Halong Bay Tour Intinerary

To find out what happens on the Halong Bay Tour, read on.

The Shuttle Bus picks up the passengers at their hotels very early. Usually starting at 6 - 630 AM. This is because it take about 30 minutes to get everyone. 

Once everyone on our bus' list had been picked up – there were 12 of us, we made our way to the bay. The guide starts cracking his jokes and talking about the tour rules. We got a funny guy named ‘Lucky’ who also happens to be very patriotic about his country. Pretty Cool dude. 

The trip from the city to the Bay port is about 3 ½ hours.  About an hour into the ride, there’s a 15-30 minute stop-over at some over-priced tourist souvenir center (very typical).  Then it’s a quiet rest of the trip to the port. Bring some tunes, a book, or catch up on sleep on the bus. 

We reached the port around 11 AM. The guide secures the tickets and loads everyone on a small boat, with life vests, to ferry us to the ‘Junks’ (boats) parked some 500 meters away from the port. After we checked our stuff in the room and freshened up, we go back to the dining area for some lunch while our guide runs through our itinerary, schedule and bit more history about the place. 

After lunch we went to Don Thien Cung Cave. This tour takes an hour or so. We get back on the Junk and have some relaxing time on the deck. Despite it being a gloomy and cold day at least it wasn’t raining so we still enjoyed being outside viewing the majestic Halong Bay Islets and fishing villages! 

who knew Vietnam made wine?

Around 4:30 PM we enjoyed some local wine and fruits on the deck while Lucky told us more historical facts about the bay and the islets.

Dinner was served around 6:30. We could retire to our rooms after but the group decided to hang-out, drink some, play card games, and do a little karaoke. Everyone was more relaxed around each other by this time so it was really fun. 

Call time was 8 AM for breakfast and a rundown of the schedule for the day. After eating the captain parked near the Kayak station, although we still had to get on a smaller boat to take us to the floating station. We partnered up for the kayak and paddled through the islets. It was such an exhilarating experience to be moving through one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World! The kayaking took about 1 ½ hours. 

Back on the Junk, we freshened up and checked our stuff out of the rooms. The staff needs to prepare them for the next tour (I found this part a bit odd).

Once ready, we had our cooking class and the lesson was learning to make a Vietnamese Spring Roll, which we would also be served for lunch. It was a fun and easy thing to do. 

After lunch, Lucky and the boat crew gave out tip envelopes (yeah, expect this), we settled our beer bills from the night before. By this time, the Junk is back to its parking area near the port. We load onto the small boat that took us back to the port. 

Then, the 3 ½ bus ride back to the city with a stop-over at another overly-priced tourist souvenir center on the way.

Review:           

Over-all the trip was fun. I was glad I did it because Halong Bay is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my travels, and that the 2D/1N package was enough to experience this place. The cave stop was nice too, but a bit too crowded and the artificial lighting kind of ruined its natural beauty. The food served on the boat was delicious and well-prepared. Bring a big bottle of water though as they only serve one small-sized bottle the whole trip! Kayaking was the highlight of my trip but I wish I went in the summer then I could’ve jumped off the deck and had a swim! 




Customized Travel Tours                 
They have a few branches in the area but go to the one on the corner of Ma May Street 
and Luong Ngoc Quyen Street (directly across Backpackers Old Quarter Hostel).  
Look for: Tin Vu

   
Previously:  Hanoi Have To Do's , Vietnam and Scams, and Where to stay in Hanoi.

Author: Kristin