KayakHalongBay.com

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We decided to book the Valentine boat owned by Indochina Sails. We chose the Valentine since the pictures of the boat, rooms, and common areas looked stunning. At least they did in the pictures. We were told that some boats the look nice in the pictures are very old but they use the pictures from when they first sailed. We also liked that this boat only had 5 cabins for a maximum of 10 people when some alternatives had as many as 25 cabins and 50 people.

Indochina Sails

One other positive was that the boat supposedly would be away from other boats when it was time to sleep and that it had it’s own private dock away from the hoards. When we first boarded the boat I was in awe. The boat was just as promised and only a couple of months new. We took a small boat to reach the Valentine and I thought it was a little bizarre that no one else was on this boat. It turns out that Stacy and I were the only guests on the entire boat (there was also a travel agent inspecting the boat).

As a result they gave us the Presidents suite which we were told was the biggest cabin in all of Halong bay. It was huge with a Jacuzzi tub and separate marble bathroom and rain shower. The walls were made of thatched bamboo and dark wood that glistened in the sun. The ceiling was almost high enough for a second floor! The top deck had 6 gorgeous teak loungers that we had to ourselves. Soon after we arrived on the boat the ship began to sail and we sat down to our 5 course lunch. I only wish I knew it was 5 courses so I could have paced myself. Delicious soup, papaya salad that looked too good to eat, perfect lemongrass shrimp, thai chicken, and dessert were some of the items. After lunch we visited an island that had several steps leading up to a sweeping view of Halong Bay. After snapping too many pictures we were soon back on the boat sailing some more and then off to a secluded bay for a little kayaking.

Nearly the entire time sailing we only saw the 3 other boats the company owned (Ginger, Jasmine, Indochina) but at this bay it was just our boat. It was so great to be the only guests, they completely worked around our schedule and asked us what we wanted to do of all the options. Kayaking was a highlight of the trip. No one else around and the water so still that it looks like glass. The reflection of the rock formations and trees looked nearly identical whether looking at them straight on or it’s reflection in the water.

Back on the boat for some relaxation and then we had dinner. Another meal with too many courses, this time we joined the travel agent (Simon) and an employee of the company. Later after dinner we took the small speed boat to the Indochina sails to listen to some live traditional Vietnamese music and eat squid that was caught just 15 minutes before we arrived. May have been the best I have ever tasted. When we got back on our boat, I grabbed a fishing pole and tried my best at catching some squid.

This is more fun than normal fishing because you can see the squid in the bright light that was shining on the water and once you see the squid close to the lure you pull up to catch it. I caught one but surprisingly it was during one of the only times I wasn’t actually trying to catch one. It was nearly 12:30P when I went back to the cabin to sleep. I didn’t want to go to bed since I knew that I would wake up with the main part of the trip already over. Plus, I wanted to make it to the 6:30A kayaking adventure.

Source: TravelPod

Supported by: Indochina Sails

Halong Bay is easily one of the most beautiful places in the world. We spent much of our day standing on one side of the boat with our camera’s out taking about 500 photos each, with every picture looking amazing. Our awesome wooden boat took us through the islands of Halong Bay, which we decided resembled Pirates of the Caribbean, Vietnamese style. We totally expected to see Jack Sparrow pop up and commandeer our ship, not that we would have minded of course!

Halong Bay cruises

We headed to the caves at first, it was pretty impressive, despite the fact that it was decked out in neon coloured lights, not the most natural lighting design! The best part were the random penguin rubbish bins placed at every corner. The boat continued taking us into the islands, and we eventually stopped and jumped in for a much needed swim! After arriving at Cat Ba Island we had a late dinner before heading to a local nightclub, a teeny little room that had a DJ and a dance floor, with about 6 locals dancing around. So we joined them! After about 3 minutes we had scared them off and were the only ones dancing as most of the locals had gathered around the dance floor to stare at us and film us on their phones. So awkward, so we left! Hannah and I were really feeling the effects of far too much alcohol so we headed back to our room, laid out on the balcony with a few naughty (and disgusting) Cambodian branded cigarettes and blasted Michael Jackson’s Number Ones album for all of Cat Ba to hear!

