What to Do on a Halong Bay Cruise and How to Plan a Halong Bay Cruise

Located around 165 kilometers from the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, Halong Bay lies in the Gulf of Tonkin. The bay has more than 1,600 mostly uninhabited islands, islets, and tall karst formations, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam, for both foreign and local tourists alike. These small islands, mostly covered with lush green forests, cover the bay area, and are popular for cruises around the islands, with excursions to some of the larger ones for the cruise passengers.

Considered to be one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Asia, Halong Bay cruises are a must do for many travelers to the region. The emerald green waters of the bay and the thousands of small islands are a breathtaking sight, and have been entered in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 1994. Moreover, the site was also recently named as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Why Go on a Cruise in Halong Bay

Most travelers need very little convincing to visit Halong bay, and the most popular activity in the bay is taking a cruise among the islands. Most of the cruises have organized itineraries, and many independent travelers may feel that it is not the right thing for them, but the cruises in Halong Bay are different than organized cruise tours elsewhere. For one thing, it is almost impossible to get to the islands without a boat, and renting a small private boat and pilot for cruising where you like is expensive beyond the budget of the normal traveler.

In Halong Bay, you are not just buying a cruise around the bay, you are getting a full itinerary of the best places to visit according to the people who know best, lots of interesting activities while you are on the boat, and your accommodation and food. Not only does a cruise in Halong Bay allow you to see more of the stunningly beautiful karst formations than can be seen from the shoreline, but you also get to see Halong Bay at its best and land on some of the larger islands to explore the lush green forests and soft sandy beaches. Most itineraries include exploration of some of the islands, relaxing on the beaches, swimming around the karst formations, kayaking, scuba diving and snorkeling, and much more.

You will also get to visit the famous floating villages that can be found all around the bay, inhabited by whole families of fishermen that live out most of the year on the water, fishing and rearing seafood for supply to the cruise boats and the mainland restaurants. You can find out how they fish and raise the seafood they keep in pens, and even buy fish, crabs, shrimp, or snails to take back to the ship. The chefs on the cruise ship will even cook them for you to your requirements, so you can have that special dinner in the evening.

Choosing the Best Cruise for You

There are several types of Halong Bay cruise ships you can choose from, including luxury cruises on what is basically a hotel on the water to local tourist boats that run day cruises around the bay in junk.

The luxury cruises are sumptuous options that give you a five-star experience while exploring the delights and beauty of Halong Bay. While the cruise itinerary may be the same as the mid-range and budget options, you are paying for the height of luxury while you cruise around the small karst islands. Luxury cruises cost from around US$ 220 for an overnight cruise that lasts for 24 hours, and it is the perfect romantic treat for honeymooners. However, if economical tours are what you are looking for, then this is not the best option.

Majority of travelers in Halong Bay opt for the mid-range and budget cruise options, which have the same itineraries but without the luxury. There are some good mid-range or budget options offering cozy accommodations and good food for around US$ 100 and up, where the tour guides are knowledgeable and the activities are fun and exciting.

At the other end of the scale are the super-budget options. While they offer much the same tour around the same islands as all the others, the facilities are of a lower standard, and safety is sometimes the lowest priority for the boat captains. Rock-bottom prices start at around US$ 60 for a normal day trip, and these low-cost boats do not do overnight cruises.

Competition for the mid-range and budget options is fierce, and there are multiple offers available for tourists, with lots of freebies often thrown in to entice passengers onto their boats. These freebies often include things like kayaking trips from the boat or a free transfer from Hanoi. However, with such a wide range of boats and tours to choose from, it is wise to do a little research on the various cruise operators first.

