How to take a cruise through Halong Bay (Vietnam), our experience

La Halong bay It is one of the most impressive natural corners in the world.

Sailing and sleeping on a cruise through its waters and its capricious rock formations is an activity that you cannot miss if you travel to vietnam.

The story goes that these formations were created when a dragon came down from the heavens spitting out precious jewels that turned into stone.

But beyond legends we are going to tell you everything you need to know to enjoy this nature's wonder.

Best tips for visiting Halong Bay on a cruise

The most important advice that can be given to anyone who wants to visit the Halong bay is that you are not “stingy” when hire the cruise.

If you don't have time to spend a night, but you want to get to know it anyway, you have to know that there are Halong Bay day tours in which they pick you up at the hotel in Hanoi.

After a three and a half hour trip, you will pass the full day sailing around the bay, both by boat and kayak, and at the end of it you will be transferred back to your hotel.

But if your idea is to stay on a boat in the bay one or two nightsYou have to keep in mind that it is like a full board hotel.

You are going to spend many hours on the boat and it is Better to make sure the service is quality, since in a way it is a floating hotel.

There are quite a few cases in which travelers, in order to save a lot when it comes to choose the cruise in which they travel, then they have felt cheated.

We recommend searching luxury cruises, that they have few rooms and that their quality is always superior, which ensures you have the best on the ship.

In addition, Vietnam It is a very cheap country, so generally a good cruise is quite affordable if you book it in advance.

Important, drinks are not included on any cruise.

Which cruise to choose in Halong Bay

Comparing our experiences with other travelers who have visited the Halong Bay, We were clear that the ideal is take the excursion already booked before going to the country, since this way everything is much easier since it is an excursion for which you have many options.

This way, before traveling, you can compare the different companies that offer you the excursion, because there are very few main operators, but a thousand companies that sneak in the middle that can increase the price and lower the quality.

Ideally, compare well and look at the opinions of other travelers about each of the companies, because there are almost infinite options.

In our case this trip was Honeymoon, so the same agency that organized the trip for us (Catai) booked us on the excursion that left from Hanoi.

The company we did the cruise with was Indochina Sails and the truth is that everything went perfect due to the treatment, the quality of the boat, with only five rooms, and the good food.

You can also hire it right there if you prefer, but make sure you don't fall for it as a scam.

Another option is to hire the Halong Bay excursion in one of the numerous agencies in Hanoi, which includes the round trip by bus.

You have to know that Hanoi is located 150 kilometers from the bay but the journey takes about 4 hours due to the poor condition of the roads.

What is the Halong Bay cruise experience like?

The number of boats that travel through the area every day is amazing. Halong bay; In fact, there are several ways to navigate through it.

But basically there are two options, day trips that leave early in the morning and return to port in the afternoon, or cruises that spend one or two nights in the bay.

If you are thinking about the day trip without sleeping on the boat, when planning your trip you should consider the option of spending the nights before and after in the town from where it departs, since the cruise starts very early and ends in the evening.

But be clear that it is not essential since there are Halong day trips from Hanoi, although the most requested by travelers and most recommended, without a doubt, is to sleep on the boat.

Keep in mind that the majority of those who sign up for this one or two-night excursion are tourists.

Al hire a cruise of 3 days and 2 nights This usually includes spending one night in a hotel or bungalow from one of the little islands in the bay.

If you choose this option it is more advisable to choose bungalow because it is usually on the same beach and you will feel in the middle of nature with the bay to yourself.

The best things to see and do in Halong Bay

Most Cruise offer the same activities, and depending on which one you hire, it will give you time to do more or fewer excursions.

I'll tell you quickly how it was for us. two days and one night visit, to use it as a basis on which to tell you the options you have.

We left first thing in the morning Hanoi to arrive at the port at noon.

After entering the boat and leaving things in the room, they gave us the first meal while we sailed and entered the bay.

Sung Sot Caves in Halong Bay

This experience of eating while you see how you gradually enter this wonder of nature that is the Halong bay, we will not forget in life.

We spent the afternoon sailing through the bay and enjoying the impressive landscape to end the day visiting the enormous Sung Sot Caves full of caves and stalactites distributed in three rooms.

After visiting them, we return to the boat to shower, have dinner and rest watching the sunset.

The next morning we got up very early to take advantage of the day, which we started with a class of tai chi on the deck of the ship.

From here we separated from some Australians who were going to spend two nights and who did other activities.

In our case we went to spend the morning on one of the beaches, where we were also able to climb the mountain to see the panoramic views of the entire Halong Bay.

For their part, the aforementioned Australians, who had one more day, went to practice kayak.

We met again to eat, and after that the Australians went on a boat to an island where they were going to do a trekking

Meanwhile we left to return to port to finish our cruise.

Fishing villages at Dao Cat Ba in Halong Bay

Those who stayed spent the night in a bungalow on one of those small islands that are all over the bay.

After the second night they spent the next day in the Dao Cat Ba Island and visited one of the fishing villages before returning to port.

As you can see, there are many options to choose from when planning your visit, so it is important to look carefully and compare to choose the cruise that we like the most.

In short, an unforgettable experience.