Is the Halong-Bay Boat Cruise Touristy? Yes, very much so, it’s the literal definition of a tourist trap. Every single aspect of the cruise is designed to turnover as many tourists as possible whilst extracting the most amount of đồng in the process. Is The Ha-Long Bay Cruise good value for money? Well, no, not at all. It’s overpriced, in my opinion. It’s essentially a hyped dinner cruise. But despite all this I still think its worth doing the Ha Long Bay Cruise. I loved every moment and have no regrets about taking this trip. Just don’t set your expectations too high, and don’t fall victim to the glitz and glamorous advertising used by these companies! Keep your expectations in check, and you’ll have an amazing time.
We spent a little less than 24 hours on the Ha-Long Boat Cruise. In that time we kayaked around the bay, we caught Squid with Bamboo Rods, we explored a cave, we climbed to the viewpoint, we drank Whisky on the balcony with the most amazing views, we drank beers in the galley with the crew, we enjoyed a 5 course dinner, and the most amazing breakfast – but nothing compared to the view – waking up on the boat, looking out of the window and taking a few moments to realise where we were – that’s the real reason for taking this cruise.
So if you are planning a trip to Ha-Long Bay in Vietnam, and if you’ve already started looking at Ha-Long Bay Cruise Packages, you’ve probably come to realize there is an overwhelming amount of tour companies operating the Ha-Long Bay Cruise. There are more than 600 individual boats visiting the bay each day, (according to our tour guide). So yea, there are an insane amount of companies, operators, agents and websites all trying to sell these tours. And it can be extremely difficult sorting the good from the bad, and finding the best value for money cruise.
I struggled to pick a Ha Long Boat Cruise myself and in this post I plan to share everything you need to know to decide which Ha Long Cruise is the best for you, how to book the cruise, and of course, what you should expect and what the experience is like.
My Shortlist Of Tour Companies
Allow me to help narrowing down your search of Ha Long Bay Cruise Companies. It’s overwhelming trying to pick the best one, and you always feel like whichever one you choose; there will always be something better. So here are my top-picks. We travelled with Dragon Legend Cruises, who were very good. But honestly, you’ll have an amazing time whichever company you choose. I don’t think any of the Ha Long Bay Boat Cruises are better than one another, they are all imitations of each other. But while we were on the cruise, I kept note of the boats which visually looked the nicest and compiled a short list. All these boats have Wi-Fi, balconies, rooms with a bathtub and appeared to be modern or well maintained.
- Dragon Legend Cruises (approx. $130 USD per person, per night)
- Genesis Luxury Regal Cruise
- Indochina Sails Ha Long (approx. $140 USD per person, per night)
- Stellar of the Seas Cruise (approx. $155 USD per person, per night)
- Victory Star Cruise (approx. $125 USD per person, per night)
- Athena Cruise (approx. $130 USD per person, per night)
- Orchid Classic Cruise (approx. $145 USD per person, per night)
Where To Book The Halong Bay Boat Cruise
We took the old-school approach, left it until the last minute and booked a Ha Long Bay cruise in person, through a tour agent in Hanoi Old Quarter. This worked out well for us and I’ll go into more detail about how we booked in this post.
But if you’re on a tighter schedule and need to book something ahead of time, or if you just want to get a basic idea of how much these cruises cost, and get a general sense of what is available. Then these are the websites where you should be starting your search.
Is There WIFI or 4G/5G Cell Service on The Ha Long Bay Cruise
You might find it amusing that my initial focus on the Ha Long Bay Cruise was the internet availability on the boat. The Irony is hard to miss. Here I am, heading to one of the most breathtaking destinations on the planet, and yet, I’m fretting over Wi-Fi!
As much as I’d love to fully immerse myself without any online distractions. Unfortunately, (or fortunately). Running multiple online businesses and tour companies around Asia demands staying connected. I mean, if I wasn’t doing this type of work I would have never been able to afford to do the Ha Long Bay Boat in the first place. It’s a catch 22, but ultimately if there wasn’t an internet connection in Ha Long I would have had to have rescheduled for a more appropriate time, arranging cover for my responsibilities.
Thankfully, Ha Long Bay does have internet access. But I did struggle to find this information online! It seems like it’s not a priority for most people – which I suppose is actually a positive thing.
All of the Ha-Long Bay Tour Boats now have wi-fi on board, although generally it’s only available in the common areas like the dining hall and the rooftop, and not inside the rooms. However the wi-fi is basically redundant if you have a local SIM card. The boats will only have Wi-Fi access when located near a cell tower, so basically if the boat has wi-fi then you can also pick up a connection on your data plan.
You’ll lose connection shortly after you leave from the port in Ha Long City. But you won’t be offline for long because there is another cell tower in the centre of Ha Long Bay, on Titop Island. This island is where the famous viewpoint is located, and it’s really close to where all the boats moor for the evening.
This means that the only time you’ll be without an internet connection is during the journey between the harbor and the bay itself. This was around 2 hours each way. So while there are some parts of the tour where you’ll be without an internet connection, it’s minimal, and you’ll be connected for the most part. For reference we used local SIM cards from the Viettel Network (200,000VND ‘unlimited’ data, for 15 days).
Where Does The Ha-Long Bay Cruise Actually Go To
To state the obvious, the Ha-Long Boat Cruise sails around; Ha-Long Bay. At least, that’s what I had expected. I’d anticipated cruising around on this boat and seeing a lot of scenery along the way.
