In Halong Bay, should we take a 1 night cruise?

[gastronome]

We will be on Azamara Cruise in Halong Bay in March 2010. The ship will be docked at Bai Chay Ferry Station and stay overnight. Is it worth it to spend the night instead on one of those luxury junks? Do you recommend Red Dragon, Bhaya Cruise or another alternative?

[greatam]

We will be on Azamara Cruise in Halong Bay in March 2010. The ship will be docked at Bai Chay Ferry Station and stay overnight. Is it worth it to spend the night instead on one of those luxury junks? Do you recommend Red Dragon, Bhaya Cruise or another alternative?

 

Personally, I would. Your ship will not "cruise" Halong Bay so you miss a lot of spectacular scenery.

 

IMHO, Bhaya is tooo big, as are some of the other junks (Ginger, Jasmine, Emotion, etc. etc). 20+ cabins total. There are so many now-some good experiences, some pretty poor. You may want to get a few people on your role call together and rent something like the Huong Hai or Tropical Sails' Lagoon Explorer so you have a private experience. Both are MUCH smaller (5-7 cabins), so a more intimate experience. The Princess junks are TRULY a private experience. Some only have one cabin and go to very different places than the majority of junks. And Bai Tho also has some smaller junks-one with 4 cabins and one with two cabins. Bai Tho is one of the less expensive operators. Don't expect a super luxury experience with Bai Tho, but it is not bad value for the money IF you charter one of the smaller boats. Their larger boats have a LOT of backpackers on them and it can get VERY noisy at night.

 

Start doing some research, see if you can get some others to join you and charter one of the boats for the overnight. I would still recommend either Huong Hai or Tropical Sails.

[elyob]

We will be in Halong Bay in Feb. and 8 of us have chartered a junk with Red Dragon for an overnight cruise. The boat will hold 10 people.....so hopefully we will get 2 more....this was all done by meeting people on Cruise Critic. It sounds so much better then spending 6 hours round trip to Hanoi.

[halongpearlysea]

Personally, I would. Your ship will not "cruise" Halong Bay so you miss a lot of spectacular scenery.

 

IMHO, Bhaya is tooo big, as are some of the other junks (Ginger, Jasmine, Emotion, etc. etc). 20+ cabins total. There are so many now-some good experiences, some pretty poor. You may want to get a few people on your role call together and rent something like the Huong Hai or Tropical Sails' Lagoon Explorer so you have a private experience. Both are MUCH smaller (5-7 cabins), so a more intimate experience. The Princess junks are TRULY a private experience. Some only have one cabin and go to very different places than the majority of junks. And Bai Tho also has some smaller junks-one with 4 cabins and one with two cabins. Bai Tho is one of the less expensive operators. Don't expect a super luxury experience with Bai Tho, but it is not bad value for the money IF you charter one of the smaller boats. Their larger boats have a LOT of backpackers on them and it can get VERY noisy at night.

 

Start doing some research, see if you can get some others to join you and charter one of the boats for the overnight. I would still recommend either Huong Hai or Tropical Sails.

 

Hi,

 

Normally, this Cruise they stop at port about 1 day or 2 day only. if you travel by Azama Cruise, it's long trip, you should not go by Ginger or Byaha, Jasmine, huong hai.... It's so Big, you just go some hour on the halong bay is enough for you, and see the cave, stalagmine and stalagtide, fifgting - cock,.... 4 Hours is full. So you can get some private boat for one day, it's not the boat for overnight, just some hours only. You can choose bienngoc boat, thanh tung boat... or visits: www.halongsails.net, www.bienngoc.com or ....

 

I would like to recommend some boat for you.

 

bye,

 

Stephan

 

Hope you choose nice boat.

and if you have time you can visit Hanoi capital.

[Leuser1]

What is the best way to book an overnight on one of the luxury junks? Can it be done directly? I don't know where to start!

[greatam]

What is the best way to book an overnight on one of the luxury junks? Can it be done directly? I don't know where to start!

 

Do you have a group or is it just a couple?? Does make a difference, as a couple or two couples would most likely want to book through an agency that could handle transport to the boat. IF you have a group (like from your roll call), IMHO, book either Huong Hai (5-7 cabins) or Lagoon Explorer (4 cabins) for a very private experience. You are essentially chartering the entire boat. Until you answer the question of "how many", I can't give you any further advice.

