How to Visit Halong Bay - the most picturesque place in Vietnam
There are endless adventures to be had in Vietnam: Driving the Ha Giang loop, exploring the caves of Phong Na, riding ATVs through the sand dunes of Mui Ne, etc. - but one of my favorite experiences ever was hopping on a boat and spending two days cruising through the epic landscapes of Halong Bay.
Halong Bay has been a bucket list item for me for YEARS. After spending so much time in Asia, it’s been solidified in my brain that limestone karsts are my absolute favorite type of landscape, and Halong bay delivered.
Victoria and I spent 2 days and one night in Halong Bay during my first trip ever to Vietnam, and a number of factors made it one of my top 5 favorite memories of my entire LIFE. I highly recommend fitting an overnight cruise through Halong Bay into your Vietnam itinerary - you will not regret it.
When to visit Halong Bay
Before going to Halong Bay, I watched an ungodly amount of YouTube videos and TikToks and read just about as many blog posts detailing people’s experiences there - and from what I found, most people’s experiences directly correlated with the weather they had.
I was super nervous, because everyone says the best time to go is October-February, but I was there in August, SMACK in the middle of rainy season. So far, we had dealt with unbearably hot and sunny weather in Hanoi despite the doom and gloom that the weather app predicted, however, so I was feeling optimistic.
And the weather held out! And to confirm my hypothesis, I had the best time EVER.
If you have any flexibility during your time in Vietnam, try to check the weather and plan your trip to Halong Bay around the sun - it makes all the difference, I SWEAR. You typically won’t have any issues with last minute booking.
How to Visit Halong Bay
It’s super simple to figure out how to visit Halong Bay. There are Halong Bay options for LITERALLY every budget. You can book through your hostel if you’re a backpacker on a budget (Buffalo Hostel Hanoi and Central Backpackers have a good option that you can book in person!), or you can book luxury cruises that have bathtubs in front of picture windows, en-suite balconies, and private hot tubs.
While the private hot tub was calling my name, Victoria and I were forced to because of our miniscule budget decided to go with a mid-range option (it still only cost us $130 per person for a two day trip so honestly you can get a really luxurious Halong Bay experience for a decent price), and it was everything we could’ve hoped for.
If you have time, I would even recommend a 3 day, 2 night cruise! You’re already there, you might as well get comfortable on the ship and revel in the scenery for just a bit longer. I know I wish I had more time in this stunning location!
Our boat was beautiful - much moreso than we expected! Our guide was a 10/10, the company was impeccable, and we were SO happy with our choice.
When deciding how to visit Halong Bay, we chose to book with Lavender Elegance Cruises through Viator - you can check out the boat we were on through the link below!
I, however, would love to go back with Genesis Cruises or Orchid Cruises - their boats look absolutely unmatched.
My experience
One of the things that I thought would be a curse in Vietnam that actually ended up being a blessing in disguise (well - it was still a curse on my wallet tbf) was the amount of things you had to book tours for. I’m the type of traveler who doesn’t love mega busses, prefers to book and figure things out on my own, and avoids organized tours like the plague.
In Vietnam, however, you do have to book tours for quite a few things. Halong Bay cruises, the Ha Giang Loop, the caves in Phong Na, etc. While I did drop a little more money than I would’ve liked, all of these things are incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences so I didn’t mind too much.
In the end, however, I got spoiled with the tours! Our bus that would take us to and from Halong Bay picked us up directly from out hostel doorstep exactly when they said they would. Victoria and I boarded with no hassle and promptly leaned our chairs all the way back, reveled in the air conditioning, popped in our airpods and went to sleep for the next 2 hours while they took us exactly where we needed to go.
Sometimes it’s SO NICE to not have to worry about getting yourself to a new location, and to sit back and let everything be done for you.
Our first stop before heading to the port where our boat left from was a pearl farm.
While this was essentially a little bit of a salesy stop, it was actually very interested to learn about pearl farming in Halong bay! Because finding a wild, coincidental pearl in the wild is a 1 in 10,000 occurrence, they showed us how they carefully implant not a particle of sand, like in the wild, but a shell bead into the membrane of the oyster.
That oyster then gets put to the side and will live in a cage submerged in the salty waters of Halong Bay for 5 YEARS. Im sorry - just imagine the sheer amount of oysters they have if they want to harvest even just 100 pearls a day?? Madness. I give them props.
Then, they showed us how to carefully extract the pearls from the oysters without killing them. The pearls they were pulling out were black, purple, pink, gold, and of course, white. Nature is CRAZY.
They then told us to browse the showroom until it was time to get back on the bus. While I was on a backpackers budget and did not purchase anything, the prices of pearls in Vietnam are 20-30% cheaper than the rest of the world, so if you’re interested in buying some incredible pearls for less than you would pay at home, be sure to bring some cash and plan accordingly!
Victoria copped a beautiful black pearl on a sterling silver chain - I WISH I was a silver girlie. Anything in gold was far out of my price range, but if I had planned accordingly maybe I would’ve had a nice piece of jewelry in the budget.
From there, we hopped back on the bus and headed to the pier.
This was probably the least enjoyable/most chaotic part of the day, as there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists trying to be in the correct place to board the right boat. We waited for about two hours (in the sweltering heat - if you’re there in the summer be sure to bring an electric fan or some other form of relief. It was relentless) before being ushered onto a tender boat that would take us to our ship!
Once again, we just sat back and tried to relax, knowing that somehow we would end up where we needed to be. Sure enough, our bus driver found us and herded us into the right line - so don’t stress too much.
Once we boarded the ship, we were led into the dining room for the safety briefing and our welcome lunch. Victoria and I quickly noticed that there was a table set for 18, and a table set for 2. We definitely expected there to be multiple groups of travelers on this boat (and were honestly expecting to be in a room full of retired people, but it was looking more and more like we had crashed some sort of Italian family reunion?)
There were literally 18 Italians, Victoria, and I. It was slightly comical.
While many of them didn’t speak much English, there were a few who did! We found out that they were on a group tour and that they had all been strangers prior to that week. There were people from all different age groups, and once we had introduced ourselves, the Italians made quick work of asking the staff to combine our tables so that we would be included!
Operation get adopted by the Italians was a go.
After lunch and a little wander around our ship, we hopped back on the tender boat to get dropped off at a floating pier that would get us all set up with Kayaks. We collected our lifejackets and paddles, and while Victoria and I expected to be in a kayak together, a very sweet argument ensued about which of the Italians got to be our partners. Before I knew it, I was in a Kayak with Stefano, and Victoria got partnered up with Marcolino.
The way Victoria and I had been plotting on how to infiltrate the Italian’s group - and they made it this easy for us? It’s almost like we managed to make them think the whole operation was THEIR idea.
Either way, we definitely weren’t mad about the whole “stuck-in-a-kayak-with-cute-Italian-boys” situation. I could think of much worse fates.
In this particular area, there was a cave/passthrough situation that you could paddle under that let you out into a cove. It was quite busy, and although I’m not a huge fan of crowds, I can hardly be mad at the other people who are also there trying to enjoy Vietnam and the beauty it has to offer!
We did a few laps, I learned a few Italian words, we switched into Spanish for a little while because it was a better common language for both of us, and overall had a fabulous time.
After getting back to the main boat, we had a little bit of free time to explore the different levels!
This boat you guys - even though we went for a very budget friendly option, this boat was beautiful. The top deck had lounge chairs and flowers, and while the backdrop of the limestone karsts probably helped make everything seem a little more picturesque, I was absolutely thrilled with how nice our Halong Bay cruise ended up being.
Our room was gorgeous, and the gold tufted headboard made us feel like we were royalty. No tub with a picture window, (just a shower and a sink that accommodated our very lousy attempt at doing laundry with hand soap) but the views were perfect anyways.
We took one million photos, tried to catch a little bit of a tan, and sat under the AC unit in our room for as long as possible before we arrived at our next destination: Ti Top island.
Once again, a very touristy stop in Halong Bay, but also one of my favorites. Sometimes things are touristy for a reason, don’t you think?
Here, we had a couple hours to go swimming (finally! for some reason I thought we’d be doing much more of this, but I actually didn’t see much swimming in Halong Bay at all), hiking, lay on an actual sandy beach, or play some volleyball.
Seeing as it was literally as hot as the seventh ring of hell, we made the collective decision to tackle the hike first so that we could spend the rest of our time at Ti Top island cooling off in the water with an ice cold coconut.
So we set off - Victoria, me, and 18 Italians.
(Honestly, we could not stop laughing the whole trip. We fully expected to be in the company of 20 old retired people and here we were, hiking up a mountain, parroting back (probably butchered) Italian phrases they were trying to teach us, absolutely dripping in sweat and having the time of our lives. We even ran into 3 German boys from our hostel in Hanoi and we were having a GRAND old time).
The hike, although only about 20 minutes, was NOT to be underestimated. It was straight up the entire time, and this is what I would call at least a three limb hike. You definitely need at least one hand free to use the “handrails” and keep your balance - but all of it was so worth it!
There’s a small gazebo at the top, and the views of Halong Bay from the top of the island are unREAL. While a lot of people were annoyed with the amount of boats anchored in front of the island (“ruining the view” they said), I thought they added to the picture-perfecteness of it all.
I honestly felt for a moment as if I had gone back in time, as the ships do have a vintagey-colonial feel. It was giving Death on the Nile. It was giving Titanic with a side of Jungle Cruise - I hope you know the feeling I’m trying to convey LOL.
I love travel experiences like this. It’s not just another walking tour of a city, it’s not just a chill day at a beach club. I love travel moments that feel like an adventure, and that’s just what a Halong Bay Cruise will give you.
ANYWAYS. Back to Ti Top island.