To tell the truth, there wasn’t much of the cruising around part, it was more of an A-B shuttle, a floating hotel if you like. The boat left the harbour and basically cruised directly to the mooring point in the bay – a two hour semi-scenic journey. Once we arrived at the mooring point, that was it. The ship didn’t move again until we were sailing back the following day! (This is the famous area where you will have seen photos of all the boats parked overnight in the bay).
There were a couple of side-trips which we could take while the boat was moored – these trips involved boarding a smaller boat to reach the points of interest. There was an afternoon trip on the day we arrived, and a 6.00 am trip the following morning which I decided to skip, in favour of running a hot bath and sneaking a plate of food out the kitchen to the room.
When is the Best Time of Year to do the Halong Bay Cruise
Ha Long Bay Cruises operate every single day, 365 days a year. We travelled during the month of April and it was fine, the weather was a little foggy but it didn’t have any effect on the tour.
While I can’t speak for other times of the year based on my own experiences, local tour operators in Ha Long suggest that the Peak Season spans from November to the end of April. with the optimal months falling in Spring: March, April, or May. The days are longer during these months and it’s not overly hot.
Summer season is the least favorable time, and falls between June, July, August and September. During this time the weather can hit mid to high 30’s and there is a higher chance of storms. The Autumn and Winter seasons land between October until February, these months are supposedly good. But it’s going to be more crowded, prices will be higher, and it’s known to be cloudy.
So March – May is the best time to go. But really, it doesn’t make a massive difference. The bay’s beauty remains constant throughout the year. Just be mindful that travel between June and September may encounter stormy weather at times.
How The F*** Did We Manage To Actually Pick a Cruise in Halong Bay… There are Hundreds to Choose From!
This is probably the most difficult part about the Ha-Long Bay Boat Cruise, as I mentioned, it’s now estimated that around 600 individual boat operators carry tourists into Ha-Long Bay each day. The options seem endless.
Your Facebook friend swears by ‘Company X’, while online reviews steer you towards ‘Company Y’. Meanwhile, someone else raves about their experience with ‘Company Z’. How on earth do you actually sift through this sea of choices?
To complicate matters, booking is like the wild west, with multiple layers of agents adding to the confusion and cost.
It seems like everyone wants a cut and often the listings on; Agoda, Viator, GetYourGuide ect, are posted by online agents, who then then pass the booking through smaller agents, before getting to the actual boat operator – essentially it’s a long and convoluted chain which get more expensive with each link.
So I thought we could simplify things and just book the Ha-Long Boat Cruise with the best reviews. Nope. Easier said than done. Guests are financially incentivized on these tours to write five-star reviews. Something which soon became evident.
I spent days browsing individual companies’ websites, checking Ha Long Bay Cruise Packages on Viator, and GetYourGuide trying to compare prices, itineraries and generally get an understanding of which company we should be booking with. This left me overwhelmed and no closer to a decision.
Feeling myself about to go into a full on meltdown, I decided I needed to take a different approach. I needed to have boots on the ground. So, I closed my laptop, headed to the airport, and flew to Vietnam instead. Hanoi. My only concern with this option was that leaving it until the last minute to book could mean no availability. This was true, to some extent. And sadly we were left with no alternative other than booking the ‘Luxury Five-Star Cruise’ ‘Oh Noooooo’! It wasn’t exactly what we planned, but sometimes the universe has its own way of guiding us.
DON’T BELIEVE THE BROCHUSERS!
Gone are the days when a Ha Long Bay Cruise was a clear-cut choice between luxury and standard. Nowadays, every overnight operator proudly flaunts the ‘Luxury’ label, adorned with an impressive 4 or 5-star rating. But let’s be real – these terms have lost their significance. The terms ‘Five Star Halong Bay Cruise’ and ‘Luxury Ha-Long Bay Cruise’ are no more than marketing ploys, devoid of accurate representation.
If there is one piece of advice I can give you when it comes to booking the Ha Long Bay Cruise: don’t take the tour brochures and advertisements at face value. Because that’s all they are, Ads, designed to look as appealing as possible.
In the same sense that a burger served in a fast food restaurant, probably doesn’t look exactly the same as in the poster. Yes, it’s technically the same product, but if your expectation was a glistening shiny, perfect burger like in the photo, then you’d be disappointed.
And the same logic applies to the Ha Long Bay Boat Cruises. Companies invest a lot of money into advertising and marketing their tours. They are all trying to one up each other, they all have hardback tour brochures with beautiful pictures and promises.
The issue here is, that the images used online, and in these brochures capture the vessels in their prime, when they are brand new and recently furnished. But the reality is different. The wear and tear of non-stop daily operations tells a different story. Wander the harbour, and you’ll see that most boats bear little resemblance to their brochure counterparts. Very few boats look like they are worthy of the ‘luxury’ tag.
I’m not saying that these books are intentionally deceitful, but they definitely do not provide an accurate representation.
We Gave Up Looking Online, and Booked a Ha Long Boat Cruise in Person
After non-stop browsing online, I almost got caught up with these visions of having a ‘perfect’ trip. But having been travelling around the world for the past decade, I think I have finally learned better. If you perceive everything you see on Instagram to be reality, your expectations will never be satisfied. Instead I decided to try my luck and decided to leave all the planning to an agent. So, after arriving in Hanoi. We withdrew a few million Dong and feeling like total ballers, walked into the first tour shop that looked half-decent.
We walked into this bougie little tour shop around 9 o’clock at night, asking to book a Ha-Long Bay Boat Cruise for the following day. Initially I wasn’t sure if her reaction was disgusted, shocked or confused. I guess in-person bookings, something which used to be the norm until a few years ago have become something of a rarity.
