Halong bay
halong bay, Halong Bay, VIETNAM

Halong Bay Cruise: 24 Hours amidst Limestone Rocks

Cruising our way through paradise…

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Beautiful limestone rocks

Halong Bay, known as one of the new 7 Wonders of Nature, happens to be a World Heritage Site since 1994. This Bay of Descending Dragons (Ha Long) in the Quang Ninh Province of Vietnam is full of limestone rock formations of different shapes and sizes, small islands and a few caves. Based on our 24-hour experience at Halong Bay, here are some tips and list of things to do. See it through our eyes and get a fair idea of what it’s like.

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View of Halong Bay from the caves

Getting there:

The best way to get there is to park yourselves at Hanoi. That’s exactly what we did. We stayed a night at Hanoi, and booked a tour to Halong Bay the next day. We had made the booking earlier. It is advisable to get in touch with the cruise of your choice at least a week or so in advance. They generally charge in USD.

 

This is where we spent 24 hours…

The cruise:

We booked Rosa Cruise for approximately USD 200/night for a room. The package included meals, two bottles of water, pick-up and drop from the hotel at Hanoi, cooking demo, Tai Chi class, kayaking, visit to the oyster farm and cave.

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Our cruise, docked at the oyster farm

The rooms were comfortable, well-equipped and lined up along two storeys. We got the one at the base. Ready for a room tour?…

 

A special mention about out tour guide and manager, Frank, has to be made. He not only spoke well and communicated clearly, but also went out of his way to make our stay a memorable one by catering to our special requests.

 

Room tour

Food:

The food served was exceptional. Besides the welcome drink and water, there was an extensive spread for lunch and dinner – flavoured rice, buttered prawns, salad, vegetable on sticks, chicken and meat skewers, fried fish, fries, spring rolls, squid fritters, clams, fruits and more. We were thankful that the breakfast was light.

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Loved their presentation and food art

Note: While the meals are included in the package, you have to pay for your own drinks, soft beverages and extra water. Happy hours run for about two hours in the evening.

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Time for some prawns

Kayaking:

We were blessed to take the boat from our cruise to the most secluded part of the bay, with no tourists around. We had two hours in hand and that section of the bay to ourselves, to swim, kayak and chill out.

No pic: Had left our cameras on the cruise. As you know, every vacation, I put a day aside for digital detox. We jumped into the green waters, kayaked our way around the bay and had some time to bond with our cruise-mates.

Surprise Cave:

The Sung Sot Cave is also called the Surprise Cave. Apparently, it’s such a beautiful cave, that it makes you heave a sigh of surprise. However, we weren’t really taken aback. It is no doubt, a beautiful cave, but stunts like dim lighting in different colours, a bunch of boats docked around, slippery steps (when it rains), and an influx of people to admire the ‘must-do’ make it more of a tourist trap.

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Light at play within the cave
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The best part of the cave

Oyster farming:

This was the first time we got to witness the source of the pearl and understand how it’s made. Oysters are cultured and nurtured in different columns in the water bed, under controlled temperatures and levels of salinity. They are then picked and sorted. The care-taker split open an oyster to show us its shiny, round achievement.

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Look what we got – a shiny, round pearl
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Oysters ready to pick and sort
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Oyster farming – oysters placed in sections after being treated

Sunset:

There was nothing dramatic about the sunset. We gazed at the skies for a while, but didn’t see any drastically changing hues. However, the moonrise was epic. We happened to spot its bright light while sipping on cocktails during happy hours.

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Moonrise: When we spotted the bright light amidst the limestone rocks

Squid fishing:

It’s not as easy as it sounds. We had a beautiful evening, with Frank strumming the guitar and singing as we gathered around the edge to fish. After endless failed attempts at catching squid, we retired to our rooms.

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Not my catch 🙂

Tai Chi class:

I reached the deck at 06:30 A.M. sharp. Luckily, I was joined by another lady. This was my first Tai Chi experience, and the class lasted for about 30 minutes.

Cooking class:

By the end of the tour, we were given a cooking demo. We tried our hands at Vietnamese spring roll, and were thrilled to have what we made over lunch.

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Preparing the filling: Goi cuon or Vietnamese spring roll

Tips and info:

–        Halong Bay is 170 km from Hanoi and takes 3 hours by road

–        Do not engage with vendors trying to sell their products on boats. They will approach your ship, and will offer snacks, water and other beverages at a high price, without returning the change.

–        To get your online visa pre-approved, use the code LYFANDSPICE for a 10% discount-> click here.

–        The pictures of Halong Bay look better than what it actually is. We noticed a lot of filth and grime in the water. It’s not the best place to dip in or swim, but then you wouldn’t want to miss a chance either.

 

Here’s a closer look at the bay…

The verdict:

Honestly, the pictures look way better than the reality. Halong Bay, no doubt is a beautiful piece of heaven on earth, but maybe, we have seen better. However, if you think of it this way – where on earth would you get a chance to cruise along limestone formations and caves for an entire day, you will surely fall in love with it. The overall experience was one worth remembering.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. We paid for our own trip and cruise. It is purely based on our experience.

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Halong Bay – amidst the limestone rocks

 

Check out our travel & food posts on Instagram.

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125 thoughts on “Halong Bay Cruise: 24 Hours amidst Limestone Rocks”

  14. Gorgeous photos of one of my dream destinations! How cool was it that you got to see them pull a pearl from an oyster! And it’s awesome to hear you had a great guide. That makes all the difference.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Thank you for a well detailed post. A cruise trip has been on my mind ever since Cruise tourism is being talked about back in India. A cruise trip to a World Heritage site sounds great and i would love to be a part of it at some point of time. The concept of Digital Detox sounds fun and unique.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. My husband and I has been planning a trip in Vietnam for quite sometime now and Halong Bay is part of our itinerary. Thank you for sharing your honest thoughts about the place. At least we know more or less what to expect and we will not get disappointed during our visit.

    Liked by 1 person

  29. That is a great trip along Halong bay in cruise. The interiors look cosy. The cave looks so dramatic with colorful lights!
    I can imagine the vendors not returning change, I have faced it a couple of times.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. These are some great pictures and yes Halong bay is definitely the first thing that comes in mind when I think of Vietnam. Thank you for guiding how to go about teh cruise thing. It must have been fun to learn about oyster farming. I think I will do this for the moon rise.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. I also did a cruise in Halong Bay and loved it! I didn’t have the chance to see the oyster farm, but also tried a Tai Chi class! The only thing I wish I had more of was time – and you’ll definitely have to go back because when you do get to see a sunset there it is magnificent!

    Liked by 1 person

  38. I’m always in to visit a Wprld heritage Site and looking at the pictures of the limestone formations, I would definitely love it. The caves also seem pretty amazing. Maybe there are better places to see but I think Halong has a uniqueness you won’t find anywhere else.

    Liked by 1 person

  39. I loved Halong Bay and watching your videos definitely brought back memories. Looks like we had similar food served on the junk. Was such a memorable experience!

    Liked by 1 person

  40. I visited Halong bay in March and had an awesome experience. We never got to the oyster farm though.
    Looks like you also had an epic time there

    Liked by 1 person

  48. Greta. You should try that.. and let me know how it worked for you. 🙂 Yes, the pictures, like most other pictures on the internet, are edited. Thus, there are supporting videos to show it as it is. Cheers!!

    Like

  49. Rosa Cruises looks like a good option for visiting Halong Bay. As its a UNESCO heritage site, its high on my bucket list. Thanks for your honesty that your photos make it look more beautiful than the reality. I like the idea of your digital detox day, this is something I’ll try.

    Liked by 1 person

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