Halong Bay is a beautiful area in Northern Vietnam. It is a stunning bay with over 2,000 limestone karst cliffs rising out of the water. I did a 2 day/1 night tour out into Halong Bay. I was very lucky with the group on board with a mix of young and old who were quite happy to sit around and have a chat and enjoy the scenery. The trip to Halong Bay was easily the best thing I did during my stay in Hanoi. It was so quiet and relaxing. When we got dropped off in Hanoi the noise and chaos resumed instantly. I went for the expensive tour option for Halong Bay and had a very enjoyable time.
The only negative aspects to the trip were problems that all trips will suffer from. The journey to Halong City to catch the boat takes a while, 3-4 hours. Halong Bay itself is very busy. I was aware of this but other people were a bit disappointed by the sheer number of boats around us. Even though there are lots of boats it still feels quite serene. The number of tourists becomes obvious when you go ashore. We went to Amazing Cave which is worth a look but you do fight it out with lots of other tourists and may aswell stay on board the boat and enjoy the scenery. We then climbd up to a view point, packed with tourists. We went for a swim here and I made sure not to put my head under the water. There was lots of litter in the water and some Australian girls were convinced that there were jellyfish. When we anchored there were at least 35 boats in the same spot (there are apparently only 3 overnight anchorage points in Halong Bay so they are all busy). We were on the outside of the group so it was peaceful apart from a couple of generators.
I did a 2 day, 1 night trip to Halong Bay with Handspan tour operator. It cost $155 which included a $30 single supplement, all food on board, and transfers to and from Halong City. Drinks on board were pricey (but this seems to be standard on any boat) $1 for a can of coke, $1 for a small bottle of bottle, and $2 for a can of Tiger Bee. We were on the Valentine Boat although there was nothing written on the boat to indicate the name. The only name was "Bai Tho Co Tourist" and the number 3998. The facilities on board were excellent. There was a large upper deck where you could lay on a sun chair and enjoy the view. The rooms were more like a hotel room then a boat cabin. The ensuite bathroom was easily the nicest bathroom I had during my stay in Vietnam. The food was plentiful and very good. There was lots of seafood. Our first lunch consisted of a large crab each, followed by shrimps, then spring rolls, squid with vegetables, and a fish. Dinner was a different type of crab , a huge prawn cocktail, squid in breadcrumbs, mixed vegetables, rice and another fish. Breakfast consisted of some pastries, unlimited coffee, tea and orange juice (or so it seemed). The guides were good and not mini-Hitlers. In South-East Asia the guides I have come across tend to be authoritarian, or at least the language barrier means they aren't quite so good at sugar coating their commands. The tour guide had some interesting interpretations on what the rocks in Amazing Cave represented. I'm not sure if he gives the same explanation to every group.
The choice of trips to Halong Bay present a bit of a minefield to the budget traveller. The truly budget tours for under $30 are known for problms with safety, food, theft and not getting what you were told you would get for your money. Even the mid-range tours for around $80 can be hit and miss. If you would like a full run-down of the different options for Halong Bay tours read this article on the Travelfish website. I wouldn't recommend a day trip to the Bay because it takes 3-4hours by bus to get here which doesn't leave you much time to enjoy Halong Bay.
The only negative aspects to the trip were problems that all trips will suffer from. The journey to Halong City to catch the boat takes a while, 3-4 hours. Halong Bay itself is very busy. I was aware of this but other people were a bit disappointed by the sheer number of boats around us. Even though there are lots of boats it still feels quite serene. The number of tourists becomes obvious when you go ashore. We went to Amazing Cave which is worth a look but you do fight it out with lots of other tourists and may aswell stay on board the boat and enjoy the scenery. We then climbd up to a view point, packed with tourists. We went for a swim here and I made sure not to put my head under the water. There was lots of litter in the water and some Australian girls were convinced that there were jellyfish. When we anchored there were at least 35 boats in the same spot (there are apparently only 3 overnight anchorage points in Halong Bay so they are all busy). We were on the outside of the group so it was peaceful apart from a couple of generators.
I did a 2 day, 1 night trip to Halong Bay with Handspan tour operator. It cost $155 which included a $30 single supplement, all food on board, and transfers to and from Halong City. Drinks on board were pricey (but this seems to be standard on any boat) $1 for a can of coke, $1 for a small bottle of bottle, and $2 for a can of Tiger Bee. We were on the Valentine Boat although there was nothing written on the boat to indicate the name. The only name was "Bai Tho Co Tourist" and the number 3998. The facilities on board were excellent. There was a large upper deck where you could lay on a sun chair and enjoy the view. The rooms were more like a hotel room then a boat cabin. The ensuite bathroom was easily the nicest bathroom I had during my stay in Vietnam. The food was plentiful and very good. There was lots of seafood. Our first lunch consisted of a large crab each, followed by shrimps, then spring rolls, squid with vegetables, and a fish. Dinner was a different type of crab , a huge prawn cocktail, squid in breadcrumbs, mixed vegetables, rice and another fish. Breakfast consisted of some pastries, unlimited coffee, tea and orange juice (or so it seemed). The guides were good and not mini-Hitlers. In South-East Asia the guides I have come across tend to be authoritarian, or at least the language barrier means they aren't quite so good at sugar coating their commands. The tour guide had some interesting interpretations on what the rocks in Amazing Cave represented. I'm not sure if he gives the same explanation to every group. 
The choice of trips to Halong Bay present a bit of a minefield to the budget traveller. The truly budget tours for under $30 are known for problms with safety, food, theft and not getting what you were told you would get for your money. Even the mid-range tours for around $80 can be hit and miss. If you would like a full run-down of the different options for Halong Bay tours read this article on the Travelfish website. I wouldn't recommend a day trip to the Bay because it takes 3-4hours by bus to get here which doesn't leave you much time to enjoy Halong Bay.
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