She was quick to inform us that we wouldn’t have many options when booking a Ha-Long Bay Cruise at the last minute. This was both a blessing and a curse. We didn’t want to be left with the shitty cruise that no one else wanted to book. But on the other hand I didn’t want to take on the laborious task of trying to figure out which is the best boat cruise for Ha-Long Bay either.
Ann I think her name was; here is her Whatsapp Number in case you wanted to contact her to book a Boat in Halong +84979316899. She sat us down and pulled out a stack of probably 20-30+ hardback tour brochures from Ha Long Bay Operators. She handed us two of these hardbacks’ from her stack; these were the only two boats with next day availability. A ‘four and a half star Ha Long Bay Cruise’, or a ‘Five Star Ha-Long Bay Cruise’. Both were pretty much the same cost.
Perfect, it was still difficult to pick between the two, but I’m glad that fate, along with Ann, had narrowed it down for us.
And if you are thinking- why didn’t you just pick the ‘Five Star’ cruise. Well it turns out that these ‘stars’ are awarded to tour companies by themselves (lol). But I’ll get onto that later in this post.
It essentially came down to a coin toss, and we ended up travelling with a company called Dragon Legend Cruises. I’m not endorsed by the company; but here is a link if you want to check them out for yourself.
Despite not planning to book with this company, it turned out to be an enjoyable trip overall. To be honest, I’d set my expectations so low that I think I’d have been happy with pretty much anything that floats at the point! It turns out that setting your expectations low and leaving the planning to someone else can be a recipe for success!
Who Would I Book With If I Was To Take The Ha Long Cruise Again
I don’t think I’d ever do another Ha Long Bay Cruise. It’s one of those things you do once, for a multitude of reasons. But if I did, here is what I would have done differently: I would ignore all the reviews, all the brochures, and the crap posted on Instagram. Instead I would focus on finding the newest company on the block, the company with the newest boat.
Instead of trying to find the Best Halong Bay Cruise, I would focus on trying to find the Newest Cruise instead.
This is pretty much the only way you’ll be able to guarantee the pictures reflect reality. Ok, a long standing company may have built up a solid reputation and a solid review profile. But all those past guests have all added wear and tear to the boats, and it seems to be a common theme, (also across hotels in Vietnam), that rooms are not well maintained. They are kept clean, and the floors are swept – sure. But that’s about as far as the upkeep and maintenance goes. And with turn around times on the boats quicker than a commercial airliner, there simply isn’t time to carry out repairs on the boats. The vessels are worked hard, and are essentially sailing non-stop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As soon as one group of tourist disembarks, another group will board.
Pick The Best Cabin on The Halong Bay Cruise… Not All Rooms Are Equal
Even if you’ve managed to narrow down which company you want to book your Ha Long Boat Cruise with, you may be faced with another difficult decision. Each boat has multiple types of cabin. There are some boats which do not have balconies, so you’ll want to watch out for this and double check if your room has a balcony in advance. Another thing to consider is if you want a room with a bathtub or not.
We ended up paying an additional $10 USD for a room with a bathtub. Not by choice, but because when we booked at the last minute, the ‘V.I.P Suite’ was the only room type left! There were only two of these suites on the boat and these were the only rooms with a bathtub, the balcony was much larger too. Totally worth it, and probably the only time I’ve taken a bath in the past decade! (as opposed to taking a shower)!!
Another thing to take into consideration is the location of the room. Towards the back of the boat it can be much louder because this is where the engine room will be located. But this might not actually be a big deal, because the boat doesn’t actually move much. The boat actually remains anchored and stationary with the engines switched off for most of the tour and for the entire night.
How Much Does It Cost To Book A Ha-Long Bay Cruise
It’s a tough question to answer, which essentially comes down to the age old question of “How long is a piece of string”. However, I will share exactly how much we paid in the next section – which you can use as a benchmark when booking your own cruise.
But to put it bluntly, the Ha-Long Bay Cruise costs what it costs. It is an expensive activity. It’s extremely overpriced no matter who you book with, or where you book. If you can afford it then go for it, just don’t expect value for money.
The exact cost of a boat tour around Ha-Long Bay will vary depending on the season, how many ‘stars’ the boat has, which agent/website you book with, if you have an upper floor or a lower floor, if your room has a bathtub or not, if you want to go for one night or for two nights, if you need transfers included; there are a lot of variable, the list goes on and on. And don’t forget to factor in the cost of drinks and tips too.
Operators who sell tour packages themselves tend not to advertise their prices, and instead they prefer that you contact them to find the price – something I personally find frustrating. Sites like Viator do list their prices online, and surprisingly they can often be cheaper than booking direct!
Regardless of how well you plan and research, a Ha Long Cruise will always be ‘expensive’. So if you are backpacking, it might be best to skip Ha Long, or consider a day tour instead of an overnight package. I would strongly urge backpackers to pick the Ha Giang Loop over the Ha Long Bay Cruise. Both these experiences have a similar price tag, although Ha Giang can be slightly cheaper. The Ha Giang Loop also lasts longer, gives you much more value for your money and the experience is far more social and rewarding.
How Much Did WE Pay For a Ha Long Bay Boat Cruise
I know you want a number, an exact price tag for the Ha Long Bay Cruise – I get it. Because that’s what I wanted to know as well. And what I consider to be overpriced, well someone else might consider good value for money.
We paid 8,200,000 (8.2 Million) Dong for the Ha Long Bay Cruise. 4,100,000 per person. Including transfers from Hanoi.
8 Million Dong at the time we travelled was equivalent to 310 US Dollars. It’s pretty common to find prices listed in USD as opposed to VND. I assume this is because it hides the inflated cost to some extent.
