Cruise to Ha Long Bay

After a short night’s stay in Hanoi, we drove to Ha Long Bay for our 2 day 1 night cruise. I had seen photos and watched videos of Ha Long Bay online before, but being out there on the water among the limestone karst islands was surreal! I had such a great time throughout the whole experience, from the cruise itself to the excursions. The only drawback was that there were tons of tourists, so it was quite crowded.

There are MANY tour boats to choose from, and because it was September (off peak travel season), there were tons of discount packages as well. Our brother and sister-in-law went with Paradise luxury cruises, so we booked through this company as well. We chose the 2 day 1 night cruise (schedule here), which I felt was enough time, since we had similar scenery later on in the trip at Trang An and Tam Coc. Of note, the tour company charges $50 per person to go from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, and we decided to go with a private transfer service (Hanoi Transfer Service) which cost ~$75 for 3 people.

We were picked up at 8 AM and arrived in Ha Long Bay early. This gave us time to shop around and even get a full body hour long massage. Then we were driven ~10 minutes to the loading dock where all the boats were. We boarded promptly and were shown to our rooms. I was pleasantly surprised by our room! We had a regular room with a small balcony, and both the room and the bathroom were sizable. Of note, we had only two small carry on luggages; if you had a larger checked bag it might be a tighter squeeze. They also left two ao dais (one for women one for men) on the bed so that we could wear costumes to dinner. The air conditioning was ON POINT; it was even slightly chilly in the rooms despite the 80 degree temps outside. We did not have wifi throughout the trip.

We had lunch and enjoyed the views on the ship’s main balcony for a few hours. After that we cruised to Sung Sot Cave, the largest cave in Ha Long Bay. We didn’t have an English speaking tour guide but the cave exploration itself is very straightforward. There’s only one path forward! The cave was huge and slightly creepy at times, but at the end we were treated to a beautiful panoramic view of the bay.

After the cave excursion we were taken to a serene spot for kayaking. You can pay extra for a private kayak for 2 people or you can go on a wooden boat with a rower for free. The cove was quiet and peaceful, except for the tons of kayaks also going around…If I could do this over again I’d choose my own kayak because you can explore the perimeters of the small cove instead of just being paddled to the center and then heading back.

In the evening we all gathered on the top deck for a cooking demonstration and cocktails. We all wrapped spring rolls and the crew deep fried them on the spot as a tasty snack. Then we changed into our ao dai and headed to dinner.

To be honest, the food on board was disappointing. I wish they had just opted to serve Vietnamese food, because most of the food was Western cuisine and it was not done well.

The next morning we visited Ti Top Island, which I had been hoping to climb since I spied it in the distance the night before. Let me warn you: this hike consists of hundreds of stairs, some quite steep, in an extremely humid environment. I actually wore a swimsuit for this excursion, which I was thankful for, since I was covered with sweat by the time I made it to the top! The view from the top was GORGEOUS, true panoramic 360 degree views even better than from the cave the day before. However, two drawbacks. 1) you’re dripping with sweat, so bring a towel or water for you to use at the top and 2) there are SO MANY tourists at the top that you have to wait in line for pictures or harangue your way into the key spots for a photo. The post-climb swim in Ha Long Bay looked inviting at first, but then suddenly less inviting when I saw all the motor oil floating on top from all the speedboats. There were also so many tourists in the fenced off waters where we could swim that I didn’t feel like fighting my way through. I can only imagine how much busier this spot will be during prime tourism season!

We enjoyed a short breakfast on board and then tried to take in the sights for the last few hours as we sped back to shore. Several tour groups were picked up right at the disembarkation point but since we had private transport, we had to take the golf carts back to the Legend Hotel where we were dropped off in the first place.

Overall, I felt that the cruise was lovely and everything was taken care of for us once we stepped on board. On the flip side, because of how commercial Ha Long Bay has become, everything felt quite touristy and crowded, even during off peak season. I would still recommend a 2 day cruise, but don’t miss out on other less touristy spots in Northern Vietnam with similar scenery! I’ll be writing about those places next. Have you been to Ha Long Bay? What was your experience?