Ha Long Bay Cruise From Hanoi: Overnight Cruises Compared

Meeting points are the ones each card states. Where a card gives no time or address, the booking confirmation does.

The Cruises Most Travellers Book

The 2-day Lan Ha and Ha Long cruise is the volume pick. It holds 4.7 from 5,697 reviews, costs $142 and gives a balcony cabin, all meals, a cooking class, squid fishing and a Tai Chi session on the morning. Upgrades are priced on the card: senior suite +$10, VIP cabin +$65, President Suite +$110. The 6-star version at $179 adds a pool and an upgrade to the second floor for $25 or a VIP room for $135, and it takes guests from Ninh Binh as well as Hanoi.

Both come from the same operator, so the choice is the boat and the cabin, not the route. The 9-cabin Lan Ha classic at $140 is the smaller boat, with plankton kayaking and a Hanoi pickup in the Hanoi option, capped at 21 guests.

The Budget and the Long Stay

The $80 cruise is the budget choice for a night on a real boat. It serves four meals, runs a spring roll class and offers kayaking, and children aged 1-4 stay free in a shared room. The 3-day cruise at $307 is the long stay: day 1 is the Ao Ech kayak and sunset, day 2 a ride through Viet Hai village and a day boat, and day 3 a bamboo boat through Dark and Bright Cave. The card says single travellers pay an extra $170 for a single cabin. The 2-day cruise with transfers at $179 covers a round-trip transfer from the Old Quarter and lists five ships: Grand Cozy, Orchid or Peony, Elite of the Seas, Amanda Premier or Renea.

Card price against the extras each card lists for a standard date. Our sum adds the figures printed on the card and the fee in VND at the site rate, so drinks, tips, spa and upgrades are left out.

Transfers Change the Ranking

A transfer from Hanoi takes about 2.5 hours each way by limousine bus, so it is part of the product. The 5-star cruise and the 6-star cruise both sell it separately for $25 round trip. The 2-day cruise with transfers prices it in, which makes its $179 cheaper door to door than the 6-star cruise at the same $179 plus $25. The Lan Ha classic lists Hanoi pickup in the Hanoi option, and the 3-day cruise sells the $25 limousine and picks up in Ninh Binh too. Pickups run around 7:30-8:30 in the morning and the boat check-in is 11:30-12:00 at Tuan Chau. Plan a late-morning boarding, never an early one.

Solo Travellers and Children

Solo supplements are on every card that states one. The 5-star cruise adds $80, the 3-day cruise adds $170 for a single cabin and the Sunlight cruise adds $38.87 (VND 1,000,000). Children are priced by age on the Sunlight cruise: 1-4 free in a shared room, 5-8 at 75 percent, 9 and over at the adult price. Only one child aged 4 or under stays free with two adults. The 2-day cruise with transfers lists age bands for infants 1-3, children 4-11 and adults 12 and over.

The Ha Long Bay Management Board (Ban Quản lý Vịnh Hạ Long) publishes the fee per person for each overnight route. Lan Ha Bay is outside that schedule.

Most cards fold it in. The 5-star cruise lists no entrance fee as included, so ask before you pay. The 6-star cruise, the 3-day cruise, the transfer cruise and the Lan Ha classic state that entry and sightseeing fees are included. The Sunlight cruise does not: its card names VND 630,000 per person paid in cash to the guide at the harbour. That figure equals the VND 550,000 overnight fee plus the VND 80,000 port ticket the Ha Long International Passenger Port charges from July 2026, which is our sum, not a line on the card. Bring the cash in dong, since the guide takes it at the harbour.

What Each Bay Gives You

Ha Long Bay (Vịnh Hạ Long) is the official visitor route system. Route 2 leaves Tuan Chau International Marina and passes Soi Sim Island, Ti Top Island, Sung Sot Cave, Luon Cave and Trinh Nu Cave, and ends at Me Cung Cave. Lan Ha Bay (Vịnh Lan Hạ) lies south-east of it beside Cat Ba island and has no fee schedule on the Ha Long board's page.

The cruise cards fill the gap with their own stops: Ao Ech for kayaking and swimming, Dark and Bright Cave by bamboo boat, and on the Lan Ha classic a bioluminescent plankton kayak. The 5-star cruise and the 6-star cruise both start at Tuan Chau and swim at Ao Ech, so you see both bays in one stay.

How Long Is the Transfer From Hanoi?

Allow about 2.5 hours each way by road, according to the 3-day cruise, which lists the limousine bus at that length. The table gives the times each card prints for the legs. The Lan Ha classic goes to Beo Harbor on Cat Ba instead of Tuan Chau and states no travel time. Book your onward train or flight for the evening of the last day, not the early afternoon.

Day 1: Boarding, Kayak, Sunset and Dinner

After check-in at Tuan Chau, the cards serve lunch on board. The 2-day cards then split the afternoon: kayaking and swimming at Ao Ech in Lan Ha Bay, or Dark and Bright Cave by kayak or bamboo boat. On the Sunlight cruise you visit Sung Sot Cave, climb to the Titop Island viewpoint and swim at its beach.

A sunset party, a spring roll or cooking class and dinner follow on most cards. Evening squid fishing is on offer on the 5-star cruise, the 6-star cruise and the transfer cruise, and karaoke on the Sunlight cruise.

Day 2: Tai Chi, Cave and Brunch

Day 2 opens with Tai Chi on deck on the 5-star and 6-star cards, then breakfast. The cave stop is Dark and Light Cave by kayak or bamboo boat on the 6-star cruise, Luon Cave on the Sunlight cruise and the Quan Y or Trung Trang Cave on Cat Ba on the 5-star cruise. Brunch is served as the boat returns to the wharf.

All activities on the Lan Ha cards are optional, and the itinerary and cave choices can change with weather and tides. The cards say so plainly, so treat the order as a plan, not a promise.

The surcharge each card lists for holiday dates, plus the solo supplement, taken from the cards. Cards not listed here state neither.

The Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve gala dinner on the 5-star cruise is $40 a head. On the 3-day cruise, the peak-season charge of $20 applies from October 1 to April 30, so it covers most winter dates. The transfer cruise sets $45 across the three holidays. Where a card prints no amount, the booking page shows it for your date before you pay.

Do the Cruises Run in Winter?

Yes. The Ha Long Bay Management Board runs a winter timetable from 1 November: boats leave from 5:30 and must be back by 19:00, and the caves and islands close at 17:00, half an hour earlier than the summer 17:30. Plan the cave stops of day 1 for the afternoon and board in time for them.