Our cruise was a little bit on the expensive side, but I would recommend setting a budget of around $100 – $150 USD per person, per night for Ha Long. Yes you can find cheaper, and yes you can find higher but this seems to be the average rate. Just don’t fall into the trap of trying to pay more for a ‘Luxury Cruise’, and don’t believe the advertising materials or photos – you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment. Higher prices don’t necessarily equate to higher quality
Drinks Not Included (Including Water)
I feel it is also important for me to mention the fact that none of the cruises include drinks in the price. Not even water with meals!
Our booking agent had informed us beforehand that drinks were not included. That’s fine, understandable. Assuming they were referring to alcoholic drinks. Nope. Drinking water, a basic human right, was not included in the price of a luxury, five star Ha Long Bay Cruise. And of course bottled water on board had a markup of more than 100%.
I couldn’t help but smirk on the first day, when we were given the cruise itinerary by our guide and I saw the last item on the list was literally ‘Pay your drinks tab at the bar’. The cheek of it to list this as an activity! However, I already knew my drinks bill was going to be $0. How? Being the stubborn person that I am, I decided to stock up on water in advance. I walked onto the cruise with four litres of bottled drinking water and a half litre bottle of whisky.
These fuckers will literally dehydrate you until you open your wallet and I wasn’t going to stand for it. Every single cruise seemed to have the same policies. I found it insane, being served an amazing five course dinner and denied access to drinking water with dinner! I still felt like the OJ dispenser at breakfast was placed out by mistake, because it disappeared again no more than 20 minutes later.
It’s not really even about the money, it’s more the principle that I’m not going to be bullied into buying drinking water. So if you are taking one of these cruises, there are plenty of small corner shops right on the harbour in Ha Long where you can buy drinks, snacks, and water, at reasonable prices before getting on the boat. Once you’re on the boat. They’ve got you by the balls.
Alcoholic drinks are inflated by about 4 times the true cost, (200,000k for a cocktail/ 120,000k for a beer) but in my opinion that’s semi-justifiable, with alcohol you can take it or leave it. It’s not essential like drinking water is. And as luck would have it, we ended befriending the crew and drinking a few beers on the house instead.
We were lucky enough to pull in a couple of squid from the back of the boat; after all the other guests had given up. Somehow, this led to us exchanging our catch with the crew for a few bottles of beer! Whilst everyone else on the boat was belting karaoke on the rooftop and taking drooling over the ‘three beers for the price of two discount’ – we were down in the galley having a much better time! And to be honest, breaking away from the tour group and embarking on our own more authentic experience actually turned out to be one of the highlights on the trip, but more on that later!
How Many Nights Should You Spend on the Ha Long Bay Cruise
We settled on a one night Ha Long Bay Boat Cruise, you’ll need to pick either a one night, or a two night package. But the one night package we chose felt like the best option. There are pros and cons to both tours.
But do keep in mind that terms like ‘2 Days, 1 Night’ can be misleading, and actually translates to: overnight on the boat, and then travel directly back to the harbour at 7:30am the following day. The second day is non-existent and as per our itinerary, activities on day two included; breakfast and settling the bar tab. (there was also a 6:00am cave trip, which we skipped.)
These ships have crazy fast turnaround times, they’re desperate to boot the passengers off the ship as early as possible so they can get the boat prepared to pick up the next set of guests. You are even made to check out of your rooms an hour or two before the boat returns.
On one hand, the overnight cruise does feel a little bit short lived. But on the other hand, the set up for the two night cruise felt a little cheeky to me – here’s how it works: On the morning of the second day; passengers who booked the one night cruise are taken back to the harbour in the morning.
However; if you paid for the two night cruise- you are woken up earlier in the morning and carted off the boat onto a smaller vessel whilst the main ship returns to port!
You spend the day on a smaller boat, exploring the neighbouring Lan Ha Bay. Which, yes, you’d probably want to be doing anyway. But for me I feel like I’m paying for the opportunity to hang out on the ship if I want to. If I want to wake up a little later, I should be able to. So I’d have been pretty pissed off if I had booked the two night package only to find out the boat would be returning to port early in the morning, with the purpose of changing over a bunch of guests part way through my tour.
The one night tour is not perfect either; the downside is that you actually spend less than 24 hours on the boat in total. You’ll leave around midday, and then the boat will be back at the dock before 10:00am the next day. So it’s around 22 hours you spend on the boat, this gives the crew a couple of hours to turn the boat around ready to cart in the next set of tourists. The timings are set up in such a way that these companies can churn through passengers at the highest rate possible.
What Should You Pack For The Ha Long Boat Cruise
Don’t bring too much luggage with you on the Ha Long Boat Cruise, you’ll only be there for one or two nights. Luckily for me I travel light anyway, my backpack is now 7 KG including my laptop, so I had no problem bringing all my belongings with me. But if you’re travelling with a larger suitcase it might be a good idea to arrange luggage storage at a hotel and pack a smaller bag to bring on the cruise.
We also packed some bottles of drinking water, because for some insane reason, this wasn’t included in the tour cost.
There are no real essential items which you’ll need to bring with you. If your tour includes kayaking, or if you want to swim in the bay then a swimsuit is a good idea, and depending on the month you are travelling it can get a bit chilly at night. You’d be absolutely fine with shorts and t-shirts only, and the weather is pretty much on par with Hanoi. But I was pleased that I had a lightweight long sleeved tee and a pair of elephant pants to wear in the evening. I always carry mosquito spray too, although I didn’t notice many of them in Ha Long.
