Hanoi to Halong Bay 1 day trip
 

Hi,<BR>Help please... Planning to do Hanoi to Halong Bay back to Hanoi in one day. Is it doable? If not is it easy to get a room in Halong Bay without a reservation?<BR>Thanks.

Yes, it is very doable if you only want to cruise around the bay. However, it won't give you enough time to go to any of the islands (Cat Ba) to hike, etc. I did it in one day and was very satisfied with the trip. We cruised to areas where there were no other tour boats.

We did a 2 day tour and spent the night on a boat, booked through Handspan Tours at the Tamarind Cafe in Hanoi's old quarter. $35 per person and that included all meals but no drinks (not even water) but the drinks were priced reasonably. At the end of the first day, I would have been satisfied with the trip at that point. It was really cool spending the night on the boat, dinner was excellent, and it was great having more time on the boat the next day. If you really can only spare a day for Halong Bay, then do it! Otherwise, spend the night on a boat for a cool experience. :)

I considered like you the trip for only one day,but wound up doing it 2 days through Singh Cafe for $28.00. which took care of meals, transportation by bus, 1 night stay on Cat Ba Island, afternoon trip and morning trip on Halong Bay. It was a choice to sleep on the boat or on the island. It was a great experience, but I am glad I chose the 2 day trip as the ride out is several hours in and out. These are not luxury accommodations,but adequate for a 2 day trip. I think it is simpler to make the trip with a group and cheaper.

Thanks everyone. I will post a review after my trip (currently planned in mid-April).<BR>Cheers.

we did a one day trip two years ago but we stayed in hyphong at the royal garden hotel (the only upscale hotel), which is near the harbour...we took the hydrofoil (really a &quot;jet&quot; boat) from hyphong (is this spelled correctly??)and boarded our tour boat at the terminus of the hydrofoil, and toured from there....<BR>it was a long day...we booked through asian trails in bkk....actually on line...