Slightly hungover the next morning we dragged ourselves out onto the street and looked for something to eat. We were turned away by multiple restaurants, being told that there’s no food or we are not a restaurant (when it clearly was) or just being ignored completely. According to our guide some restaurants on Cat Ba won’t serve Westerners. He didn’t tell us why, and he sure as hell could have told us earlier! After finally finding somewhere that would serve us (and there are places, we just kept picking the ones that wouldn’t, purely out of bad luck) we headed to the local markets which sold such delicacies as sea horse kebabs and geckos on a stick. We took photos and headed right out the door!

Our hydrofoil ride back to the mainland was an epic failure. It didn’t show up. So we took a local bus to the other side of the island, grabbed a teeny tiny speed boat to the mainland about 1 hour from the bus station, took a local bus (complete with wobbly head ponies on the dashboard) to that station before jumping on our minivan to get back to Hanoi. Wow, effort!

To have a chance to experience Ha Long bay, please visit website: www.indochinasails.com

Source: Travel Blog

We pulled into Hanoi at 4.30am! With our eyes just open we made it back to Elizabeth Hotel to catch up on some emails before setting off to Halong Bay. Back on the bus again for three hours we stopped and grabbed some fantastic egg, bacon and cheese bagettes (or it could have been we were starving) before getting back in the bus. We had another wait at Halong City before boarding our boat in bright blue sky and brilliant sunshine! We set off on our cruise along Halong Bay with a seafood lunch onboard. Our first stop was at the … caves we wandered through back on the boat only to nearly leave one of our passengers behind. We set off again through floating villages and through the spectacular formations of the bay. Next stop, kayaking! After our previous experience we now considered ourselves experts or close too especially given the absolute stillness of the water compared to that of Laos. Back on board to our docking point, we were finally allowed to jump in! Joined only by a few others we enjoyed a late afternoon swim in the quite warm bay! Swimming was called to a halt to take some pictures of the amazing sunset….. only for the batteries to run out!! Showers and it was time for dinner on board! After dinner we had a few beers and a game of cards with some others including our Vietnamese Tour Guide whom we tried to teach the rules of “Cheat”,…. impossible.. but very amusing cos he just couldn‘t cheat “oh my Buddha”. We chilled on the roof under the stars before bed.

Indochina Sails at night

Up at 4.30am to see the sunrise (with fully charged camera batteries, our batteries we definitely still running low!). But unfortunately it was too overcast, instead we enjoyed an beautiful transition from dark to light without the sun rise. After a few reasonable photo’s we crashed for a couple more hours. After a light breaky we cruised to Cat Ba Island. After a friends had said the trek was a short walk along a path. Carly set off in thongs and shorts. Two and a half hours later up two very substantial hills, no path and lots of grit and sweat the thongs were not such a great idea. But the magnificent views of the harbour and national park were worth it.

A easy climb down and we jumped back on the bus to our motel with beautiful views overlooking the harbour. After lunch we walked to Cat Ba Beach 1 and 2 after a quick swim to cool off dodging the litter and huge weed we went back into town. We met up with our group for dinner ( which was the same as dinner the night before and the past two lunches) tofu, vegies, squid and spring rolls. We wandered up the street, alive with street performers and locals before crashing early to catch up on some well needed sleep, in a stationary bed

Feeling refreshed we joined the others for breaky. Before a long journey back to Hanoi, back on the bus to the harbour ,to the boat to Halong city, to the second (very hot!) bus and finally back to Elizabeth Hotel to pick up our bags and washing and then a taxi to the airport. Next on the plane to Bangkok! Jez was pretty happy to see the back of Hanoi! We arrived in Bangkok at 11pm with plenty of time to kill before our next flight to Koh Sumui at 6am! We checked in our bags and wandered around the airport, grabbed some burgers and watched the soccer with the rest of those stuck at the airport at 3am in the morning sprawled out on the floor out the front of one of the restaurants. Finally 6am arrived and we set off for Koh Sumui!!!
Source: Travel Blog

