Da Nang and Hoi An Family Holiday

Family-Friendly Travel Guide to Da Nang and Hoi An

Da Nang and Hoi An are super family friendly destinations in Vietnam, offering a mix of beach relaxation, cultural experiences, and theme parks. Stay in Da Nang for modern, beachfront resorts and close proximity to Ba Na Hills, or choose Hoi An for its charming, walkable Ancient Town, lantern-making, and bicycle rides through rice fields. Here’s our personal guide to where to stay, where to eat, and what to do in Da Nang and Hoi An.

Where to stay:

Sheraton Grand Danang Beach Resort & Spa This is where we stayed. Location was in between Da Nang and Hoi An, making it a great place to stay if you want to stay put in one spot for the duration of your trip. Breakfast was excellent – especially enjoyed the daily pho and banh mi!

Where to eat:

Travelling with children shaped our food choices. These places worked well for families and offered variety.

Danang

Bếp Cuốn Đà Nẵng: We went on our first night and loved it. Large Menu, friendly service. Recommend emailing to book before as its very popular. Food was delicious.
Bé Ni 2: Recommended to us by a Vietnamese friend as a great Seafood place. We didn’t get a chance to go. But all her other suggestions were amazing so I totally trust her.
Nhà Gỗ Restaurant Da Nang: Recommended to us by a Vietnamese friend. We didn’t get a chance to go. But all her other suggestions were amazing so I totally trust her.

Hoi An

Morning Glory Signature: Gorgeous view of Hoi An from the open air balcony. Recommend emailing to book before as its very popular. Its located above Vy’s Market Restaurant which is slightly more casual and family style and below Morning Glory Lounge Bar & Restaurant which is a little more upmarket and small bites style. All are delicious.
Morning Glory Original: We loved the food here. Would go back every night if we could. Recommend emailing to book before as its very popular. Same owner as the other Morning Glorys and Vy’s. Our favourite meal of the trip.
Soul Kitchen: Located on An Bang beach, we loved this place. While the food was Western style Vietnamese – the vibe, the music, the beach front chill was amazing. You can spend hours lounging eating beaching here.
Bánh Mì Phượng: On Anthony Bourdain’s Vietnam list and also recommended by a local. We missed it as we went during Tet, but highly recommend you try a Banh Mi from this famous spot.
Boulevard Gelato & Coffee: There are so many of these in Hoi An. The gelato was perfect for a hot day and after dinner strolls.
7 Bridges Hoi An Craft Beer Taproom: Highly recommended for a refreshing beverage. They also have pizzas and bar food.
Alluvia Chocolate House Hội An: Artisanal Chocolate House. You can taste the chocolate – its amazing!

What to do:

La.Kao Teahouse: Recommended by a friend to do tea tasting. Apparently they do amazing flights of tea. We didn’t get a chance to go on this trip, but will definetely try it next time.
Lantern Making Class With Lynn: Located in a quaint side street in Hoi An, this was a great way to spend a hot afternoon, making a lantern. They have 2 options, a short class (where the frame is made for you and you attach the fabric) or a long class where you make the frame. We really enjoyed the class – I did it with my 9 year old who made a nicer neater lantern than me!
Tieng Vong Pho Lantern workshop: Recommended by a friend. They went to this workshop and also enjoyed it.
Marble Mountains: This activity is not recommended for people with mobility issues. Even if you don’t have mobility issues, definitely take the elevator up. The stairs are very very steep and not even. Once up there, lovely to explore for 2 hours. You can take the stairs back down – but its precarious and tiring. You can also buy tickets to take the elevator back down. More details about our adventure in the section below.
Coconut Boat Tour with Hong: Honestly, there are so many providers. We found Hong through google maps and her website https://hongcoconutboattours.com/. A sneaky taxi driver tried to drop us at a larger provider where he would get a financial tip, we called Hong and she came to get us on motorbikes with her family. The tour was great and wonderful to support a family.
Ba Na Hills Sunworld: Theme park with adrenaline rides, a cable car & panoramic mountain views from its Golden Bridge.
My Son Sanctuary: UNESCO World Heritage site featuring ancient, 4th-13th century Hindu tower-temples built by the Champa Kingdom. Located in a lush jungle valley near Hoi An, these ruins are dedicated to Shiva and offer a glimpse into Champa history and culture.

What to buy:

Metiseko: High end cotton and silk clothing and homewares in Hoi An city center.
Sunday in Hoi An: Cutesy fancy gift shop.

How to get around:

Grab is super convenient and easily available all around Da Nang and Hoi An.

4 Day 3 Night Plan for Families

Day 1: Arrive, Chill at Hotel & Dinner in Da Nang

We enjoyed the facilities at the Sheraton and headed to Bếp Cuốn Đà Nẵng for dinner. We had made a booking before hand so didn’t have to wait. (If you don’t make a booking, expect to wait 15 to 20 minutes as its very popular.) After a delectable dinner, we headed to the famous Dragon Bridge. Every weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9pm, the Dragon Bridge puts on an incredible show where the dragon breathes fire and shoots water from its mouth. Lots of locals and tourists hanging around this area to catch the show!

