Can family vacation with three young kids be enjoyable and relaxing for the whole family? I mean for the parents too? Once you have kids, your weekends and vacations revolve around the kids activities and their schedule. It really is all about them. Not only are you tired when you plan and put all your energy into entertaining your kids during vacations, you really get no break since they are with you all day and all night. So, I usually need a separate vacation coming back from a vacation. 😆 

But I must say, we had the most relaxing vacation this past May in Danang, Vietnam. I know now why it has become one of the most popular vacation destinations from Korea. I had my reservations from our backpacking trip 12 years ago. My husband and I spent one month backpacking in Vietnam when we first got married and left with many bad experiences that I didn't want to ever go back.  Surprisingly not only did this trip with the kids change my view about Vietnam but I would highly recommend Vietnam for a family vacation from Korea or from any part of Asia.

Why Danang, Vietnam? 

1. First, there are so many direct flights to Vietnam from Korea. 4.5 hour direct flight for about $300 per person was definitely one of the reasons why we picked Danang as our family vacation spot. We wanted to avoid long flights and layovers as much as possible with three kids to save time and energy. With a short flight we were able to go right into the vacation mode without being tired from traveling. 

2. There is only a two hour time difference, so we didn't experience much jet lag going or coming back. This is great since we had to go back to work and school right when we got back home.

3. There are so many affordable family friendly resorts with kid friendly facilities with pools, kids clubs and even babysitting services. Between all the high end brand name resorts to local boutique resorts, you will find something suitable for your family's needs such as a great location and facilities that meet your budget. 

4. There is so much to do in Danang~ from soft white sand beaches, to the mountains, shopping, amusement parks, traditional markets, and historical sites, there is something enjoyable for everyone in the family. Danang really has it all! 

5. The food is amazing! I didn't realize how much I love Vietnamese food until I ate it 3 meals a day for 6 days and didn't get sick of it. From famous pho noodles, to banh mi, to seafood, to all the vegetable dishes, to meat. I love all their sauces and spices! 

So, here was our general schedule. 

Wake up, go eat breakfast, kids go to kids club from 10am-12pm, eat lunch, hang out at the pool, go out for dinner to the city or to Hoi An to hang out in the evenings. And while kids were at the kids club, my husband and I would get massages, work out (I went to a yoga class once 😜), or just relax and read in our favorite spots. 

Are you convinced yet??? 

Then here are some helpful tips traveling to Danang. 

1. First, download the Grab App to get around the city. It's like Uber of Southeast Asia. It's easy to use and it will save you money and time. We even used Grab right when we first arrived at the airport to get to our hotel. It took less than 5 minutes for the driver to pick us up. Most drivers didn't speak English, but you put your pick up point and destination on the app and your payment is linked to your credit card, so you really don't need to communicate with your driver much. 

2. I recommend exchanging your Korean won to US dollars before going and exchange US dollars to Vietnamese dong when you get there. We exchanged our cash at our hotel because they had a decent rate. I wouldn't spend too much time on searching for banks and money exchange unless there is one near by you. Also, I wouldn't carry too much cash since most places accept credit cards. You only need cash at the traditional markets for shopping and some local restaurants which are all cheap. 

3. Reflect and Explore! I realized some things about myself that surprised me during this trip. As I shared, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Vietnamese food. I didn't get sick of it or missed Korean food all that much, which is usually what happens when I travel outside of Korea for more than 3 days (yes, I have become very Korean). I believe one of the reasons why I enjoyed the food so much was because we explored and tried many different types of food.

I also realized that living in Korea for so long has made my husband and I very impatient. Korea's fast service is convenient in many ways, but being used to it made us impatient and we expect fast service wherever we go. I thought this was worthy of giving some time to reflect on. Why are we in a hurry all the time??    

Hyatt Regency Danang 

We stayed at Hyatt Regency Danang mostly because we are Hyatt card holders and we used our points. We also picked Hyatt for their family friendly facilities and location. They have many different pools, gym, kids club, restaurants and cafes, and a nice white sand beach. It is also located in between Danang city and Hoi An that we could get to either places in 20 minutes by car. 

Here is my honest rating.

ROOM ★★★★★

FACILITIES ★★★★★

LOCATION ★★★★★

SERVICE ★★★☆☆

PRICE ★★★★☆

FOOD ★★★★☆

We were overall very happy here, but I would expect a better service for a such high end resort. Also, the room and food was good, but airport pickup and drop off, a shuttle bus to Hoi An are all extra (these are all included in many resorts esp for customers who stayed for 6 nights!) and food was on the pricier side. But I would give it overall ★★★★.









