Halong Bay totally is a huge area with a lot of things to discover, charming sceneries, and a variety of outdoor activities. Therefore, the longer you stay there, the more time and chances you have to discover this World’s Heritage site without feeling bored or sad. However, the travel duration always depends on your own budget, time, and personal plan. Therefore, it is of great importance that you have to plan your time before choosing your Halong Cruise.
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| Photo by Prince Roy |
If you choose a Halong Bay day cruise, you will depart to Halong Bay and get back within one day without staying overnight on the cruise. These cruises are often smaller than Halong Bay overnight cruise and don’t have private cabins as there are no tourists staying overnight in there. If you are in a rush, but you don’t want Halong Bay to be missed, you can certainly do this Halong Bay day cruise trip to get a little taste of Halong Bay. For these Halong Bay Cruise tours, tourists are often taken to two or three highlight spots of Halong Bay, have lunch on the cruise, do kayaking, and maybe join in cooking class on the way from Halong Bay back to Hanoi. There must be a lot of fun and memorable experience there. However, if you can afford more time, this option is not so highly recommended as it is a bit hasty. A Halong Bay cruise from Hanoi starts at about 7:00 and ends at about 20:00. It takes you about 4 hours to get to Halong Bay from Hanoi and another 4 hours back. Therefore, you have got only 4 to 6 hours on the cruise really. Not to mention that moving a lot within one day may drive you tired. It is recommended that if you have to do a Halong Bay day cruise, figure out which cruise allows you to stay longest in Halong Bay, offers nice services, and takes good care of you during the tour. That is probably the best Halong Bay Cruise for you.
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| Photo by calflier001 |
As one day is too short and hasty to discover the whole Halong Bay, tourists often stay at least one night on Halong Bay to get the fulfilling experience. For this kind of Halong Bay Cruise tour, they often put together some close spots beyond Halong Bay only. You can visit Lan Ha Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay, or Cat Ba Island as well. You have time to get further into the forests and islands of Halong Bay visiting local fishing villages and national park. That is an exceptional way to approach nature. You can sleep on the cruise, admire the gorgeous sunrise the next morning, and do Vietnamese traditional morning exercise. Importantly, a Halong Bay overnight cruise allows you to get relaxed and enjoy the pure and peaceful atmosphere of Halong Bay instead of rushing from one place to another again and again during the whole day.
When you decide to stay long on the cruise, it is of great importance that you should choose a good Halong Bay overnight cruise. It is not necessarily a luxury cruise at an expensive price, but it must be a good one with professional crew and services. Remember to check the weather before deciding when to go as nice weather condition is an important factor to determine whether you have a wonderful journey or not, especially on the bay.
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| Photo by mini nguyen |
As mentioned in the previous part, a longer duration allows you to go further, visit more destinations, and discover more about Halong Bay. If you book a Halong Bay 2-night cruise, you will be transferred to a smaller cruise in the morning to go further into Halong Bay’s islands and islets for daytime activities and return the big cruise for evening activities and sleeping overnight.
For the two nights on Halong Bay, you can stay either both two nights on the Halong Cruise or one night on the cruise and one night on one island of Halong Bay like Cat Ba Island, Monkey Island, and Nam Cat Island to color your experience while you often stay on the cruise only if you go for 2 days and 1 night
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| Photo by pexels |
Halong Bay is too broad for any tourists to go to every corner of it, and they literally don’t need to do it. Normally, 2 to 3 days is enough for tourists to visit the best spots in Halong Bay, experience the most popular activities like swimming, kayaking, and trekking, and enjoy the pure beauty and atmosphere of Halong Bay, Vietnam. Then, they get headed to other spots. However, if 3 days doesn’t satisfy you yet, and you want to discover more about this place, a Halong Bay 3-night cruise is for you. People choosing Halong Bay 3-night cruises or even staying longer than 4 days and 3 nights in Halong Bay are those who have a long holiday, need to get relaxed and enjoy themselves at one place rather than moving so quickly between places.
Any choice is good as it fits your plan and expectation, so consider and make your own decision about the duration of your Halong Bay Cruise journey!