stream barefoot, on the soft, soft send. A joy for the kids. Colorful dunes in the background. Along the way there’s also an ostrich farm where you can ride the birds.

∴ The night life is awesome and include lots of alcohol, clubs, and live shows.

∴ If you’re worried- there are ambulances and a high-level professional clinic.

∴ One of the big advantages of the place (the reason I chose it) is that it’s a desert area, and the humidity is very low. So even though you live right on the beach, you don’t feel it! The weather is a-m-a-z-i-n-g

∴ Staying there is Very comfortable– there’s fast WiFi almost everywhere, excellent coffee, air-con, spas…

∴ There’s one resort that offers a private mud bath. Take the kids and make them feel like Shrek 🙂. After the bath you’ll get free access to the huge swimming pool filled with mineral water and health.

∴ You can get any kind of massage there, Including hot stones and everything. And special kinds like coconut or rice milk massage or massage with aloe-vera.

∴ Every travel agency offers tours in the area.

∴ And of course to try out many different water sports. Boogie-board, wind-surfing, kite-surfing, jet-skiing.
∴ One note: Despite the touristic nature of the town, many service providers don’t speak English.

In short: prepare yourself for a high-end vacation for ridiculously low prices.

Recommended hotels in Mui-Ne and their price
Recommended hotels in Saigon and Hanoi and their price

prices for example:

  • Excellent resort with ocean view, swimming pool and a private beach (family room including breakfast) – 30$-60$ a night. There are more expensive resorts offering private bungalows and such, those can get as high as 500$ a night.
  • Cold coffee- 0.5$
  • Beer bottle- 0.5$
  • Full seafood hotpot- 5$
  • Whole peeled and sliced pineapple- 0.5$
  • Full body massage- varying prices. Depends if you go to the small spas or the big luxurious ones. Somewhere between 5$ and 25$ an hour.
  • Bicycle rent- 2$ a day. Scooter rent- 8$ a day.
  • Fresh coconut juice straight from the nut- 0.5$

“Whoever Said That Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness Didn’t Know Where to Shop”
~Blair Waldorf

Shopping is an inseparable part of almost every trip abroad, and Southeast Asia is no exception. It’s a well-known fact that after a two week trip in Thailand with the kids, you dedicate two-three days to shopping. Because it’s so much cheaper. And it’s so much fun to go shopping, and convert everything to your local currency and see just how cheap everything is.

But Thailand is no longer the only destination where it pays to go on a crazy shopping spree and come back home with a new wardrobe and a truck’s worth of furniture. In fact, if you ask me, there are some places I much prefer, from a quality perspective, from a price perspective, and even from a design perspective. A few years ago, I was in Ho Chi Minh City with my kids, and we planned on going to Bangkok from there. Of course I gave up the shopping in Vietnam, thinking I’ll do it all in Bangkok. But when I got there I discovered that their products weren’t nearly as good, and of a much lower quality, and more expensive. And I was very disappointed.

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And so here are the three places I recommend for shopping in Southeast Asia:

1. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

in Saigon you can’t not want to buy everything. When you walk in the street and see the small designer stores, or even the street vendors with the cut-paper greeting cards, and it’s all so cheap, it’s hard to stand the temptation. I love walking around the streets of Saigon, and breathe in inspiration. In fact, Saigon is one of the only places where I enjoy going to the mall.

Four of my favorite places:

Saigon Square– a colorful market with a lot of finds, some of them even original (ZARA, GAP, H&M)- all for really funny prices of only a few dollars. Even the fake’s quality is pretty high and the designs are in good taste. A lot of clothes and products for children and babies. A few years ago I bought my daughters some very cheap designer clothes and they’re still wearing them to this day (the older one gave the younger and all that). I always shop there when we visit Ho chi Minh city.

