A 2-day (1-night) extension tour from Hanoi includes private transfers to and from Hanoi | Full Board | Shore excursions
One-day tours or 3 days (2-nights) are also available.
We quote tours on request.
Halong Bay is one of the major attractions of any tour to Vietnam.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located just under 3 hours drive northeast of Hanoi using the new motorway. The total area is vast, covering over 1500 kilometres, with over 1900 islets, mostly limestone with a tropical forest topping. Several of the islets are hollow, with enormous caves with incredible stalactites and stalagmites. It is said they have taken over 500 million years of formation in differing conditions.
Our 2 day (1 night) tours include a visit to one of the caves. Only 40 of the islets are inhabited, with traditional fishing villages, and again on the aforementioned tour, a visit to a village will be included.
There is no hard rule on the best time to visit. The summer months April to October can be hotter and more humid. In this region, tropical storms or even the occasional cyclone are not unknown, particularly in the August / September period. The Winter months of November to March can be noticeably colder, dryer, misty and rather atmospheric.
Clothing will be totally relaxed, so t-shirts, shorts (maybe longer trousers & hoodie style coat in the winter months or chilly evenings), trainer type shoes & swimwear for shore & sea excursions.
Chic Locations offer a variety of tours within the Halong Bay area.
This can be one day from Hanoi – it will give you a glimpse, but it will be a long day and the cruise itinerary is mainly travelled by the regional and especially Chinese tourists whose interest is equally shared with karaoke and shopping, as much as the beauty of the area. Perfectly doable, but would not be our suggestion, on so many levels.
The Two day (one night) tours are much more popular with European visitors as you travel to slightly more remote areas, and have a much greater feeling of escapism and appreciation of the scenery.
The Three day (two nights) option generally allows you to travel further out and /or have more time for relaxation on board and local activities.
Explore the Waters of Halong Bay in Style with Bhaya Cruises!
Our preferred partner in this region is Bhaya Cruises. They offer a good variety of boats depending on your requirements and are particularly experienced in dealing with the curious European traveller. Within their fleet, they have Bhaya Classic boats with either 15 or 20 cabins. Classic Premium which is more intimate with either 3 or 7 cabins, and is our particular preference for their individuality. Even more exclusive is The Bhaya Legend with just one to three cabins and are perfect for private charters. Top of the range in terms of cabin quality are the Au Co luxury cruises with 32 cabins.
Consistent within the Bhaya fleet is that all cabins are outside location with sea view, either from port window or balcony, en-suite shower and WC, all meals & soft drinks served in the restaurant, open lounge area, shore excursions subject to weather conditions. Wines, alcoholic and soft drinks not included but can be purchased. You usually embark around lunch time and disembark mid-morning. Transfers are included to and from your Hanoi hotel, arranged on a private basis to give you maximum flexibility. We can also arrange air travel from Hanoi to Halong Bay or vice versa. A short40-minute scenic flight but expensive and limited time saving given the extra transfer and check-in time.
Tours in Halong Bay, Vietnam
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+ About Vietnam
Indochina is the collective name for Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, the former French territories in the region. Despite huge changes in the last decade, the French influence still remains in majestic colonial buildings, the art scene and of course the food. Vietnam is also the country that is developing fast with many new hotels and resorts, but it still remains a totally enthralling place to visit.
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CHIC Locations Terms and Booking Conditions PDF
All price guides are Per Person Sharing Double Room (Entry level), based on travel between May and/or June when prices are generally at their lowest and include promotional offers. Supplements will probably apply at other times, particularly mid-summer in the Med, and for rooms and/or transfers arranged for single travellers.
For example, the Caribbean and Indian Ocean prices for winter can be approximately double the May - June level and about 50% more in Asia. For the Mediterranean & Canary Islands, Caribbean, Arabia and the Indian Ocean (except Sri Lanka) price guides generally include airfare and transfers.
*For Sri Lanka and Far East we show a per-person, per-night hotel guide, excluding air fare, as arrangements tend to be individually tailored multi-centre itineraries.
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All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.
Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.caa.co.uk.
Some of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. This website will provide you with information on the protection that applies in the case of each holiday and travel service offered before you make your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected.
