Embarking on a Halong Bay Cruise is one of those bucket-list activities that you HAVE to do when exploring Southeast Asia. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is located on the coast of Northeastern Vietnam. It is a beautiful area that contains emerald waters, towering limestone rock features, caves of all shapes and sizes, tropical islands, and millions of years of history that we can only aspire to understand. It’s pretty obvious why cruising Ha Long Bay is on EVERY single “MUST-DO” Southeast Asia itinerary.
**a quick moment of transparency and probably an unpopular opinion… cruising Halong Bay is a bit overrated and quite frankly, overpriced. I would not choose to do it a second time ALTHOUGH I do recommend it for first timers. Halong Bay is truly a sight to be seen and the only good way to do it is to take one of these *slightly overrated* tourist cruises***
Moving on...
When you first start researching Ha Long Bay cruises, you’ll quickly realize that there are HUNDREDS of options to choose from. You can easily spend hours upon hours exploring every single choice before making a final decision… but you don’t have to do that if you understand how the cruises are run.
All the cruises have similar (if not identical) activities. Some blogs will tell you to focus on the activities that the cruise offers when making your decision, but that really doesn’t matter. Most of the activities are pretty cheesy. My advice would be to choose one based on the three “b’s”: bay, budget & bunk. Decide which bay you want to cruise (more on that below), how much you’re wanting to pay, and the type of bunk or accommodation you would like (balcony room, one king, 2 beds, family room, etc.)
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Which Bay to Cruise
The Halong Bay world heritage site is made up of 3 different neighboring bays named Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay, and Bai Tu Long Bay. When people refer to “Halong Bay”, they are actually referring to this trio of bays.
The differing bays is the part that confused me the most when I was researching cruises. I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of there being 3 different Halong Bays. Which one should I choose? Is one better than another? It’s VERY frustrating to sift through and understand.
To put it simply, Lan Ha Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay are just extensions of Halong Bay. Halong Bay is the most famous section of the bay because it is the easiest one to reach from Halong City, NOT because it is any more scenic or special than the others.
Halong Bay is considerably more crowded than the other bays due to its convenient location; therefore, I would suggest picking either Lan Ha Bay or Bai Tu Long Bay over Halong Bay. The only exception is if you only have one day to explore. If that’s the case, I would choose Halong Bay to make the most of your time. Otherwise, cruising to Lan Ha Bay or Bai Tu Long Bay is much more enjoyable and less congested than Halong Bay is.
When is the Best Time to Visit Halong Bay
Halong Bay cruises operate year-round and while there is a “better” time to go, there really isn’t a “bad” time to visit! The bay is enjoyable in all-weather circumstances because the whole point of cruising the bay is to take in the stunning scenery of the limestone karsts and enjoy some relaxation in one of the most beautiful locations in the world. If you REALLY want to get picky, follow these recs:
Halong Bay Cruise in Spring & Fall
March-April, Oct-Nov
The BEST overall time to cruise Halong Bay would have to fall somewhere in spring or fall. The weather is warm, but not hot; and there are more sunny days than rainy ones.
Halong Bay Cruise in Summer
May-Aug
Summer is the best time to cruise Halong Bay if you’re looking for nice swimming weather! The hot temps make it the perfect time to take mid-day dip… in fact it is almost necessary to swim to escape the hot and humid weather (temps can rise to almost 100 deg peak summer).
Summer also brings a higher risk of storms and typhoons… so it’s very possible your cruise could cancel or postpone due to bad weather. If you aren’t very flexible with your schedule, I would avoid booking during these months.
Halong Bay Cruise in Winter
Dec-Feb
The winter months are a great time to enjoy the scenery and have a relaxing cruise! The temps will be mild (50s-70s), and rain is unlikely! There is usually a lot of cloud and fog coverage during winter though, so if you’re looking for perfect sun-filled blue skies then this might not be the best time for you.
How to Get to Halong Bay
There are two ways to get to Halong Bay. The first way is to go via public or private transportation, which usually includes a bus to Ha Long City and then Taxi to the port. If you are planning on exploring Halong Bay for more than just your cruise, you should choose this option.
The second way to get to Halong Bay is to book transportation from Hanoi with your cruise company. The bus transfer will pick you up at your accommodation in Hanoi and take you straight to your cruise as well as back to Hanoi at the end. It is simple, convenient and the cruise company takes care of all the logistics.
How much Time to Spend in Halong Bay
There are three options to choose from when picking the length of your Halong Bay cruise.
- Single day cruise
- 2 Day/1 Night
- 3 Day/2 Night
Personally, lugging all my stuff on a boat just to sleep for one night and then disembark the next day… is not worth it. I would either go for the single day or ideally, the 3 day/2 night option if your budget allows.
A Cruise that Doesn’t “Cruise”
Most people are surprised to hear that you are not actively “cruising” the bay on your Halong Bay Cruise. Instead, you will take a small commuter boat to reach your Cruise Ship boat. Your Cruise ship boat will cruise for a short period of time until it eventually docks for the evening. Any activity you go on in the consecutive days will be via a commuter boat that picks you up from your docked cruise ship.
I was a little disappointed at first when I realized we weren’t actively cruising, but we docked in a beautiful spot, so I got over it pretty quickly.
Halong Bay Cruise Tips
- The site we used to book our cruise is Halong Bay Tours. You can use filters that help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
- BRING ANY ALCOHOL YOU PLAN TO DRINK ON BOARD WITH YOU! The alcohol on the boat is literally 20x more expensive than on land (not even exaggerating). **If you do plan on bringing your own alcohol, make sure you are being discreet. While it technically isn’t against the rules, it is frowned upon.
- Bargain with the locals. There local people will come up to your cruise on a little fishing boat. They sell snacks, alcohol and souvenirs and are MORE than willing to bargain.
- Be prepared for the “bait & switch” move when booking your cruise. The booking agent will sell you a certain cruise, but if that cruise doesn’t sell enough spots, they will move you to a different cruise. It is a very common tactic used. It happened to us a couple of times which was frustrating. I ended up asking them to upgrade our cabin due to inconvenience (and they did)! We got a corner balcony suite, which was epic!
- The cooks cater to any dietary needs: we were super impressed with all the meals! It was honestly one of our favorite parts!
- The WIFI is not reliable: There are spots where there is no service and no WIFI connectivity. Lean into the experience and enjoy being off-line for some time!
- The tide can affect activities: we were supposed to do a float trip through one of the caves, but because the tide was super low we weren’t able to get to it.
Happy Cruising!
