Vietnam forum

Posted from within Vietnam.

Depending on whopse tour you take, 5 minutes could be enough. ^__^

But seriously, we did one night and found it was plenty. I agree with tingers that you shouldn't bother with a one-day tour. We went from Cat Ba, where all the day trips were back in the harbour by 5pm. Halong - and Lan Ha - was definitely at its most beautiful between 4pm and sunset, when the evening light made a huge difference.

Posted from within Vietnam.

Well said fivesilver.... really pays to do a bit of research for your Ha Long trip, it's definitely a case of get-what-you-pay-for out there! Pay peanuts, get monkeys!

I did two nights, one on the ship and one on a remote isalnd. One is enought IMO. I would say this, put your trip in the middle of your stay in Ha noi. Ha noi is the jumping point for Sa pa and Ha Long. Say this: 2 nights Hanoi, One Night Halong, 2 Nights Hanoi..... is perfect.

Hi,

The husband and I booked the Pinta Gold before we left home as we wanted to save time when we arrived. We stayed just 1 night aboard the boat and found it to be enough. We Amazing Cave was extremely crowded but we loved kayaking in the morning to the hidden lagoons as it seemed that we had them to ourselves.

The boat moored at a very quiet firth which was lovely.

We'd definitely recommend Columbus to everyone.

Rebecca

Mark

What you observe is true. There are so many options, and all too many are less than desirable.

I've elsewhere written on Travelfish about Columbus, and many have confirmed my faith in the company.

Try looking at their website - http://columbuscruise.com/ - and look at their current specials. This company runs the boats (ie isn't an agent selling someone else's product).

Cheers

We went there a couple of months ago for a 2 days/one night and found the area itself to be underwhelming. It's jammed full of tourists, the water was quite polluted in areas we swam at and I've never seen so many boats in one area in my life. However, we did have a ball as the boat we were on was great (food and accomodation was first class), the people we were with were fun and we had a game of beach volley ball with the crew in the water/on the beach for a couple of hours which was class! But take the same boat and people and put it anywhere else on the vietnam coast and we wouldn't have been missing much, except several hundred other tourists!

Well, it's true that the local authorities need to do something to clean up the water, but we were considered ourselves to be lucky as the boat moored at a place where the water was warmer and cleaner than expected. Given the bloody hot weather, the cooling swim was an instant hit with us.

Rebecca

SteinOfOrange,

Yep, we did saw garbage on this forum, not just in Halong bay.

Rebecca

Ecurry33,

From what we've just experienced, one night in Halong bay is just perfect.

My girlfriend and I booked thru http://www.columbuscruise.com/ and would recommend the company to everyone without hesitation. The trip was well organized, food was excellent and the guide very helpful. Our sleep wasn't interupted as our boat moored at a very quiet place while many of the others dropping anchor together.

Lex

thanks Lex,
funny story - I went to VN for the first time in 1992 because I saw an amazing hoto of a junk on Halong Bay on the cover of Conde Nast's January 1992 issue of Traveler magazine. i did not know whre it was at first but thought "I want to go there".

Well sure enough I got to VN for Christmas/New Year's 1992/93 - but I did not get to Halopng Bay. I've been back to VN 3 more times since then - but this will be my first trip to Halong. I wish I had gone before when it clearly would have been less crowded. The Columbia Cruises look inviting and I will explore further.

many thanks - EC

Scott,

I don't totally know what your experience was in Halong bay but just definitely and confidently recommend everyone to book one of the boats in advance so as to have more time for other activities.

Lex

Scott/Lex/EC

The sheer number of boats operating is why I made the comment in post #14 "make sure you steer away from the maddening - and deafening - crowd on el cheapo tours.

These el cheapo tour boats all congregate in the Dao Titop area (near the caves). The collective noise is pervasive, and the rubbish in the water appalling.

The reason I (and others) advocate www.columbuscruise.com is that they moor in a place many kilometres away. There, the only noise (other than the boat) is from the natural environment itself.

www.columbuscruise.com is not cheap, and while you may be able to secure a berth if you turned up at Halong wharf, I doubt you'd get a discount. Reason? Coz the person who gives the discount works in their office in HaNoi.

So, if quality is what you are after, don't bugger around, just book your berth/s. My suggestion is to email www.columbuscruise.com first, advise the dates you want to travel and indicate that you will pay your money when in HaNoi. Leaving the booking to when you are in HaNoi may give you a capacity to bargain a little. And, if the weather looks like it may be foul, it also offers scope to change your mind.

Cheers

Hi

Some good information above, I will take a trip on Columbus I think. Can anyone tell me the following

1) Where do I book a trip while in Hanoi to get the best deal?
2) What is the difference (apart from price) between the 3 boats they offer, PINTA GOLD CRUISER, PINTA CRUISER and NINA CRUISER?

Many thanks.

We went to HaLong in April and booked our tour with Happy Luan (luan@happyluan.com).
She put us on a tour with http://www.ecofriendlyvietnam.com and we had a blast ... feeling we were ALONE in the HaLong bay (except when we went the Kayak tour and discovered the huge boats and floats of kayakers).
We had a small junk suitable for 6 peoples I think. Luan made sure we were the only ones on board (2 adults, 2 toddlers and 1 baby). The boat was clean enough (no spotless but still acceptable). Food was simple but excellent. The captain and his mate did not speak english at all and we have refused the guide for our time on the boat but did not regret it. We might not know all the details and names but just enjoyed the spectacular views and quietness of the area.
One night was enough for us but bc we continued the trip to the "inland HaLong bay". Not as splendid as the real one or as breathtaking as in Yangshuo in China but still amazing.
I would recommand to use Happy Luan as she was reliable, honest and delivered things at a price that was reasonnable. She booked airport transfers, hotel nights, Hanoi-CatBa transfers, HaLong-TamCoc transfers, one guide for 2 days and our fantastic junk boat tour. Everything went well, smoothly and nicely ... despite rainy weather and early morning departures.