Hoi An sits about 30 kilometers south of Da Nang. The two cities pair naturally for a family trip to central Vietnam. Da Nang has an international airport, big resort beaches, and plenty to keep you busy for a day or two. Hoi An is where you slow down. The UNESCO-listed Old Town, the lantern-lit riverside, the tailor shops and cooking classes make it compact enough to cover on foot but rich enough to fill several days easily. If you’re putting together your Vietnam itinerary, it’s one of the best stops you can make when visiting Vietnam with kids.
For families, the appeal goes beyond just wandering the streets. The surrounding countryside, the cultural shows, and the day trips out of town give you real variety. That’s where guided tours come in. Rather than piecing everything together yourself, the right tour company handles the logistics and makes sure your kids actually enjoy the experience.
Hoi An has a way of slowly pulling you in. The lanterns, the riverside cafés, the countryside just beyond the Old Town, the sheer variety of things packed into such a small area. When we visited as a family, I wanted tours that felt immersive but were still easy and enjoyable with kids. That balance can be tricky but Hoi An Express Travels got it right.
We ended up doing three very different experiences with them, and each showed us a side of Hoi An we wouldn’t have found on our own. These are the ones I’d recommend. For a broader look at what’s on offer, see our guide to things to do in Hoi An with kids.
Tour 1 – Electric Scooter Countryside Adventure in Hoi An
The first experience, and easily the one the kids still talk about most, was the electric scooter tour through the Hoi An countryside. If you’re picturing chaotic traffic and a stressful ride, it’s the opposite: you don’t drive. Each person has a dedicated driver, so you’re free to just watch everything go by. For families that’s a bigger deal than it sounds. No worrying about the road, no white-knuckling through intersections.
As you leave the busier parts of town behind, the roads thin out and you’re riding through rice fields. This is the Tra Que countryside. The guides don’t rush you through any of it. There’s a meandering feel to the whole morning that’s hard to replicate when you’re navigating yourself.
The first stop was a lantern-making workshop. Hoi An is covered in these lanterns and we’d walked past hundreds of them without thinking twice. Seeing how they’re actually made by hand changes that. The kids were absorbed in a way I didn’t expect.
Next was a leather workshop and a fishing boat yard. The boat yard surprised me most. These weren’t displays: craftsmen were actually building and repairing boats, using tools and methods you’d have no idea existed if nobody pointed them out. You wouldn’t find this on a solo wander through town.
The organic farm was one of my favourite stops. The kids ended up watering the vegetable beds using a traditional wooden tool and after the farm came a Banh Mi stop, timed well. Fresh bread, proper fillings. It was one of the best ones we had in Vietnam, and we ate a lot of Banh Mi. For more on what’s worth trying, our guide to popular dishes in Vietnam is worth a read.
We ended the the tour at An Bang Beach watching the sunset, the perfect way to relax and enjoy the end of the tour.
Tour 2 – Tickets for Hoi An Memories Show
The second experience was completely different but just as memorable: the Hoi An Memories Show. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going in, but it turned out to be one of the most impressive cultural performances I’ve seen anywhere.
The stage is huge, outdoor, and has over a hundred performers on it. The show covers Hoi An’s history through choreography and lighting which means you don’t need to speak Vietnamese or know the backstory to follow it. Our kids tracked the whole thing without any prompting.
Booking through Hoi An Express Travels meant transport was handled and we showed up knowing exactly where to go. When you’ve got tired kids in the mix, not having to sort out parking or tickets on the night is worth a lot.
Tour 3 – Full Day Guided Tour at Ba Na Hills
The third experience took us a bit further out: a full-day trip to Ba Na Hills. It’s actually located closer to Da Nang than Hoi An, about a 45-minute drive, so factor that into your morning. Worth every minute of it, but an early start helps. This is one of those places you’ve probably seen all over social media, especially the famous Golden Bridge held up by giant stone hands. Seeing it in person is just as impressive, if not more.
The cable car ride up is one of the longest in Vietnam. By the time you get to the top, the temperature has dropped noticeably and you’re above the cloud line on a clear day. It’s a different kind of landscape up there, and the ride alone is worth the visit.
Ba Na Hills has a lot going on: gardens, the French village, Fantasy Park, Moon World, a German beer hall, 4D cinemas, an alpine coaster. It sounds like a lot because it is, and without a guide you’d probably spend the first hour just trying to orient yourself. Having someone who knew the layout and the quieter windows made the day genuinely manageable rather than chaotic.
For families it works well because the ages don’t matter much. Younger kids go for the rides and open spaces. Older ones want the Golden Bridge photos. Adults get the views and the cable car.
Hoi An is good on its own: the Old Town, the food, the tailors. These tours just added things we wouldn’t have worked out ourselves. The scooter countryside, the Memories Show, Ba Na Hills: each one was genuinely different, and all three held up with kids in tow. And if you’re extending the trip, pairing Hoi An with a few days north makes a lot of sense. Our guide to Hanoi with kids is a good place to start. Hoi An Express can also help you to organise your whole Vietnam trip.
