Ha Long Bay for backpackers a Travelfish feature story

Ha Long Bay for backpackers

Two night/three day budget tour
Cost: US$40
Operator: Open Tour and Travel

Crammed into a jam-packed minivan, our tour commenced with us circling the block a few times to avoid getting ticked by the cops for illegally stopping to pick up some of our passengers, but then we were away and our guide introduced himself. In his quite decent English, he explained that the 160km journey to Ha Long City would take three hours -- apparently the slow going was due to the police -- not to worry, if there were no cops around, we were assured, our driver would attempt to speed whenever possible.

Quick links
Ha Long Bay introduction
Ha Long Bay for flashpackers
Ha Long Bay for budget-busters
Ha Long Bay conclusions and a confession

The trip included a 15-minute stop at a crafts centre set up for victims of Agent Orange and at 11:00 we reached Ha Long City. Once there our guide promptly got into a 15-minute argument with another guide, and we were eventually put into another minivan and driven to the pier at Bai Chay.

The pier was crammed with boats and after standing around for 30 minutes, our guide returned with tickets and we clamoured over three other boats to reach our (obviously badly parked) boat. As our group was generally agile the cross-boat-obstacle-course was no trouble, though there was trouble to come.

Upon booking we were promised a tour of no more than sixteen passengers, and were surprised to find 11 more people piling on to the boat with us -- making for a total of 27 people. They were day-trippers, and those travelling to Cat Ba Island. When asked, we were advised that "they don't count" as a part of our group because they aren't on our three-day tour. Twenty-seven people on a small boat made for a tight fit.

Our boat, like many of the budget junks, had a large top-deck which featured hard, wooden sun-loungers that should have had cushions but didn't. An epidemic problem on budget tours, we later learned. For an hour, we sat and waited to depart, and once underway, lunch appeared. A decidedly mediocre but edible meal.

We visited one of the floating fishing villages, which was definitely a sight to see and some passengers bought seafood from the villagers -- the staff on the boat cooked it up for them at no extra cost.

Even in poor weather Ha Long Bay can be stunning

We stopped off at the Dragon Cave where we walked in file with one hundred other tourists, viewing the stalagmites, the stalactites, and paused to contemplate which was which. The cave was artificially decorated with coloured lights, man-made pools and fountains, and two red lights were fixed to where the 'eyes' should be in the rock formation that is said to look like a Dragon. Lovely.

Next was an unappealing beach for swimming and kayaking -- there was only one kayak and it was never put in the water. Later we found out it had a leak. No worries -- the weather was lousy, and no one wanted to kayak anyway.

Our first night was meant to be onboard, but the boat had somehow become "overbooked" and so we were shuffled into a hotel on Cat Ba Island. The two-star hotel was anything but remarkable and we got an equally mediocre dinner and breakfast. In the morning, we trekked through Cat Ba National Park -- a challenging climb through beautiful mangrove forests, though lacking in any exceptional wildlife -- we did spot goats though.

Thrown off schedule by being re-routed to the island, it wasn't until late afternoon that we reboarded for our night at sea, and while we were supposed to stop off to swim, that somehow got lost in the shuffle. Dinner was much the same as the night before.

Snacks from floating vendors offer a respite from poor tour food on Ha Long Bay

We cruised around for a while before eventually stopping at one of the three designated spots where tour boats are permitted to anchor. The night on the boat was memorable mostly for sitting on the top deck engaging in long, ranging conversations with other passengers over beers. It was a wonderfully relaxing evening, and the bay is a mysteriously beautiful place to be as the sun sets -- despite the sound of karaoke drifting across the bay from some of the other boats.

When we retired, the cabins were clean, if somewhat dilapidated. While one passenger found himself chocking on exhaust fumes in his cabin and had to spend the night on the top deck, we were all kept up by the deafening noise from the cheap Chinese generator.

In the morning, four-pieces of bread and a greasy omelette sustained us through the slow tour back to Ha Long City for the packed minivan back to Hanoi.

Next: Ha Long Bay for flashpackers

Read 3 comments on this story

juliahector
Posted on 16th November, 2008
Boat trip in Ha Long Bay. Unforgetable !!!

Once in the north of Vietnam, we had to decide whether going to Sapa or to Halong Bay because our one month tourist visa was running out soon. Two factors determined our choice: on one hand, the bad weather conditions in the northwest region of Vietnam, on the other hand, a tropical storm which had flooded and incomunicated the northern region of Sapa, leaving hundreds of deads and homeless people behind. We could only go then for a boat trip in Halong Bay. As it is usual on our trip, we asked for advice in many different travel agencies and checked the internet to make our move independently with all the info available. This is how we found Cat Ba Ventures (www.catbaventures.com), a tour operator based in Cat Ba, the biggest island of Halong Bay, who offers tailor made boat trips for independent travellers.

We booked a 3 days/2 nights trip and paid 90 USD each. We arranged more or less the plan for everyday: sail in the morning to a nice spot, go on the kayak for a while to hidden lagoons and caves and have a swim, then eat and do the same in the afternoon in another spot. Overall we wanted to avoid tourist places and crowds. We wanted to go further away than the normal tours go. We wanted to be alone most of the time and sleep in a different secluded place every night. We wanted many things and almost all of them were accomplished. You can contact Mr Tung, the operator, through his website or under info@catbaventures.com.

