The weather in Hanoi is hot and humid for a good portion of the year. One of our favorite ways to cool off is the waterpark in Tay Ho on the side near Ciputra. It’s a convenient location and only about a 10 minute drive from our house. While not a massive water park like Water Country USA, it does have more to offer than little town waterparks and is worth a visit, particularly for those who live here.

The water park includes a good length lazy river with inner tubes, 2 tubed slides (one fully enclosed), 2 slides that use racing mats that you lie down on, 2 slides you lie on your back on, a funnel slide, a high dive board, a very short zipline you drop from, a kiddie water playground, a small swimming pool area, and a wave pool. It also includes bathrooms (squat potties only from what we could find), shower/changing rooms, lockers, and snack bars.

Both times we’ve gone on a weekday and it was not crowded at all. I believe weekends and holidays get more crowded. Seating is mostly benches scattered around with a few lounge chairs by the wave pool. Snack bar areas have tables and chairs. There is a decent amount of shade in seating areas.

Its location makes it very easy to get to as it is between the main area of Tay Ho and Ciputra, off several main roads and near Lotte Mall. It is easy to reach via Grab (pick the Main Gate as drop off) and does have parking available as well (navigate to the main gate and then you’ll see signs).

Once through the main arch, walk down the wide pedestrian path to the ticket counter on the right. Tickets are based on height. Smallest kids are free and those under 1.3 m have cheaper tickets. Over 1.3 m and you’ll pay adult prices. This is very typical throughout Vietnam as most tickets are height-based, not age based. There are different weekend/holiday and weekday prices. Weekday adult is 210k and weekend is 225k. Children are 180k and 200k respectively. After 5:00pm is cheaper–I believe 140k for anyone.

Once you get your tickets, head to the left through the ticket gate and continue straight and slightly towards the right towards the giant heart. If you need a locker, walk down the sidewalk along the building. You’ll need to pay the locker fee at a separate counter than the locker room itself. The locker deposit counter looks like this picture. The fee is 110k, but you get 60k back when you return the key, waterproof holder and the little ticket stub (keep it in the holder!).

Pay for the locker and change clothes if needed in the locker rooms. Bathrooms are a separate space. Then head to the lockers (see photo below) and put your belongings in. We put our change of clothes, house keys, phone, and any other valuables in the locker. I bring a towel, water bottles, glasses case, and sometimes a water proof neck pouch with money. But the lockers are not very far from the slides, so it’s easy to go back and get money if needed. I also like to wear my flip flops as the paths get hot and slippery.

We divide the park into two zones–the larger slides and lazy river is zone 1 and we’ll leave our bag on a bench near those. The lazy river uses single person tubes and not the double tubes. The two tube slides require double tubes and you MUST have two people to go down the slides. They will not allow 1 person to use a double tube down the slide. Be careful with the mat racing slides–you get a face full of water when you hit.

Zone 2 includes the wave pool, zipline, diving board, funnel slides, swimming pool, and (if applicable) kiddie playground. We leave our bag near the wave pool. The wave pool has periods of calm and periods of waves. My kids really like the zipline, where you haul up the bar, use a stool to reach it, and hang on tight. Drop off BEFORE it hits the stopper 2/3 of the way across the pool. If you don’t, it will bounce and spring backwards and the momentum change will cause you to drop, probably on your back. DS did that the first time and it was quite painful. Purposefully dropping allows you to control the drop and pencil or cannonball into the water.

Food options include mini pizzas (the default comes with hot dog like sausage all over it, so ask for just cheese if desired), sausages (very similar to hotdogs, but bunless on a stick), banh mi, chicken (bone-in without a ton of meat), and ice cream (soft serve and I think bars). DS loves the sausages. The soft serve is just 15k a cone and the sausages were 25k each. There are also various drinks. They don’t speak English particularly, so plan on pointing and gesturing or using Google Translate, particularly if you need to make modifications or ask questions.

Safety Note–life guards do not remove people from the water during thunder. Our first visit in the early fall, a thunderstorm was clearly rolling in. While we did not get the rain, the storm was nearby and we could actively hear the thunder. In the US, this would mean no being in the water. This was not the case here and no one reacted or cared about the thunder. I pulled my own kids out of the water until thunder had passed. So be prepared to make that decision yourself.

Once done for the day, empty your locker and return the key, holder, and ticker to the locker rental counter to get your 60k deposit back.

Overall, the water park is very family-friendly. It has activities for a range of ages and has fairly good facilities. I do wish that at least one Western-style toilet was available in each bathroom (most places do have at least one). The water is clean and the water-play options are fun.