Magnificent Halong Bay, with its 3000-plus islands rising from the clear emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, is one of the natural marvels of Vietnam. It covers an area of 15,000 square kilometres. This is a popular tourist sight and another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area’s magical limestone karst scenery is comparable to Guilin in China. It attracts thousands of visitors every year on day or multi day cruises like us. But what is it like to visit Halong Bay with kids? Halong Bay was the finale of our time in Vietnam.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Best time to visit? Between the months of September and December skies are clear and it is still warm enough to swim and kayak. From late December to March the skies are overcast, temperatures are cooler and it can be wet and foggy. In April the skies clear but it gets very warm. During the summer months temperatures can reach almost 40C and the heat can be quite unbearable.
How long to visit for? Halong Bay is best enjoyed on a three day/two night cruise. Some people visit Halong Bay on a very long day trip from Hanoi but most of the time is spent in a minibus! Two day/one night cruises are popular but this only actually gives you an afternoon and the following morning to explore the delights of Halong Bay, with a four hour bus ride both days. You also spend all your time amongst crowds of people and boats, rather than getting away from them all, and truly getting to enjoy the delights of Halong Bay
We believe that if time and money allows, Halong Bay is best enjoyed over a three day period. The second day was the ’star’ of the cruise for our family. It enabled us to get away from the crowds and truly enjoy the splendour of Halong Bay. We all loved kayaking and swimming amongst beautiful limestone karst scenery, away from the crowds of people and boats.
Which cruise boat to choose? There are many cruise boat companies to choose from, in all price brackets. We chose a three day/two night cruise with Galaxy Premium Cruises.
How to get to Halong Bay? Halong Bay is a four hour road trip from Hanoi. Most cruise companies include the transfers to and from Hanoi within the cruise. Transfers are usually taken in minibuses, with pick ups direct from most hotels in the city.
OUR EXPERIENCE CRUISING HALONG BAY WITH KIDS
GETTING TO HALONG BAY FROM HANOI
Our time at Halong Bay began when we were collected by a Galaxy Cruise shuttle from our hotel in Hanoi. Most trips to Halong Bay begin with collection in Hanoi for the journey to the sea port. We were collected at 8:30 am, joining approximately 12 other people on board the minibus. We drove east towards the Vietnam coastline for four hours, stopping once for a refreshment and comfort break. At 12:30pm we arrived at the sea port. The drive was very scenic, taking us past rice fields and small towns and villages.
ON BOARD GALAXY PREMIUM CRUISES
Once on board, the boat soon got underway. We hurriedly explored our quarters for the next two nights before being served lunch. In the dining area we ate a Vietnamese lunch of seafood, meat dishes and vegetables, with fruit for dessert.
After lunch everyone settled into their rooms. Due to a slight problem with our booking we would experience the cabins on the lower deck and the premium cabins on the upper deck. For our first night we were in the standard deluxe rooms on the lower deck. Both sets of cabins are very good with enough space for a double bed or two twin beds, or even a triple, as in our case, with a double and a single bed. Bathrooms contain a toilet, sink and large shower, and are plenty big enough. There are only four rooms in the premium category on the upper deck and these have better views out of the windows but only a tiny bit of extra space.
After cruising a short way through Halong Bay we arrived at our mooring point for the night. Overnight boats all have to moor in one location in Halong Bay so there are many boats all in the same location. This was something that we hadn’t expected before our trip to Halong Bay!
KAYAKING IN HALONG BAY
Our first excursion was kayaking in the bay. We boarded a small tender boat to take us to the kayaking pontoon. We all paired off into kayaks for a one hour paddle through the bay. This was enjoyable but there were many groups of people all doing the same thing.
After kayaking, the tender boat picked us up and took us to a beach on a nearby island. Here we had an hour to enjoy the beach and sea, amongst hundreds of other people. We watched the sunset from the beach but it was somewhat spoilt by the large amount of people all clamouring to take photographs! Following the afternoon’s activities it was back to the boat for a shower, before dinner.
DRINKS AND DINNER
At 6.15pm every evening everyone on the boat gets together for a drink (Vietnamese wine) and a few snacks. These are served on the top deck of the boat, after which we were served dinner.
The food on the Galaxy Premium cruise is an absolute highlight. Dinner was the most amazing seafood – so many dishes of fish, prawns, squid and crab, along with meat, vegetables and rice. The seafood is outstanding on Galaxy Premium Cruises – we had fish, prawns, squid, crab and clams during our time on the boat.
Following dinner everyone on board had the opportunity to go squid fishing. Our family passed on this activity, instead relaxing in our comfortable cabins.
A FUN DAY IN HALONG BAY
Upon waking the next morning we were greeted with another beautiful day, blue skies and sunshine.
Today we would leave the cruise boat and head further into the bay on a day cruise. There were only the five of us and another couple doing the two night cruise so it would be just the seven of us and our guide on our day boat.
