Renea Bai Tu Long Bay Cruise: 2 Days, 1 Night

In the Base Price

For $158 per person you get one night in a Deluxe Seaview Cabin with windows, all meals on board (2 lunches, 1 dinner, 1 breakfast), a welcome drink and cold towel, kayaking, squid fishing, a cooking demonstration, the sunset party, board games, swimming, hiking, and an English speaking guide on board. That is a full activity and meal package for a two-day trip.

The wrinkle is the transport. The exclusions list transportation from and to Hanoi as not included and price it at $35 per person for both ways, yet the second option, All inclusive halong baitulong, is marked pickup included. Say both when you book: if you start in Hanoi, either pay the $35 or confirm that the pickup option covers your date.

This is also the most honest reading of the fare: the $158 is the boat, the cabin and the food, and the road from Hanoi is a separate line item.

What You May Pay on the Day

Drinks beyond the welcome drink come out of your pocket, and so do tips, which the listing names as an exclusion. The government bay entrance fee is not mentioned either way in this listing, so ask the operator before you travel rather than assuming it is covered. If you travel alone, the $75 surcharge applies, and the gala dinner nights on December 24 and 31 add $38 per person.

Travellers who want a bigger balcony cabin or a bathtub should look at the Balcony Suite Overnight Cruise instead, where even the base room has a private balcony.

Day One: Harbour, Cruise and First Activities

On the standard option you make your own way to Halong Port, the meeting point stated on the listing. If you buy the pickup option, an air-conditioned vehicle collects you, and the exclusions price the Hanoi leg at $35 per person for both ways. Hanoi to Ha Long is roughly 150 to 170 km depending on the route, about 2 to 2.5 hours by car or limousine on the expressway, so allow for the road before the boat.

Once on board the boat cruises into Bai Tu Long Bay and Ha Long Bay. Specific caves and floating villages are not named in the listing, so the sightseeing is general cruising among the islands rather than a ticketed cave visit. The first lunch is served on board. The included activities are kayaking, swimming and hiking, plus a sunset party, dinner, squid fishing and board games. The listing does not give their order or timing. You sleep in the Deluxe Seaview Cabin.

Day Two: Morning on the Water and Return

Breakfast is served on board, then the second day continues with the remaining activities, which the listing sums up as explore, plus more swimming or kayaking conditions permitting. The cooking demonstration takes place during the trip, and the second lunch is the last meal before the boat returns to Halong Port. No return time is stated. From there you finish, or ride the transfer back to Hanoi if you bought it.

There is no flight involved. If you are flying out afterwards, note that Ha Long city has no commercial airport and the nearest is Van Don, about 50 km away.

Read These Before You Book

The trip suits all physical fitness levels, and infants can ride in a pram or stroller, with infants required to sit on an adult's lap. No wheelchair access is stated, so travellers who need step-free access should confirm directly with the operator or choose a different listing. Ages run from infant 0 to 4 through adult 12 to 99, so families are welcome.

The real filters are elsewhere. First, there is no hotel pickup unless you pay for the transfer, and even then the listing contradicts itself: the exclusions charge $35 per person for Hanoi transport while the pickup option is marked included, so confirm in writing. Second, it is a long bus day from Hanoi, roughly 150 to 170 km each way, which eats into the two days. Third, caves and villages are not named, so travellers who specifically want Sung Sot Cave or a floating village visit should look at a listing that names its stops, such as the Day Cruise with Kayaking which visits Sung Sot Cave, Luon Cave and Ti Top Island. Fourth, storm closures are decided by the Ha Long Bay Management Board and the port authority, not the operator, and cancellations are cited at winds of Beaufort level 6 or higher. The listing does allow cancellation if the weather is bad. Solo travellers pay $75 extra, and the free cancellation window is 24 hours before departure.

Alternatives That Fix Specific Problems

If you want a boat that looks like a traditional wooden junk, the Oriental Sails Junk Cruise is the one listing that describes its vessel that way. If you want to choose between Ha Long, Lan Ha and Bai Tu Long in one place, the Overnight Cruise, Choose Your Bay sells many boat options across all three bays with entrance fees included.

Reaching Halong Port

The meeting point is Halong Port, which puts the logistics on you unless you buy the transfer. Hanoi to Ha Long is roughly 150 to 170 km depending on the route: the expressway route is about 150 km and the old National Highway 18 about 165 km. By car or limousine it takes about 2 to 2.5 hours on expressways, and buses take 2.5 to 3.5 hours.

If you prefer to arrange your own road, a full breakdown of routes, fares and transfer options is in the Hanoi to Ha Long Bay guide. Driving a motorbike is the slow option, since scooters may not use the expressway and must take old road QL18, 4 to 5 hours.

Adding Days Before or After

Since the cruise is only two days, many travellers add a night in Ha Long city or head for Cat Ba Island afterwards. Lan Ha Bay sits south of Ha Long Bay and is home to Cat Ba Island, and the Cat Ba Island guide covers the beaches, the national park and the ferries.

If this cruise leaves you wanting the famous named sights it skips, Sung Sot Cave and Ti Top Island both sit on the classic Ha Long routes, and the Sung Sot Cave and Ti Top Island pages cover what a visit involves. And if two bays are not enough, the Lan Ha Bay guide explains the third option. For the bay itself, read Bai Tu Long Bay: the national park there was founded in 2001, covers about 157.83 square kilometres and holds around 40 islands, and the bay is the least crowded of the three.