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!
We've heard great things about overnight bus rides in Vietnam. You fall asleep in comfortable reclining bed, the swaying of the bus actually puts you to sleep and wake up when the bus arrives at your destination at 6am. We've also heard they are usually not crowded and if you stay towards the back of the bus you don't hear the drive honking his horn all night.
