Halong Bay tours and cruises

We did a tour earlier this year (The best is yet to come). I can't remember which company we went with. The guesthouse/hotel we were staying at had a tour booking desk and he had a bunch of different options for different prices. We did two nights and went with the cheaper option; the more expensive ones just seem to have fancier boats, that’s about it. Our boat was quite nice though with very decent sleeping quarters.

I haven't heard of Ocean Tours. My best suggestions is find a travel agent you feel relatively comfortable with and ask as many questions as possible (what's included, what are the prices of things not included, what activities will you be doing, how long is the boat ride, the tours, etc, how many people will be on your boat).

At the end of the day the price was a bit high for what you get out of the tour, but it was very enjoyable at worth doing at least as the scenery is quite beautiful.

Thats the best I can advice I can offer.

I know there is a Vietnamese woman blogging on the site, although her name has slipped my mind at the moment. (I'll post if I can remember later) Rat on the Road might be able to offer some advice as well as I think they have been in Vietnam for some time now.



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Make sure the Ocean Tours office is the real one. There are lots and lots of copycat tour operators in Hanoi. A company gets a good reputation so other travel agents simply steal their name and sell tours of differing standards. I've seen loads of Ocean Tours offices in Hanoi and I'm sure they are not all real.

If you want a party type trip, I've heard good things about the tour from Hanoi Backpackers. They have their own boat. Some companies have their own boats. These companies can more-or-less guarantee that what they advertise is what you are going to get. Most companies simply buy tickets to the boats waiting in Halong City when you arrive. So they don't actually know what boat you are going on. The pictures pay or may not be the boat you go on, the route may be different as may be the facilities.

For more information, Travelfish has a good review of the various types of cruises and what to look out for.

Alternatively, if you have some time, you can get a bus/boat combination to Cat Ba via Haiphong. Cat Ba Island is in Halong Bay. There are some beaches, a national park and trekking. You can arrange boat tours from there. A bus/boat ticket costs about 150,000 dong and a hotel is about $10 a night.

When we went to Halong Bay, we just booked a cheap, basic trip. We purposely didn't look at what boat it would be or where it would go. It was fine. No luxury, but fine.

The Vietnamese girl on here is called The Red River . She is a travelblog moderator so can be trusted.

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Hey Kris and Kate, Scott and Kirsty, thankyou for your advice 😊 and ill alert you next time il be sure of it 😊

We booked a tour today, rightly or wrongly. Through Sinh Cafe..though there are hundreds of them around Hanoi so i wouldnt expect its even the real one.. :/
From what i read in guides it advised you not to go for the cheapest of cheap tour of halong bay..so we didnt..we went to handspan (one reccomended by lonely planet ) but they quotes us $197! we want to go to halong bay but not quite for that much!! We went for a3 day tour for £60 one that also takes us to cat ba national park.

I guess we couldve wandered aimlessly for hours for all of the tour places there are wondering if they are genuine or not or if we could get a better deal than the one we've just been offered..but that gets a bit tiresome after a while!
The place we booked it in showed us a website..halong cruses i think it was and the boat we'd be staying on so i felt quite confident in it..but who knows.fingers crossed >_<

Thankyou so much for your advice , you are both 2 of the best advice people ive come across on here ^_^ Reply to this

Just for future reference, there isn't a Sinh Cafe anymore. The original is now called The Sinh Tourist. It changed it's name because of all the copies. The original owner now owns a company called Sinhbalo travel.

All the Sinh cafes out there are just copies. Not that you won't get a good tour, of course. I'm sure you will have a good time. Halong Bay is lovely. Really beautiful. Cat Ba is a great island too.

Have fun! Sure it will be great! Reply to this

You should not book any tour programs before you arrive to your hotel where you will stay. At your hotel has many programs and many options for you. But you going out, come to some agencies outside to compare the rates first.
If you want to book it online, you book your trips with the hotel. You should trust them. Reply to this

Hey, actually, there are a number of tours agency in Hanoi Old quarter, each agency has own price, but they are based on curise's quoted price.

So I think you should choose a package agency, who helps you recommend the best itinerary :D

Last summer, I used one that I found comfortable when served by them, the name is Vietnam Tour Booking or Vietnam Package Travel, as well.

You can have a look at their web to make up decision Reply to this

Please read this article before go. Just some local experiences sharing to make a good choice when cruising in Halong bay
http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-561013.html Reply to this

I have found anothor website whose design is professional and easy to find out what you want. According to these comments in tripadvisor, they received many good ones. here is the link: halong-bay-tours.com, just searching... Reply to this

I can list some good cruise in Halong Bay by ascending level : Alova Cruise, Paloma Cruise, Victory Star Cruise, Paradise Cruise.

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There are many choices about cruises in Halong. You guys should choose the average cost for cruise but not the cheap since they may be out of date in use. About me, i also check the tripadvisor and found something about Halong bay tour cruise. It's useful. Just search about halong-bay-tours as mentioned above. it's good and includes many information about cruises in Halong. Take a look and have your choice. Good luck! Reply to this