Victoria and I offered to take a group photo of the Italians, but they all vehemently refused and asked a stranger to take a photo of all 20 of us instead.
(Mission accomplished - we were now officially part of this little Italian travel family.)
It may be the worst picture in the world technically speaking, but it is still one of my most favorite pictures ever.
Back down at the beach, after immediately running into the water to cool off, we just sunbathed, practiced our Italian, and watched the sunset until it was time to head back to our boat.
We had already done so much this day that it was hard to believe we had woken up in Hanoi just 10 hours earlier, but the day still wasn’t over. We had a cooking class, dinner, and squid fishing still on the itinerary!
After showering, standing under the AC unit some more, and a shoddy attempt at sink laundry, Victoria and I joined everyone for the cooking class, FULLY expecting to be absolutely shown up.
Who are we to compete with Italians?
It was led by our guide, who shared his mother’s spring roll recipe with all of us. We all participated in making the filling and rolling a few rolls that would later be passed to the chef to deep fry! It was a cute little addition to the trip being able to contribute to our dinner, and the evening was filled with laughter.
In an attempt to contribute even more to dinner, the staff busted out the squid fishing equipment. (and by equipment, I mean a stick with a string and a hook. We’re getting real fancy out here folks.)
We spent probably an hour trying to get a squid to fall for our tricks, and only one came close. Unfortunately, he caught wind that something was amiss, and inked his way right out of there. We had already bragged to everyone on instagram stories that we were squid fishing that night, so in an effort to not let anyone down, Victoria said she’d photoshop a squid into the picture I took of her.
Here’s what she came up with:
Despite the lack of squid, we still ended up with an absolute FEAST (which was a relief - because if I’m being quite honest, we weren’t the hugest fans of lunch).
Before coming on the trip, Victoria and I were ready to get settled in for a chill night in our comfortable private room (we desperately needed a break from hostels) since we booked through Viator and not through a hostel - but that is NOT what transpired.
(If you’re looking for a guaranteed party boat - be sure to book through a party hostel! We just didn’t know what we were going to get.)
After dinner, we all headed up to watch the sunset and continue squid fishing (I REALLY wanted to catch a squid. Spoiler alert: it didn’t happened), when Stefano appeared out of nowhere with a Karaoke setup he had acquired from the staff.
Our guide appeared and powered on the disco ball we hadn’t even noticed, and just like that, the party had BEGUN.
Victoria and I could hardly keep up with the Italian Karaoke, but we did our best. Dancing is a universal language, after all.
At one point I was being tossed in the air and caught by a basket of arms, Victoria was on someone’s shoulders, and I had to run down to my room to grab the little souvenir fan I had bought in Hanoi to beat the heat - and I very quickly became the MVP. It was HOT hot.
I’m going to try my best to insert a video for your viewing pleasure; I cannot remember ever having that much fun.
While the extreme temperatures didn’t stop us, we were soon informed that other boats were morse-coding at us to “respectfully shut the F up so that their passengers could sleep” (as the staff put it), but I think they were just mad their boats weren’t on our level.
Either way, it put an end to our 4 hour long Karaoke sesh, and we all promised to meet each other on the top deck for sunrise before we retired to bed.
Another spoiler alert: only three of us made it, though I am proud to say that I was one of them! Unfortunately the sunrise was very unnoteworthy (well, as unnoteworthy as anything in Halong Bay could be). Nothing to report here.
After enjoying coffee (and the sun not being 1 trillion degrees yet) on the top deck, we pulled up to the Hang Sung Sot caves at 8 am sharp.
Hang Sung Sot is the biggest cave in the entirety of Halong Bay, and you have to hike a little ways to reach it. There are three chambers that we were able to explore, and it truly is absolutely incredible to see what nature is capable of! I’ve seen my fare share of caves, but this one definitely takes the cake for the wow-factor.
Our guide pointed out formations shaped like animals, rocks that glittered when light shone on them, and gave us the history of how this cave came to be discovered.
By the time we exited the cave, the temperature was 110° I kid you not, and Victoria took the funniest video we’ve ever taken. We look like we literally just crawled out of the bay itself - but let me assure you - that’s all sweat.
Not our finest look.
And just like that - we were all back on the boat, headed to the port. We had one final lunch all together and packed our things. Pro tip: With any Halong Bay Cruise, be sure to bring enough cash to settle your tab! Alcohol was not included and everyone was struggling to scrounge up enough cash to cover it! They really try to avoid using cards for whatever reason, so just try to bring more than enough, just in case.
Once back on land, we said a TRAGIC goodbye to our newfound Italian friends, bid farewell to Halong Bay, and boarded our bus that would take us back to Hanoi.
While it was a short trip and I would’ve loved to either spend another day on the ship or a day in Halong City hiking Poem Mountain, we were on a time crunch and had to head back home to South Korea.
We’ll never forget what an adventure we had in Halong Bay - it was the time of our lives and a MUST do if you’re visiting Vietnam.
Have you visited Halong Bay? How was your experience?
