An honest family guide to the best things to do in Hanoi, with a 3-day itinerary, kid-friendly tips, and where to stay (plus the mistakes we'd avoid)

17 October 2025 Steps: 7,128 Well, today didn’t exactly go according to the spreadsheet itinerary! I unfortunately won the prize for the first ‘funny tummy’ of the trip, so instead of heading back into Hanoi, which would have meant another hour-long taxi ride each way, we decided to stay at the hotel for the morning and really focus on some homeschooling. We’ve been struggling to find time for it with all the sightseeing lately, so it actually worked out quite well. In the af

16 October 2025 Steps: 11,168 Today was our first day exploring Hanoi, and we caught a taxi to Hoàn Kiếm Lake in the Old Quarter of Hanoi as the taxi's are so cheap here. It cost about $8 CAD for a 1 hour taxi ride using the Grab app. I still can't get over the traffic here, it's quite literally madness. Planning your own visit? Everything we saw today, plus the sights we didn't get to, is in our best things to do in Hanoi guide. Hanoi's Old Quarter First order of business wa

15 October 2025 Steps: 8,199 We don't have too much to report today. We caught our flight to Vietnam around lunchtime, but arrived late in the afternoon in Vietnam, so we didn’t really have any time to explore aside from going out for dinner. The taxi to our hotel was almost an hour, and the driving is completely crazy! The rules of the road seem to be “just drive, they will avoid me”, but the way that the bikes weave in and out between the cars, I can’t believe there aren’t