Halong Bay has been on my travel bucket list for a long time and I am so glad that I finally got to check off this amazing place this year. We booked a 2-day tour with the V'Spirit Cruise company. We had asked for recommendations from our hotel, and V'Spirit was the most affordable for our means (somewhere in between budget and luxurious).
V'Spirit was a great choice! The cruise ship was clean and one of the better looking boats out there, even when compared to other cruise companies with a similar range. We were also ever so lucky to be assigned a corner room with an outdoor deck! Our fellow passengers were so jealous when they found out!
We endured the entire gamut of different weather conditions. We started the cruise with blue skies but as we sailed deeper into the bay, it started to rain heavily, rendering the bay even more mysterious and eerie. We stayed wet the rest of the day, but it just made our experience even more special.
Hi there --
ReplyDeleteI'm due to head to Vietnam in a few weeks' time. Have booked a 2-day, 1-night Halong Bay cruise with V'Spirit. I'm glad to read that you had a great time!
If you don't mind answering a few questions:-
1) Was there karaoke at night on the boat (and if so, was it really loud)?
2) How much plastic bag, etc. pollution should I expect to see in Halong Bay? I've been reading varied reports about that.
Hi YTSL :)
DeleteYou are definitely going to have a great time on the V'Spirit! We didn't have karaoke night, our tour guide didn't follow strictly to the itinerary and let things flow at night. We chatted among ourselves, played cards and tried to fish for squid (they dropped the lines in but it was more for show than anything else).
About the pollution, I would say there is enough to deter you from swimming in the waters. Some spots are worse than others. But it doesn't negate the beauty of Halong.