Vietnam forum

Hi clouie,

$360 per person for a 3 night tour is very expensive in my opinion. I'd leave it till you get to Hanoi where every man, dog and his dog's best friend runs tours -- be careful though and do you research once you get there, as there are a lot of shysters there as well. You should be able to get a good 3 day tour to Halong bay for under $100 per person

One company we came across in Hanoi that was pretty impressive -- both in their service, but also with their honest information, was Wide Eyed Tours. They're certainly not the cheapest in Hanoi, but they'll give you straight advice. Certainly worth at least dropping by.

I ended up booking my tour through the hotel I was staying at. I believe the associated ring of hotels all go through the same company (ODC). We paid $63 US per person (3 days, 2 nights - on boat and Cat Ba Island hotel).

It was fine, all the junks that leave port look the same from the outside. We did pass one that had white tablecloths and serviettes in their dining area.

The cabin we happened to get was not up to expectations. The washroom floor was quite dirty with dead floating insects. I think the other cabins were ok.

I was pretty disappointed with the food though. It was tourist food - mostly deep fried and greasy all the way through. We should have skipped the hotel meal on Cat Ba and found our own since it's known for good seafood. I remember my mekong delta tour served very simple, yet tasty food without so much grease.