Visiting Halong Bay: tips to plan your trip

Halong Bay has some sumptuous cruise options that are basically luxury hotels on water. You’re paying for the experience of five-star amenities here – not for any particular divergence from the typical cruise itinerary – but if you want to live it up from a swanky sun-lounger while watching the sun set over a vista of craggy jungle-topped islands, you can’t really go wrong.

Most Halong Bay visitors go for midrange or budget cruises, but there is a huge range when it comes to price and value for money. At one end of the scale are some ultra-budget boats where on-board safety is not top priority; at the other end are some excellent midrange options offering cosy hotel-style cabins, knowledgeable on-board tour guides, and kayaking stops. If purse strings are tight, for facilities, comfort and safety considerations it’s sometimes better to choose a day cruise with a midrange operator rather than a bargain-basement overnight trip.

Get ready for a truly local experience. Bai Chay Tourist Wharf in Halong City is the bustling hub of Halong Bay’s day-tripping tourist boats, which whisk visitors out onto the water for excursions of four to six hours. If you’re not fussed about added frills, don’t mind sharing boat space with gaggles of other folk, and just want to cheaply get out on the water and quickly see a couple of highlights, this is a good option.

Most decent midrange Halong Bay cruises will offer an hour or so of kayaking. Paddling around the karsts allows you to experience the limestone towers from a completely different angle: up close, at sea level and without the constant thrum of an engine in the background. For more experienced kayakers, there are also kayak-only trips. These trips are run by a handful of operators based in nearby Lan Ha Bay (off Cat Ba Island) rather than Halong Bay itself, though Lan Ha’s islet-scattered sea has just as much wow factor as Halong Bay and is much less visited.

One of the most important reasons to steer away from the ultra-budget cruises is safety. Due to a boat sinking (and the loss of 12 lives) in 2011, new safety regulations were brought in for Halong Bay cruise boats, but scrimping on safety does still go on with some fly-by-night operators. In particular, check that any included kayaking stops are accompanied by a guide. Due to the variable and surprisingly strong currents close to the karsts, a safety-conscious operator won’t allow kayakers to paddle off from the boat by themselves.

One of the best times for Halong Bay is November – there are blue skies aplenty, temperatures are moderate and there’s a good chance of calm seas. From May to September tropical storms can whip up without much warning. This is also high season in Halong, particularly from June to mid-August when domestic tourism peaks. February to April is often cool and drizzly, and the fog can make visibility low, though also adds an ethereal atmosphere. Year-round, cruises and tourist boats sometimes need to alter their itineraries, or trips can be cancelled with little warning depending on the weather and sea conditions. If you’re booking a cruise, check the fine print for what the refund procedures are in this case.


Source Lonelyplanet, by Brett Atkinson