Most travelers that head to Vietnam at least consider a stop to the UNESCO world heritage site of Halong Bay. You see the Bay in pictures and travel magazines, but is a trek out to it worth your time and money?
There’s a growing number of travelers (and travel bloggers) that have become “too cool” to be tourists. You know the type–suddenly the sites that have always been deemed “must see” are now not far enough off the beaten path and have been deemed “tourist traps” that “real travelers” would never actually visit.
Is Halong Bay one of those destinations?
For the unfamiliar, you’ll find Halong Bay just a few hours drive from Hanoi. The bay consists of thousands of limestone formations which create a mystical destination for an overnight junk boat cruise. Although your options for cruise operators are plentiful, one of the most well-known companies is Indochina Junk. The company offers trips on junk boats varying in length from day tours to several nights in various budgets and levels of luxury.
I’m writing this post from my own personal experience regarding my trip to Vietnam and Halong Bay last year. My girlfriends and I ultimately decided to book with Indochina because of the company’s solid reputation. I had read several articles indicating that some companies fail to fully restore their boats after typhoon season, yet continue to set sail with vessels that may not be safe.
We chose to book cabins on the Dragon’s Pearl Junk, a moderately priced junk boat. Our two-day one night cruise with double rooms cost approximately $330.00 USD for the night, or $165.00 per person. This price also included our meals while on the boat and transportation to/from our hotel in Hanoi.
Since we traveled to Vietnam in November, the weather was fairly cool and dreary upon our arrival to the bay.
I couldn’t help but worry about the possibility of rain ruining our quick trip. Luckily, in a few hours the sun came out and burned most of the haze away.
We boarded the boat and grabbed some cocktails as the junk set sail for Bai Tu Long Bay. Once there, we docked and had several hours of free time on Hon Co Island. While on the island, we were given a tour of a limestone cave, ThienCanh Son, and had the opportunity to swim or kayak.
Although several of the guests on our ship chose to take a dip or partake in some kayaking, the water was a bit too chilly for this (transplanted) Southern girl!
Indochina’s website touts that taking the route to Bai Tu Long Bay (as their fleet does) is preferable, since it is off the beaten path and not crowded with other junk boats. Since this was my first time visiting the bay, I can’t comment definitely on whether the company’s statement is correct, but I can say we were never on top of other boats.
After a filling, multicourse seafood dinner, a glass or two of wine, and some conversation with our fellow shipmates, we retired to our cabin in anticipation of an early morning. My insomnia is typically an unfortunate experience for me (and those traveling with me), since I realistically need close to eight hours of sleep not to be curmudgeonly, but on this night, I turned my inability to sleep into a benefit and stumbled out to the ship’s top deck for sunrise to take some photos of the bay.
I was the only one out on the top deck of the boat watching mother nature “do her thing” for at least a half hour before a few other travelers made their way outside. Not only was this short amount of solitary time relaxing, it also allowed me to catch some fantastic shots.
After breakfast, we were transported in pairs by small row boats to Vung Vieng floating village. Now, this is the part where our experience turned into a quasi-tourist trap…the rowboats took us to the village where we “met the local people,” toured the floating school and the fish farms… oh, and the gift shop… Then, we were taken by row boat to the oyster farms where we were shown how the locals culture pearls (before being taken to yet another gift shop, of course).
I suppose I could have stayed on the ship, but then I would have missed the colorful floating village and vivid shots like these:
Quite honestly, the “tourist trap” didn’t really bother me. I didn’t feel pressured and my surroundings were so beautiful I was hardly listening to their pitch because I was too busy snapping photos.
After lunch, we arrived back into port. I would have been all smiles after my one night, two day Halong Bay cruise with Indochina had it not been for the damn water puppet show that we were taken to on the way back to Hanoi.
UGH.
We were tired (or maybe that was just me, since I was the one awake before the sun came up), we were cold from the damp, cool weather and we just wanted to get back to Hanoi to prepare for yet another day of travel (our flight to Hoi An).
But, no.
We were forced to watch what we were told was a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show.
If I was eight years old (and if shows like “Disney on Ice” didn’t exist), I may have found the water puppet show entertaining. But, I am not. Judging by the amount of photographs taken, some of my fellow travelers certainly may have disagreed with me. But personally, I felt like I was stuck inside of the “It’s a Small World” ride for way too long.
So, what’s my verdict? Is Halong Bay a tourist trap you should skip?
NO. Hands down, do NOT miss out on this natural beauty.
