our trio

  teresa     stuart     audrey

We are a single-parent family living in Portland, Oregon, USA, recently returned from a six-month stay in Vietnam. We came to Vietnam in late December 2006 to work as volunteers through GVN at two orphanages in Tam Ky.

After volunteering for a couple of months at the orphanages, we moved to Ha Noi in search of work and home. That failed to pull through, but just before giving up on the dream to live in Vietnam, I was accepted to teach at Hong Duc University in Thanh Hoa where I taught students in preparation for the TOEFL iBT.

This site is the result of our time spent in Vietnam. We wanted to share our hard-earned knowledge with others coming to visit this little corner of the world whether for vacation, adoption or moving here.

Vietnam is quickly becoming a popular tourist attraction for Americans, as well as the steady stream of Australians and Europeans who come every year. More people means more families and the range of advice you will get for bringing children ranges from "Do it!" to "It should be criminal!"

I favor the just-do-it mentality and while I wouldn't suggest Ha Noi or Ho Chi Minh as the most family-friendly places on the planet, they are quite enjoyable and the country as a whole is wonderful for children (except, maybe, for the pinching, poking and grabbing bit).

I have tried to include as much information as possible, including tons of feedback from my kids. They decided which places they liked, where they'd recommend others to go and how to make the time here as memorable as possible. The ratings are theirs, not mine.

We hope that our experiences, opinions and recommendations will be of use to you in your travels. If you have any comments, questions or additions, please feel free to email us.