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What are the pros and cons of visiting Vietnam?

Published 2 months ago • 2 min read

Hi from Anthony and Jodie! We are the Learners and Makers. Traveling the world full time since 2022, we empower families and people with mobility disabilities to travel confidently, their way.

When you travel full time, you also plan travel full time.

That’s a reality we’ve gotten used to over the almost-four-years that we’ve been traveling as a family. Day trips, a sightseeing afternoon, a weekend away, where we might find a vacation rental for a month’s stay in a new-to-us country: that’s part of our reality.

And it’s pretty exciting.

There’s something exhilarating about dreaming out loud about where you want to go—and you know that you’ll go there.

As we think ahead not only to the rest of this year but early 2027, Vietnam keeps coming back to mind.

We first visited Vietnam in late 2022/early 2023. The country was just coming out of pandemic lockdowns, and we could only get a 28-day visa. We turned that into a month of “travel taste-testing,” starting in Hanoi and traveling down the country to the central coastal city of Da Nang.

And Da Nang, as it turned out, has become one of our favorite places to visit in Southeast Asia.

In 2025, we enjoyed two and half months there, full of new friends and mango smoothies. As we head toward 2027, Da Nang keeps coming up in our conversations. And we hope Da Nang, and Vietnam in general, is coming up in your own.

​16 Vietnam pros and cons after we traveled there for a month​

We’ve learned a few of the downsides (and upsides) to traveling in this beautiful, vibrant Southeast Asian nation.

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​Make more than dumplings​

Laughing while trying to cinch up a soup dumpling with its 18 classic folds in Taiwan.
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Wandering the grounds of a centuries-old hilltop winery in Portugal.
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Enjoying the cookies we had just baked while gazing at an ancient medina in Morocco.
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Many of our family’s favorite travel memories came from classes or small group tours.
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As much as we love to travel independently, we typically book at least one class, tour, or other organized activity wherever we go. We can engage with our guide or teacher. By getting hands-on with a class or exploring an area with someone who knows it deeply, we gain so much more understanding from the activity at hand, and from the destination’s broader culture.
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Whether a trip this summer or the travel you’re still dreaming of, Viator brings together activities from all over the world, for any interest and any traveler.

As for us? We have a long way to go on our dumpling folds. But our cooking class was a fun way to spend a rainy morning.

Thank you for using our links! Using our links supports our work, keeps us traveling, and helps us put together advice and stories for you.​
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More about Vietnam

Things to do in Hanoi with kids: Old Quarter eats and family fun

Is Da Nang worth visiting with kids? Our verdict after 2 family visits

Vietnam travel guides

Thanks for reading! See you next time, and happy travels

Anthony & Jodie

P.S. Before you go, check off your trip to-do list here

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