 | Ha Long Reviews | Tips 31 - 35 of 35 |  |
(last date stayed - April 24, 2007)
- twin-sharing room
- with toilet/shower room
- clean room
rate per night - included in the package tour
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Buy a tour from a big city like Ha Noi - As a big team of 18 people we bought ours from Hue. We got a fantastic 2 day trip for just $16! This included everything - transport to and from Ha Long, meals, 2 days on the boat with a cabin and the entry ticket. Staying on the boat is amazing, (If a little stuffy) and definately something i would recommend.
The great thing about staying on the Junk/tourist boats is that you can carry on your trip from where you left it the day earlier. There is no returning to Ha Long Dock which is Mobbed all the time - this means you will get to see more. For a few dollars extra you can go Kayaking from the boat - something we didnt have the chance to do but seems like it would be fun. Theme: OtherPrice: less than US$20 » Currency ConverterComparison: less expensive than averageAddress: Book your trip in Ha Noi or HueDirections: Any large city in Vietnam has countless tourist agencies - all of which offer Ha Long Tours. Book in Hue and get the train to Hanoi!
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OK. The whole 2 day trip cost us $35 each. So we didn't expect the accomodation to be anything luxurious. But, it was clean & comfortable. There was some hot water in the shower (just a little...) We had a great night's sleep and the view looking out of the window upon waking was magnificent. I would certainly recommend sleeping on the boat rather than getting dropped off at Cat Ba Island.
views views views
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We spent the day exploring limestone caves and stayed over night on the boat. There are over 3000 of these rock / limestone formations (called grottos) in Halong Bay, of course we only saw maybe 5% of that. Legend has it that Ha Long was formed when a dragon flew through the region dragging its tail which carved the earth thus forming the grottos. There are even people who live around these rocks on floating houses and cities built into the walls of the mountains. We even saw a pack of wild dogs on one of the small islands without any other inhabitants.
That night we spent the night in the open sea on the junk. That long twilight on the deck as the islands turned grey and then black, stars overhead, and the quiet lapping of water on the wooden hull made it a night to remember.
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If you do take the sensible option and choose to stay aboard one of the many junks that are available then the Halong Green would be a good choice.
Although one of the larger junks it was not crowded and there is a wonderful top deck with plenty of seating and lounging. Cabins were very comfortable, air conditioned, and the shower had ample hot water. As is so often the case the staff make the real difference and these could not do enough for the passengers.
What I thought was nice was the fact that there were enough guides on board to cover all the languages of the passengers and they spent extra time looking after the elder passengers that were on the trip during our cave trips.
Kayaking was available too and even if you hadnt pre booked there was no problem arranging it at the last minute.
Very comfortable, friendly helpful staff, great food.
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