Best cruises in Halong bay

Are there any SHORT duration (I/e 2-3 hours) cruises of Ha Long Bay? That provide a “taste” of the area. We are limited in the time available to us as our Cruise Ship is only at Ha Long for 36 hours and we would like to visit Hanoi

@Dave Power, For a shared junk boat tour to visit Halong Bay, the minimum time required is 4 hours. Therefore, we recommend that you book a 2-hour private canoe tour to explore the bay. The price range for this service is from 300 USD to 600 USD for a 2-hour sightseeing experience that includes visits to Titop Island and Sung Sot Cave.

Hi, I would like recommendation on the cruise (mid-range will do). Our group would like to do kayaking / some swimming on the 1st day and be able to take a boat out to the cave (if not wrong, is it the Sung Sot cave?). Best if the cruise comes with free hotel transfer, if not it is fine as well. Which will you recommend? thanks.

I am trying to decide Sena or Peony cruise to book for my 3D2N that is including Lan Ha. Can you provide the comparison of the two?

@Linda Both Sena and Peony cruises offer a 3D2N itinerary that includes Lan Ha Bay, and they are both highly rated by travelers. However, there are some differences between the two cruises that you may want to consider when making your decision. Ship: Sena cruise is a small luxury cruise that can accommodate up to 32 guests, while Peony cruise is a larger and more luxurious vessel that can accommodate up to 40 guests. If you prefer a more intimate and cozy experience, Sena may be the better choice. Itinerary: Both cruises offer a similar itinerary that includes visiting the Lan Ha Bay area, including kayaking, swimming, and exploring the caves. A visit to an underwater cave, a pristine beach, and a local village on Cat Ba Island could be found on both cruise itineraries. However, Peony cruise diversifies the experience with a dry cave on Cat Ba island, while Sena cruise extends kayaking and swimming activities at Tra Bau Area on Lan Ha Bay. Accommodations: Both cruises offer luxurious and comfortable accommodations, but Peony cruise tends to be slightly more spacious and luxurious, with larger cabins and more amenities.

Hello, hope you have a recommendation. I’m looking for an overnight cruise at Halong Bay, that includes a stay at Cat ba or longer time at Cat Ba. Also looking to do diving. It can be 2d1n or 3d2n. Dates in between 3-7 April. thank you!

@Jy While most Lan Ha Bay cruises include a short side trip to Cat Ba Island on their 3D2N itinerary, you may prefer to stay longer and explore the island at your own pace. In that case, we recommend you to book a hotel on Cat Ba Island for an overnight stay, and joining the 3D2N cruise on the following day to fully experience both the island and the bay.

We are arriving end of March and are wanting to do a 1 or 2 night cruise, that also includes Cat Ba, if any offer that? We are a couple

@Many Lan Ha Bay cruises, such as Orchid Classic Cruise, Heritage Binh Chuan Cruise, Stellar of the Seas, and Genesis Luxury Regal, usually include a visit to Cat Ba Island's Viet Hai Village as part of their itinerary. We recommend you reading reviews for these cruises and selecting one that best suits your preferences.

Hi. We are a muslim couple. We are very interested to book a 1or 2 night luxury cruise on Halong Bay with halal food available. We are okay with seafood. We would also like to visit the caves. However, my husband is not able to do kayaking. Can you suggest the best option for us. Thanks

@Lina Mohd Most cruises in Halong Bay provide halal food for onboard meals. For a unique experience, we recommend booking with Heritage Binh Chuan Cruise, which offers excellent cuisine and itineraries off the beaten path.

Hi, I would like to book a 1 night luxury cruise for Halong Bay for 8th Feb for me and wife. My budget is approx. 350-400 USD. Can you suggest me some cruises? And what will be the return time on 9th Feb. I have to catch a flight to Ho Chi Minh. I will book my flight accordingly. Will need pickup from hotel in Hanoi on 8th Feb and drop to airport on 9th Feb.

@Rounak Agarwal For Halong bay, you can go with Amanda Cruises for 410$US including round-trip shuttle bus. The bus will take you to Hanoi on the 09th Feb at 2:30-3:00pm, please arrange your flight to Ho Chi Minh city accordingly. Kindly note the transfer from Hanoi to Noi Bai Airport also takes about 45 minutes. You can also book a private transfer to Noi Bai Airport directly from Halong bay, that would save your time and money!

My wife and I plan to visit Hanoi in late January for 4 nights. During this period we would like to do a 2 day/1 night cruise in Halong Bay. Are there hotels which offer an accommodation + cruise package?

Hi there, my husband and I will be flying to Hanoi on 22-28 Dec. As it’s Christmas period so we are not sure where are the places we should and should not visit. We wish to spend 1 or 2 N on one of your Halong Bay cruises. We prefer a scenic and more exclusive route, kindly recommend a suitable cruise. Beside staying at Hanoi for a few days, we are also considering visiting Sapa or nearby places but not sure if it feasible. Thank u for your prompt reply.

@Celine Thank you for choosing Halong bay for your Christmas vacation. If you prefer cruising routes with less touristy, then we advise you to go with either Elite of the Seas or Orchid Cruises, both have unique itinerary and quality service. We just emailed you with cruise information and itinerary!

Hello, I would like to enquire on halong bay cruise. Looking for a cruise for our family (group of 4, maybe 5 -- includes 2 children age 13 and 10). For a cruise boat that is not too many people/crowded. Cruise probably for 2 nights. Want to include cave visits, but ability to also get on the row boat instead of kayaking (some members have limitation for kayaking). Don't like too noisy/party like, so wanting a more relaxed cruise boats/tours. Want to also include visit to Trang An. Do you do this as well? Also, have any private transfer from Hanoi to the cruise, and return? Planning to arrive in Hanoi from Singapore.. tentative dates looking at 21 Dec arriving.

