Halong Bay Cruise: How to Choose the Best Cruise in Halong Bay

Halong Bay is arguably the most photographed and popular place in Vietnam and a mandatory stop in any travel itinerary in the country. And it is no big surprise. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a landscape of limestone karsts and isles (over 1,600 islets!) with different shapes formed after 500 million years of transformation. It was also voted one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature in 2007 with other winners such as the Amazon or Iguazu Falls. That is why the best way to explore it is in a Halong Bay cruise.

Luckily there are almost unlimited options of different cruises of different price ranges and luxury, of different durations and including different activities. Unluckily, there are so many options that it can be overwhelming and make it difficult at the time of picking the cruise that best suits you and your itinerary. For this reason, I compiled a list of things you should take into account when choosing your Halong Bay cruise (and a few examples of each).

This post is part of my 3-week Vietnam itinerary. Check it out in the link below!

Ultimate 3 weeks Vietnam Itinerary: North to South

1. Duration of the trip

The duration of your Halong Bay cruise ranges from a day trip to virtually unlimited, although most of the cruises have a maximum duration of 4 days:

• Day trip: if you have a very packed itinerary, very little time or are on a tight budget, this may be the best option for you. Boats leave and return on the same day, allowing you to enjoy the bay for a few hours. There usually aren’t activities included in this option other than the cruise itself and perhaps a stop to a viewpoint. The upside is that it is much more economic than the other options. That being said, I think most of the appeal of the bay gets lost by being rushed. Since you will not be staying overnight, most tours depart from Hanoi, Halong Bay or Cat Ba. Here are some options.
• 2D 1N: an overnight Halong Bay cruise is, in my opinion, what would suit best most of the travellers. These cruises last for approximately 24 hours and will allow you to enjoy the views of the bay, unwind a bit and they usually include some activities and all meals (but not drinks). Some examples are Genesis Luxury Regal Cruises, Paradise Peak Cruise or Emperor Cruises Legacy Ha Long.
• 3D 2N and over: if you have more time and the budget is not a problem, this may be a good option for you. Usually after the first night, you will get onto smaller boats for the day for specific activities and return to the main boat in the evening. This options go to more remote areas of the bay where the day trip and overnight cruises don’t, allowing you to enjoy a part of the bay more for yourself. It is also a good way to relax from the frenzy of travel. Some examples are Sunlight Cruise, Unicharm Cruise or Venezia Cruises.

2. The Halong Bay cruise tour

For convenience, the whole area is known as Halong Bay. However, Halong Bay is just one of the three bays in the area: Ha Long, Bai Tu Long and La Han Bay. They are quite similar in landscape but, due to its name and massive tourism, most boats tour in Halong Bay. These are the most common itineraries for cruises:

• Halong Bay: the most popular and, therefore, the most crowded. The water in some areas can be dirty and there are some party boats that disturb a bit the environment. They usually include stops in Ti Top beach and Sung Sot Cave.

• Bai Tu Long: this is the most off the beaten path route and it combines beautiful landscapes similar to Halong Bay but with much fewer boats and people. Cruises often include stops in Vung Vieng floating village or Thien Canh Son Cave.

• Lan Ha Bay and Cat Ba: Cat Ba is the largest island in the Halong region and its rising in popularity in the last few years. Cruises often include a tour on Lan Ha Bay and Monkey Island combined with overnight stay at a resort in Cat Ba where people can enjoy the beaches and prolong their stay in the island.

3. The Halong Bay cruise

There are almost infinite options when it comes to the boat style, size and quality (as well as the price). An obvious matter to take into account when choosing your Halong Bay cruise is how the boat looks: is it new? Is it well preserved? For me it was a nice touch that our boat had a more Asian looking style rather than a boutique hotel look.

The most important, however, is the size of the boat. If you are really tight in budget you can go for bigger boats that have more passengers, but if you can avoid it, choose smaller boats with fewer people. We were extremely happy with how intimate our boat felt despite not being a private one. Generally, boats that fit up to 20 people are nice. More start to make you feel like cattle.

Travel tip: if the pictures of the boat are of those beautiful wooden junk boats, beware. Those boats were forbidden in 2012 and now all boats in Halong Bay have to be painted white.

4. What is included in the Halong Bay cruise

This is generally standardised for most boats: everything is included (the room, food and activities) except for drinks and (optional) tips. However, make sure you check that it is true in your boat of choice.

If you are coming from Hanoi, check if the transportation offered by the cruise will have to be paid on top of the price.

5. The activities in the Halong Bay cruise

Check also what activities are included, since boats offer a range of different activities. Activities in the boats often include:

• Visits to islands and beaches
• Visits to floating villages and/or Pearl farms
• Visit to a cave
• Cooking classes
• Fishing
• Kayaking/bamboo boat
• Tai Chi
• Biking

How to get to Halong Bay

Most likely you’ll be arriving to Halong Bay from Hanoi. In that case, it is very easy! There are plenty of buses and vans that can take you to Halong Bay for a reasonable price. Some times, even your boat includes transportation from and to Hanoi. We made our way from Sa Pa, so it is a bit of a longer journey and a bit more expensive, but worth the time saving of another night in Hanoi for us. You can find your transportation below:

Closing statement

Halong Bay is a must in a Vietnam itinerary, so make sure you choose your boat right to have the best experience of this beautiful part of the world. Surprisingly (and a bit counterintuitively), we found that the best way to book a boat for Halong Bay was through Booking.com, which had cheaper fares than contacting the cruises directly or booking through our accommodations in Vietnam. We decided to go with Cristina Diamond cruise, which turned out to be a fantastic experience for a reasonable price. Make sure you read our review of the cruise in this article.

Booking.com

Also, if you don’t feel like organizing it yourself you can have a look at these pre-organized tours:

If you want to know more about Vietnam, check some of my other posts about my trip or check out my Vietnam itinerary:

15 best things to do in Hanoi, Vietnam

Trekking in Sapa with Sapa Sisters

Perfect 3 days Ninh Binh itinerary

What to do in Hoi An: the ancient gem of Vietnam

What to do in Ho Chi Minh City: a quick guide to Saigon

PIN ME: