Halong Bay 2 Night Cruise

The only sounds around us are the local boats putt-putting on the water, and the hawker women calling up to us to buy from their boats. The sky has a light cloud, and the islands in the distance are fading into the background due to the dimming light. The greenery of the islands around us is a total mystery as there is no soil for the trees and bushes to take root. Through the green you can see the grey rock with splashes of white. Kites soar around the islands looking for their next meal. The sea is green but not clear enough to see into the depths. Titop Island lies off our starboard side. The bay is quiet; the only sound apart from the above is from the birds on the islands. This is our first night on our Halong Bay 2 night cruise.

Halong Bay is renowned for its beautiful rock formations and islands

Halong Phoenix Cruiser

Our boat for the trip was the Halong Phoenix Cruiser. This is similar to a Chinese Junk and is typical of the cruisers on the bay. After being brought to the cruiser by the tender boat and meeting our guide Bien, we were given an introduction to the tour and sent to our rooms. (Not as a punishment for misbehaving)!

A typical Chinese junk style boat similar to the one on which we were going to spend a few nights on

Our cruise boat for the trip - Halong Phoenix Cruiser — Our cruise boat for the trip – Halong Phoenix Cruiser

The tender boat used for bringing you to the islands on the bay

The Rooms

The rooms were far better than we had expected. They were surprisingly spacious, with a double bed, and lots of room for our backpacks and rucksacks. The shower and bathroom were perfect. We were pleased to hear that the hot water was a full time thing and we didn’t have to notify them when planning on having a shower. (This is something we have experienced in Africa a few times so we were kind of expecting it here too).

The bedrooms were a good size and comfortable

Admiring the view from the bedroom before we set sail

The bathrooms in the cabins were good and there was no issues with running or hot water

The Restaurant

Moving into the restaurant area it was quite large, and plenty of room for everybody. There was a little bar at the end which was open all the time, and you could order and take your drink up to the sitting area above stairs. The food was in a word; fantastic! We really didn’t expect something so good on a cruise boat in Vietnam! There were nine courses for our dinner and each one was brilliant. Not just the taste but also the presentation. Top marks to the staff and crew for an amazing job!

Fish was of course one of the main ingredients as above, but there was also beef and chicken dishes

The food on board was excellent and well prepared

The Viewing Deck

The top deck was maintained nicely and kept good and clean. It was lovely to sit there in the evening and watch the bay turn from day to night. Listening to nothing but the waves all around was calm and relaxing.

The top deck of the cruiser had a nice sitting area where you could sit out in the evening

Supplies

What happens if you have forgotten to stock up on drinks, chocolate, crisps, or cigarettes on shore before coming on board? Are you doomed to go into withdrawal or limit your addictions until setting foot back on the mainland? Not to fear, all is not lost!

Look over the railing and you will see a friendly woman in a fully laden boat paddling around to the cruisers selling her wares. You won’t have to call her over because she will spot you long before you see her! She will send what you need up in a net and you deposit the money in the same net back down to her. It’s a good little enterprise and really useful!

Local woman row out to the cruises and offer things for sale, like food, beer, and cigarettes

Leaving the Harbour

Leaving the harbour behind you, you may be eager to get up to the top deck and look out over the bay. As the cruiser makes it way through the water the islands loom up ahead of you. Appearing out of the misty gloom they look like ancient sea monsters turned to stone as they reared up on some ancient seafaring vessel.

You turn to face the back of the boat and look back at the harbour. The sight may take you by surprise. You know that you are not the only boat on the sea, but the sheer volume of traffic coming up behind you may cause you to involuntarily jump. It’s like looking at a full armada coming up fast on your tail! Thankfully, as you move further out into the bay, the crowd dissipates and you are free to enjoy the serenity once more.

Leaving the harbour and entering the bay you will notice that you are not alone on the bay

The bay is a busy stretch, thankfully you don't have this viw all the time as cruises go their seperate ways and only meet up at evening times — The bay is a busy stretch, thankfully you don’t have this viw all the time as cruises go their seperate ways and only meet up at evening times

Nighttime on the Bay

As the daylight fades and the cruiser makes it way to its mooring point for the night, the rest of the gathering returns from their expedition during the day. Night falls, and the bay is transformed into what looks like a city on water. Some of the boats will have a party going on, others will be happy to let their occupants sit in peace and quiet and enjoy the night.

As evening starts to fall you will notice the other cruisers coming closer as they gather close during night

During the night Halong Bay looks like a small city with all the lights from the cruise boats parked up

Onboard Activities

The cruiser is not just for transporting us around the bay. Its main function is this of course, but they also do activities on board to keep you entertained. As mentioned previously your meals are on board, and all of excellent quality.

Making Vietnamese Spring Rolls

One of the activities is learning how to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls. This happens during the home stretch back to the harbour and you better make them good because you will be eating them! (Due to my culinary skills and knowing that I would manufacture something that looked like an exploded spring roll I let Misha do mine).

Successfully completed Vietnamese spring rolls!

Fishing for Squid

In the night time everyone was invited to take part in fishing for squid. Being off season it wasn’t a highly successful fishing spree, but fun was had. Apparently in the squid season you will catch them no problem but we only caught a fleeting glimpse of one, (which hurriedly disappeared due to screaming and shouts of excitement from everybody of actually having seen one).

One of the onboard activities was squid fishing at night, unfortunately as it was the off season for them Misha was unsuccessful

If you don’t want to take part then no problem, you are free to sit top deck with a beer or other drink and just enjoy the evening until you retire for the night.

Offboard Activities

During the day you will be busy with a lot of offboard activities. These involve going to other islands and water activities. We have written some posts about some of them so the below include some short descriptions but include links to the full posts so please click the links to read them.

Titop Island

This is an island which has a great viewing point over Halong Bay. For more on this trip please click here.

Kayaking

On our trip we had two instances where we went kayaking. The first was to go into Luon Cave. If you’re not into kayaking then there are smaller boats which will take you in here. For us, we like kayaking so were eager to do it. (It has always been a bucket list thing to kayak around Halong Bay. Ok it’s not exactly going around Halong Bay but it counts in my book)!

The kayaks are sit-in kayaks which personally I much prefer

Our second trip was to a cave with a beach on the other side. You park your kayak and walk through the cave to find the beach. It’s quite a nice thing to find and it does feel adventurous. For us, kayaking is a great way to see places like this so if you can it’s worth doing it.

Queuing up for our kayaks at our second kayak stop

Coming into one of the caves accessible by kayak in the bay

Passing through the cave you find a nice quiet beach

When its time to leave the cave everyone makes their way to where they parked their kayaks

Seeing the Caves of Halong Bay

On our trip we went into two caves; Sung Sot Cave, and Ho Dong Tien Cave. For more on these trips please click here and here.

The most impressive cave we saw is Sung Sot or Surprising Cave

One of the caves we went to is called Ho Dong Tien or Fairy Lake Cave

Pearl Farming

Our last activity was visiting a pearl farm and seeing how the oysters are grown to produce the pearls. This was quite educational and it was interesting to see how pearls are grown. It’s not so much an activity as an educational trip but it’s still nice to see.

At the pearl farm they will show you how they implant the oysters to grow the pearls

A pearl in the oyster that was opened up for us at the pearl farm

Rock Formations

Keep an eye out for the rock formations on the bay, you may find some that look strangely like common objects from daily life.

***Halong* *Bay***

Halong Bay is one of nature’s great achievements. Crafted through the millennia, forged from rock, and covered with a fabric of greenery for good measure, it’s hard to describe its beauty in words. So lets use the old adage; “a picture paints a thousand words”, and let the images below do the talking while I keep quiet.

Conclusion

This trip was one of those that a lot of people will want to partake in as part of their bucket list. Halong Bay has always been on our list as a destination and we definitely felt like this was the best way to see it. There were some people on day tours, but we can’t see how they would have got the benefit we did by doing the 2 night cruise. We got to see some great places and pass away the time with a full itinerary while not being overloaded with stuff to do. We still had ample time for relaxing on the boat and just chilling out.

Cleanliness of the bay

Our only disappointment was the cleanliness of the bay itself. This is something that Vietnam is aware of and is trying to clean up but it will take time. With the amount of tourist boats on the bay it is not an easy task to maintain the cleanliness of the place.

Overcrowding on the bay

Also don’t be surprised by the number of vessels on the bay. You will see pictures of the bay where it looks empty and that there is nobody in sight for miles. Yet this is not the case. Trust me; a well timed picture will give this illusion as shown below.

How quiet Halong Bay looks according to social media and tourism pictures

The true picture is another story.

In reality it may not be so quiet, you need to time yourself to get the shot you want if taking pictures

Overall, Halong Bay is a place of pure beauty. You will have many “wow” moments. There will be plenty of times that you look out over the bay and a sense of utter calmness just hits you. It is one of the greatest places in the world, and it is one we are glad to have been able to visit with the whole family.

– Information if you are planning this activity

Website for Halong Phoenix Cruiser: http://halongphoenixcruiser.com/
Cost: Approximately $220 per person.
When to do: October to December is best for the weather but is peak season so is crowded.
Duration of activity: 3 days and 2 nights.
What to bring with you: Make sure to bring swimwear if planning on going kayaking and perhaps a waterproof Ziploc bag for valuables.
Location: For the location in Google Maps please click here.

Our Vietnam Travel Guide

For our Vietnam Travel Guide with information for people looking to travel to Vietnam please click here.

Halong Bay 2 Night Cruise, Vietnam

Halong Bay 2 Night Cruise