Ha Long, how long?
 

What was your experience like when visiting Halong? Am trying to decide how long to stay. This will be on/about November 8.

I see that there are day tours from Hanoi. Four hours out, five hours cruise, then back to Hanoi. Have you taken that kind of tour? Seems a bit crazy but there would be a big benefit in waking up the next day in Hanoi.

The next option is a 2-day trip. Travel by land from Hanoi to Haiphong/Halong in the morning. Board a boat around noon. Cruise, eat & sleep on the boat. Sleeping on the boat doesn't appeal to me very much, but might be ok. On day 2, you leave the boat around noon and get back to Hanoi around 4PM.

I would need compelling reasons to make it a three-day trip. I understand it is beautiful there and after a couple of days in HCMC and Hanoi it might be a good break from the city. But it's not Grand Canyon beautiful, is it?

I am considering the same thing in November. I will most likely do the overnighter as I don't like to drive that long for a day trip.

There are a lot of people offering the overnight so make sure that it is with a reputable company. i think this is a good case for paying a little more for a good experience.

Cheers!

I did a 2 night junk tour last year with Bai Tho and enjoyed the time on the bay...one night will be plenty for you...Dragon Pearl appears to be the best option but it was sold out when I was there. Don't do the day trip!

wun---we did it a couple of years ago....we stayed 2 or 3 nites at a nice hotel in hyphong and went only for a day to halong, which believe me was enough!! took the russsian "hovercraft" from hyphong and back....it may have been replaced now...

if i went again, i would leave hanoi at mid-day and go to hyphong, stay over nite, leave early the next morning for halong, cruise most of the day and return to hanoi at nite....

we made two stops between hyphong and hanoi: at a painters house which was interesting and at the pottery village, also well worth the stop....

the hotel is the harbor or harborside hotel in hyphong---it is owned by the same people that own the marriott resort and spa in bkk.....it is a small hotel, but decent....decent, but not fantastic dining room...

We stayed in Haiphong and had a day trip to Halong. I found Haiphong a waste of time but wished we had spent a few nights cruising the Halong area or staying one or two nights on Cat Ba (I think that's the name of the island). I find Cat Ba very interesting with the floating fishermen's homes moored nearby.
IMO, 2 nights in the area would be sufficient. We had a great guide and 2 boat crew looking after the two of us. The latter cooked a delicious simple seafood lunch for us. I love the scenery in that area.

In 2004 myhusband and I did a 2 night trip to Halong Bay on the Dragon Pearl with Handspan. It was wonderful- one of the nicest things we've done. We hiked, swam and kayaked. The food and room were outstanding. We were on a month long trip through Asia, so this was 'down time' between busy cities. (HK and Hanoi). I would strongly recommend an overnight trip over a day trip to Halong Bay. Being the only boat in a quiet lagoon at sunset was memorable, as was watching the sunrise the next morning.

We also overnighted on Halong Bay. Honestly - the magic of the place is at sunset and sunrise. Plus, it is just too much for a day trip. Do you really want to spend more time in the car than at Halong Bay itself?

We sailed on Huong Hai. We were very happy on it. The walls are thin - but I think that is the norm. We could hear the girls next door talking like they were in our room. But really, everyone konked out early after such a full day.

The food was AMAZING. If you only go out for a day trip, you don't get to experience the several great seafood(fresh - hours old) meals. Just lunch.

We felt it was just right size-wise, however we only had 8 passengers total. The bathrooms/showers (all in one room) are a bit funky -but it was just one shower for an overnight cruise.

We off loaded and went on small boats thru some caves and into small coves. Also went on an island that you climbed to the top of for the sunset which was breathtaking, as well as walked thru two other cave/pagodas.

If you wanted more time for kayaking you could spend another day/night. All sewage is dumped directly into the water from the boats as well as bathrooms at facilities. You might consider that when thinking of swimming. I know I saw people do it, but I just could not.

Thanks everybody. Staying on land in Haiphong might work. Or on a boat.

Doing that means that I will probably have to skip going to Sapa. Would have to go from Halong to the Hanoi train station for the night train. If I was to go to Sapa then I would want to take the Saturday day train back to Hanoi. No point taking a train all that way and not getting to see any of the countryside by taking night trains both ways.