Who Is The Halong Bay Cruise For
One of my biggest concerns about the Ha Long Bay cruise was that we wouldn’t ‘fit in’. I knew that an activity in this price range would likely mean a different crowd from the backpackers and hostel go-ers that I’d normally associate with. We’d booked a Luxury Cruise, yet I’m definitely not someone who would class themselves as a Luxury Traveller.
On our cruise there were a few families on the trip, mostly Indian or Chinese. There were a handful of couples, mostly European and Middle Eastern. And there was also an American woman travelling solo. Everyone was nice enough, but as expected; there wasn’t much of a social vibe.
Can You Do The Ha Long Bay Boat Cruise as a Solo Traveller
Yea, there is nothing stopping you from taking the Ha Long Bay Cruise Solo but you might find the cost is higher.
The Ha Long Bay Cruise is definitely not a social experience, where you’ll be able to meet other travellers. Because everyone is already travelling in their own couples or families, they likely won’t want to engage too much and you’ll be unlikely to make those meaningful connections like you would elsewhere.
If you’re keen do do the Ha Long Bay Cruise solo, then another option is to take a one day Halong Bay Boat Cruise, these type of tours are more suitable for solo travellers, especially if you are on a budget – and honestly, you’ll see and do pretty much everything you would do on an overnight boat tour – the cost is lower, and the only difference is you return to land in the evening, instead of the morning. Now I’m writing this, I’m starting to think that a day cruise might have even been a better option for us! (It’s also significantly cheaper!)
You could also consider trying to ‘Buddy Up’ with other solo travellers in hostels, or online, and find a travel partner with similar plans beforehand. The reason I suggest this is because the overnight Ha Long Bay prices are generally set per person, not per cabin! This means that you’ll have to share the cabin with another person, a stranger, if you’re going solo! I know I wouldn’t want to be sharing a cabin with a stranger. Of course, you could pay twice the price and secure a private room for yourself, but that can be pretty expensive.
What Is a ‘Luxury Ha Long Bay Cruise’
The term ‘Luxury’ has lost all meaning when it comes to boat cruises in Ha Long Bay. The worst thing you can do is set your expectations based on this.
Up until as recently as a few years ago, ‘Luxury Cruises’ around Ha Long Bay were unheard of. Ha Long used to be a cheap-o activity for backpackers, which became incresingly famous as the years went by. The increasing popularity of Ha Long resulted in a different demographic of travellers coming to Ha Long – with a different set of expectations. Originally Ha Long tour boats were nothing more than traditional fishing vessels, leaving from Cat Ba Island. There was far less focus on the boat itself, no demand from tourists with crazy high expectations, and the only focus was towards enjoying the moment, and letting nature and the scenery take centre stage.
But sadly, tourism has changed massively over the last few years, not only in Vietnam, but across all of South East Asia, and across all of the world’s most sought after destinations. Once companies began to establish themselves they realised that by converting to a ‘Luxury’ experience, they could cater to this new influx of tourists and charge them double, triple, or more the original costs – it didn’t take long for others to all follow suit. The end result is that the word Luxury has been thrown around so much that it has completely lost all meaning.
99.999999% of boat cruises in Ha Long Bay will now market themselves as a luxury tour, or luxury boat. Not because it actually is luxury, it’s because they’re forced into it. If they don’t advertise luxury like everyone else does, then they end up with far fewer customers.
And in the minds of the boat operators, their understanding and standard of luxury is in comparison to the classic style boats that were commonplace a few years back. Whereas tourists often set their standards of luxury on an international level.
This is a slippery slope, and leads to disappointment when expectations are not met. But not only that; it also causes tourists to become extremely judgemental and feel the need to critique every aspect of the tour, never being able to fully enjoy the experience for what it’s supposed to be.
So please don’t be fooled. There are zero luxury cruises in Ha-Long Bay, and at the same time, every cruise is a luxury cruise. If the type of boat you’ll be travelling on is the thing you’re most concerned about, you’re doing it wrong. Just lose yourself in the moment (you own it, you better never let it go), and remember the reason that Ha Long Bay became so famous in the first place is for the nature and the scenery.
What is a ‘Five Star’ Ha Long Bay Cruise
You’ll probably have noticed that every single Ha Long Bay Cruise somehow has either a 4 or 5 star rating. And do you want to know why? Well it’s because they award themselves the amount of stars! These star ratings often bear little resemblance to reality. I hate to break it to you, but the star ratings are no more than another marketing ploy. They are not backed up by any outside organization. And there is no benchmark for the service level required.
When I imagine a ‘Five Star Cruise’ in my mind I would set the level of expected service and cleanliness to the standards of flying business class, or staying at a five star resort. (the prices are defiantly on par)! However this expectation is far from the truth. Regardless of how much you pay for the cruise – nothing can change the fact that the Ha Long Bay Cruise will always be a tourist trap – the ability to turn over tourists in large numbers will always take priority over creating a true five star environment and service level.
Our cruise was rated as Five Stars, that didn’t stop our tour guide bringing us to the Jewelry Shop (Pearl Farm) on route, parading us around like cattle with an attempt to earn a commission. And the cabin, despite the fact we had the most premium cabin on the boat, was far from being comparable to a Five Star Hotel Room. Floorboards peeling up, cracks in the walls, dirty glasses, no hot water, broken hairdryer; all very minor things – but it was evident that other than changing the bed sheets and sweeping the floors, no other maintenance had been carried out since the boat first went into service.
