How To: Choose a Halong Bay Cruise

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Recently, myself and my family went on a Halong Bay Cruise. We are not big cruise people, but since this was only 2 nights and is the best way to see Halong Bay we went for it. The only other time I have taken a Cruise was in the Galapagos Islands.

The main reason we chose this cruise was the range of activities on offer which we felt would be suitable with young children, the reviews were in general very good, the boat was luxury without being ridiculously expensive and the area the boat visited was Lan Ha Bay which is much quieter and less frequented than the main Halong Bay area. See my post here for information about the cruise we went on and what we did.

When choosing a cruise there are 5 main things to think about:

Location

Firstly, assess how important location is for you. Halong Bay is a large area with not a huge amount to ‘do’ other than enjoy the view. You can visit the very famous (and overrun with tourists and trash) part of Halong Bay which has the most impressive and numerous cliffs OR the quieter areas of Lan Ha Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay which really aren’t much different just less frequented by tourists.

Time

The other important choice to make is how much time you have to visit. You have the choice of a day trip, 1 night cruise and 2 night cruise for your Halong bay trip. We chose a 2 night cruise as its a very long way from Hanoi for a day trip (especially with kids) and I feel with a one night trip you don’t get a lot of time to relax on the boat (or much time for activities as we only did very short excursions on the first and last day).

Activities

Make sure to select a trip with activities you actually want to do. When booking a cruise you can always see its itinerary (although this is subject to change) and select from there. I disregarded a few cruises as the activities didn’t seem like things my kids could stay occupied doing or many be a bit too strenuous physically for my 3 year old or for me carrying a 3 month old. For example, the cruise we went on had the option to skip biking to a village and take an electric car instead without missing the entire activity.

Convenience

For us, travelling in a large family group, it was more convenient to take a cruise as everything is organised for you (including getting from one place to another) and everything is designed to be pretty relaxing and activities not too strenuous. However, you may decide not to take a cruise at all. Most tourists visit Halong Bay via a cruise but it is also possible to stay on Cat Ba Island – you can get there via ferry.

Cost

We went for a pretty luxury cruise because it seemed like a time you would actually use a lot of the hotel’s (in this case boat’s) features (ie. your only options for food, activities and spending your free time are on the boat). Also, all the cruises were pretty pricey (for Vietnam) so we saw no harm in spending a bit more for a luxury experience. However, there are much cheaper options and as you spend a lot of your time on a day boat theres really no harm going for something basic but maybe take some extra snacks and things in case the food is awful.

I hope this guide helps you to select a cruise (or not a cruise) to visit Halong Bay. Enjoy!

Erika xx