Our family of 4 (including two teenagers)plans to visit Hanoi as part of a Thailand/Angkor Wat trip. We could spend 3 or 4 days in Hanoi. If we are able to spend 4 days, should be consider an overnight on Halong Bay? I've read conflicting things about the weather at that time of year, so I'm not sure if it would be a good use of time and whether we should book it in advance. Also, a night on the Emeraude has been recommended. How do you book that from the US? Thanks for your advice.

Which time of year? You did not specify.

I was in Halong Bay and Hanoi a couple of weeks ago and just posted a trip report that might be on some interest. Your question is a tough one complicated by the fact that you are traveling with teenagers. My personal feeling is that 4 days in Hanoi is perfect and 3 is a little short but my guess is that the teenagers will love being out on Halong Bay overnight and would have more fun out on the water than site seeing in town. The trip to Halong Bay is too long, in my opinion, for a day trip so i think your only choice is to do an overnight. The Halong Bay trip is quite relaxing as you spend most of the time cruising around--there is an option to go kayaking and swimming so there is some physical activitity. It might be a nice break in between Hanoi and Siem Reap as you will be doing a lot of climbing in and around Angkor. You did not mention what time of year you were planning on being there so I cannot comment on the weather. We were there in early January and we had fog, sun and clouds in a 5 hour period of time and the bay was very interesting in all of these conditions. I would think it would be equally interesting in the rain but I am not sure how much fun that would be. While we did not cruise on the Emeraude, we did see it and it looked really nice. A number of people we spoke to about going to Halong Bay said that if we were going to do an overnight that was the boat to go with. I think you can make reservations on their website so it should not be a problem. Hope this helps and, as I mentioned, I did almost this exact trip a couple of weeks ago so please feel free to let me know if you have other questions as I may be able to answer them. Safe travels.

I did the overnight on the Emeraude about two weeks ago and recommend. I booked it through Exotissimo via a US travel agent: Innovasian. You have to book in advance. I responded to you in another post, too.

So sorry. I meant to say that we will be in Hanoi in mid-August, which is why I am concerned about the weather for a Halong Bay cruise. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.