None of this was a huge deal for me, I had already set my expectations low; but for those who genuinely buy into the Five Star market terms, would find themselves very disappointed. So don’t let yourself be fooled by the ratings, take it with a pinch of salt, because the reality is none of these five star cruises would be considered five star at an international standard.
What Do You Actually Do On The Ha Long Boat Cruise
Ok, so I’ve covered everything you need to know in preparation for booking and planning a Ha Long Bay Cruise. But what do you actually do whilst on the tour?
I hadn’t expected to be doing much on the Ha Long Boat Cruise, I had anticipated that we’d basically be sitting on the ship, on the balcony or on the rooftop, cruising round the bay non stop and taking in the scenery. That’s what I would have liked anyway. I Imagined it would be similar to an actual deep sea cruise.
The reality was different. The cruise doesn’t actually cruise much. Instead we drove out into the middle of Ha Long Bay, a ride which takes around two hours. And we then instantly dropped the anchor and moored the boat there for the entire duration of the trip. The boat basically becomes a floating hotel parked two hours off shore. There were two side trips we could embark on, which involved boarding a smaller boat to reach some of the tourist spots on the smaller islands.
First Day Excursions
On the first day of the cruise, we left from the harbor in Ha Long, around Midday, and no more than two hours later, we dropped anchor at our mooring spot. This turned out to be the location where we’d remain for the entirety of the ‘cruise’.
There was an excursion planned for day one, once we had parked the ship. It would last for a few hours and include a visit to the ‘Lunon Cave’ and then to an island called ‘TiTop’.
So leaving the ship behind, a couple of hours after checking in, we boarded the smaller shuttle boat and travelled to a nearby floating platform, it was here that a kayak rental business was located. We were given 30 minutes to hop in the kayak and paddle around the Lunon Cave, a short tunnel which emerges into a lagoon on the other side. Instead of leisurely kayaking, we decided to earn some karma and spent most of the time using the paddles to scoop plastic trash out of the ocean – not quite the scenic adventure we anticipated!
After a short 30 minutes padding around the cave, the next location was Titop Island. Again, we boarded the shuttle boat once more to get there. This island is a popular stop for all the Ha Long Boat Tours because it’s one of the only islands in the bay which has a beach. Our guide suggested we swim in the sea whilst we were here. No thanks, the water was anything but clean. Besides the hoards of Chinese and Indian package tourists filling the roped off swimming area made it even less appealing. The whole setup had a massive ‘Butlins on steroids vibe’, and I don’t mean that in a good way.
Luckily swimming wasn’t the only activity on TiTop Island. There was a viewpoint which you can hike to, which was probably one of the highlights of the Ha Long Cruise for me. You will probably have seen the iconic aerial photos of all the boats moored up in the bay overnight. I had assumed these were all drone shots. But no. This viewpoint provided a scenic photo spot with panoramic views across the entire bay. The hike to this viewpoint would have taken 5 or 10 minutes – max. If it wasn’t for the hoards of other tourists all visiting at the same time.
So I took a deep breath, remembered that patience is a virtue and joined the slow moving queue. Stuck behind the thousands of other tourists blocking the route and grandma climbing the steps at a snail’s pace, clutching the hand rail for dear life, it took an infuriating amount of time to reach the lookout point at the top (45 minutes or so). A frustrating experience to say the least, but at least it was worth it once we reached the top. Here we were rewarded with the most amazing view of Ha Long Bay, and an amazing photo opportunity. Of course, once you finally reach the top you’ll still need to battle your way through the crowds to get a glimpse over the edge. Again, my advice is to keep your expectations low and you’ll have a much more enjoyable time.
Second Day Excursions
On the second day there was another excursion planned, this time to the ‘Surprising Cave’. Now, I’ve lived in South East Asia for the best part of a decade, and in my time I’ve visited more than my fair share of caves. So I didn’t feel like I was missing out on too much when we decided to skip this part of the tour.
The reason for skipping this was mostly due to the scheduled start time at 6:00am! The early start was necessary for the boat operators so they could get it over and done with as soon as possible and have the boat back at shore in time to turn it around ready for the next set of tourists.
Caves to me are nothing special, and as far as I could tell; there was nothing which stood out about this one. I’ve visited hundreds of them in my lifetime and most are pretty similar to one another. On the other hand, I’d never had access to a private cabin in the middle of Ha Long Bay before – and that was really the reason I was there. For privacy, and to have some time to chill alone, rather than to be herded around in a tour group.
Instead of going with the rest of the guests on the boat, I sat and watched from the balcony as everyone else, (looking miserable and tired), board the shuttle boat once more. Whilst everyone else was off visiting the Surprising Cave, the crew began to prepare breakfast. So I ran a hot bath; headed down to the galley, snuck a plate of pancakes and croissants back to the room. And finally I had an hour or two to take in the views and the scenery. Pure Bliss. It was short lived, as the tour retired an hour later at 7:30 am – but it was amazing while it lasted.
What Food Is Provided on The Ha Long Bay Boat Cruises
In a sense the Ha Long Bay Boat really does feel like you’re on a glorified overnight dinner cruise. And the food is one of the greatest parts of the tour. Honestly I have no idea why this isn’t more of a selling point. It’s not really something that is really mentioned or photographed when it comes to companies advertising their cruises. No one mentioned the fact that we’d be enjoying a five course dinner in the evening.
Lunch was served pretty much straight away when we first boarded the boat, which was a buffet – with a huge variety of different meats and local Vietnamese dishes. And this set the standard for what would follow.
For dinner, we were treated to the most amazing five course meal, ok it wasn’t fine dining at an international level, at least, not the western inspired parts of the meals. However the Vietnamese cuisine really hit the mark.
