Hanoi & Halong Bay
 

We are thinking of a short trip to Hanoi & halong Bay next week. Has anyone stayed at the Moon River boutique resort outside Hanoi? Also, any feedback on the helicopter ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay - we are keen to avoid the 4 hour transfer. Any feedback on junk boats? Emeraude looks great but expensive...

We did a 2 day trip on the Dragon Pearl, booked through Handspan tours
The boat was georgeous! price was reasonable (little over $100pp)

Thanks dperry. How long did it take u from Hanoi to the embarkation point for the Halong Bay boat? Was that included in the $100 pp? How long were you in Hanoi?

Hobbes,
check my trip report for Hanoi---we used Handspan tours and for $79 pp we got a huge junk to ourselves. We walked into their office in the old quarter and booked it one day in advance..the advantage was we could dictate where we wanted/not wanted to go. It takes 2.5-3 hrs to Halong. They have an airconditoned SUV.Be prepared for a fair amount of garbage in the bay-it still is pretty but not worth an overnight visit IMHO.

I think the ride took around 3 hours.
Yes, it was included in the price. The bus was nice. We were in Hanoi for 6 nights, 2 of those spent in Halong Bay.
We loved it!
We had the nicest cabin on the ship #201, really beautiful.

Thanks dperry and Boblax. Both of u seem to have completely different xperiences on the ride! We are still deciding between various Vietnam destinations and Xian so will keep all posted...