HaLong Bay

Hi

Just wondering if anybody has ever travelled from Ha Noi to Halong Bay? How dd you do this, how much was it and how was it?

Thanks for your time

Almost every hostel/travel agent in Hanoi they offer different tours to Halong Bay and it is worth shopping around before you decide. We did a 2 night/ 3-day tour that included all transport, one night on a boat, the second on Cat Ba Islan and all main meals. We also went to see an impressive cave and hiked at Cat Ba Island for an afternoon. All in all the cruise around the bay is really beautiful, as it features some nice island beaches and an amazing collection of limestone mountains rising up from the sea surface. I'd definitely recommend you to go there!

Hope this helps ,

Steff

[ Edit: Edited on Nov 3, 2007, at 10:41 AM by steff ]

Neil,
Every hotel you stay at and all travel shops offer HaLong Bay tours. I paid $22 for 1 day. It is roughly $20/day. Shop around, some companies charge less than others. I would let the weather decide how long of a tour you choose. If the weather is good, stay 2-3 days. If it is raining and too cold to get into the water, 1 day will be enough.

I have some photos of HaLong Bay on the rain in my gallery.

I bought a package 2 days 1 night overnight at Cat Ba Island. the trip include Kayak as well. Not bad actually for the price around $ 27 per person all inclusive.

I got it at Hanoi Guest House. If you have time..check price with different agency and you will be amazeb with the price different.

Enjoy

I bought a package through Kangaroo Cafe in Hanoi - not the cheapest but definately worth every penny. 2 nights one on board a junk and the second on Cat Ba Island. Totally recommend it - had such an amazing time - met some really cool people and the scenery is just amazing. It was simply awesome to see the sun rising out of the rock formations in the morning - so quiet and peaceful.

I did a 3 day/2 nights trip to Halong Bay from Hanoi and I booked through Hanoi Backpackers Hostel and I think I paid 55 dollars. Overall the tour was really good and I met some cool people but as for whether I would recommend booking through the hostel I would say there were pros and cons.

On the plus side at Cat Ba Island we all got dropped off at different hotels and me a nd a couple of others got dropped off at probably the best hotel on the island. A couple of other people who stayed at the other hotels (one without heating) paid a bit less for their trip, so basically you get what you pay for.

On the negative side, I was meant to spend one night on a boat and one night at a hotel, but the tour company rang the hostel at the last minute and said they were fully booked because of the Tet festival so I could either spend two nights in a hotel or postpone my trip until after Tet. So I ended up staying on Cat Ba Island for two nights, which turned out good in the end cos I met some sound people I wouldn't have met otherwise, but I still couldn't help thinking it was bad organisation.

If you're trying to decide how long a trip to book I would say it depends how long you have in Vietnam. I had a month so I wasn't in a rush and therefore did the 3 day trip and there was plenty to do. The first day we cruised around Halong Bay and went to a cave. On the second day we did some trekking in the Cat Ba National Park and also went to Monkey Island. We also had the option of kayaking but most people didn't bother cos it was pretty cold when I was there. The last day was basically travelling back to Hanoi.

So if you've got plenty of spare time I'd probably say do the 3 day trip, otherwise just do the 2 day trip.

Hi - I went at xmas and found there to be a huge range in what people pay for basically the same trip - I ended up on a boat with people who paid $80 for 3 days/2 nights and otehrs who paid $55, and the only difference was they stayed in a cheaper hotel on Catba the second night.
One thing to watch for - we got shown a nice picture of a luxury boat when booking, but only had one afternoon and one night on it, before getting moved onto an old fishing boat for most of the next 2 days, whilst the floating palace went back to the port as the "front" to pick up more punters. At the end of the trip we got back on the nice boat just out of sight of the port, to give the appearance to the next batch of people that we had been on it all along!
There are literally hundreds (400) of charter boats so competition is huge - you can get a good price but there are pitfalls too...

In February we booked a trip to Halong Bay from our hotel in Hanoi, it was $27 each for a two day one night trip. (Saved on hotel cost for one night!)
We travelled by an air conditioned mini bus with 8 other travellers.
Our junk ship just had the 10 of us.
We had a lovely double bedroom. I think there were six cabins.
The food was great, all cooked on board by the wife of the owner of the junk ship.
We stopped a few times to visit caves. The scenery was beautiful.
Our guide spoke English.
In Feb it was very cold, we had to buy hats and gloves.

In 2003, I stayed for 5 weeks in Hanoi for work.. and was able to go to Halong Bay... we took our cruise package thru Handspan tours in the Hang Gai district... Our package then, if I remember it right was about US$25 for an overnight stay on board a junk... inclusive of transport from Hanoi to Halong Bay, tours, and meals....

Ha Long Bay, I'd say would be one of the most tranquil and relaxing place I've been to..

nabanga : Do you still remember under which travel agency you booked from?

Jennyyore : From which hotel you booked from??