Each of the five courses had some elements of western inspiration, combined with Vietnamese food. A Pumpkin Soup with Bahn Mi as a starter, a beef stir fry with wok fried vegetables, a spherical papaya noodle ball with sweet Vietnamese potato, and a main course of steak, peppercorn sauce, mashed potato, (and rice)! – amazing.
(Sorry I have no photos of the food served on the Ha Long Bay Boat Cruise, it turn out that when I’m hungry there is no time to photograph my meals)!
However the service was interesting as no menus were provided, and generally no other information was provided about the food. Plates were placed in front of you before the servers scurried off as quickly as possible, making each and every dish a mystery! I don’t think this was intentional, but it would have been nice to know what we were being served.
But don’t worry if you’re vegan, vegetarian, or don’t eat a certain type of meat. The crew were fantastic about checking that in advance, and they had a substitute for each dish in place.
Feeling extremely full and satisfied, little did we know that we’d be having a second dinner with the crew shortly after!
What Is There To Do In The Evenings While On The Ha Long Bay Cruise
Squid Fishing from the back of the boat, a Foot Massage on the second floor, or Karaoke or the rooftop. Were the choices given to us by our guide after dinner – he’s eyes lighting up with the thought of Karaoke.
If there is one thing I’ve learned about Vietnam, It’s that the Vietnamese People love their karaoke! They light up when hear the word karaoke, in the same way a dog goes wild when you should the word ‘Walkies’. In Hanoi we saw a man wheeling a karaoke machine down the street, hooked up to a car battery and charging punters a few Dongs to sing in the middle of the street. And it was no different on the Ha Long Bay Cruise.
As we finished our dinner, we soon realised that our boat was not the only boat with Karaoke, there were hundreds of boats moored around us, and each and every boat all seemed to switch on their Karaoke Machines at the exact same time. The tranquil bay was soon filled with sounds reminiscent of Khao San Road in Thailand. It sounds like the world’s worst DJ had been invited to Ha Long Bay and was attempting a world record of mashing together 50+ records into a single mix, while using the vocals provided by a drowning rat. We skipped the Karaoke, we skipped the foot massage, decided to chill out at the back of the boat instead and took our chances trying to pull in a squid.
Squishing In Ha Long Bay – (And Second Dinner)
One of my favourite parts of the Ha Long Cruise was fishing for squid, anyone who’s read my blog before will know that this isn’t my first time Squishing. The last time was in Koh Jum, Thailand, around a year prior – so it had been a while.
When it comes to squishing, or fishing in general. Well, patience is always key. Something which all other passengers on the boat lacked. They all came one by one after dinner, smashed their bamboo rods in the water like they were stirring a soup, scared away all the squid, and declared it impossible after about five minutes. It didn’t take long for everyone else to give up and congregate on the roof to sing songs.
We spent the next hour or so hanging out and chilling with our rods in the water, and as we were left to ourselves, I brought out the bottle of Whisky for us to sip on while we squished. We didn’t have high hopes of catching, so it was a bit of a surprise when we actually caught one, and we were not entirely sure what to do with the poor guy! There was no one else around, all the other guests were up on the roof and the crew were nowhere to be seen.
Second Dinner On The Ha-Long Bay Cruise
So with our freshly caught squid in hand, we sheepishly wandered into the galley; where we found the crew of the boat. Sitting around off the clock, having their dinner – a boiling hotpot and case of local beers. They seemed annoyed at first – we weren’t supposed to be here.
The attitude soon changed, as we lowered the bowl and pointed to the squid we had caught. They seemed impressed, I get the feeling that it wasn’t common for anyone on these cruises to actually catcht. Within moments they pulled up two more stools, cracked open some beers for us and gestured to the hot pot to cook our squids! Amazing. It was like going from one extreme to another. We had just done the tourist side of things, eating a five course meal, and now we had an opportunity to experience the local side of things too! Plus, we saved a small fortune on beers by drinking with the crew instead!
The crew spoke very limited English, and we didn’t speak a lick of Vietnamese. But that did not stop us from having an amazing evening. They even prepared the squid and cooked him up for us. It doesn’t get fresher than that! They treated us as equals, and for a short time that hospitality and ‘status’ barrier had been removed. They would keep offering us meat from their hot pot (which was delicious)! But it seemed like they had totally forgotten they had served us a five course dinner, no more than an hour or so before! – the people were so open, genuine and welcoming – something which never came across when they were in uniform and in ‘Customer Service Mode’ it felt like we were drinking with friends.
Despite the language barrier we got to learn more about their lives and how they ended up on the ship. Most of them were not from Ha Long, or even Hanoi but rather most had come from other parts of Vietnam, and one of the crew was Indonesian! They had all travelled to the area to secure a better income, something which is difficult to find elsewhere in Vietnam. Most of them were young-ish 20-30 year old’s who had the freedom and flexibility to do this type of job. They would spend 25 days out of the month working on the boat back-to-back, before taking five days to rest on the land. There was a real sense of family community between the crew members, which really reminded me of my younger years, working similar jobs across European Holiday Resorts.
How Do You Get To Ha Long
The town of Ha Long is around a 3 hour drive from Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. It’s possible to book a bus ticket here for around 300,000 VND, but the vast majority of Ha Long Cruises will include transport from your hotel, especially if you are booking from Hanoi.
The Oyster Farm / Pearl Farm
If you’re able to make your own way to Ha Long, you might be better off. This will allow you to skip the ‘Pearl Farm’. It appears that this activity is mandatory for every Ha Long Bay Cruise which stars in Hanoi. A stark reminder that the Ha Long Cruise – is and will always be a Tourist Trap, no matter how much you want it to be that special, and unique experience.
