Ha Long Things to Do

We booked our one-night excursion to Ha Long through the Kangaroo Cafe - an Australian-run establishment. An easy process and decently priced, we were also welcome to leave our luggage in their back room whilst away. The place is decorated somewhat gaudily with pictures of the staff, owners, boats etc all advertising how wonderful the Cafe is and that it is the 'Real' place and not a rip-off joint like other rip-off joints etc etc. The website is much the same. Gets tiresome after a while!
Anyway, we were only a small group of 9 people and we all enjoyed Ha Long Bay and the junk boat. The bus-ride there and back was very long and tiring but that's no one's fault. Road trips in Vietnam are very long, bumpy and uncomfortable!
The boat was simple, basic and clean, the food absolutely impeccable and must rate as one of the finest culinary experiences we've had in Vietnam! The staff were so polite and friendly that it was easy to optionally tip them at the end of the trip. The bedrooms were decent in size, private and comfortable.
We managed to pack in a lot in 24hrs - a 419-step-climb up a steep karst to a view-point overlooking the glorious scenery, plus a kayak trip into an enclosed bay to see some monkeys play, a walk through a massive limestone cave and some of our companions also enjoyed jumping off the side of the boat into the sea. We weren't a 'party-boat' crowd - opting instead for a calm, easy going evening of quiet chit-chat and reflection - but they had everything on board such as a karaoke machine if we fancied a party-night. The only downside was that we were not allowed to bring our own alcohol and food on-board (but we snuck a bit on anyway :-) !). The drinks were expensive as well. I'm assuming booze isn't allowed for 2 reasons: good margin for the company on sale of alcohol and to prevent people from getting completely wasted and out of control (as backpackers are prone to do)
I wish we had booked two nights but considering the experience we'd had in the Mekong, we opted to just have the one night - better to be safe than sorry. There isn't much to do on the boat but that's the point really - it forces you to relax!
Even though it was hazy out on the water, this is still a magical place and deserves a visit.

Friends of ours had spent a lot of money on a 5* experience which they thoroughly enjoyed. I'd say this was a 3* but perfectly fine and not to be sniffed at.

PS: we had a meal at the Cafe on our return and although generally good, don't get anything with sausages as those are not very nice in Vietnam!

You MUST take a boat on Ha Long Bay, Hanoi travel agents can arrange this and help you stay for one or two nights (second day Cat Ba island). The atmosphere is nice and laid back and the scenery is eerily beautiful and unique.

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The boat was pre-booked from London, complete with shuttle bus from and to Hanoi. After much painful research, we deemed the best and most luxurious boat company to be the Red Dragon Boats, run by Indochina Junk (beware the many companies and web sites with copycat names). Our tickets came from their Hanoi sales office.

They run a fleet of boats and we chose the Prince II, one with four cabins only, of which we needed two. We chose the three-day, two-night tour, which took away any "rush factor" we'd heard about for the shorter cruises. It takes half a day each way for the bus ride to and from Hanoi, included with the trip. Our van had a maximum capacity of about 12 passengers. This cruise covered part of Halong Bay but spent most time in the less crowded Bai Tu Long Bay.

This company lived up to their promises and this was a truly luxurious cruise. Only one of the other two cabins was taken, so there were 6 staff for 6 passengers.

The Prince II junk was beautiful. It was tourist-tacky, but done up with much better quality than we saw from any other fleet of junks. Our cabins each had individual air-conditioners and large en-suite bathrooms with hot showers. They were nicely decorated and in very good shape.

The service was good, equivalent to a 5-star hotel, though not quite at the Leading Hotel of the World level. Meals were eaten together with the other guests on the top covered deck, and most meals were special affairs created by the chef from local seafood, with the chef providing cooking demonstrations at our tables. The food was delicious the first two days, but it did taper off dramatically in quality the last day. Meals were included in the price, but drinks were not, and they were expensive - maybe US $4 for a mixed drink, $5 for a cocktail.

The guide was excellent, as were the shore excursions, the sampan ride through a floating fishing village, and the kayaking. We could choose either single or double kayaks early in the trip, and these were towed behind the junk for the duration of the cruise.

The junks found secluded bays to anchor for the night. One night there were no other boats in sight and the other night there was only one other Red Dragon junk. It was quite peaceful.

I would definitely use this company again. Next time, I would put this cruise at the end of the holiday, rather than the beginning, to finish off with a truly relaxing three days.

