Whirlwind Wonders: 7 Days in Vietnam

Shauna Leff
Apr 21
7 min read

Updated: Apr 27

Fast-paced, full-hearted, and flavor-packed

We wanted to give our kids a taste of Southeast Asia over their spring break. We found reasonably priced flight tickets in and out of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and booked them. The challenge was we only had a week off from school to play with. So, we agreed this trip may not be so relaxing, but rather packed with different experiences and lots of time in motion going from point A to B to have the cultural immersion we were looking for.

Flying to and from Vietnam, was about 30+ hours each way. Taking out travel days, we had 7 days to enjoy the country, and we made the most of it. We left on a Saturday night and returned to our house by the following Monday.

In an ideal world, we would have liked to have had at least 2 weeks to travel throughout the country. However, we made the most of the time we had and took internal flights to cover as much ground as we could.

Route:

Started in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
Took a day trip to the Cai Rang Floating Market & Mekong Delta.
Flew to Da Nang and spent 3 nights in Hoi An.
Flew to Hanoi on early morning flight. Driver took us to Ha Long Bay.
Headed to Hanoi to conclude our trip.
Flew back to Ho Chi Minch City to catch our return flight home.

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City

After 30 hours of travel, we made it to Vietnam in the morning. Getting through customs took time. I’m glad I didn’t have anything booked for us to do until later in the day. We checked into the two bedroom apartment we rented to freshen up and immediately hit the road to exchange money, walk around the city and shop at the Ben Thanh market. The apartment we rented was in a great location to walk where we wanted to go in District 1.

That evening, we had a Foodie Tour on motorbikes with XO Tours. This was one of the highlights of our trip. They showed us parts of the city we never would have found on our own. They took us to 5 popular districts and took us to restaurants and food stalls hidden far outside the tourist areas, showing us where the locals really love to eat! Unlike most other food tours in Vietnam, they steer clear of common dishes like Pho, Banh Xeo, Banh Mi and Spring Rolls. They took us to the Chinese market and the XO Foodie tour combines their Saigon By Night tour. In total it lasts about 4.5 hours. It may be more money than other tours, but it’s worth it 100%.

Day 2: Cai Rang Floating Market | Mekong River, Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

The next morning, we were picked up at 5am to make our way to the Cai Rang Floating Market. We set up a private tour with Vietnam Adventure Tours. It’s a lot of driving, so having a comfortable ride made a difference and a very knowledgeable tour guide. Phong was our guide, and he was great. I would recommend him if you use the same agency we did.

I’m a big fan of markets—especially floating ones! Nothing like having breakfast from different vendors at the Cai Rang Floating Market and visiting some other markets along the way on our Mekong Delta adventure. The wet markets were definitely an eye opener for the kids to see the different kinds of fish and frogs they were selling (see the photo gallery at the bottom of the blog).

We tasted our way through the area, including having a mini cooking class at the home we had lunch at, lots of fresh fruit and visited where they make coconut candy and other treats. Good thing we got to bike through a village and paddle down a river to work off all the food we tried along the way. We even had our own personal concert with traditional Vietnamese music.

After our tour, we made our way back to Ho Chi Minh city to the airport and flew to Da Nang. We chose to stay in Hoi An over Da Nang which is about a 45 minute drive from the airport . Our hotel arranged for a driver to pick us up. We stayed at the Legacy Hoi An which was just lovely and in a great location surrounded by rice fields.

Day 3-4: Hoi An

Hoi An was all we hoped for from biking through the rice paddies, exploring the temples in the old town, eating street food late at night and having clothes tailored made.

Hoi An’s Ancient Town (Old Town) is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In Hoi An, there is a law stating that every shop must hang lanterns from their facade. As daylight fades, Hoi An Ancient Town transforms into a mesmerizing scene of lights with lanterns lining every street and riverside. We absolutely loved walking around at night trying out the different street food and exploring the street market. We of course had to buy a few lanterns to come home with. All of Old Town is very walkable and pedestrian-friendly. Read more on how to get around Hoi An here.