There were hundreds of tour buses parked up at the Pearl Farm carrying thousands of passengers. I imagine the commission for tour guides and companies who lure their customers here is quite high. Again, something which should never happen from companies advertising as luxury, five star cruises.
You’re forced to spend around an hour at this indoor shopping complex which is located a few kilometers away from Ha Long. You’re given a quick sob-story about how poor the locals are, then a demo of how the pearls are extracted from the Oysters, before they try to extract cash from you. You are taken inside, to browse the earrings, necklace and other locally made jewelry. Of course any round pearls without impurities have a high value, and will be sold independently whilst the the leftover crap is flogged to tourists way above the market rate. Justified by the fact that ‘it’s a souvenir’. For me it’s just more crap that I don’t need or want. It’s a burden to keep in my backpack and obviously I did not buy a pearl necklace. But to my surprise, a LOT of people on our tour bus did. So I can see why they include this stop, if people keep buying it, of course they are going to keep selling it.
Ha Giang or Ha Long
I think that about sums up everything that you’d want to know about doing the Ha Long Bay Cruise, and hopefully it gives you another perspective about this experience – instead of the usual ‘look at me, and look how amazing this is’ Tiktok or Instagram posts.
But before I conclude this post, I wanted to include a note about the Ha Giang Loop. Because this is another popular activity in Northern Vietnam, also based out of Hanoi, and also costing a similar amount (assuming you book a tour and don’t self ride).
I rode the Ha Giang Loop last year, (amazing). And I returned to Vietnam This Year, for the purpose of taking the Ha Long Bay Cruise. So I wanted to include a brief comparison of these two experiences compared to one another. I know they are totally different activities, and should be treated as such, but oftentimes people might find themselves trying to pick between one and another.
So here are my thoughts; The Ha Giang Loop and the Ha Long Bay cruise cater to a totally different crowd. On the Ha Long Bay Cruise you’ll tend to find people who are more closed minded, and less adventurous. The cruise is extremely popular with tourists from China, and from India, who often travel in large numbers.
Whereas the people attracted to the Ha Giang Loop are generally more outgoing, it’s very popular with solo travellers, backpackers and those on one way tickets around South East Asia. It’s a much more sociable experience – but it also comes with an element of danger.
If you’re backpacking and searching for adventure, friends and thrills – Ha Giang is best. If you’re travelling as a family, if you have a higher budget and higher expectations – or just prefer the idea of someone else taking control of all the planning while you kick back and relax – the Ha Long Bay Boat Tour will be the better option.
When it comes to scenery, both Ha Giang and Ha Long are beautiful in their own right. But should I have to choose one, the Ha Giang Loop wins hand-down. I’ve never seen somewhere so picturesque, not even Ha Long Bay compares.
TL;DR
This post turned out to be way longer than I first intended it to be. But there is loads of information I felt like I had to include. The vast majority of information online about the Ha Long Bay Cruise, is published by tour operators themselves. So of course they are going to make the cruise seem like the most glamorous experience possible. And it is unlikely they’ll mention things like turnaround times, the sheer amount of tourists, and the fact that the whole set up is essentially a massive cash grab designed to churn through as many tourists as possible.
The reality about Ha Long Bay is that the scenery is nice, the experience of sleeping out on a boat is unique and pleasant and I’m not knocking it at all. In fact I encourage you to go and visit Ha Long for yourself!
But it’s important to take the cruise and face-value and make sure you see it for what it actually is. A money grabbing tourist trap. It’s rarely a luxury experience, no matter how much you want it to be, and no matter what hopes and dreams you’ve been sold, don’t set your expectations too high. Make sure you’re visiting Ha Long for the correct reasons, be happy to be in this incredibly scenic location and you’ll have an amazing time, no matter which cruise you pick.
And as for the Ha Long Bay Cruise Companies, the vast majority of them are indistinguishable from one another. They all offer the exact same service and package as one another. Don’t stress yourself out trying to find the perfect tour, no one boat is better than another. My advice, pick the newest company you can find. The one with the fewest reviews, will have the newest and most modern boat.
Why Should Do The Ha Long Bay Cruise Now, Before It’s Too Late – My Inspiration
The Ha-Long Bay Cruise is something I’ve wanted to do since 2008. Ever since the Vietnam Special of Top Gear Aired on the BBC. In this ‘documentary’ the hosts of the show travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha-Long on motorcycles, ending the journey by cruising out into the bay to a local bar – the ending point of their challenge.
Since then, I’ve always intended to follow the same journey. But I never found myself with the right people, and at the right time to complete this mission. I’ve been to Vietnam a handful of times over the years, even visiting the town of Ha Long itself. I didn’t book the Ha Long cruise at that time, as I wanted to keep it as a reward for completing the motorcycle tour across Vietnam. But In a way, I wish I’d done it sooner. Had I taken the cruise a few years ago, these companies would have been in their infancy stages. It would not have been set up to cater to tourism at the same extremes it is now, and it would have been more of a local experience, making do with the existing local infrastructure. Heck, at that time, Ha Long wasn’t even classified as a UNESCO site!
So I guess the moral of the story is that tourism is changing, and it’s happening at an alarming rate. There is no reason to delay anything – if there is something you want to do – don’t listen to what I say, don’t listen to what others say, just get out there and do it. Because you never know how much time is left, and you never know when or how things, places and people will change. This advice doesn’t only apply to the Ha Long Back Cruise, but also, it applies to many aspects of life.