Vincom center– a wonderful mall, with a whole floor with only kids stored including a mindblowing stored like Lego, Corolle (an amazing doll company), a huge bookstore, children’s playroom, food court and more. The rest of the mall is dedicated to woman’s products, cosmetics, shoes, etc…
Diamond plaza- another mall, this time more luxurious. Everything looks very well thought of. I especially like the cosmetics floor that is simply stunning. With products of the world’s best companies, and attendants that give you free samples and put makeup on you (they’ll be happy to help the girls too ), and of course everything has testers. The joy! The prices are lower than the rest of the world, but for Saigon they’re pretty high. Other than that, they have designer stores with international fame.

Ben Thanh market- one of the places all the guides recommend. It’s a market where they sell anything you can possibly want, from cheap clothes to souvenirs, local produce like Coffee (a million kinds and flavors), tea (ditto), Vietnamese Coffee filters, baby products. It’s a huge compound, crowded and loud, with a number of exits and entries. And a food court to those interested. You should go there if only for the experience, I sometimes buy there the Vietnamese Coffee (I know exactly which brand and which type of coffee, and how much the locals buy it for)- if I can find it at a low price. It’s customary and recommended to bargain and bargain hard.

2. Manila, Philippines

Alright this one isn’t really new. Manila is THE place for shopping, if you happen to get there. Manila is full of shopping centers, from all sorts of markets to expensive luxurious malls.

My four favorites are:

Glorietta- we’re talking about a compound of a few malls made into one. Something huge. There’s everything you can possibly be looking for and then some. In Glorietta there are the biggest and most diverse stores I’ve found yet of brands like GAP, Old Navy, and Banana Republic (even in Thailand I never found the like). ZARA has a very large shop. If you get there- look for the Vietnamese restaurant in the food court. The food there is just like in Vietnam.very very tasty.

Robinsons– a department store chain with pretty much the same stores all over and a wonder of a supermarket with ingredients that are almost impossible to find elsewhere. I like their prices, and I also like their home products section- where you can find a wide variety of mosquito repellents (I collect those…) and a number of other necessities.

Greenbelt– a nice mall with a selection of big brands and large cosmetic stores where you can find some really nice bargains. My daughters and I spent a whole afternoon just in one of those cosmetic stores, impressed by everything.

SM mall chain– not specific to Manila, you can find these malls, in all sizes, all over the Philippines. If you’re in Cebu you should give it a visit. Even if you’re in Manila it’s still worth going to. Some of these malls are in the top10 biggest malls in the Philippines and indeed the whole world. They also host all kinds of afternoon activities (for free), and we once took part in a Zumba class that happened in the mall, to the great joy of all shoppers. They also have some of the best stores from, with well-known international brands. In every mall there is also a nice local book store with a collection of nice English books booklets for all ages.

∴ by the way, one of our little pleasures, whenever we go to a mall in the philippines, is the Buka. A drink of coconut water and ice with some sugar (to those who want it). Not something anyone should miss.

3. Pushkar, India

if you’re looking for shanti clothes, Yoga pants, colorful skirts, dresses and tunics, jewelry, perfumes, and oils, Pushkar is the place for you. Pushkar is a gathering place for wholesale traders from all of India and the world. To the little picturesque market come shop owners from Europe and the rest of India to buy whole stocks of clothes. And we get the lowest prices :-). The diversity is huge, and of course they’ll saw anything you ask of them. In our last time in Pushkar I had some dresses, Yoga pants and shirts (and, of course some really eye-catching skirts) made for me and my daughters for hilariously little money. Pushkar’s market really is charming and if you get there don’t miss Sanu’s fruit & juice shop.

please check out our favorite hotels in vietnam and in the philippines.

My new ebook is now available on amazon. click here, and find out how to travel the world with your kids for less then 1400$ a month (yes, even when shopping at those really trendy shops :-)).