[gastronome]

It is just a couple. What do you recommend?

Thanks for your help.

[greatam]

It is just a couple. What do you recommend?

Thanks for your help.

 

IF I wanted a truly luxury private experience, I would book the Princess junk. Know nothing about this booking company but you can read the itinerary to get an idea of what they offer, then search for a booking agent. Prices do vary but not by too much.

 

http://www.cruiseshalong.com/content/princess+junks+cruises+2days/3/899

 

If I wanted a semi private experience (and much cheaper) I would book the Huong Hai. IF you can round up two or three other couples, you can charter the Huong Hai for much less money pp that just booking a cabin space. Try your roll call-surely someone else wants to enjoy. http://www.halongdiscovery.com/?act=hhjunnk

 

MAKE SURE whoever you book understands you will NOT be in Hanoi, but at the port (which ever port your ship is docking at). They will need to arrange pickup from the port, NOT Hanoi. Enjoy!!!!

[Clint's Mom]

We are on the same Feb.20 Quest cruise with elyob and we will be in Halong Bay Mar. 2nd & 3rd. We went thru reddragoncruise.com. They have been very nice to work with and the junk looks lovely.

[millae]

We will be arriving on Feb 22nd via Legend of the Seas. We understand it docks at Hanoi/Halong Bay which is the closest of the three cruise ports to Halong Bay and furthest from downtown Hanoi. We have booked an afternoon excursion on a junk to see Halong Bay. We were wondering how to spend the morning hours. Will our ship be docked or tendered? Is there anything else nearby (town, museum, etc) we should visit given a three or four hour timeframe?

[greatam]

We will be arriving on Feb 22nd via Legend of the Seas. We understand it docks at Hanoi/Halong Bay which is the closest of the three cruise ports to Halong Bay and furthest from downtown Hanoi. We have booked an afternoon excursion on a junk to see Halong Bay. We were wondering how to spend the morning hours. Will our ship be docked or tendered? Is there anything else nearby (town, museum, etc) we should visit given a three or four hour timeframe?

 

There are three (well actually 4) ports in the Halong Bay area-Hai Phong, Cai Lan and Halong City, PLUS the river port of Phu Dong (only for small ships like Seabourn/Silversea).

 

Please don't believe you are any place close to Hanoi when you dock. While the distance is not great, the time it takes to go from Halong/Hai Phong to Hanoi is about 3 hours due to the horrendous traffic.

 

Since you have no idea where you are going to dock, I cannot tell you whether you will be docked or tendered. But as LOS is a larger ship, you most likely will go to Hai Phong (the container port). There is a pagoda in Hai Phong and the 24 hour flower market is worth a few minutes if you are close. The roses are lovely (but not as nice as South American roses). Not a lot to do in the area-it is mostly industrial. But your tour should leave for Halong about 10-10:30AM (it is at least an hour drive from Hai Phong to Halong in a bus). Enjoy!!!

[millae]

Greatam: Really appreciate all your fine info on this. Actually we're not scheduled to leave from the ship to Halong Bay until about 2pm so we'll just poke around the immediate area in the morning and that should be fine.

 

Thanks,

Alan

[greatam]

Greatam: Really appreciate all your fine info on this. Actually we're not scheduled to leave from the ship to Halong Bay until about 2pm so we'll just poke around the immediate area in the morning and that should be fine.

 

Thanks,

Alan

 

PLEASE check out this shore excursion thoroughly before you commit to it. Your 2PM start time is definitely out of the norm unless you are on an overnight.

 

The majority of Halong Bay trips leave right about noon. They actually leave Hanoi about 8AM, with a 3 hour drive to Halong and a rest stop along the way.

 

Don't know where you are docking yet, but to get from Hai Phong/Cai Lan to Halong where the junks depart takes about an hour+ by road. And if you are not on an overnight, most of the junks return to Halong between 5-6PM. Leaving your ship at 2:00PM is a VERY short trip to Halong and you won't see much, unless it is overnight.