In addition to lanterns, Hoi An is considered the go to destination to have clothes made. They can replicate almost any type of design for a fraction of the cost, tailor-made to your body. The options of tailor shops are plentiful and can be a bit overwhelming. My daughter found many recommendations on TikTok. I found this blog to also be helpful. While we had to go back for a second fitting, which took time, my husband and son took off on bikes from our hotel through the rice paddies to the ocean. They had an incredible adventure running into a few water buffalos along the way.

With all the travel and exploring, we had to take advantage of the Coco Spa at our hotel. The treatments were amazing. I wish we had a week in Hoi An to explore all the other spas we saw scattered in and out of town as there are spas almost everywhere you look.

I should note we were happy we stayed a little out of old town off the rice fields. It provided us the calm we were looking for, but were just a "Grab" away from getting into town in minutes. When planning this portion of the trip and deciding what hotel to stay at, this expat's google map was very helpful. I highly recommend using it.

Day 5-6: Hạ Long Bay

After Hoi An, we made our way to Hạ Long Bay, in northeast Vietnam another UNESCO world heritage site. The bay features over two thousand limestone karsts and islets in various shapes and sizes. We went on a one-night cruise with Venus Cruise to take in a sliver of this majestical area. From kayaking, visiting a fishing farm, late night squid fishing to early morning Tai Chi we wish we had more time there to explore. We all loved the view from our rooms, including the bathroom (check out the shower pic in the photo gallery). Even though the sun didn’t come out like we’d hoped, the fog gave everything a mystical, almost dreamlike feel.

I should note, the cruise we originally booked with Genius Regal was overbooked. It was a little disappointing, but their customer support representative booked us with Venus and still arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport and after the cruise that drove us to our hotel in Hanoi. It’s about a 3-hour drive. Longer than one may think.

Day 6-7: Hanoi

Last stop on our trip was Hanoi. Now this is a city we want to come back to. Not enough time to take it all in and explore, but we were there for their weekend market, ate more amazing food, and enjoyed just strolling around. We had plans to see the water puppet show, but it was sadly not playing the day we were there. Another reason to go back. If you are looking for a nice restaurant with traditional dishes, check out, Mia’s Restaurant. The staff, menu, food presentation, and overall quality of food was amazing. It was a 10 out of 10.

Before having to hop on the plane, we found ourselves having breakfast in front of a bike race going on. Loved seeing all the media and locals out for this. Overall, we saw Hanoi as a very active city with many people running, walking, biking, dancing and more.

Day 7: Fly Home from Ho Chi Minh City

Another 30+ hours of travel to return home, stopping through Tapei and a night in Seattle before catching our flight back to Ohio the next morning. I’m not going to lie, the jet lag upon returning was pretty rough, but overall worth it and we would do it again.

Conclusion:

This was not the kind of vacation where you come home feeling rested—but it was the kind where you come home feeling alive. We squeezed so much culture, history, food, and family bonding into seven days, and while the pace was intense, it was also unforgettable. Vietnam amazed us at every turn—from the chaotic energy of Ho Chi Minh City to the peaceful lantern-lit charm of Hoi An, and the mystical beauty of Ha Long Bay.

If you're debating whether it's worth making the trip with kids on a tight schedule, here’s our advice: Yes. You can.

We’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Logistics

Visa:

Please note, a visa is required to enter the country for US citizens. This should be dealt with a few weeks prior to traveling. It costs $25 per person. Here is the link to apply for your e-visa.

Money Exchange:

You will want to travel with cash. Even though credit cards are accepted at some places, they usually add on a percentage if you pay with card. And if you plan to buy street food and items at a market, you will need cash. When you exchange money, they demand PERFECT bills, with NO creases, no tears, no smudges, no markings, etc. They seemed to want the US $100 with the blue security stripe if possible. They even rejected some bills my daughter tried to exchange. Better to use high denomination note like $100 or $50. A Vietnamese friend of ours who travels back to Ho Chi Minh every year, told us she will only exchange her money at the gold/jewelry stores by Ben Thanh market, which is where we went to exchange ours and got a good rate. We were told to avoid exchanging money at the airport.

Transportation:

For internal country flights, we booked with Vietnam Airlines directly online. Tickets were affordable and all flights were on time.

Download the Grab app. This is the Asian version of Uber. It was great and very reliable