Things to do in Koh Lanta, Thailand with kids

Koh Lanta is one of those islands that you come to visit for a week or two on vacation but end up loving it so much you stay for half a year (or longer).  We loved this quaint island for its beautiful beaches, friendly people and the easy of life here.  Of course, the beach is the number one draw, but there are so many things to do besides the beach in Koh Lanta.

The beach, it's all about the beach in Koh Lanta.  We have spent most our days at the pool and playing on the beach.  Water is warm, waves are small and the beach is shallow.  Perfect for kids to play!

Oasis Yoga (for adults AND kids, who knew!)
First and foremost, do yourself a favor and go the first day while you are in town.  You will be so glad you went you will keep going everyday while you are in Koh Lanta.  It's such a great way to start your day.  Unfortunately, I went on our second to last day.  Farra, the instructor, is an amazing.  She explains everything and helps you through each move sharing techniques.  She makes everyone feel welcome no matter what your level.  Oasis Yoga is right next to the beach so you can see and hear the waves crashing as you find your zen.  They offer kids yoga classes too.  Call ahead to confirm times, but kids love doing the fun yoga poses.

Lanta Animal Welfare
We happened upon Lanta Animal Welfare (LAW) during one of our many afternoon drives.  This is such a great cause and in need of help.  Their objective is to relieve the suffering and pain of the animals on the island through sterilisation and care.  Volunteers are always needed.  Our kids spent their time playing and loving the cats. Well, mostly the kittens.  The cats loved the attention and love.  Our kids still want a cat and dog of their own so this was a good way to let our kids spend time with the animals.

Muy Thai Boxing
Our kids loved putting on the boxing glove and learning the skills and techniques of Thai boxing.  It is a great way to burn some energy!  Our kids wanted to continue going but we were not in Koh Lanta long enough.  Several places in Koh Lanta offer classes for kids for around 400 Baht for one session (less for package deals).

Explore the island by tuk tuk
We rented a tuk tuk the entire time we were in Koh Lanta and loved it.  We loved the freedom to go anywhere when ever we wanted.  Kids loved the open air and just driving and exploring.  Prices range from 200 - 500 Baht a day depending on your negotiating skills.

Elephant trekking
Although, we are not proponents of riding elephants many people might be.  Elephant rides can be arranged to take visitors to the top of the hill in Ko Lanta National Park.

Butterfly garden
There are several places that claim to be a butterfly garden however there is only one that doesn't have caged animals for show.  This one is located south of Saladan just past Lanta Animal Welfare.  It's small compared to other butterfly gardens we've been too but still entertaining.  Cost is around 150 Baht.

Old Town play ground
We took our tuk tuk exploring one day to Old Town and happened upon this great play area for the kids.  It's free and right on the beach.  There are food hawkers nearby for a cool smoothie or ice cream.  Great for early mornings or late afternoons when the sun isn't so hot.







There were loads of other things to do like fishing, cooking classes and drop off daycare however we ran out of time.  Next time we will stay much longer in Koh Lanta! Anyone else been to Koh Lanta or can recommend other family friendly towns?

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Things to do in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with kids

Phnom Penh is usually the city one visits when heading to or from Siem Reap, but it surprisingly has lots to offer families.  The weather was horribly hot and humid when we were there, but really, is there any other type of weather?  We spent 2 days in Phnom Penh before heading to Siem Reap.  Here are just a couple of things we got to do.

Pool!  First things first!  Find a hotel with a pool.  We stayed at G Eleven.  Big rooms, comfy huge beds and best of all a pool.  Perfect for a swim after a hot morning of exploring.

The Palace is a good place to let the kids run free.  Although, I didn't feel this was the best palace we've ever been to it was still interesting to explore.  Our kids especially loved the silver pagoda.  It's a bit pricy to enter so unless you really love Palaces I would pass on this one.  If felt and looked so run down to me.

Play parks!  Next to the palace is one of the best parks in all of Cambodia!  The park has multiple play areas for kids of all ages.  The ground is made of the rubbery cushion so soften falls and there is a snack area near by with lots of bicycle vendors.  At dusk the park is filled with local kids and the perfect spot to enjoy an ice cream before bed.

River front night market is the perfect place to enjoy some great food and have a picnic.  Large mats are set out for people to sit on since there are not a lot of tables.  It seems the whole town comes out at night.  After dinner take a walk along the riverfront and you'll  get some of the best people watching of your life.