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Discover the best hotels and accommodation prices in Vietnam-Ho Chi Minh(Saigon) and Hanoi when travelling with kids. Recommended destinations for a comfortable stay

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city are both remarkable destinations that any tourist would love. Not only do they have a certain charm around them, these cities are also home to some really amazing relaxation spots. However, when you stare reality in the face, the first thing you observe are the clogged array of motorbikes, scooters, cars, and smoke in a dense and people-clogged environment. This colorful mess might make you stop in awe at the crosswalk and wonder if you will ever be able to cross that road.

However, even with this rather dense atmosphere, navigating these two cities can be really easy if you know the right place to stay and are able to find your way around.

Below is a list of Recommended hotels in Ho Chi Minh City when travelling with kids:

Best Luxury Hotels:

The reverie Saigon– Do you want to get a mind blowing view of the river and the entire city? This hotel offers you everything you need in a five-star hotel and so much more. From a breathtaking swimming pool with color changing waters, to a full bursting minibar and a manservant available for hire, it is just perfect if you are looking to have a great time. It also features wall-to-wall windows with well facilitated rooms (including an espresso machine!)

Kids below 11 years of age stay free. Price– 225$ a night.

Book your stay now to enjoy the amazing city and all of its pleasantries!

Click to book through Agoda now

Click to book through Booking now

Sherwood residence hotel– Get the feel of luxury at an affordable rate! The Sherwood residence hotel offers you apartments from 80sqm in size in a spectacular apartment setting. This standard room comes with 2-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, living room, well equipped kitchen with a fridge and even a washing machine.

To get more out of your stay, you also get a swimming pool, a play room for the kids and so much more in a sparkling and squeaky clean setup.

What’s even better? Children younger than 11 years get to stay for free!

The price- 87$ (for the standard apartment described above) a night and upwards for other high end rooms with additional features.

Book your stay now to set down a reservation for your trip!

Book through Agoda today

Book though Booking today

caravelle saigon hotel– Would you like to enjoy the serenity and astonishing beauty of Ho Chi Minh? the Caravelle Saigon hotel brings you a 5-star hotel in the perfect location! You get great rooms, a wonderful pool and a remarkable view!

It also offers free stay for kids younger than 5 years!

Price- starting from 135$ a night.

Make your reservation today to enjoy excellence in hospitality!

Click here to book through Agoda

Click here to book through Booking

Best Guesthouses in Saigon:

beautiful Saigon hotel– Want an affordable yet high class accommodation that brings you quality service and a family friendly environment? The beautiful Saigon is what you need!

Here, you get an amazing location, swimming pool, clean rooms, fast Wi-Fi and breakfast included in the fee. It is absolutely affordable and offers you the option for rooms with three or more beds for better convenience.

Kids younger than 10 get to stay for free!

Price: Starting from $28 night.

Click here to book through Agoda

Click here to book through Booking

Saigon Europe hotel spa– Experience convenience and relaxation in a spa styled hotel with all of the facilities you need!

Want to stay in a good location, with big, clean, air conditioned rooms and a pool? The Saigon Europe hotel spa offers you that and so much more. It also come with a served breakfast included in the fee.

Price: $50 a night for the family room.

Book your reservation today and give your family a treat.

Click here to book through Agoda

Click here to book through Booking

Recommended hotels in Hanoi with kids:

Best Luxury Hotels:

meracus hotel– Enjoy the service of a great staff and a breakfast served for kings in the highly rated Meracus hotel. With a strong reputation of excellence, this hotel is located right on Hoan kiem in a perfect location and is extremely affordable for all of the features it offers!

Price: 70$ a night for a family suite.

Click here to book through Agoda

Click here to book through Booking

Hanoi la siesta– Perfect for maximum comfort, the Hanoi la siesta is designed as a family friendly location with pleasant and helpful staff and a good location. Located in the old quarter, you can book rooms with connecting doors for great family accessibility and closeness.

Price: 160$ a night for two rooms with a connecting door, or 170$ a night for a family suite.

Want to enjoy your stay with your family? Book a room at the Hanoi le siesta today!