I have been to Halong bay at the end of March, 2011
I booked the Poseidon cruise by Little Hanoi hotel at 48 Hang ga' st.
They provide a great service.
The Halong bay cruise was great:
We were 10 guests
We - for 2 nights 3 days cruise: 1 night on the boat and 1 night in Cat ba island-at Holiday view hotel ( - great hotel)
The rest were for 1 night 2 days cruise.
The guide came with us to Cat Ba Island and for the 3rd day it was a private tour for us.
The Poseidon boat is a nice boat
Nicely decorated, clean and well kept
The A/c in the rooms is working from 18:00 PM
The food was fresh.
The room's size is about 12m which is not too small and quit sufficient
The service is very good
Most drinks are twice the price but it is not too expensive for westerners...
The official price was 125$ and that’s what we actually paid.
The price included all meals during the 3 days and all activities and the hotel in Cat Ba island.
I recommend this cruise.

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Sung Sot (Surprise) Cave is one of the largest grottoes in Ha Long Bay. The 10,000 square-meters space features large stalagtites and stalagmites. The cave is divided into three chambers, the first resembling an amphitheatre and the second is a large room decorated with multi-colored lights.
Near the mouth of the cave, there is a large rock that seems to resemble a horse with a long sword. As Vietnam is steeped in mythology, the story here is that after Thanh Giong (Saint Giong) defeated the An aggressors, he helped the population to chase away evil spirits and demons. After this feat, Saint Giong flew to heaven, leaving a stone horse and sword to continue to keep the demons away.

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There are many wonderful pages & photos describing trips on Halong Bay. Here is our description of a typical budget option. This cost us US$35 each. The price included return mini-bus from Hanoi, lunch & dinner on the first day, and breakfast & lunch on the 2nd day. Drinks had to be purchased seperately. Alcohol was more expensive than normal and BYO was not encouraged. In fact there might have even been a sign stating that it was a no-no.

The trip from Hanoi took 3 hours. It was comfortable enough. We became tired of the Kung Fu movie that they were playing and they let us play one of the DVD's that we had brought. It was organised chaos getting to our boat at the docks, there were tourists and boats everywhere. Best pay attention and follow your designated leader! Seafood lunch was served after we had settled into our rooms and we ate while we cruised amongst the huge upright islands. We stopped at a huge cave called Hang Sung Sot and hiked up & through some spectacluar stagatites & stalagmites. I will put these photos on a seperate travelogue. Seafood dinner was also quite tasty. The seafood and fresh herbs were purchased from a boat selling to the tour boats. We shared the boat with 7 other couples (there were only 8 rooms). Before dinner, some of the passengers that got on at Halong City were dropped off at Cat Ba Island to stay the night at a hotel. It was raining when we woke in the morning and the kayaking was cancelled. Breakfast was good (bacon, eggs and a kind of sweet bread - brioche?) After breakfast, we went back to Cat Ba Island to pick up the other passengers and slowly cruised back for a pretty good lunch in Halong City. The bus returned us to Hanoi by around 5pm.

And we even had an added bonus on our budget boat - a huge white rat I saw scurrying around the dining room before I went to bed whilst writing up my journal. Not sure if it was pet or pest!!

IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT TRAGEDY INVOLVING A BOAT SINKING.....PLEASE TAKE CARE WHEN CHOOSING A BOAT. YOU MAY BE BETTER OFF SPENDING A FEW MORE $'S AND HAVING A SAFER EXPERIENCE.

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This is a personal favorite of mine. The hike up the island's summit is good way to burn those calories from over indulgence from overeating and overdrinking (that comes with the tour); the summit provides the best vantage point to soak in the bay's enchanting beauty - including dramatic sunsets.

There is also a beach at the island - but it's clearly artificial with sand hauled over from other locations.

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Sung Sot cave is one of the biggest caves in Halong Bay. Consisting of three vast chambers, the cave is characterized by interesting rock formation including the very popular "*** rock" which is some sort of a local fertility symbol. Obviously, this is one of the cave's main attractions.

The other attraction is the very scenic bay at the cave's entrance - a classic Halong photo op that has graced countless tourist brochures. The bay's familiarity in these brochures has not diminished its splendor. In fact, visiting Sung Sot Cave and not taking loads of snaps of the bay is close to sacrilege.