We went to Ha Long 2 years ago and made a day trip from Hanoi. It was a long day trip, but we had limited time. If you do not mind a lot of driving (the trip itself is somewhat fascinating), then a day trip was fine. If we did it again though, I would go overnight. We had a great guide (a guide and a driver from a travel agency about 4 or 5 doors to the right of the Win Hotel). We asked to see the countryside and he took us to his village where we sat and had tea with his family. If you seek it out, you can experience many interesting experiences that you will not find in a bigger tour. At Ha Long, we spent about 5 or 6 hours out on the water. For about $40, we had an entire 30 person boat to ourselves and they cooked us an outrageous lunch (the boat stopped by some type of a floating market where we picked out fish, crabs, prawns etc...). As I said we would do an overnight if we could again, but if all you have is 1 day, I would not pass up the experience. It was a great day for us.

I did an overnight on the Dragon Pearl two years ago, and despite not-so-good weather I enjoyed it more than I expected. I usually get bored on boats, but not this time. The cabin was very comfortable and the food was good. That was early December, I would expect the weather to be better in early November. Eight hours on the coach for four hours on the water sounds like a bad trade to me. I'd either do the overnight (one night should be enough) or go to Sapa.

All of the boats seem to be on the same schedule and the transfers to/from Hanoi operate like clock work...I would not want to stay on land, waking up on the boat was amazing!

Go to Sapa too if you can fit it all in! We did the Victoria package and returned on the day train which was one of the high points of our entire trip! The scenery was incredible and I felt that I really got to see rural Vietnam!

If you do the two night tour you can fit in some extra activities such as hiking or kayaking on the bay. I thought Halong Bay was pretty spectacular.

http://www.travelsinasia.com/Vietnam/Halong.htm

WeiLong, I saw the link to your webpage on another thread and checked it out. Very nice. Great shots.

I vote for one day Halong so you would have more time to see Sapa.

Would you time to spend a couple of days in the Sapa area to make it a worthwhile trip?

Sapa trip would be to take the train Thursday night arriving way too early on Friday. Overnight in Sapa and then day train (10AM or so) back to Hanoi. That was based on the Victoria Express train sked which has only one day train and that is on Saturday on the return. I saw a webpage today that has Vietnam railways schedules and their train may work better. Maybe I can get a day train return on Sunday.

At that railway website it showed the scheduled travel time between Hanoi and Halong to be only two hours. There is a departure from Hanoi around 6AM. A return train arrives in Hanoi in time to catch the trains to Sapa. At least one of those Haiphong train rides would be recreation for me. I would almost want to hire a car in Hanoi and tell the driver to drop me at the train station and then meet me at the Haiphong station and go from there.

So, two hours to Haiphong and then a drive to Halong. How long is that drive?

I read the itinerary for a couple of Halong overnight tours and it seemed like they allowed four hours on both ends of the trip for travel between Halong and Hanoi. Is it really four hours by road.

For Vietnamese train info see http://seat61.com/Vietnam.htm and http://www.vr.com.vn/english/index.html Looks like the day train is hard seat only. I don't remember exactly, but four hours sounds about right for the road trip to Halong Bay.

mrwunrfl: I note your question "But it's not Grand Canyon beautiful, is it?". Clearly you have not done much research. It is a World Heritage Site, and outstandingly beautiful and, in its own way, every bit as wonderful as Grand Canyon. Handspan offer a variety of junks. I tried for Dragon's Pearl, but it was full. I went through their photographic catalogue of the other available junks, and found one that I figured as just as good. The cabins were excellent, and the ensuite facilities were spotlessly clean. The food was the best I had while in Vietnam.

Has anyone gone in mid-winter? We'd be looking at early January, and i am wondering if this trip would be as desireable then. Normally the kayaking part would really appeal to us too, but once again I am wondering about weather at that time of year.

By the way, for anyone else still looking at which company to use, everyone at the Lonely Planet forum raves about Handspan as a company for this tour.

Thanks for that Mitch04. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've researched it enough to know that I ought to stay over one night but definitely don't need to stay for two nights (I would love to but don't have the time). What was the name of the boat you took?

Thanks for the rail link thursdaysd.

Bob, what was the timing of your day trip to Halong from Haiphong? When did you leave the hotel and when did you arrive at the port? When did the boat leave and return? How did you arrange your boat trip?

Here is the day trip I am imagining and don't know if I can arrange it: Leave Hanoi around 6AM and arrive at Halong port at 10AM. Boat leaves at 10:30. Sunset should be around 5:20. Back to the port at 6PM and back in Hanoi at 10PM. Seems like a good use of the night time. I would be in Hanoi the next morning instead of late afternoon. Then two nights in Sapa (2 full days and a day train back or 3 days and a night train).