Click here to book through Agoda

Click here to book through booking

A good hotel for a good price:

hanoi lotus boutique hotel– This hotel offers you an amazing array of services including friendly staff, great location, an awesome restaurant and organized tours for the entire family. You also get free Tea/Coffee/fruit juice throughout the whole day.

Price: 25$ a night for a double room, 40$ a night for a family room.

Follow this link to book through Agoda

Follow this link to Book through Booking

Best Guesthouse in Hanoi:

funky jungle– If you are a backpacker/traveler, a group of friends travelling together or visiting the city as a family, then the funky jungle is the ideal location for you!

Located in the heart of the old quarter, this guesthouse provides a common playroom, restaurant and bar (free beer!). It is a great place for social encounters/making new friends from all over the world.

You can get a few beds in a dorm room, or get a private room.

Price: A bed costs 10$ a night and a room costs 35$ a night.

Click here to book through Agoda

Click here to book through Booking

Don’t forget that you need to make your Vietnamese visa in advance online. and read more information about trip to Vietnam with kids. 

For more inspiration try our awesome itineraries:

Vietnam with kids- Two weeks luxury vacation

Vietnam for food loving families

and more…

You can find many more hotels throughout Vietnam on Agoda  , Booking  or Hotelscombined  

My new eBook is now available on amazon. click here, and find out how to travel the world with your kids for less than 1400$ a month (yes, even when staying at those really nice hotels :-)).

 

 

A big fear many parents have is about the hygiene of foods and drinks in developing countries. Even doctors specializing in travel medicine recommend to be extra careful with those. I wrote here the ways we deal with it.

Drinks:

  1. Many of the worst diseases originate in water.

2. That’s why I always go under the assumption that the water anywhere is not fit for drinking. Not taking any chances.

3. The most effective way to disinfect water is by boiling.

4. That’s why any dish containing water must be well boiled.

5. Drinking water- you can find different qualities of drinking water anywhere. From mineral water from abroad to locally treated and disinfected. Buy a few types, pick the one you like best and stick with it. And of course, pay attention to the lid signature.

6. Juices- fresh fruit juice is one of the ways to keep the kids healthy. It’s important to make sure they don’t mix it with water or ice. Also, pay attention to how clean the dishes are.

7. Cold drinks- sodas and the likes are perfectly safe to drink.

8. Hot drinks- usually there’s nothing to fear, the water is well boiled and even if they add milk- they boil that too for you.

Food:

  1. The best way to disinfect food is by boiling.

2. That’s why it’s always better to eat food that was cooked in high temperatures, baked or well fried.

3. Meat is one of the biggest sources of disease, that’s why rule no.2 is twice as important if you’re going to eat meat. Don’t eat meat that hasn’t been well coocked!

4. You don’t have to eat meat.

5.Eggs- go under the assumption that the Eggs have been fertilized. If that doesn’t bother you, I recommend you to put Eggs in the same category with meat- make sure all parts of the Egg have been well cooked (I don’t order fried, boiled or scrambled Eggs, I order an omelet and ask it to be well done).

6. The locals prefer to be healthy and know all these rules even better than us. True that their digestive system is designed to those conditions, but they’re not immune either.

7.That’s why the local foods are always healthy and nutritious, while keeping to the hygienic rules relevant to that place.

8.On the other hand, it’s the western foods that are made only for the tourists are those that aren’t prepared properly according the hygienic rules and hence have a higher chance of making you sick.

9. In addition, take under consideration that the local food is what the locals cook best. Western food won’t be ‘like home’, and especially the meat- not always worth the risk (depending of course on the destination of your trip)..

10. In short, it’s recommended to just order the local food.

11. Another important detail- people are always warning of the cooling and keeping conditions of the food, but in local restaurants they never prepare food in advance. They only start to make it when they get an order. It takes a while (take a deck of cards with you J)… but together with that you can be sure the food is the freshest it can be.

