Drive from Hanoi to Halong Bay
 

We are debating a group van versus taxi/individual driver from Hanoi to Halong Bay. It is 70 USD versus 120 USD. How is the drive? Are there places to stop along the way if we are by ourselves?
Thanks!!

We just did the drive last week and opted for a driver. The drive is about 3 hours and, quite frankly, I could not imagine doing it by myself. The traffic in Hanoi is hair-raising with motorbikes weaving in and out of the cars. The traffic in Hanoi is quite something--makes Boston and Rome driving look easy. Once you get out of the city, the is a brief stint on a 4 lane divided highway that is not bad at all but then it turns into a two lane road that goes through a number of small towns on the way to Halong Bay. Our driver told us there are actually three lanes in Vietnam--the right lane, the left lane and the middle lane as cars tend to pass one another all the time and travel down the middle of the road. It is nerve-racking to say the least and we discovered there is a fine art of being able to tell the difference in the headlights of a car traveling right at you or two motorbikes--cars will not move but the motorbikes will vere off to the side. The road is heavily travelled and there are gas stations and shops along the way but nothing remarkable. It is actually a pretty unpleasant drive with little of interest to see. If you do the drive yourself, I would strongly recommend only doing it during the day as there is little lighting and the night time driving seems particularly risky. Halong Bay is quite pretty and worth the trip but my suggestion would be to leave the driving to someone else familiar with the roads.

We aren't going to drive ourselves. It was just a matter of being in a van with others or in a car by ourselves, so that we could stop and look at scenery, sights etc if we chose to.
I guess there really isn't much to look at though....
Thanks!

There really is not much to stop and see. Your own car would give you some more flexibility over a van for restroom stops etc. but otherwise I doubt there is much of a difference. I guess the only other factor would be how early the van would get you to the pier as there is not much to see or do around there. If it gets you there a little before sailing that would be fine but if it gets you there really early so others can catch their boat it might make sense to be in your own car. Most boats leave at noon so it should not be a problem. Enjoy the trip!