8-Day Vietnam Family Itinerary: Catterine’s Trip from Saigon to Ha Long Bay
Last updated: October 28, 2026
This 8-day Vietnam family itinerary packs the south and the north into one short holiday: Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, Hanoi and a night on Ha Long Bay. I’m Rachel, and at the end of September I looked after Catterine and her family, five Australians travelling as three adults and two children. They sent me eleven photos when they got home. So this is the plan behind the trip, and what those photos show of it.
- Travellers: Catterine’s family of five from Australia, three adults and two children
- Route: Ho Chi Minh City (3 nights) → Ha Noi (1 night) → Ha Long Bay cruise (1 night) → Ha Noi (1 night) → Ho Chi Minh City (1 night)
- Trip length: 8 days, 7 nights, late September into early October
- Trip style: private transfers, an English-speaking guide on sightseeing days, two internal flights, fast track at the airport
- Highlights: the Reunification Palace, a sampan on the Mekong, Sung Sot Cave, sunset on the cruise deck, Hanoi’s Tran Quoc Pagoda
How this 8-day Vietnam family itinerary is put together
The international flights decided the shape. The family flew in and out of Ho Chi Minh City, so the plan starts and finishes there. The north sits in the middle as a loop: fly up to Hanoi, drive out to Ha Long Bay, back to Hanoi for the city tour, then an evening flight south again.
It’s a full week. Two internal flights, one cruise, three hotels. But every arrival had a driver waiting, and every sightseeing day had a guide. With children, that’s the part I never cut.
Ho Chi Minh City: palace, tunnels and the river
They landed at 9pm on day one, so that night was just the pick-up and bed at Elios Hotel downtown. Day two was the big history day. The Reunification Palace first. Then Notre Dame Cathedral, then the War Remnants Museum. After lunch the guide drove them about 60 kilometres out to Cu Chi, to see the tunnels and taste tea and cassava, the food the guerrillas lived on.
Day three went south to the delta. First stop was Vinh Trang Pagoda in My Tho, one of the loveliest temples in the region. Then a boat out on the Mekong past its islands, tropical fruit and folk music on Unicorn Island, a honey bee farm and a coconut candy workshop. They were back in the city by about 5:30. Our Mekong Delta travel guide has more if you want to stay longer.
That sampan photo is my favourite of the set. Everyone in a conical hat, the canal the colour of milky tea, and the youngest sitting right in the middle of the boat.
Hanoi in between
On day four they had a slow morning, then our driver took them to the airport for the flight north. They landed in Hanoi just after 2pm and checked into La Dolce Vita Hotel in the Old Quarter. The rest of the day was theirs. One of their photos shows them at a café right beside the railway tracks on Hanoi’s Train Street, under the neon at night. That was their own find, not part of my plan. For more ideas in the city, see our Ha Noi travel guide.
One night on Ha Long Bay
Day five was pick-up from the hotel around 8am and the drive to Tuan Chau port, about two and a half hours. They boarded Amanda Pearl Cruise around noon and had lunch while the boat headed out among the limestone islands.
The afternoon is the busy part. A tender to Ti Top Island to swim or climb to the lookout. Then Sung Sot Cave, one of the biggest caves in the bay, with lit-up rock formations. Back on board there is a sunset party and a cooking class, where the chef teaches you to roll fresh spring rolls and you eat what you make.
After dinner the cruise runs evening activities, including a show of traditional costumes. In the photo with the performers, everyone is smiling, parasol and all.
The next morning starts with tai chi on the sundeck at 6:15, then a light breakfast and kayaking or a bamboo boat ride around Luon Cave. Check-out is at 9:30, early lunch at 10, and the boat is back at the marina by 11 for the drive to Hanoi. Our Ha Long Bay travel guide covers the bay in more detail.
Hanoi city tour, then south again
Day seven was a Saturday, and with Hanoi that matters. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed on Mondays and Fridays, and again every year from mid-June to mid-August. On a Saturday in October it was open. The guide started at Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake, the oldest pagoda in the city. Then the mausoleum, the two houses where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked, and the One Pillar Pagoda.
After that came the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, an eight-dish Vietnamese lunch, the Temple of Literature and Hoa Lo Prison. At 5:30 our driver took them to the airport for the flight back to Ho Chi Minh City, and the last day was free until the night flight home.
There is one more photo I didn’t plan for: the family in front of a water puppet stage, with its little pagoda roof and the pool of water where the show happens.
Culture note: water puppetry grew up in the rice paddies of the Red River Delta around Hanoi, about a thousand years ago. The puppeteers stand waist-deep in the water behind a bamboo screen and work the puppets on long poles under the surface. That’s why the stage always looks like a little temple sitting on a pond.
Tips from Catterine’s trip
- Let your flights shape the route. If you fly in and out of Ho Chi Minh City, do the north as a loop in the middle, as this family did.
- Check the day of your Hanoi city tour. The mausoleum is closed on Mondays and Fridays, and from mid-June to mid-August. The Ethnology Museum is closed on Mondays, so we swap in the Women’s Museum.
- Cover shoulders and knees for the mausoleum, temples and pagodas. Pack one modest outfit per person for city days.
- Set an alarm on the cruise. Tai chi is at 6:15, then breakfast and kayaking, all before check-out at 9:30.
- Plan the last day. Hotel check-out is at noon, and their flight home left late in the evening. Ask us about the best way to use the afternoon.
Want a trip like Catterine’s?
Like the look of this family’s week? It’s built on the same stops as our Overlook Vietnam – 7 Days tour, just run south to north to suit their flights. Message me, Rachel, and I’ll tailor the same route around your family, your dates and your flights.
Over to you: have you already taken the kids out on Ha Long Bay or down the Mekong? I’d love to hear how you found it. Tell me in the comments below. Thank you!
Quick FAQ from Catterine’s trip
Is 8 days enough for Vietnam with children?
It’s enough for two regions if you fly the long jump. This family covered Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay in 8 days with two internal flights. Central Vietnam, such as Hoi An, would need a few more days.
Is one night on Ha Long Bay enough for a family?
One night fits the main activities: Ti Top Island, Sung Sot Cave and the cooking class in the afternoon, then tai chi and kayaking the next morning. You’re back in Hanoi by the afternoon of day two.
Should we start in the north or the south?
Start wherever your international flights land. Catterine’s family flew in and out of Ho Chi Minh City, so the north became a loop in the middle of the trip.
Planning your own family trip to Vietnam? Send us a message and we’ll help you build a route that works for everyone.