Once onboard we cruised further into the bay admiring the spectacular limestone scenery. There were far fewer boats and people today. This was more like it. After about an hour and a half we reached our mooring point, a beautiful spot surrounded by those bumpy limestone mountains.
JUMPING INTO HALONG BAY
The boys were desperate to jump off the boat so we spent about thirty minutes watching them jump about 5 metres into the sea below! They were a little nervous to start with but quickly overcame their fear. They absolutely loved it.
After this we all went on a kayaking adventure, an hour and a half of paddling around the beautiful limestone scenery. This was a wonderful kayak, with no one but us in the area, except for a few local fishermen. The sea was beautifully calm and it was so peaceful apart from the few water fights that we had en-route!
Back on board the boat a bit more jumping into the sea was done, with both Dave and I joining in the fun. It was a long way off the boat! It was then time for lunch – a fabulous meal of fresh seafood, meat and vegetables. This was the best meal we ate on the cruise which says something given the standard was so high.
After lunch we had some free time to do some more kayaking, swimming or relaxing in the sun. The boys went off for a short kayak and swim whilst Dave and i relaxed in the sun.
It was then time to set off for our last stop of the day, a pearl farm. Here we learnt how pearls are cultivated, an involved and time consuming process. It was then time to head back to the Galaxy Cruise boat.
Today was a special day. This area is beautiful, with its limestone cliffs and blue sea. All of us had great fun kayaking and jumping into the water. Today’s day trip was the highlight of our three day cruise. The kayaking, swimming and jumping were fun, lunch was delicious, and Halong Bay is gorgeous.
BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS
Once on board we went up onto the top deck and watched the sunset over Halong Bay. It was beautiful. What a fabulous day!
SPRING ROLLS AND BACK TO DRY LAND
When we awoke on our third day aboard the boat it was cloudy and the temperature had dropped. We decided against a trip to a nearby cave as our tour guide had told us that it was incredibly busy. We opted to stay on board the boat instead. Once everyone else was back from the cave we checked out of our cabins and were taught how to make spring rolls. We each had a go, they are simple to make and we’ll definitely be making them once we get back home.
Our three day cruise ended with a one hour cruise back to the pier and lunch on board the boat. We took the bus back to Hanoi, arriving at our hotel at 5 pm.
Watch our video of our time cruising Halong Bay.
CRUISING HALONG BAY
Cruising Halong Bay is a wonderful experience and is definitely one of the highlights of Vietnam. Hoi An and the time we spent at Peppercorn Beach Resort on Phu Quoc, were the other highlights.
The scenery is stunning and we had beautiful weather for our cruise. There are plenty of activities to keep you busy; kayaking, swimming, cooking, squid fishing, and tai chi. As well as some time for relaxing. Our tour guide was excellent and was constantly making sure that everyone was comfortable and having a good time. The accommodation on board was very clean and comfortable. Lastly the food was outstanding – the seafood as fresh as can be.
We had heard that Halong Bay was dirty and polluted by rubbish. While we did see some floating rubbish it was nowhere near as bad as we had been led to believe. We also saw rubbish boats out in the bay collecting up any floating rubbish. The Vietnamese government is obviously working hard to manage the situation and it certainly seems to be working.
Halong Bay is a popular tourist spot and all the boats have to moor overnight in the same location within the bay. You will not be on your own while visiting Halong Bay! There is nothing wrong with this, i fact it is quite a sight waking up to numerous junk boats spread across the sea. If you are on a three day cruise you will have the opportunity to escape the crowds and strike out to parts of the bay with no people or other boats.
ABOUT GALAXY PREMIUM CRUISES
There are many different cruise companies that offer tours to Halong Bay. I spent a lot of time researching the different options. Galaxy Premium Cruises is a more upscale operator but we wanted a comfortable, positive experience. There are many cheaper options but people who choose the budget cruises often end up with poor or less memorable experiences. We were very pleased with our provider and would happily recommend them to other families heading to Halong Bay.
IN CONCLUSION
Halong Bay was a highlight of our time in Vietnam. For the best experience we recommend a three day/two night cruise. The second day swimming and kayaking in the sea, amongst beautiful karst scenery, with no-one else around was very memorable. We would have been somewhat disappointed if we had only taken the two day cruise.
READ ALSO:
Walking With Dragons:Taking a Trip to Komodo With Children
Nine Months Family Adventure Travel Round the World
Halong Bay should not to be missed when planning a holiday to Vietnam. Have you experienced Halong Bay with kids? Let us know your experience in the comments below.
2 Comments.
[…] out what Go Live Young has to say about their 2 night cruise on Halong Bay – reading this I really do wish we booked […]
Did you do a cruise at all on Halong Bay? We had a great time and were so glad we went for two nights as the middle day was the best by far. We now recommend a two night cruise to everybody.