Halong Bay is spectacular and the weather conditions were great (sunny, cloudy and few big storms during the nights, which gave a feeling of adventure to the whole experience), as well as the arrangements of the organizer. Basically we had a wooden and bamboo sail boat for four people –we were travelling with two other spanish guys together- entirely at our service. We could decide where to go and where not to go, if we wanted to stay longer or not. We could stop the boat and take the kayaks or just jump off the boat for a refreshing swim in the middle of nowhere –with some restrictions, of course. The crew, Tim and Hum -at least this is how their names sounded to us- were great although we had kind of communication problems sometimes, when we had the feeling they had not understood what we were asking for. They cooked so well and so much that we are missing their food a lot now – we have to say that we ate the same lunch and dinner during the 3 days with slightly variations, but still great food!

If we sumarize the trip, it was awesom! If we had to make a review about the arrangements of Cat Ba Ventures, we would say they did it very well! Some companies in Halong Bay or Hamoi are not very reliable and most of the time don’t provide what was promised. They is a big issue going on in Hanoi of copycat companies that just take the name of a reputed one to steal their clients. Those companies don’t offer the same quality tours and you will end up paying a service that you won’t get. This is what we heard or read while we were searching. Just some tips if you are planning to do a similar tour: fix the route and what you are interested in seeing –it is enough to have an approximate idea, you can change plans once in the boat-. Insist on it once onboard. Ask for a map to be able to locate yourself at anytime –we didn’t do it and missed it- and corroborate you are doing what you were promised to. Ask in advance any question you may have and above all, enjoy the experience!!!

Hector and Julia from Spain.
http://blog.nesthostelsvalencia.com/vietnam/boat-trip-in-halong-bay-unforgettable/julia

robsizeland
Posted on 13th January, 2009
Thanks Juliahector!
We went to Cat Ba by ourself.
In Cat Ba we met up with Mr Tung our tour operator...he was very friendly, explained our journey and led us aboard our junk ship with our crew - Hung (our trusty captain) and Cam (chef and deckhand). Before we knew it we were cruising between islands and boats of all shapes and sizes.

In all we had two nights and three days at sea - we did a lot of kayking (too much for Bill's liking!), eating fresh seafood, visiting floating fishing villages and a little bit of fishing. Most of our off-boat excursions were to navigate through caves / rock tunnels to what we've been calling lagoons - secluded pieces of sea that have been opened up where the sea has carved a "tunnels" in the surrounding rock. Very peaceful - occasionally interrupted by Bill ramming our kayak! All the many islands we passed were very similar - steep walled and lush, plants growing even on the steepest angles. Sadly, we never saw a monkey - but swear we heard them :)
We saw a few fishing villages - tiny homes on rafts. The seas have been so overfished that today those that are caught are only a few inches in length. These are then held in nets and grown to an edible size over the next couple of years. Linh - our most successful fisherman - donated several to one such village. (She really wanted to eat them though.)

We also hiked through an incredible land / dry cave. It was pretty well set up - decorated with lights to guide the way. Hard to describe how big it was - 10 m+ high and took at least 20 minutes to navigate. Very impressive.

The rest of the trip was spent drinking beer, lounging, swimming, and eating a wide variety of jewels from the sea: fresh fish (who bit the poor villager in its last moments), squid with almost every meal, clams, snout nose clams (very unique treat they told us), crab (that bit Jen back even after death!), lots of veggies and bitter melon and lots of fresh fruit. We learned that Vietnam is a culture of dipping - lots of sauces.Cucumber and carrots are meant to be dipped in fish sauce (or, as an afternoon snack, with salt and chili). We said yes to everything they offered so we're pretty certain we had an authentic menu - fortunately they never caught the one remaining rat onboard....phiu, dodged that bullet.

Although we landed a couple days ago, Rob and Jen are still rocking...must have been a really good time!
For your next trip to Cat Ba - visit: catbaventures.com! Maybe check that site a few times as it is often pirated / copied by other not-so-trust-worthy operators. Talk to Mr Tung - he's the real thing (and speaks excellent english). Although, if you're travelling with Linh - she speaks excellent Vietnamese.

http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Cat-Ba-Island/blog-347995.html

Make sure you get the boat you paid for.Avoid Blue Paradise Cruises
Posted on 5th December, 2009
Booked Blue Paradise Cruises through one of the Travel Agents in Hanoi.Although the boat we haad booked and paid for had a Blue Paradise logo on,it was definately not the one in the brochure that agents will show you.If this happens to you,I recommend that you complain to the tour guide (who accompanies you on the bus trip to and from Halong Bay) and ask him to meet with the "owner".We did,and received a partial 30% refund.
The boat we were on was very sub standard,and the accomodation nothing like that in the glossy brochure.From 3 diferent people in the company,I received 3 different "reasons" for the change in boat....the last one being that the original boat had sunk !
Needless to say I came away with the feeling that this company is being blantantly dishonest and overcharging for a sub standard boat,and unless we had complained,we would not have received any apology or refund.
Avoid this cruise company.
The bay itself is attractive,but there is no attempt to keep it from overcrowding with junks and from the pollution......mainly from the junk operators.See it quick before it becomes a cesspool.

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