If you are looking for that perfect local experience, then the Bai Chay tourist boats are the ideal option. Bai Chay tourist wharf in Halong City is the center of the day-tripper boats, and they offer four and six-hour excursions around the bay in local junks and motorboats. They are basic tours with no added frills, and are often filled with dozens of other tourists who just want to get out on the water and see the main highlights of the bay. On average, a four-hour trip that includes the main highlights such as Hang Dau Go and Hang Thien Cung costs around five US dollars, plus the Halong Bay Entrance Fee and the cave entrance fees. While these tours may be crowded and leave little room for safety, they are cheap and easily acquired, and they have free karaoke entertainment on board.

Best Cruise Options

Aside from the different types of cruises you can choose from, you can also choose the duration of your Halong Bay cruise on the luxury, mid-range, and budget cruises.

Day Trip Cruises

The day trips cruises are short cruises around the main highlights of the bay to give you a taste of navigating between these amazing karst formations. Day cruises can be booked easily in most travel agents, and depart daily from Hanoi, Halong Bay, and Cat Ba Island. Day trips from Hanoi include the travel by shuttle from the Vietnamese capital, and incorporate a half-day cruise only. Day trips from Halong City and Cat Ba are longer, usually around six or eight hours, and cover more of the bay and its islands, with plenty of cave visits and the chance to go ashore on the larger islands.

Overnight Cruises

There are several lengths of overnight cruises to choose from, which are mainly in the luxury and mid-range options. The shortest is the 2 day-1 night cruise, which lasts for around 24 hours, and allows you to see more of the bay’s spectacular scenery as well as having dinner on board the boat and a relaxing night’s sleep. These shorter cruise itineraries are the most popular options with foreign travelers, and can be easily booked with a local travel agent or direct with the boat captain.

The longer cruises incorporate 3 days-2 nights and 4 days-3 nights, and are ideal for those who want a longer tour and more relaxation. Allowing you more time to unwind and explore the stunning islands and karst formations, as well as the caves and beaches, they often have a smaller boat for the day excursions to the various attractions around the bay, returning to the larger ship in the evening for a delightful dinner and entertainment.

Things to Do

On most of the cruises around the islands of the bay, there are several things to do included in the itinerary. Majority of the cruises will land you on some of the larger islands that have easy access, and you can explore the lush green forests that top all of the karst formations or relax on the beach and take a delightful swim in the cool, emerald waters.

Caves are one of the most popular attractions of the bay, and the cruises regularly stop at the most popular caves on the islands, where you can land and explore these wind and wave-eroded caverns, filled with limestone rock formations as well as stalagmites and stalactites. There are also several caves that can only be accessed at low tide through a tunnel from the sea, and the cruise operators organize these with small boats taking you through to the underground caverns.

Dau Be Island is one of the most popular island attractions for making a landing on, as it has the usual lush green forests and six freshwater lakes that can be explored. The island is unique in that it is made up of several dozen hills, of which several are only accessible at low tide, as the high tide covers the land between them, cutting them off completely.

Kayaking around the islands is a popular activity, and kayak trips can be arranged from many of the luxury and mid-range cruise boats, as part of the tour itinerary. You can also hire kayaks on the few inhabited islands while you are visiting, and spend some time paddling around the shoreline and surrounding islets and karst formations that are close to the shore.

Scuba diving and snorkeling are other popular activities that can be arranged from the boats while you are cruising the islands, though they are normally found mostly on the high-end boats than the cheaper ones. With hundreds of small reefs surrounding the islands and karsts, you can have a great time exploring the underwater world of Halong Bay, and discovering the idyllic, tranquil setting of these reefs.

Around the bay are found dozens of small floating villages, where the inhabitants live for most of the year, moving to the land only in the typhoon season. These beautiful floating communities are the homes of the fishermen and their families, and can be visited from many of the tour boats for a few hours, to see how they live and how they raise and catch the fish and other seafood. Their produce is sold mostly to the cruise ships that ply their routes around the bay, with regular boats taking produce to the mainland for sale to restaurants and hotels there. There is even an option from the travel agents in Halong City to spend a few days at a home stay on some of the floating villages, to better experience their culture and way of life.