Today we headed out to VinWonders Water Park, about 35 minutes outside of Hanoi (it’s in Gia Lâm if you’re looking it up). The drive out set the tone for the day, we jumped in a taxi that turned out to be a classic old Nissan Sunny, complete with a little desk fan wedged in the back to keep the passengers cool. Proper retro vibes, reminded me of the 90s, Ali was eyeing up the cars with air con, but I was loving the throwback feel bit of nostalgia never hurts.
When we arrived, things got even more surreal. The whole area around the park is massive, with huge buildings, shops, gondolas, and even a full on pirate ship… but it was practically deserted. It felt like we’d rolled into a movie set after filming had finished brand new but totally empty. Loads of staff were around, but hardly a soul in sight. A bit eerie, like a ghost town, no not like, it was…
We wandered through the quiet streets and made our way to the water park itself same story. Apart from a handful of staff manning the slides, there was no one there. It genuinely felt like a scene from a zombie apocalypse film. But, once we got over the weirdness, it was brilliant we had the whole place to ourselves and made the absolute most of it. Slides, swimming, and non-stop sunshine.
Of course, we totally forgot sunscreen (bad parents!) and, weirdly, there was none for sale anywhere in the park. Thankfully, the only other family we saw all day a lovely Dutch family came to our rescue and let us borrow theirs. Of course they were Dutch absolute lifesavers!
We had a cracking day in the end, even if we caught a bit too much sun. Definitely one of the strangest water park experiences we’ve ever had, but one we won’t forget in a hurry. If you fancy something a bit different and don’t mind it feeling like a theme park out of The Walking Dead VinWonders is worth a look! (I was told it’s not normally like that, maybe, maybe not) we will never know for sure haha.
Planning your own trip to Hanoi or fancy a day out with a twist? Drop your questions or experiences in the comments below, and don’t forget to follow us for more real life travel stories and tips!
I’ll upload a video of the ghost ship in a bit?!