Supported by Huong Hai Junk

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The driver made one stop along the way at a big souvenir emporium for tourists. We appreciated the bathroom break and Jeane browsed quickly. She saw a small red lacquerware vase that she really liked and I told her to buy it, since she might not see it again. Good call. 15 minutes later we were moving again. We arrived at the cruise waiting area just shortly before noon. I neglected to mention that we were originally booked in the single suite on the Valentine, a small ship with only 5 rooms, including the suite. Unfortunately, I had received an e-mail from Tonkin two days prior saying it was not to be and that Indochina Sails had offered an alternative, a suite on the brand new (but larger) Indochina Sails III. Tonkin felt that I should go for it only if we could do it at half price to compensate and I agreed. Indochina Sails also arranged for a bottle of Chilean Red in our suite for our troubles.

Indochina Sails 3

From the waiting area there is a shuttle boat to take passengers to the ship. We departed just before 12:30. After boarding the ship, orientation and check-in were relatively quick and painless. While the ship was bigger than we would have liked, our a/c suite was very nice – king size bed, rain forest shower, plus a jacuzzi bath and a small private deck. There was also a safe and a minibar in the room. Lunch was the first activity of the cruise and it was an international/Vietnamese set menu, not a buffet. Very nice. The price of the cruise was all inclusive, except for drinks and kayaking.

There were two afternoon activities – first, a trip to Titop Island, named after a Soviet astronaut who visited there with Ho Chi Minh and second, kayaking at the Hang Doi Bat Cave area. It was pretty overcast with a few rain drops as we climbed the several hundred steps to the top of the mountain on Titop Island. In spite of the haze, the views were pretty good so we took some photos. The late afternoon kayaking was better – the ship’s guide was helpful, we were in a good group and the skies had cleared somewhat. The lagoon and surrounding waters are very quiet – it was nice to get away from it all as Halong Bay had been very busy. Our guide took some great photos of Jeane and I in our kayak. Kayaking cost $10US extra per person.

Back on the ship, we relaxed with our own cocktails in the room as we cruised toward our anchoring destination for the night. Afterward, we enjoyed a food carving demonstration, followed by a nice buffet dinner. We skipped the movie afterward, “The Quiet American” (I have it on DVD at home) and turned in early.

We awoke at about 5:30 the next morning (Sunday, 4/12), showered and got ready for the day. The ship pulled up its anchor shortly thereafter and we headed towards our next destination, a small fishing village and the Surprise Cave. Coffee and pastries were put out at 6:45. Jeane and I entertained ourselves by photographing the fishing village while we waited for the 8 AM transfer to the Cave. We spent about an hour at the cave, which is actually a series of 3 large caves with the “surprise” being the size and scope of it all. The caves were enhanced with artificial lighting. Steps and handrails were in place where it was necessary to climb. The ship’s guide gave us some history of the caves and pointed out the various formations inside.

We returned to the ship for our final meal, a buffet breakfast which included omelets made to order – not as good as the Metropole’s buffet but fine none-the-less. The ship’s crew requested that we put out our larger bags before breakfast for transfer to the pier. After breakfast we returned to our room to find that housekeeping was already starting to clean it. We used the public facilities instead and retired to the sundeck to relax and settle our bill while we approached the pier.

Our driver was waiting for us at the pier and the ship’s guide helped us with our bags. I gave him a tip and bid him farewell. The one-night, two day cruise had been just perfect. We would not have wanted to stay an additional night. The return drive was fairly quick and uneventful. We made the obligatory stop at the overpriced souvenir place but did not linger. I think Jeane would have liked to have spent more time there but I just don’t care for these places on principle.

Reported by Craig

Related to Ha Long bay:

Ha Long Cruise

Ha Long Kayaking

Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh has thousands of islands and many beautiful areas.

Cruise on Ha Long bay by Indochina Sails

For nearly a decade, the nominee for a Natural Wonder of the World title has attracted more tourists since the bridge linking Bai Chay (Chay Beach) and Hon Gai (Gai Islet) was built.

In the bay area, there are many caves, beaches, restaurants, hotels and entertainment sites. Among its well-known scenic spots and tourist sites are Thien Cung, Dau Go and Trinh Nu caves, and Ti Top, Tuan Chau and Ba Trai Dao beaches.