Fruits and vegetables:

  1. Fruits and vegetables that were watered with polluted water are not recommended to eat, because their peel is contaminated.

2. That’s why you have to make sure they were properly cooked.

3. Or properly peeled..

4. Or properly washed..

5. If there’s no way to wash/cook you should always pick the fruits or vegetables with a thick peel (Papayas, Oranges, Coconuts, Pineapples, Bananas). And those that grow on trees/bushes and not on the ground.

6. Many restaurants in touristic areas are aware of the problem and clearly mention that they wash their fruits and vegetables with disinfectant (iodine usually). Even with that, I don’t take risks and don’t allow the kids to eat fruits and vegetables that aren’t peeled.

Buying snacks or packed food:

  1. One thing you have to remember: pay attention to the expiry date. If that’s not written, or if it’s expired, DON’T BUY!

Eating at food stands:

  1. Usually their food is very fresh (and tasty!), they always make it that same day.

2. In large, the rules are the same rules, don’t forget them.

3. Pay attention how many locals eat from that stand. Don’t buy from an empty stand.

4. Pay attention to their utilities and where they sharpen their knives (there are stand owners that sharpen their knives against the sidewalk..).

5. Don’t forget to ask a number of times ‘not spicy’.

6. Or come with a ready-to-pull bottle of waterJ.

7. It’s best to come with your own disposable utilities.

8. And yet, I wouldn’t eat meat in stands.

General hygiene:

  1. The utilities are washed with regular water, usually with soap..

2. They have a different way of washing dishes: they soak the dishes in a big bowl full of water, then scrub with soap, wash and leave in the sun.

3. Their use of the sun is not only to dry but also to disinfect.

4. They serve the silverware on a plate.

5. Table cleaning: oh well, it’s usually not very clean. You can ask them to clean, you can use a wet wipe yourself, or you can simply not mix the silverware with the table.

6. You don’t have to use glasses, drink straight from the bottle..

7. You can buy a packet of straws and drink through them for maximal hygiene.

8. Remember to wash your hands before every meal.

Bottom line:

  1. Wash your hands before every meal.

2. Prefer local foods.

3. Cooked in high temperatures.

4. always suspect the water. Drink only purified water/fresh juice/sodas/hot drinks

5. Check the date of expiry on all packaged snacks.

It looks complicated but within a few days you get used to these rules and they become habit. Even the kids learn fast and the rules become a part of their life. they don’t even think about it anymore.

Whether you’re already traveling in southeast Asia with your kids and whether you’re looking for to change something and go to a different destination than the one you usually go to, here are some tips that will help you travel with kids in Vietnam:

Vietnam visa– very simple. You can make it online from anywhere in the world. The websites i checked (and there are loads)  all look legit. I chose one where I could pay using PayPal and even though it was a bit more expensive, i felt safer.  You give them the details, pay, and within two days you’ll get a signed confirmation letter to present at the airport.  Price: 20$-25$ per person for the letter and the service (for a visa of a month/three months).

With the letter you go to the visa counter in the airport (visa upon arrival). It’s important to get there as fast  as you can 🙂 so you won’t stand in line for so long. There are forms to  fill but the Vietnamese are very considerate and let you fill just one form for the whole family (very rare, in other countries you have to fill a form for every person… Exhausttiiiiing).  You present it at the counter together with your passports and a passport photo for each person and wait.

You need to prepare the visa payment in advance. It’s  45$ per person for a one entry three months visa.

There is an ATM machine there. Only it doesn’t always work…

It takes a bit of time until they’re done making the visas.  In that all you do is sit and wait. It’s not always easy after a long flight. I recommend to make sure you have at least a water bottle and maybe something for the kids to do.

They’ll call your name (pay close attention, it’s very hard to understand what they’re saying…) to go to the counter and take your passports with the visa signed off. Pay them and you’re done. With the passports you go to the immigration counter to get them stamped.


tip: if you are with kids you’re allowed to go to the shorted lined VIP counter. Don’t stand in the long line.