Take a boat ride down the river.   For around $5USD you can take an hour long ride along the river and see.

Lyla Center was a fun day for all of us.  They have a huge indoor play area and a pool with small water park for kids outside.  We spent a few hours playing inside then hit the pool area to cool off.  They also have a gym, yoga studio and a nice cafe with great wifi.  There was no published rates when we visited but we paid around $6 for all of us.

Sovanna and Sorya Shopping Centers both have play and game areas for kids.  We stopped to check them out but they were very unimpressive and tiny.  Our kids got bored quickly and it wasn't even worth the visit for air con.

Can anyone else suggest some fun kids things to do in Phnom Penh?

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Things to do in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) with kids

Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) was our first stop in Vietnam.  It is such a kid friendly city.  Not only do the people love kids, but there are loads of fun things to do.  Tons of parks, water parks and indoor and outdoor play areas.  Here are some things our kids loved doing.

Parks, parks and more parks!  There are no shortage of incredible and fun play areas in just about all the big parks in Saigon.  One of our favorites was Công Viên 23 Tháng 9 park right near the backpackers district and next to Ben Thanh Market.  They had the best play area set up on a rubbery ground with little houses and lots of play equipment.  They even have exercise equipment for the adults.  More great play equipment near by is also at Tao Dan Park.


KizCiti is such a cool concept.  It's a mini town where kids get to learn about the working world and pretend to be professionals like airline pilots, bakers, doctors, firemen, pharmacists, soccer stars and so many others.  We went during the week and practically had the place to ourselves.  The staff was incredibly helpful and walked our kids around to the different businesses.  Our kids had a blast and kept asking to go back. There is a nice air con cafe for parents to sit in with free wifi.  Price is about 350,000 for 2 kids.  Bonus are two very cool playgrounds just outside too!  You'll pass one on your way to KizCiti the other is in the opposite direction.





 

The Reunification Palace is big with loads of rooms and floors to explore.  But the best part of the palace is the amazing fun park behind the palace.  The kids loved this play ground.  We took turns watching the kids while the other got to explore the Palace.  They have great play equipment under very cool trees for the kids to climb all over When you are done there is a cheap cafe near by.





War Remnants Museum was one of our must see places to visit in Saigon, but we had heard the second floor is quite graphic and maybe not be appropriate for little kids.  Well, we were so happy to find this museum has a hidden gem of a play area for little kids on the 3rd floor.  We dropped the kids off and enjoyed exploring the museum.  And yes, the 2nd floor was way to graphic for little ones.

The Snap Cafe in D2 is the place to go to have dinner with your kids and to just relax.  They have a large children's play area with sandpit for the kids to burn off energy while the parents can enjoy a nice meal and some free wifi.  Food is a bit pricey, but everyone will have a great time!  Our kids played nonstop while we enjoyed our dinner with our friends at Siagon Street Eats.  32 Tran Ngoc Dien Street | Thao Dien Ward, D2


Mekong Delta Tour - We did a private tour with a local guy from the Mekong Delta area so we could move at our own pace.  We explored the river and markets, enjoyed a boat rides, fished, learned to cook, made rice paper, played with various animals and had a fabulous time.  Contact him to workout a tour jasontripadvisor@yahoo.com.

tiNiWorld has several locations in Saigon.  We enjoyed the one in D1.  Prices are 40,000-50,000 dong for a fun several hours.  They have snacks, arts and crafts for a nominal fee and free wifi for the parents.  You can either drop your kids off or hang there with them.  There is a nice coffee shop downstairs with free wifi.  Oh, and Monday's are half price!







Ben Thanh Market is a fun market to explore with the kids.  We all love looking at the different things people are selling plus there is a food court in the middle with some yummy fruit shakes!  Negotiate to 1/4 of the price they quote you.

Viacom Mall Play Area has a very noisy, but still fun for kids play area one floor above the food area.  The have several different play areas your kids can choose from.  They will even let you drop your kids off while you go down stairs and enjoy a cup of coffee and some free wifi.  Our kids had a great time, but the noise makes my head seriously hurt.






A cyclo ride through the streets of any city in Southeast Asia should never be missed.  Along with a tuk-tuk or red cab, kids love this kind of entertainment.  Always negotiate a price and time frame ahead of time.

Vietnam history museum is well laid out. While most of it is not particularly interesting to kids, there is a mummified body to see,  cannons to climb on and a great the water puppet show.

