Best Guide For Planning a Cruise on Halong Bay in Beautiful Northern Vietnam

One Night Halong Bay Cruise

During my trip to Vietnam in June 2022, I booked a 2 day, 1 night Halong Bay cruise with Bikudo Travel, and I was so happy with the service and the booking process was a breeze.

Fantasea was the name of our boat. It was nice but looked older compared to some others. The room was massive though, with a private bathroom and a large bed. Also, there was no balcony but large windows that open giving amazing views.

Before leaving Hanoi I was in two minds as to how this trip would go. I had a few people say to me that Halong Bay is a tourist trip, too crowded and very polluted. Although, I always love to see things for myself so was always going to go anyway but my expectations weren’t overly high. 

That changed as soon as we left Tuan Chau Harbor, it’s seriously impressive! Of course, there are other cruises on the water, but it never felt busy or as if we were sailing through a traffic jam. 

Over the two days, I did see a little bit of rubbish in the water but unfortunately, this can be a common site in some parts of Southeast Asia. 

Our guide did say that the rubbish used to be much worse, and has improved since the government relocated a local floating village.

Halong Bay’s Floating Village

Up until about 5 years ago, there was a self-sufficient floating fishing village living in Halong Bay. This village had lived in Halong Bay for generations and created a community on the water, even including a school for their children. 

But the Vietnamese government basically forced this community to relocate inland. The Government insisted that people’s quality of life, particularly the children’s education would improve and their environmental impact was also a big factor. 

As with the rest of the world, the use of plastic and other non-biodegradable waste was on the rise. A lot of this trash ended up on the water. So, people who visited Halong Bay in the past and said it was full of rubbish, may have visited before the village was relocated.

Thankfully now the pollution isn’t so much of an issue in Halong Bay and this natural beauty will be well preserved for generations to come.

Cruise Itinerary

Day 1

The tour will include hotel pick-up from Hanoi and a bus transfer to the Tuan Chau Harbor. The drive from Hanoi to the harbour is 3.5 hours, there’s a newer freeway that would only take only 2.5 hours but not all tours would go this route as the toll roads are expensive. 

Once arriving at Tuan Chau Harbor there wasn’t much waiting around before we got on a small boat to transfer everyone out to Fantasea. Then the staff served lunch after we’d checked into our rooms.

The first afternoon was busy with Kayaking in Luon Cave, visiting Titop Island to swim at the beach and climbing the 400 steps up to the island’s lookout point. The views from the lookout were stunning, 360-degree views of Halong Bay.

Afterwards back to our boat for sunset drinks on the deck, lessons in making spring rolls and dinner. After dinner, there will also be the opportunity for squid fishing and karaoke if you’re up for it (our guide was more excited about the karaoke than anyone else Lol). 

Day 2

The second day of our Halong Bay Cruise was meant to start at 05:30 am with a Tai Chi class on the top deck, but the pouring rain put a stop to that. 

After breakfast, the rain eased and we headed to the Sung Sot Cave. This cave system is incredible and far exceeds my expectations. The caves are massive and even with all the other boast arriving at the same time the cave never felt cramped.

By late morning we were back on the boat to check out of our rooms, have lunch and then transferred back to Hanoi.

Advertised as 2 day 1 night, in actual fact, you’re on the boat for less than 24 hours. The tour does go over two days but this includes travel to and from Hanoi.