(what’s written here stands for the airport in Ho-chi-minh. I haven’t been to the other ones)

The ATMs when you exist the airport are especially nice and allow you to pull a larger sum than most ATMs everywhere else and they do it for the same fee. Take advantage of it.

Health and Clinics in vietnam:

network of excellent modern clinics managed by an Israeli doctor: Family Medical Practice.

Vietnam is cleaner than Thailand and has a lot less mosquitoes. Especially on the beaches. It seems an irrelevant detail but when i go to choose our next destination that detail plays an important role. The mosquitoes in southeast Asia can carry diseases.

Television: in most hotels there is a TV.  The main kids’s channels are Disney and cartoon network. Both in English (in many countries the programs are in the local language but not in Vietnam!). Also,  in Vietnam there are no TV commercials.

The Vietnamese love kids. They just look a bit cold. But if you’re nice,  you’ll immediately find out they’re warm, charming people that are always happy to help.

Motorbikes: The amount of motorbikes and scooters is just huge. I highly recommend you show your kids where the exhaust pipe is in a two wheeler and warn them to stay away from it, especially when working your way in between the dozens of parked bikes..

passports policy: In Vietnam they take your passports when you check into a hotel. So should always have photocopies of your passports and visa.

To travel with kids in Vietnam is an amazing experience. It’s a very diverse country, it has indulgent beaches,  beautiful well developed cities,  treks,  rice fields, culture, language, flavors. It’s crowded sometimes and completely crazy but also calm and luxurious.  That’s it’s charm. Don’t be afraid.  Go along with everything Vietnam has to give.

you might also be interested in:

Our recommended beach vacation in Vietnam

Our Favourite Guest-house in Saigon

 

 

Mui Ne is a wonderful stretch of beach in Vietnam, sweet and relaxing. i like to stay there with my kids for few weeks at a time, every chance we have.

I recommend it to any family or couple or really anyone looking for a welcoming place, where he can live like a millionaire (literally), and pay fair or even low prices.

Amazing hotels, excellent beach front restaurants, an atmosphere of freedom, bars and night-life, some water sports and bicycles. And everything is clean, air conditioned and has decent internet.

And here are some recommended hotels you should check out if you plan to travel to Vietnam with your kids:

Coco Beach Resort– a charming hotel, prices starting from 140$.

Saigon Mui Ne Resort.  one of the sweetest places.one of our personal favorites. Prices starting from 75$ a night.

Casa Beach House  costs 100$ a night for a family room, including breakfast. With a lovely beach, a special atmosphere and all the extras you can think of. Very warmly recommended.

Herbal Hotel & Spa Mui Ne–  a wonderful hotel, in an excellent location with excellent service.

Two places I come back to every time I visit:

Shades Resort Apartments Mui Ne-. a breathtaking apartment hotel, with a charming view and wonderful atmosphere. Great fun. The apartments themselves are indulging, they have everything you need and the price includes laundry services! Prices starting from 65$ a night for a whole apartment

Tien Dat Resort– we like this hotel very much, the clean rooms, the amazing shower, the fun swimming pool (with a slide straight into the water) and mostly their breakfast, which is the best we got anywhere. There are all sorts of little things, like free bicycles the guests can use, a trolley that takes you back and forth, a bar on the water and more. we even shot one of our videos inside this hotel’s pool :-). prices starting from 40$ per room per night.

My new ebook is now available on amazon. click here, and find out how to travel the world with your kids for less then 1400$ a month (yes, even when staying at those really nice hotels :-)).

Want to keep looking yourself? You’ll probably be interested in this post: how to look, find, and book a hotel online -simple, easy and cheap.

And you might also be interested in this article:

Vietnam with kids- things you should know before setting off

And if you are a sexy plus-size woman, check out this shop, to show some beach hotness.