Did I hate the puppet show? Yes. It was right up there in terms of tourist trap cheesiness as my visit to the Karen “Long Neck” Hill Tribe in Chiang Mai (who only spoke to you to try and convince you to buy souvenirs) or the Uros Indian’s Floating Islands on Lake Titicaca (I mean, do these people really live on reed islands ALL year round)?
Halong Bay is popular with tourists for a reason. It’s gorgeous and everyone wants to see it! We had a fantastic time, and I couldn’t even imagine how amazing the trip would have been with warmer weather allowing us to comfortably swim and kayak in the bay’s teal waters.
The natural beauty of Halong Bay is undeniable. And quite honestly, you would be missing out if you traveled to Vietnam without a visit to the Bay.
Bottom Line: Go to Halong Bay. (But, skip the water puppet show if you can).
What do you think? Is Halong Bay a tourist trap you should skip?
If you enjoyed this post, let me know in the comments section or by sharing it with the social media links. You can also follow Flirting with the Globe on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram if you’re not already!
I can only personally vouch for my experience with Indochina, but if you can read about Karolina Patrick’s experience with Princess Cruises here.
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October 21, 2014
Agree about booking cabins! Thats what we wont to do also hope to go there when its a bit warmer. Great write up thanks.
PS not sure if it was our browser etc but pictures on you site appear very large and took a lot of time to display – maybe something you want to check out 🙂
October 21, 2014
Thank you, Ying & Martin. Apparently, internet explorer recently updated their browser and it is now not compatible for my site. I’m working with my web designer to fix the problem and will hopefully have things back to normal soon! 🙂
October 21, 2014
I loved Halong Bay when I visited Vietnam last year though I must add that my trip was cut short because of bad weather meaning that we missed out on many of the stops – I still really enjoyed the experience of sailing between the beautiful rocks but it was very grey and my photos were certainly nowhere near as pretty as yours! 🙂
October 21, 2014
I’m glad you also enjoyed the experience! What time of year did you go?
October 22, 2014
We went in September – mostly it was warm but that day was just very windy and stormy!
October 23, 2014
Glad Halong Bay is still worth visiting :-). It’s on our must-see list!
October 24, 2014
For sure! 🙂
November 5, 2014
Heck no! Halong Bay is awesome. Sure it’s expensive and hard work to find a decent tour – but I reckon it’s totally worth it, as you found out for yourself. You’ve got to do all the touristy stuff at least once, I reckon.
November 5, 2014
I agree! 🙂
November 17, 2014
For us, it definitely was a tourist trap and we kicked ourselves for not having stayed some more days in the Mekong Delta instead.
Here´s the article about our 24 hours Halong experience (I apologize for it being in German only): http://www.mightytraveliers.com/halong-bucht But just look at the first pic and you´ll know what I´m talking about. (According to our oarsman, we absolutely HAD to take that shot!)
Sure, it´s a pretty nice place and there are some great shots to be taken if you manage to escape your tour guide and have a second for yourself. But that´s not easy to do if every second of the day has been planned for you already.
November 18, 2014
That’s too bad, Corinne! We didn’t feel “over-toured” or restricted too much. What company did you use?
November 17, 2014
Couldn’t agree more! Having was stunning and shouldn’t be missed
November 18, 2014
Agree – and we had a lot of fun!
November 27, 2014
As much as I liked Ha Long Bay, I felt that its beauty was a bit spoilt by the number of boats and tourists there. I would have loved to visit a more authentic site. But you are right, it’s still worth the round!
November 27, 2014
Yes, I know what you mean!
December 23, 2014
Wow, these pictures talk by themselves, I think I will do the tour too… 🙂
Thanks for referring me to this post!
December 31, 2014
I am a bit obsessed with visiting Vietnam since first reading this post. I keep coming back to look at your beautiful pictures!
January 2, 2015
You should go, Becky! 🙂
January 21, 2015
Puppet show! Lol I’m so corny, I probably would have enjoyed it. Great pics again! I always hate when people say they live vicariously through me and my travels but I live vicariously through you Karisa. Hope to make at least one of your trips in my lifetime.
January 21, 2015
Ha! (Some people did – just NOT me!) Thanks so much for the kind words! 🙂
January 23, 2015
I agree with you – Halong Bay isn’t a tourist trap, but Sapa in Vietnam definitely is!
January 23, 2015
Good to know – I didn’t make it there when I went!
January 30, 2015
This has been on my bucket list for some time! Regardless of whether it’s considered a tourist trap by many, I’ll be going here. The scenery is too picturesque to miss. Though I’ll definitely do what I can to avoid the water puppet show =P.