Dinner on the boat sounds like fun and some of the boats look comfortable. I am traveling solo so the night could be either very relaxing, looking up at the stars, or terribly boring if it was raining. The payoff could be a beautiful morning on the bay. Or a rainy one.

I'm thinking that with your usual travel style, the day trip would be good. It seems you don't mind being on the move a lot, and rather like it actually. It would make the most of your time to do the travel time in the early morning and late evening/night hours and use your daylight time for sightseeing.

On the other hand, I think it would be really nice to sleep on the boat, hang out with the other people on the boat, and wake up in the beauty of Halong bay...rain or sun, beautiful any way it comes I think.

I don't really think you can go wrong on a first trip somewhere...you can always go back another time if there is something that really gets your attention...or you can change your itinerary along the way to spend more or less time somewhere.

All of what you said it true, KimJapan.

I've already figured out that I will need to return to Vietnam. It is a good thing that weatherbase shows that Hue has 25+ inches of rain in November. That removed Hue and Ho An from my travel options for this trip.

The day trip to Halong would give me more time to spend on Sapa. IsisMnroe's vote carries some weight.

I believe that my timing is right, weatherwise, for visiting Sapa. I can't get the Vic Xpress trains but can get the wood cabin in the Tulico car.

Arriving SGN at 10:20PM, staying that
Saturday night in HCMC.

This would be my lodging itinerary:
Nov 4 arrive SGN 10:20PM, night in Saigon.
Nov 5, Saigon
Nov 6, Hanoi
Nov 7, day trip to Halong, night in Hanoi
Nov 8, see Hanoi, 10PM night train to Sapa
Nov 9, Victoria Sapa
Nov 10, Victoria Sapa
Nov 11, day train, night in Hanoi
Nov 12, Hanoi or Saigon
Nov 13, Saigon
Nov 14, Seal Beach, California

I stayed overnight on a boat on beautiful Halong Bay and still look back with longing on that absolutely perfect night's sleep and the lovely sunrise/sunset. I can get seasick in the bathtub, so I was a little concerned, but it was marvelous. I did feel that the one night was enough due to my limited time, and I was a solo traveler with mostly French speakers on board, but it worked out very well.

(As an aside, be sure that they know you're solo...When the time came for sleeping, we found that they had assigned a Vikingesque Aussie guy and me to the same room; he kindly agreed to sleep out on the deck. He was a great guy, actually, but the acquaintance of one day...well, let's just say it would nave been a bit too cozy.)

I got a reply back from Handspan and they have availability on the Dragon's Pearl for the overnight on the 7th. I've swung back the other way and will probably take that on the 7th, back on the 8th. Night in Hanoi. Day train to Sapa on the 9th. Night train on the 11th. Something like that.

I did notice the single supplement fee!

Last November I have done a day trip from Hanoi to Halong, with private transport. A reasonable early (not nightly) departure, even a few short stops along the road to walk around rice paddies where people were working, and then a five hour cruise. Return to Halong in the evening, part of the trip after sunset. It's perfectly feasible. And a cruise of five hours in Ha Long is enough, I think.

The overnight trip with Handspan on the Dragon's Pearl was great. Am definitely glad I stayed over. It is a long trip getting there and back. It was an excellent relaxing break from crazy Hanoi. Might have stayed over another night for some kayaking if I had that option, but not enough time.

There are rats here in the business class lounge at Hanoi airport.

Glad you enjoyed the Halong Bay trip! How was the weather? BTW, no rats (that I saw) at the train station.... Did you go to Sapa?

It was hazy at Halong Bay and a bit cloudy, but this was good. Was warm and would have been quite hot in the sun. Nice breezes in the evening and it was comfortable all day long. We visited caves on the second day that were fairly spectacular, much more extensive than I imagined.

The food on the Dragon's Pearl was very good as was the company there. The crew was very good. As I said, I got the tour via Handspan. Our tour sub-group was two Brits and me. Our guide, Sunny, took very good care of us.

Sleeping on the boat was easy. There was an air conditioner unit in the room but it was not necessary overnight. The boat anchored in a bay with about 20 other boats. It was quiet and the water was dead calm.

Unfortunately, I did not get to go to Sapa. Had to shorten my trip by two days and that squeezed out Sapa and made it easier to decide on taking the overnight trip to Halong Bay.