[Benita]

We just got back from a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia with Vantage. The overnight Halong Bay cruise was one of the highlights (Angkor Wat being the other one). We had an overnight cruise on a Bai Tho junk - it had about 15 cabins and Vantage had chartered the whole boat. The ship was clean, the cabins small and the food good. The views were amazing, especially from up in the cave area. It would be a shame to miss an overnight stay on the bay, but be prepared for the long drive - it took more than three hours to get to Hanoi the next day.

[caramelo]

We booked a day tour only, because we will be about 8h on one of the ships.

We pay 69$ each which is a far price.

 

We will be there on the 2º of february.:D

[John Bull]

We've got the same dilemma as Millae, our ship arrive Ha Long bay 2pm - don't know exactly where. (ms Discovery, small ship, excurions quoted at 30 mins travel e/w to the boats). We leave 7pm next day.

We'd like to do an overniter on a junk, but as others have mentioned they all seem to leave around noon.

The ship offers a couple of boat trips, 90 mins or 2 hours on the water, not sure either would achieve much.

Any suggestions for overniters with this constraint on a start time?

Caramelo (or anyone else) - any chance you could oblige with a contact or website for your one-day cruise? And do you have to pre-pay?

Many thanks, regards to all, John Bull

[greatam]

We've got the same dilemma as Millae, our ship arrive Ha Long bay 2pm - don't know exactly where. (ms Discovery, small ship, excurions quoted at 30 mins travel e/w to the boats). We leave 7pm next day.

We'd like to do an overniter on a junk, but as others have mentioned they all seem to leave around noon.

The ship offers a couple of boat trips, 90 mins or 2 hours on the water, not sure either would achieve much.

Any suggestions for overniters with this constraint on a start time?

Caramelo (or anyone else) - any chance you could oblige with a contact or website for your one-day cruise? And do you have to pre-pay?

Many thanks, regards to all, John Bull

 

Round up 3-5 additional couples and CHARTER a boat. Then you can leave anytime you want.

 

See my posts in this thread for boats that hold 1-5 couples. Most have websites with contact info.

 

I have done a private overnight charter in Halong (just DH and I). It wasn't cheap because it was only us but it was a very nice experience. We didn't leave until 4:00PM because I was working at the port checking in containers and this was as early as I knew I could get from HaiPhong to Halong. So it can be done.

 

In the winter, I sure wouldn't waste my time or money on a day trip leaving after 2:00PM. It will be dark by 6:00, so certainly not much time to see anything. And 2 hours is NOT enough time to hardly get out of the dock. A chartered overnight allows you to go to the cave, go to Cat Ba, see the floating village, enjoy a delightful night and dinner on the water, and enjoy the scenery.

[caramelo]

We arrive aswell very late to catch the boat to stay overnight. But I have seen this trip finish next day in the morning.

So our trip leaves early in the morning and we stay till 6pm.

[John Bull]

Round up 3-5 additional couples and CHARTER a boat. Then you can leave anytime you want.

 

See my posts in this thread for boats that hold 1-5 couples. Most have websites with contact info.

 

I have done a private overnight charter in Halong (just DH and I). It wasn't cheap because it was only us but it was a very nice experience. We didn't leave until 4:00PM because I was working at the port checking in containers and this was as early as I knew I could get from HaiPhong to Halong. So it can be done.

 

In the winter, I sure wouldn't waste my time or money on a day trip leaving after 2:00PM. It will be dark by 6:00, so certainly not much time to see anything. And 2 hours is NOT enough time to hardly get out of the dock. A chartered overnight allows you to go to the cave, go to Cat Ba, see the floating village, enjoy a delightful night and dinner on the water, and enjoy the scenery.

 

Thanks for the input.

We'll be there January, we'd certainly agree that it needs an overniter or a full day.

Yes, we'd considered chartering, despite the risk of paying for even a small junk to ourselves if we couldn't find sharers, a real possibility since our ship only has about 600 pax.

But another big problem is that altho' we could leave later on day one (I reckon it'd be about 3pm to 4pm), I'm guessing the junk would still have to be back around noon next day for its next charter, even tho we'd not have to be back-on-ship til gone 6pm. Have e-mailed to check out prospects of custom-timing; either late over-niter with a long second day or simply a full single day, but I suspect scheduling will rule it out or make the cost prohibitive.