Day 2: Day in Hoi An

Morning

We started the day by taking a Grab to Coconut Boat Tour with Hong. They provided life jackets, sun hats and umbrellas to make sure we were comfortable. They also gave us each a bottle of water. It was a great way to spend an hour, in these coconut groves that then opened into a wider river where there were men on Coconut Boat Stages with Karaoke machines – you could climb on to stage and sing a song – give they guy a tip for performing or performing with them – was wild – in the middle of no where, men singing and dancing.

We then headed to lunch at Soul Kitchen at An Bang Beach. It was so chilled out, great music, comfy seats, beach front. I could have sat there for hours. The beach was very family friendly. Food was very Western Vietnamese, drinks were wonderful.

Afternoon

As the sun is out and hot, at around 2.30pm we headed to Lantern Making Class With Lynn and took the short class which took about 1 hour. My child and I really enjoyed making our lanterns and we had a lovely memory to take home with us. It was also a nice way to spend the afternoon out of the sun. Highly recommend messaging or booking in advance as it was very popular.

In need of something sweet, we headed to Alluvia Chocolate House Hội An to do a chocolate tasting and buy gifts for our family. It was a wonderful experience.

We headed to Hoi An and took a Rickshaw ride around old town and the waterfront. Was a great way to see everything without walking around for hours. The ride was about 20 minutes and my child loved it.

Evening

Time for a drink and snack at 7 Bridges Hoi An Craft Beer Taproom. We could have had dinner here, but we already had a booking. Beverages were delicious. Kids enjoyed chilling on large benches in the beer garden with a game of uno.

That night we had dinner at Morning Glory Original which was amazing. Food was incredibly yummy. Highly recommend making a booking before going. Its right in the hustle and bustle of Hoi An but a great place for families to have a meal.

After dinner we walked along and had an ice cream at Boulevard Gelato & Coffee which was refreshing and perfect for an evening stroll along the water.

Friend of ours took a boat ride on the river and highly recommend it. We didn’t do it, but it looks like it would have been fun!

Day 3: Ba Na Hills SunWorld

We set aside an entire day for Ba Na Hills Sunworld. Highly recommend pre-buying tickets on Klook. We bought admission tickets, Silver WOW pass (which allows you to skip lines for all the cable cars and some coasters) and alpine coaster ride tickets all on Klook. Silver WOW pass was worth it with kids. Its not a single cable car – you will take many cable cards on your day at Ba Na Hills and being able to skip all the lines saves a lot of drama for not a lot of extra cost.

Our personal Ba Na Hills highlight were the Cable car ride and the Alpine Coaster tracks. There are 3 different Alpine Coaster tracks. We loved them all. Super fun. The Golden Bridge is beautiful, but with the crowds, its hard to admire the beauty in the rush.

Its really quite crazy to think about where Ba Na Hills is and the cable car that brings you literally to the middle of nowhere to a hill in the clouds to experience a french village, castles, rides and some really amazing architecture.

We were recommended to eat at Ngoc Chi Vegan Restaurant but as newbies – we didn’t plan our time properly and were in the wrong zone at lunch time. If you can properly plan your Ba Na Hills day, its worth checking out. We ended up eating at Kung Fu Noodles, which while nothing to rave home about was a quick comfort meal for the family.

We left Ba Na Hills at around 4pm. Honestly you can spend the entire day there, but we went during Tet and there were so many people, we were exhausted of the crowds.

We were craving a yummy meal, so headed to Morning Glory Lounge Bar & Restaurant for dinner and a gorgeous view of Hoi An.

Day 4: Marble Mountains and Departure

Our last day was upon us. We decided to go check out the Marble Mountains after breakfast. Highly recommend taking the elevator up the mountains. Its a must. Whether you’re fit or not – its hard to enjoy what’s up there if you are exhausted on the way up.

Once up the elevator, our favourite was Tang Chon cave. It was easy to navigate for families and children and near the elevator. The pagodas are beautiful. Its a great way to spend an hour. If you want to do all the caves and all the pagodas, it will take at least 3 hours and a good level of fitness. Some of the caves were not appropriate for kids.

We walked down the Marble mountain. Walking down was challenging as the steps were steep and uneven.

Our last lunch was at the Sheraton after which we departed for Da Nang airport.

Handy Tips for Families

Recommend doing a longer trip than we did. 3 nights is not enough to relax. If repeated, I would have done 5 to 6 nights, spending 3 in the Da Nang and 3 in Hoi An. And including more relax time, as its a beautiful place to unwind. We didn’t get to spend much time enjoying the ocean or shopping in Hoi An.
Grab is super easy to book and flexible.
Bottled water is easy to find everywhere.

Disclaimer: The photos on this website are mostly from Pixabay and credited as in footnotes. We purposefully chose not to use AI to generate images for sustainability reasons. When possible, images will be replaced with author’s own photography and images.

Featured Image by Tiến Thịnh Đinh Văn from Pixabay