*Tip: Instead of using Hyatt's spa for over priced massages, we found a local massage place that would pick you up and drop you off at your room without an extra charge. It's not Hyatt Spa, but the massage was good and only cost 450VND (less than $20) for 90 minute massage.

Daisy Massage & Spa and opens 7 days a week from 8AM to 12AM.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298085-d12614044-Reviews-Massage_Spa_Daisy-Da_Nang.html

Beach and Pool 

The best part about Hyatt was the beach and pool. Hyatt has many pools spread out on their property, but we were mostly at the main pool, kids' sandy pool, and smaller pool by the kids club. It also has a small lazy river that connects the main pool to the sandy pool and a small water slide in the main pool. The views from the pool overlooking the beach, palm trees all around, and beach chairs and hammocks all helped us to experience the ultimate relaxing getaway. I did wish they provided some umbrellas on the beach near the water for families that wanted to spend longer periods of time on the beach. It was too tiring to play on the beach without any shade and a place to rest. But the beach has white soft sand, and shallow water with just enough waves which made it a perfect beach for the kids. 

Hoi An 

I would definitely recommend visiting Hoi An when you are visiting Danang. It's an ancient town with many restaurants, cafes, shops, and historical sites. Many people actually stay here over Danang, but visiting two nights was plenty for us. I loved all the old ancient buildings, beautiful lanterns on the street, and souvenir shops. You also can get custom made clothes, shoes, and leather bags here. In my opinion, it's only worth it if you know what you want and you have enough time and/or near the place to go back and forth to the store for fitting, and pick up etc. I didn't have enough time, so I got a bag made and paid extra to get it delivered to our hotel, but I wasn't happy with it and I felt like the leather was not what I picked. If I had more time, I would've went back to get it fixed. Many people have great experiences, so maybe you just need to go to the right place.







In the evening, when the sun and heat goes down, is when the town comes alive with colorful lit lights, lanterns, and all the vendors out on the street. One of the tourist things you can do is renting a boat to make a wish by dropping lit candle on the river. For a family of 5, we paid $30 for 20 minute ride. 

Danang 

We didn't do much in Danang, but we did go a few times to shop, walk on the riverside by the famous dragon bridge, and eat seafood. The two places we went shopping in Danang were the Han Market and Lotte Mart (recommended by Koreans). We visited Han Market and stocked up on our favorite tropical fruits that we can't get in Korea such as mangoes, mangosteens, and durian. It was so cheap and fresh. I highly recommend going there first thing to buy fruits you want to eat during your stay there. Han Market is also good for cheap souvenirs and to get your Ao Dai (Vietnamese Traditional Dress) made. We went to Lotte Mart to get packaged goods like dried mangoes, coconut chips, coffee, Vietnamese sauces and instant food. Lotte Mart also has a movie theater, arcade, kids cafe, and restaurants if you want a little break from the sun.



We went to a "pick your seafood" restaurant, Hai San Pho. It was one of the biggest restaurants by the beach. You pick your own seafood in their tanks and they will cook it for you in the style you want, fried, stir fry, or steam. This place was big and clean and the food was excellent. But we couldn't get them to serve us ice-cold beer! This wasn't a cultural thing since we never had this problem before. And either no one spoke English there or they were ignoring us, but the service was bad especially when the restaurant was almost empty when we went. I would give this place ★★★ for good location and food, but ☆☆ for a bad service and lukewarm beer. There are so many seafood places that I would like to try somewhere different next time. 

Marble Mountain 

We visited Marble Mountain which is famous for caves, temples, and shrines which was only just 5 minutes car ride from our resort. We went at 7AM to avoid the heat and the crowd, but we were only able to stay about an hour because it got so hot. Although we wanted to explore more since my kids did like finding all the caves, we were so tired from the heat and all the hiking. But I must say we were able to hit all the "main" parts just in one hour and leave before all the tour groups started rolling in. We got to our hotel just in time for breakfast and still had all day to enjoy at the pool!

I do enjoy visiting temples when I travel because I learn about the local culture and history, but also because I get in awe of the sacrifices that people make to build these amazing beautiful structures. This reminds me that we are all made to/ or wish to worship something bigger and higher than all of us.









As you can see, even with our low key schedule with the kids, we were able to see and experience some culture other than just a "resort life". My kids remember Vietnam as a land with abundant seafood and tropical fruits, streets full of colorful lanterns, Asian conical hats, and beautiful mountains and beach. I would say, that's pretty accurate picture of Danang, Vietnam! 😆