@Lisa Given what you have mentioned, we would like to recommend you Orchid Premium Cruise which has only 5 cabins and visiting the less-touristy Lan Ha Bay. We have emailed you with the cruise details along with a Trang An side trip.

I am flying into Hanoi around the 21st of December and want to do a cruise to explore the bay. I also want to do some kayaking, visit the caves and the beach- it may be too cold to do this and to snorkle but wanted some ideas. Could I stay in Halong bay and do day trips for kayaking, caves and the beach?

@Marlisa Yes, you can book a hotel in Halong bay and do a day trip to Halong on a day cruise to explore caves, beaches and enjoy kayaking on the bay. No cruises offer snorkeling in their activities so you need to book a separate tour. However, it is cold in Halong bay during December so this tour is not available.

My husband and I will arrive in Hanoi on Feb 11 2023 and possibly spend two nights there, so wanting to book either a day cruise or an over-night cruise on the 13th. I do not swim and don't want to do any kayaking, we are not interested in doing many caves, but do want to go to beaches, and see Cho Da islet, Lu Huong islet, and Fight Cock islet, Titop Island, and Cua Van Floating Village. Which cruise would you suggest? And do we find our own transportation from Hanoi to Halong Bay? Thank you, Rhonda and Matt.

@Rhonda Wilkinson Most cruises include swimming and kayaking in their itinerary. However, if you do not want to join those activities, you can just stay onboard. For the all attractions you list, Bhaya cruises will cover them all and I have emailed you with their cruise itinerary! Thank you

Hello, To get to Halong Bay, is it better to fly into Van Don Airport or into Hanoi Airport? Can I make arrangements for someone to pick me up at the airport and take me to HB pier? What is unclear to me is how to connect from any airport to HB so I will surely arrive on time to board the ship. Usually, what time is boarding? Once I book my cruise, will someone from the cruise line help me iron out the details?

@Denys Cruz Van Don Airport is the closest airport to Halong bay. Therefore if you fly there, it takes only 45 minutes to transfer from airport to Halong bay cruise port. Most cruises do not offer transfer from the airport to their ship, kindly book your own transfer (private car or taxi). We also emailed you with transportation details and recommended cruises. Thank you

Hi, I am looking for a Halong Bay cruise, can you help me find an one night cruise that will go to both Cua Van fishing village and Sung sot cave? We have 5 adults and want 2 luxury cruise rooms with balcony!

@Sherry Bhaya Cruises is the only cruise that visits both Cua Van floating village and Sung Sot cave at the moment. We just emailed you with excursions details. Thanks

So, we are confused between a day trip and an overnight cruise. Looking for guidance here. We want to ideally do overnight but are also mindful of the additional cost that it brings. Secondly, we are arriving at 5:50 AM in Hanoi. After going through Visa processes and baggage up, we ideally should be ready by 8 AM. We are wondering if we should directly head to the cruise that day itself or should we settle in Hanoi first. Would love to do it on 21 only so that we don't have to break our Hanoi exploration into two. In that case, do cruises offer airport pickup? Or is it only from Hanoi Old Quarters. Our budget would love to be under 2.500.000 dong but can stretch upto 4.000.000 dong per person if the cruise speaks to us! We are 4 people, two couples. Thank you!

I am interested in a four day three night, or three day two night, Halong / Lan Ha Bay cruise. Prefer four day / three nights. Desire to embark on cruise on either Dec 26th or 27th, 2022. Plan to fly-out from Hanoi (HAN) on a 12:25am flight on December 31st. For cruise, criteria desire are: Family friendly toward 13 year old teenager; I have active activities such as kayaking, swimming at beach areas, cave exploring, & hiking; want full board (meals all included in rate), definitely want vessel to have either an outside whirlpool and / or swimming pool (whirlpool preference); well appointed cabins with private full bathroom for three passengers (2 adults and 13 year old teenager); and want transfers from Hanoi to vessel and vessel back to Hanoi. I will select Hanoi hotels myself. Please let me know if there is availability for such cruise for this December, and if yes, information on the vessels, cabin types, and costs (incld what the RT transfer costs would be for the three of us.

@Pollack Currently, there are very few options for 4D3N cruises. You can consider a package for 3 day 2 night cruise + a night at a hotel either in Hanoi or Halong bay. We already emailed with details and available 4D3N cruise packages.

We (myself and my wife) will arrive at Hanoi on 07 December 2022 at 20.45 and leave from Hai phong airport for Ho Chi Minh city at 18.50 on 22 December 2022. We are interested in visiting Halong bay, Cat Ba island, Ninh Binh. We are okay to spend couple of days at Hanoi (we have be at Hanoi previously) and also couple of days at Hai Phong. We are both in our 60th so may not be capable of some kind of activities for young people! By the way, my wife can speak Vietnamese so she has no problem to communicate with locals. It would be much appreciated if you could help us, with your professional expertise plan an efficient and effective itinerary to maximise our enjoyment in this area of Vietnam!

@Jim Ye As you have quite a long vacation, do you want to visit Sapa as well? To be honest, Hai Phong will not have too many things to do actually. You have a total of 15 days, so you may consider staying in Hanoi, for 3-4 days, Sapa for 4-5 days, Ninh Binh for 2-3 days and Halong for 3-4 days. You can consider an overnight cruise trip for 3 days 2 nights and stay an extra night in Halong if you prefer. We also emailed you with details so you can consider. Thank you

We have a family of 6 people visiting Halong bay next June 2023 from Australia, can you recommend a small cruise boat, preferably less than 10 cabins. Thank you

@Sandra Bauer: If budget is not a concern, then we advise that you go with Orchid Premium, a boutique cruise with only 5 cabins. It is a well-known luxury cruise brand in Halong bay.