Saigon Street Eats is a street food tour that is a must when visiting Saigon!  Created by an Australian-Vietnamese couple who are obsessed with Vietnamese food you will sample some of the world's best street food.  Barbara and Vu are super fun guides that offer different tours to suit everyone and all are very kid friendly!

The Saigon Zoo is always a great place to take kids.  It's a lot of walking, but they have plenty of shade.  The zoo is not the best we've been too, but after the Chiang Mai zoo it's hard to compare.  We've heard not the best things about this zoo, but over all we liked it.  It is one of the oldest zoos in the world and I think we paid about $1 to enter it was a bargin!





One place we really wanted to go to, but ran out of time was the Dam Sen Water Park.  Water parks are always so much fun for the whole family.  The bigger the water slide the happier our kids are.  This place has a lot of creative imagination and rentable hammocks by the hour.  Avoid weekends and holidays at all cost!  It's a bit of a ride outside of D1, but worth the fun day.  Rates are about 90,000 for adults and 60,000 for kids.

There are so many fun things to do in Saigon like the cultural centre alongside Thao Dan Park, cooking class and so many other play areas.  We only had so much time.


What other fun things do you suggest for kids in Saigon?  We would love to add them to the list!

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How to choose the perfect Halong Bay Cruise

The sheer number of tour operators in Hanoi's Old Quarter will shock you. Literally every hotel has a tour desk. Just about every other shop seems to be selling tours. Since we're on a budget, we did quite a bit of shopping around. Needless to say, we were quickly overwhelmed with the options.

Here's a breakdown of what we learned shopping for a Halong Bay Cruises. If we had to do it all over again, we would make our way to Cat Ba city and book a private tour from there.

Length of stay

While single day cruises are available, they are not recommended. The travel time from Hanoi alone is 8 hours round trip. Spare yourself the rushing around and stay overnight. Stick with a one or two night trip. Two night trips usually means one night on the boat and one on Cat Ba island.

Start with your itinerary

Do you want to sail the bay? Go Caving? Kayaking? Swim? Fish? Play on the beach? Decide what activities you'd like to do before shopping for boats.

Pick a boat

Pay attention to the name of the boat. We counted at least 50 boats in the harbor. Boats fall into one of three classes: budget, mid-range, and luxury.

Luxury

• Bhaya Classic Cruise
• Paradise Luxury Cruises
• Indochina Sails
• Victory Star Cruise
• Jasmine Cruise
• Violet Cruise
• Ginger Cruise
• Au Co Cruise

Mid-Range

• Aclass Opera Cruise
• Glory Cruise
• Paloma Cruise
• Red Dragon Cruise
• Dragon Pearl Cruise
• Luxury Imperial Cruise
• Emotion Cruise
• An Nam Junk
• Calypso Cruise
• Halong Syrena Cruise

 

Budget

• Poseidon Sails
• Dragon Cruise
• Marguerite Cruise
• Aclass Cruise
• Elizabeth Cruise
• Phoenix Cruiser
• Oriental Sails
• Imperial Cruise
• Alova Gold Sails

We chose a budget boat and booked the Imperial Junk for $337 for 5 of us (2 Adults and 3 kids ages 5, 4 and 11 months) for 3d/2n.  We were pleasantly surprised to be upgraded to the Luxury Imperial cruise.  My thinking is no one else was crazy enough to book the cheap boat or the cheap boat doesn't exist.

Understand the cruise type

There seems to be 3 categories of cruises

1. Conveyor belt. This was what we ended up on.
2. Set cruise that actually goes out for 3 days and 2 nights and you stay on the boat the entire time 
3. The private boat experience

The conveyor belt cruise is designed maximize the number of visitors  The boat does the same circle daily, harbor to night anchor spot and back to harbor the next day then repeat.  Booking 2d/1n or 3d/2n the boat does the same.  The only difference is you are shuffled to a smaller boat and taken to Cat Ba for the second night and the brought back on the same smaller boat to meet with the same cruise to go back to the harbor the third day.  The cycle repeats.

If you are looking for a private boat head to Cat Ba island on your own.  Spend a few nights there, it is a beautiful place.  Search out the boat operators, they are easy to find, and negotiate a good deal which includes all your food, kayaking or whatever entertainment you want.  The private boats will be able to take you where there are no crowds.  We spotted private boats on our third day there when we were further out in the bay on our own private tour.  Don't expect 5 star but most of the boats seemed perfectly fine.