At hotels on Bai Chay, visitors can ask at reception desks to hire tourist ships to visit the bay. You can choose which ship from photos and decide beforehand how long the tour should be and which places to visit or if you will have lunch on board.

The ships usually have sofas on the top deck for tourists to sit and watch the seascape. The deck below has tables and chairs made from precious woods worth billions of dong. Some cruises from big travel agencies also have karaoke rooms and bars.

According to Ha, who is a helmsman, tourist ships have to compete with one another because hundreds of them operate in the bay. A ship is considered successful if it is recommended by its customers. For this reason, tourist ships strictly observe the itinerary and respect customers.

Tourist ships usually take people to see Bai Chay Suspension Bridge first and then take them to visit Thien Cung Cave, one of the biggest and most beautiful caves in the bay. If there is time, they will stop at other caves and Ti Top Beach, a beautiful coral beach.

The ships also go past Ga Choi Islet, two rocks which look like roosters fighting each other.
The crew normally brings along fresh seafood for customers’ lunch. During the boat tour, you can see small boats selling fish, crabs and shrimp that you can buy and grill them to eat on board.

Reported by Phan Huy Tram/ TNnews

Recommended for vessels in Ha Long bay : Indochina Sails & Huong Hai Junk

I know its been a while since I last wrote! Been quite busy with traveling but here is an entry I should have posted ages ago!!!!

On Wednesday the 1st of July we set off for Ha long Bay, we booked a two night three day tour, on a Junk which only had five cabins therefore a maximum capacity of 10 people. A mini van came to pick us up at 8 am and we set off to Ha long city, halfway to Ha long city we stopped at this silk factory thing which sold a lot of souvenirs at very expensive prices, but it seems everyone stops there for the break so we just walked around in boredom for about 20 mins before setting off again. The journey from Hanoi to Ha long City took about three hours. We arrived at Ha long City and then waited for about 15 mins and then we were taken to our Junk!

Ha Long bay sunset by Indochina Sails

The Junk was great beautiful made out of dark wood; our cabin was really nice with big windows so we had a magnificent view as we were going! Soon after setting off lunch was served which was really nice but eating was the

Actually turned the boat a little woopp! Last thing on my mind as we started going the view was just so beautiful and I had no idea that it was going to be so beautiful! After lunch we relaxed a bit on the boat just watching the view and relaxing on the deck, in the afternoon we went to do a bit of kayaking and looking out for birds our guide knew all the birds and seemed to really love his job which was great.

Afterwards we went back to the boat again and relaxed and then we had dinner which was a whole selection of different things, each course was very well cooked and tasted great the only downside was that there wasn’t enough of it! After kayaking and being in the water everyone was very hungry!
The next morning we were up early to kayak again this time to get to a deserted beach where we were going to have a barbecue lunch we kayaked for about 2 hours and then arrived to this adorable tiny little beach where we settled down to have a swim (water was perfect!!) or relax and have a beer while the chef prepared the barbecue. The barbecue was delicious!!!

After that we went back on the boat and the boat started moving again to go to the place where we would stop for the night, the sunset was beautiful! Seeing the golden sky through the different islands around the bay was amazing!
Since that was our last night the crew made a special dinner for us once again the food was amazing and then they sang some songs for us which was great!
The next and last day of our Ha long Bay trip we went to a local fishing village, the company that we used has an agreement with the village and helps them financially as well as making them aware of the importance of keeping the area clean. At the fishing village we were rowed by locals in a little boat around the village where we got to see how life goes on in the village it was a great experience and the village was very pretty.

After that we went back onto the Junk had another swim having fun jumping off the boat deck etc, and then we started heading back to Ha long City. Back at Ha long City we got off the boat very sadly as we would have loved to stay on for longer, one of the most peaceful and beautiful tours we have done on our trip so far, it was amazing!

Source: Travel Blog

Supported by Huong Hai Junk, Active Travel Shop, Active Travel Vietnam

Exploring the bay…kayak style!

Halong Bay is one of the most spectacular, and therefore heavily ‘touristed’ attractions in Vietnam.  Stretching along the Northeast Vietnamese border with China it comprises thousands of limestone karst outcroppings and more than 750 islands of all sizes that dot the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.

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