19 Of The Best Things To Do In Hoi An With Kids

Hoi An, Vietnam is an incredible town in central Vietnam. We spent 6 months of our slow-travel lifestyle there with our then 5 year old, and our baby. There are endless fun things to do in Hoi An with kids and we’re excited to share our favorites in this Hoi An travel blog post!

If you’re wondering whether to stay in Danang or Hoi An, Hoi An would be our top pick of the two due to the sheer volume of amazing things to see and do. If you have time, add both to your itinerary for sure. A trip from Da Nang to Hoi An is easily taken in about 45 minutes by car, and taxis are reasonably priced.

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If you are also visiting Da Nang, make sure you read our post about things to do in Da Nang with kids. We have also shared our recommended day, overnight, and multi-day trips, which can easily be taken from Hoi An or Da Nang.

In this post, we’re sharing not just the top 10 places to visit in Hoi An, but our 19 recommended favorites! We hope you get plenty of inspiration for all the amazing things you can see and do there. 

What we love about family friendly Hoi An, Vietnam

The food in Hoi An is incredible. There is an endless array of delicious Vietnamese cuisine to choose from, and it’s extremely vegan-friendly. You can also opt to eat Western-style meals if desired. We really loved the Vietnamese cuisine with all the fresh vegetables and herbs that they use. 

The food isn’t generally spicy either, especially when you compare it to cuisine in places like Thailand. Therefore, we found plenty of meals that our daughter loved and it’s one of the reasons this is such a great family travel destination. 

We found the people in Hoi An to be super-wonderful and friendly. There was never a shortage of lovely women working the the restaurants who would offer to hold our baby so I could eat my dinner! 

The old town is beautiful and the gorgeous lanterns you see everywhere add an extra touch of sweetness. There are networks of little rivers all around the town and the beaches are also amazing. Along with Da Nang they’re definitely the best and cleanest we’ve seen in SE Asia so far. 

(Note: We spent early 2020 in the Philippines and I have to say, the beaches we visited there take the award for the best beaches in SE Asia!). 

Where to stay in Hoi An Vietnam

As I mentioned, we spent six months in Hoi An, so we rented a house locally. We decided on Cam Châu for its cute little lanes and access to amazing eateries. It’s the area in between the beach and the old town (the old town is only 1km from us and the beach 3km). 

If you’re going on a short holiday to Hoi An, you might want to stay in the tourist center (the old town). For something a little quieter where you can still quickly and easily reach the old town by bike, scooter, or maybe walking, Cam Chau is also a great option.

Before we share our top 19 things to do in Hoi An with kids, if you’re planning to visit, you might be asking a few questions. We’ve put together our suggestions to some commonly asked questions about Hoi An.

Frequently asked questions about Hoi An and Central Vietnam

The best things to do in Hoi An with kids

1. Kahuna’s

Kahuna’s is a beachfront restaurant with a pool and a lovely backyard. It’s a great spot to hang out on hot days, which is any given day here! It was one of our favorite things to do in Hoi An with kids because we could simply chill out there for so long.

A popular place for backpackers (and the choice of a hen’s party while we were there!) it’s still very family friendly. We find the backpackers usually really enjoy hanging out with Ayla and are fascinated to hear about her lifestyle!

It’s free to use the pool when you’re buying food and drinks. The food is tasty and it’s a good spot to get a fix of western food if you’re sick of rice. I had the falafel kebab and got a couple of salads to take home for dinner (including a Moroccan couscous salad – yum!)

There were a number of floating rings in the pool to help keep Ayla entertained too. The staff are friendly and there’s a lovely backyard area with hammocks that leads down to the beach where you can also grab a table or a sun lounger.

The pool loungers aren’t suitable for laying a baby down but they have bench seats in the restaurant area so that’s another winner.

3. Biking the rice fields

Biking the rice fields in Hoi An is one of our recommended “must do” Hoi An attractions. You’re never far from the rice fields, and they are perfect for biking along. They’re dotted all around the town and have proper paths that will take a bicycle or motorbike. 

Our experience of the rice fields here was much different from our experience of trying to bust through them in Canggu, Bali, although there were some great rice field trails in the Ubud area of Bali.

3. Hoi An old town by night

The old town is definitely the most popular Hoi An Vietnam points of interest. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site that is very touristy and also very charming. We love how bikes and motorbikes are not allowed into the old town at certain times during the day. This makes for a much more relaxing walking experience.

You can also visit the old town during the day if you’re prepared to get very hot. There are fewer people around in the heat of the day, but you might find yourself wanting to make a beeline to the nearest café at this time. Visit in the early morning, evening or night if possible and check the hours that it’s designated for foot traffic only.

Every month with the full moon there’s supposedly a lantern festival. We checked it out once or twice and it was a beautiful site seeing the lanterns lit up all around the town and also floating along the river. They also have a night market in the old town.