Of course, the number one rule for going on a Halong Bay cruise is to set your expectations very, very low.  We did and we were pleasantly surprised and had an amazing time!

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Things to do in Hoi An, Vietnam with kids

Hoi An is such a beautiful old city with a very relaxed vibe and lots of charm.  It is easy to walk around and explore.  There is plenty of great food and a wonderful waterfront.  This is home of the $1 Pho and $.33 beer.  Here are just a few of the things we enjoyed with our kids.

Stay at a hotel with a pool!  We stayed at Hoa My Hotel II which had a small pool behind the lobby and the best omelets around!  This hotel is also near some of the best and cheapest restaurants in Hoi An!

Bicycle to the beach.  Go early and take lots of water and sunscreen.  If the ride is too much you can always take a taxi.  There are plenty of beach chairs and restaurants.  The ride there is short and very beautiful.  Bicycle rental places are plentiful so negotiate.  Hoi An also has free tours given by local collage kids.  We did the free tour in Hanoi and loved it!

River Boat Ride.  Enjoy the houses and people along the waterfront.  Watch people fishing and living on the water.  We love taking a boat ride whenever we can.  Once a month during the Full Moon Festival you can take a boat down the river at night and float a lantern on the water and watch all the lanterns make their way out to sea.  Boat rides are alway negotiable, but we paid around 100,000 dong for 1 hour.

Enjoy the morning market!  Our kids love exploring any market to see all the interesting foods people are selling.  They also love the fresh fruit and smoothies! The people at the market loved seeing our kids just as much

Shop till you drop!  For just a few dollars you can get well made kids clothes and shoes.  This is especially fun for little girls who love their dresses.  Kids can pick out a design and fabric they like.  Just make sure you go to a reputable tailor and pre-pay as little as possible.  There are also several silk shops that will show you how silk is made.  Just ask.  Kids find this fascinating!

Cylo tour.  What kid doesn't love one of these.  Get a tour of the old town.  Nice breeze, shade and a relaxing way to ride around.

Cooking class - We found a great and very cheap cooking class at our favorite restaurant.  You basically pay for the meal and get lessons for free.

What was your favorite part of Hoi An?

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Things to do in Nha Trang, Vietnam with kids

After our bus ride through hell, we arrived in Nha Trang sleepy and not sure what to do. Right away, we were lucky to met another family from Canada, traveling Vietnam for a month with their two young boys. It was so nice for all of us to make new friends!

We spent a fabulous week in Nha Trang. The city attracts a lot of Vietnamese and Russian tourists and has a great vibe. If you're considering a beach holiday with kids, Nha Trang would be hard to beat. Here's what to do in Nha Trang with Kids:









Vinpearl Land - Located on it's own island, Vinpearl is like the Disneyland of Vietnam. There are amusement rides for kids, both big and small. Take the cable car from Nha Trang, the views are spectacular. We spent almost the entire day at the waterpark. Be sure to check out the aquarium on the walk to the water park.

Tip: The cave part of the lazy river can be a little scary for small kids.

Nha Trang Beach - The beach was just perfect. We chose to rent chairs at Louisiane Brewhouse for $40,000 per day ($1.90 US) where they have a pool. The pool was a bit too deep, even for the adults.

National Oceanographic Museum - What a hidden gem! When we visited there was hardly anyone else there. The museum has a real impressive marine exhibit, both indoor and outdoor. They have some of the largest turtles we've ever seen. The National Oceanographic Museum is located on the way to Vinpearl,














Mud Bath - all of us had the best time ever playing in the mud.  There are several mud baths to choose from.  We went to Thap Ba Hot Springs.  Your time is a bit limited for the actual mud bath portion, which was probably a good thing. However, they have 4 pools to choose from, including a kiddie pool with a shallow end and slides.

Kid Carnival - We found an awesome night carnival that our kids absolutely loved located here. It has a rollercoaster, bumper cars, viking swing, bounce houses, ball pit and more. All the rides we pretty cheap too, between 5,000 - 15,000 dong ($0.20 - $0.70 USD).








Tip: We always saw plenty of taxis driving around Nha Trang, so there's no need to hire a taxi for the day. Also, always pick a reputibale looking car (we stuck with the green and white Mai Linh).

Anyone else have some fun things they did in Nha Trang?

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