You clearly though the trip was worth it despite the late start, was your return time still around noon?

regards, John Bull

(with apologies to gastronome for borrowing the thread)

[John Bull]

Been quoted by Jimmy Noi, Hoa Binh Travel, via his website http://www.halongsails.net/

2 days/1 night, departure about 3pm (due to our arrival time), return 12 noon (as anticipated, a later return would preclude another charterer and therefore double the price) our own junk for $380, ie $190 x 2, going down to $110 x 4, $95 x 6, $80 x 8, if we can find sharers - and we could surely find at least one couple from our 600 fellow-pax.

This price would be manageable even if we didn't find sharers.

His alternative is $90pp for an 8 hour day-long cruise, which is also acceptable.

Be grateful for any feedback on Jimmy (seems pretty professional & switched-on) and thoughts on his offers.

We'll be there mid-Jan

 

John Bull

[caramelo]

ok now we know the name of the port we arrive with azamara in january

 

Cai Lan International Port

before they said it would be the Bai Chai, but now its this one which is quiet far away. So we had a extra charge for the port fairs with the agency

[caramelo]

For John Bull,

 

we arrive at 1pm at the port and all the excursions leave 12pm

 

So we booked a day tour 8h for 4 persons. The taxi picks us up at the ship and will bring us back.

 

http://www.exotissimo.com/

 

we booked it here

 

We will be there the 2.february

[greatam]

For John Bull,

 

we arrive at 1pm at the port and all the excursions leave 12pm

 

So we booked a day tour 8h for 4 persons. The taxi picks us up at the ship and will bring us back.

 

http://www.exotissimo.com/

 

we booked it here

 

We will be there the 2.february

 

Where is your tour going???? If into Hanoi, please be aware that it is a 2-3 hour drive from the port areas to Hanoi. So 4-6 hours of your day will be spent in traffic getting to and from.

 

You can certainly book a charter boat in Halong Bay for as long as you want for as many people as you want. If you only have the day, I personally would forget Hanoi-just too much time spent in transit for what you will see. IF you have an overnight, either consider doing the overnight on one of the boats in Halong OR spend the night in Hanoi to avoid wasting most of your day in transit. The Zephyr hotel is very close to the market, the water puppet show, Hoa Kiem Lake, is a reasonable price and a very decent hotel for the money. http://www.zephyrhotel.com.vn/english/home_en.asp

[John Bull]

For John Bull,

 

we arrive at 1pm at the port and all the excursions leave 12pm

 

So we booked a day tour 8h for 4 persons. The taxi picks us up at the ship and will bring us back.

 

http://www.exotissimo.com/

 

we booked it here

 

We will be there the 2.february

 

Hi Caramelo,

We arrive 2pm & face the same problem. And we've come to the same conclusion - on the second day we'll take an 8 hr day cruise, which gives us more cruising time than a trunkated overnighter, sailing to the same places, no need to cross fingers that we'll find sharers, and time to explore on land on day 1.

We'd considered Greatham's alternative suggestion to head for Hanoi the first afternoon & hotel in Hanio, but to then join the day-cruise via their transport from Hanoi. But that's a whole lot of travelling for just an evening in Hanoi. With a call of a day & a half we reckon we can't do justice to Hanoi & Halong Bay - its one or the other, & we've plumped for the Bay.

Thanks to all for the input

John Bull

[caramelo]

Hi,

 

everybody says not to go ton Hanoi, its small and not much to see. Anyway it takes nearly 3h from the port.

 

Our agency in Vietnam told us we would arrive finaly at the Cai Lan port.

They charged us another 60$ for fees. Well, I paid today 332$ for 4 pers. on the 8h trip, with the transfer incl.

 

But the Halong boat trip is not only for us, its a tourist boat. I hope its true what they promised us, because it should be a good one. Meals incl.

 

We are on the azamara, and the trip is on the 3rd february. We arrive on the 2nd, so I need to have a look what we can do on this day.

 

You can contact this agency and they will tell you all the diferent prices.

 

Because some boats stay overnight, but they come back to the port about 11am, so they dont see more than us in 8h.

(sorry for my realy bad english)