Greig
January 31, 2015
We really enjoyed our two day one night cruise (minus the puppet show)! 🙂 Have fun, Greig!
February 6, 2015
What camera do you use!? Looking forward to a trip here this summer!
February 6, 2015
I use a few different ones, I think these were taken with my sony hybrid. You’ll have a great time!
February 24, 2015
Absolutely agree! I only spent one night there last year as part of my Intrepid tour and loved it! Would have loved more time there!
February 24, 2015
Agree, Zita! There’s always next year, right? 🙂
March 4, 2015
Beautiful! This is just in time since we’re planning to visit Halong Bay soon. The tip on the cruise operators is really helpful!
March 5, 2015
Great! Let me know if you have any other questions, Olivia!
March 9, 2015
Agreed. It can be an overpriced tourist trap if you let it. But if you’re smart it can be amazing.
My suggestion is to consider not doing the overnight boat in the bay, and instead stay on one of the islands such as Cat Ba. You will get most of the same experiences and not be confined to the routine of a ship. Much more flexible and its what most the locals do.
Gorgeous place.
March 9, 2015
Great suggestion, Dan!
June 16, 2015
I spent a month in Vietnam and Ha Long Bay was the part I enjoyed least. I got a pretty boring boat though and I (lone 24yr old female) has to share a cabin with a creepy middle aged Italian man with wandering hands :/
I like your pictures though!
June 16, 2015
Oh no! Your cabin mate sounds terrible! Luckily, I was traveling with three of my girlfriends, so we had a great time!
August 13, 2015
Couldn’t agree more on the whole ‘I’m too cool to be a tourist’ attitude really pissing me off. In most cases if someone is hugely popular with tourists there is a reason for it. And although it is great to get off the beaten track sometimes you just need to put up with large groups of tourists in order to see something amazing. Halong Bay is definitely one of those cases.
We went with Glory Cruise and paid about the same for a 2 night cruise. I didn’t expect much because it was one of the cheaper options but it was actually amazing! We did get taken to a gift shop on the way but we didn’t have a puppet show :-P. The 3 day cruise also has the benefit that not many people choose to stay the extra day- so there were only 4 of us on the day trip on our second day which was amazing!.
August 13, 2015
Wow – that sounds great, and like a fantastic deal, Britt! When I head back I’ll definitely look into Glory.
August 20, 2015
If I ever get there, I’ll skip the puppet show. I once spent 1.5 hours going in circles in “It’s a Small World” during a rain deluge, so I know what you mean. In my mind thwere really is no popular destination that’s a tourist trap. Sure, they can be nearly ruined (Niagara Falls), but the newfound popularity just becomes a part of the culture, and that’s real too. I don’t have much time for the uppity types; they’re more about trying to impress people with their exploits than educate or entertain them.
September 4, 2015
Nice article and great information. I still want to visit Halong Bay
September 4, 2015
You should!
February 24, 2016
Ah i was worried when I saw this title because Im planning on going to Vietnam this year and I really want to go to Halong Bay but I’m glad you say it’s a must. It looks so pretty!
I’ll also be there in November but I was hoping it would be kinda warmer…maybe not from much clothes you guys have on! haha
February 24, 2016
It wasn’t freezing… but it wasn’t warm either. It was too cold for me to go kayaking (I was also worn down from a day and a half of travel), but there were some people that were doing it! You’ll love Vietnam! Make sure you spend some time in Hoi An too. So pretty and relaxing.
August 17, 2016
Interesting. I had a great experience and my tour didn’t take us to any shops. It was only one night on the boat and then kayaking from a floating village (included in the price). The cave was a nice stop but way too crowded with tours showing up all at the same time. Other than that, I’d recommend going.
August 17, 2016
I was there in winter, so there wasn’t too much kayaking happening at that time, but that sounds great! What company did you use?
April 7, 2017
Yeah, so it’s a tourist trap but who cares! Halong Bay is stunningly beautiful and definitely not to be missed on any trip to Vietnam. We would love to have done it ourselves but it took too much planning so we hopped aboard a 2-day-1-night party cruise. The weather was beautiful, the kayaking through caves was amazing and the views were amazing. I’ve heard that Bai Tu Long bay is a lot quieter and were advised to avoid Halong, but we did not feel crowded and only really saw one of two other boats So your conclusion definitely matches mine, it’s not to be missed!
April 11, 2017
Great – so glad you had a great time!