I say “supposedly” a lantern festival because as we understand it the lanterns are on and also floating down the river every night. After talking with our friends we think the difference with the full moon is that the street lights get turned off so that it all looks more spectacular.

Maybe you’ve been to Hoi An and you can comment? Are the lanterns on every night and what is the difference during the lantern festival for the full moon?

4. Things to do in Hoi An with kids: Make a lantern!

A popular person to visit in Hoi An is the lantern lady. You’ll find her down a little lane near the old town and riverfront. For US$4 (90000 dong) you can make your own lantern! It’s not a lantern making class as such; you can just drop in any time and the lantern lady will help you get started. This is of course pending sufficient space to get started in the tiny little room she has!

The inside structure is already done for you. You select whether you want one, two, three or 4 different pieces of material for your lantern and you choose the ones you want. Next you glue the pieces on one at a time and trim as you go. Finally you select a piece of ribbon to stick around the top and a tassel for underneath.

They’re also slightly collapsible so should be possible to take back home with you pretty easily.

Ayla opted for four different materials in various shades of pink, purple and red. Making a lantern is one of our fun recommendations for things to do in Hoi An with kids. Ayla was five at the time and needed a fair bit of help. Older kids will be able to make their own.

5. Attend a cooking class

There are so many cooking classes to choose from in Hoi An. We chose one at Gioan cooking school because it had been highly recommended, especially for children. 

The kids chose four dishes to prepare, cook and eat – tofu with vegetables, fish in banana leaf, fried spring rolls, and banana pancake.

The teacher was so wonderful with the kids and provided nonstop entertainment over the three hours with her joking, singing and encouragement!

It was wonderful to see how much the kids could do with the help of a mallet! When it was too tough to cut something with the knife the mallet came down on top to help. And well it’s a pretty fun tool to crush garlic with. I think I need to change the technique I’ve been using all these years!.

The food they created was absolutely divine and there was plenty to feed us mums too. Beer was also included! My friend Garyn and I decided the spring rolls were the best we’ve ever eaten, which is a very big call! 

The juices were squeezed out of the tofu and vegetables (and used for another dish) before being put inside the rolls. And although they were fried in quite a lot of oil they were drained upright afterwards so ended up tasting nice and light. We also wrapped them up in lettuce leaves and fresh herbs to eat them, which added an extra element of deliciousness.

Attending a cooking class is definitely one of our top recommendations for Hoi An Vietnam things to do. We highly rate Gioan as a lovely family-friendly cooking school to try.

6. Baby Shark House

Another great place in Hoi An to take your kids is Baby Shark House. You pay a small hourly fee per person and the kids can play to their heart’s content. Kids love choosing from the array of floaties for the pool. There are also sand play toys and general play toys, including plenty for little kids.

You can refill your water bottle or buy a coffee or juice and are welcome to bring your own food. There aren’t so many playgrounds in Hoi An, so we really loved coming here during our stay. It was always a great place to cool off and the kids would have stayed all day if they could! We’d definitely recommend Baby Shark House as a great choice of things to do in Hoi An with kids, especially if you need a break away from the hustle and bustle of the old town.

7. Walk along the old town riverfront and enjoy some Vietnamese dining

If you’re wondering what to do in Hoi An when you just need to chill out or refuel, take a stroll along the river front and check out some of the great dining options. There are endless amazing places to eat in Hoi An. A network of rivers flows throughout the town and there are plenty of spots for riverfront dining.

There’s a quiet road that runs alongside the riverfront, which starts from the old town and heads to Cam Chau. Depending on your timing, you might also see the traditional performance happening on the other side of the river at the Hoi An Impression Theme Park, which is on most evenings. 

[We didn’t attend the performance while we were there, but it does have excellent reviews – and also a relatively high price point].

There’s usually a nice breeze down by the river too, so it’s a nice area to cool off a little.

8. See a traditional dance performance in the old town

There is a (much lower price point!) traditional performance on every day at the performing arts theatre in Hoi An old town.

It’s 30 minutes long so it’s a good length if you’ve got kids in tow. Ayla thought it would be scary but then she found it wasn’t at all and she giggled a lot throughout. Romy sat upright, completely mesmerized for the first 15 minutes, and then spent the second half quietly chewing her swaddle cloth. So it was an enjoyable half hour and we’d recommend it as a good option for things to do in Hoi An with kids.

The shows are on every day at 10:15am, 3:15pm and 4:15pm. You purchase an old town entry ticket for 120k dong and that allows entrance into 5 of the old town attractions, of which this is one. And there is air conditioning in the theatre!!

9. Things to do in Hoi An with kids: Chill out at Christina’s

Christina’s is a fantastic place to add to your Hoi An for kids itinerary. It’s located in the Trà Que Vegetable Village and there are plenty of rice field paths you can take to reach it by bike from the old town. (Make sure you check Google maps to determine whether you’re up for it first!). 

Tra Que vegetable village is also lovely to ride or walk through. There are plenty of tours that include trips to the village, or you can choose to wander through it yourself.

It’s a hotel but you can go there and use the facilities if you’re eating in the restaurant. Lots of hotels allow this, you just need to ask and find out if they do. Some charge a fee although Christina’s doesn’t at present.

The food is very tasty and fresh and the pool area is lovely. There is also a little manmade lake with a path around it and outdoor beds to lounge on. There are bean bags to chill on inside the main entrance and the staff members are super friendly – all major wins! 

The staff even gave us some ideas for things to do on the weekends including hanging out at a ‘locals’ beach and swimming at a waterfall.

On top of all that there is a small Coworking area that you can use if you’re eating in the restaurant or staying at the hotel.

10. Visit the pottery village

The pottery village in Hoi An is a great hands-on experience for the whole family and we’d recommend you add it to your list of things to do in Hoi An with kids.

You don’t need to go there on a tour although you can opt for a boat trip that will take you there and also to the carpentry village and “coconut village”. The coconut village is in quotes because it involves taking a ride in a basket boat and watching entertainment from the boat, rather than visiting a village as such.

The entry fee is 35000 dong (about $2) and that allows you to wander in and out of the pottery houses and to make your own little creations. These will most likely a turtle and a pig if it’s the same as when we visited! You can also have a go at making a bowl like Ayla did. The lady shaped it into a love heart for her at the end, which she was pretty happy about.

Also included is a gift to take home. Parents be warned: Kids will choose between an array of ornaments that are in fact a little more than ornaments. They’re all whistles.

Oh and of course you will be encouraged to make purchases along the way!

11. Visit Jack’s cat cafe

We have so many favorite places in Hoi An, and this is certainly one of them!

Jack’s Cat Cafe is amazing on so many levels. There are currently over 100 rescue cats and kittens there who have been saved from the cat meat trade in Vietnam. Apparently there are no laws against it and cats and dogs are commonly stolen from residential addresses. So Jack’s Cat Cafe has big high walls to keep the cats in and cat poachers out.

As a good cat cafe should, they have a delicious, totally vegan menu available. And the cats didn’t even mind little baby miss borrowing one of their beds for a nap.

Jack’s Cat Cafe has fostering and adoption programs and it’s run by volunteers.

Oh and Jack isn’t the owner – he was the first rescue cat there.

12. Family garden cafe

The family Garden cafe was one of our favorite local hang out spots in Hoi An, It’s fantastic if you’re looking for things to do in Hoi An with kids and you need to chill out and refuel. Green spaces are hard to come by in Hoi An, even small ones like this. So this is a lovely spot for a drink, crawl, climb and play with friends.

You’ll find that some cafes (like this one) only sell drinks. However, they’re happy for you to take your Banh Mi or similar in with you!

There is even a matted area for the wee babes and a climbing frame made from ropes. They also have misters which are helpful for cooling things down. 

13. Things to do in Hoi An with kids: Check out the Hoi An Silk Beach Club

The Hoi An Silk Beach Club is another great swimming option if you don’t have your own pool or you can’t be bothered to get sand everywhere!

It’s right on the beach too so you can enjoy the best of both if desired! You can pay a small fee to use the huge (currently about bath temperature) pool and relax on the loungers or use for free if you purchase at the (high price end) restaurant.

We love trying out new pools around this town ❤

14. Attend a show at the Lune Performance Theatre

The Lune Performance Theatre is one of the best places to watch a professional, entertaining performance in Hoi An. Ayla and I were glad we got to see one of the amazing shows there, not long before we left.

We left Romy and Colin at home and went to watch the AO show. If your child is five years or older, you can add this to your list of things to do in Hoi An with kids. The minimum age to watch shows at the Lune theatre is 5 years and you’ll need to bring your kid’s passport in case they get asked for ID to prove their age (we didn’t get asked in the end).

This was Ayla’s first big show and she did amazingly well considering the theatre was pitch black at times and very loud at other times! She did pretty well as staying quietish too even though our five year old had never ending questions about what she was watching!

The show was an entertaining account of various aspects of Vietnamese life from the traffic to the ocean, the local people and the wildlife.

We watched inspiring acrobats and dancers and would definitely recommend the show. There are usually 2 shows playing at a time. The other show plays during the second half of the week.

We finished our evening with one last walk through the busy old town and nighttime play under the full moon in the playground.

15. Cam Chau indoor playground

As I’ve already mentioned, there aren’t a huge number of options if you’re looking for a Hoi An playground. A few of the cafes have play spaces and we’re covering off the main ones here. There is a Hoi An kids indoor playground though, which is located in Cam Chau.

It was one of our favorite pre-dinner play spots, when it was actually open. There’s a sign on the door that says it opens at 4pm, but it actually generally opens from 5pm onwards. We hung out at the gate a few times waiting before we figured that out! On the odd occasion it was closed altogether, but with the language barrier we couldn’t figure out why that was, or when it would be closed.

When we were there, the writing on the building was only in Vietnamese, and the playground didn’t seem to have an official name. I couldn’t find it on Google maps either. However, it’s easy enough to spot with the little train outside. It’s also just a few doors along, then over Cua Dai road from Boom pizza (which does yummy pizzas). 

There are 2 floors and plenty to entertain the littles for an hour or two. They also have drawing and sand art. Entry fee is 55k dong, so just a couple of dollars and a little extra for the art

16. Hub n Coffee

Hub and coffee is another fantastic place to go if you’re looking for things to do in Hoi An with kids. It’s an eco-friendly drinks-only café that is set well back from the road in Cam Chau and has a lovely green space for the kids to play. There’s more greenery here than most places in Hoi An, so you may need to bring your insect repellant! 

While we were there, Hub and coffee was constantly evolving and adding to their garden. There’s a lovely bamboo playground area, and they added in several different natural structures and artwork while we were there. They also set up a lantern and mask making station, which is open at certain times of the day. So overall it’s a lovely, relaxing spot to visit where you could also do some lantern making at the same time.

17. Kim Bong Carpentry Village

The Kim Bong Carpentry Village is yet another thing to do with kids in Hoi An. It is often visited as part of a package boat trip that takes in the pottery village and coconut village. We chose to see each one separately, on different occasions.

To get there, just ask for a boat (return trip!) from the old town. It’s a lovely short trip and the village is pretty chilled, especially compared to the hustle and bustle in Hoi An’s old town.

Out of all the 3 villages, if we were to just pick one we’d choose the pottery village because it’s the most hands on. We went into a couple of open shops in the carpentry village though and managed to get them to show us a few things. 

You’ll see some amazing carvings out of wood and shell and it’s a lovely place to wander down quiet streets. If you want to get more hands-on you could probably do so as part of a proper tour, but we tend to do these things independently.

18. Things to do in Hoi An with kids: Hang out at Dingo Deli

If you’re looking for things to do in Hoi An with kids and you’re after a bit of a Western food fix at the same time, Dingo Deli is a popular option. We used to go there when we needed some respite from the heat, and somewhere to relax.

Although there is a huge array of amazing dining options in Hoi An, there aren’t any supermarkets, and we couldn’t find many of the pantry staples we like to have at home. Dingo deli has some nice specialty grocery items, which we liked to top up on from time to time!

The menu is pretty much completely western, although you can get a Vietnamese coffee if you want! They have a number of tasty options on their menu, as well as bottomless Western-style coffee. It’s air-conditioned inside and there is also a covered outdoor dining area. While we were there, they were taking steps to become more eco-friendly too, which was great to see.

If you have young kids, the staff members will probably greet you with coloring pencils and a picture to color in. There is a small indoor playroom out the back of the restaurant, and also an outdoor play structure and swings.

19. An Bang Beach and dining

An Bang beach is Hoi An’s tourist beach. The water is beautiful, clear and warm, and the beach is nice and clean. We visited a couple of other beaches while we were there, which had more of a local feel. However, An Bang was still our top pick for Hoi An beaches because some of the others had a little too much rubbish around.

There are many dining options at this Hoi An beach, so take your pick! The food is great at most places and you can choose from a wide array of Vietnamese and Western dishes. If you’re traveling with kids, we’d recommend trying Dolphin as a great option. There’s a play space for little kids (that’s what they mean by “kid’s club” on the sign in our photo), and a hammock to hang out on as well.

Other things to do in Hoi An

We hope you’ve gotten immense value and inspiration from our top 19 things to do in Hoi An with kids! There are other options to choose from as well. Many people opt to go on a food tour, which my mum, sister and her husband did when they first visited. They got taken around on the back of scooters to various amazing food spots. 

We definitely would have done something like that if our kids weren’t so young. No doubt there are also plenty of Hoi An family tours to choose from too. Since we slow-travel full time, we usually see things independently. And slow-travel lifestyle or not, we like to work with the timings and rhythms of our family, so scheduled tours wouldn’t usually be the first option for us. 

As I alluded to, you could also opt for the basket boat ride in the coconut village. Another thing that seems to be very popular is the Hoi An water puppet show. We did attend the show while we were there and it’s a family-friendly show. It was a bit different, but we didn’t find it that spectacular or interesting, so we didn’t include it in our top 19!

Is Hoi An, Vietnam a great place for a vacation? Yes, absolutely it is!

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