If you’re venturing around Hanoi and northern Vietnam, or if you’ve followed any Instagram travel influencers over the past few years, you’ve definitely seen photos and videos of Ha Long Bay. It’s a massive expanse of water with thousands of limestone karst islands popping up throughout, and it has become an iconic tourist destination and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
For our tour, we opted for the 2-day 1-night trip with Renea Cruises. It’s a boutique cruise on a much smaller boat — some of the huge ships have over 1,000 passengers; ours had about 20. It was so nice having a smaller group to interact with, and for a short overnight tour, it was the perfect way to enjoy Ha Long and Bai Tu Bay. Despite the fact these are very touristy destinations, I felt like our boat was able to venture to quiet coves and areas where we’d only see one other boat — something that really added to the overall experience.
My Cabin
The room was small but perfectly functional for one night, and my bathroom was much nicer than I expected! Even being on the lower deck, there was not too much noise from the engine, I slept soundly and didn’t feel the boat rocking through the night which was great.
One thing I will note is that I paid an additional fee as I had a single room, which I find a little weird but I guess they structure the payment as per person in addition to per room, so couples sharing a room paid a higher price but split. It was only an extra $30 I believe, but still a bit annoying especially if you were traveling solo. I am very against punishing single folks with extra costs!
Dining Onboard
There was no shortage of great food onboard the ship! The staff was excellent at making sure all dietary restrictions were respected, with vegetarian and vegan options and they were very mindful of allergies. I had some delicious shrimp cocktail, fresh salads, calamari, and many other dishes. The only thing not included was alcohol but the prices for drinks were still very reasonable onboard.
Relax on the Upper Deck
Soak up the sun! We were super lucky with the weather — Vietnam had been suffering some terrible flooding in the months leading up to our trip, and the weather was unpredictable. I think that going during a rainy time would not be worth it, because if you can’t see the beautiful karsts all throughout the bay, it kind of kills the experience. Thankfully, that was not the case and we got to enjoy sipping beers in the sun on the lounge chairs.
Kayaking Tour
Sometimes on short tourist excursions, like an overnight boat trip, the tour operators will do everything they can to pack in as much activity as possible, which is fun but can be exhausting. Thankfully, I felt like Renea Cruises did an excellent job of balancing activity with relaxation, even in a short 2-day-1-night trip. The first evening after getting settled in our rooms, we were able to embark on a kayaking adventure. It was super fun paddling around Bai Tu Bay, seeing the epic rock formations all around us and cruising through the calm waters. We stopped for a swim and to explore a small cave, a fun workout and way to see more of the surroundings.
Stop for Cave Exploration
On the morning of our second day, we stopped and boarded the dinghy for a brief walking tour of Thien Canh Son Cave, an expansive cave full of stalactites and stalagmite’s. It wasn’t a particularly difficult walk but there are stairs and it’s a walk upward, in case you’re traveling with anyone who has limited mobility, this could be a bit challenging, but it’s not a long excursion. It was cool to learn about the history and significance of these caves, as they have served as important refuge for fisherman on the bay.
I also enjoyed an hour massage onboard (only $25 USD, which is more expensive than the shops on land in Vietnam, but still an insane deal) and a short attempt at squid fishing one night.
Overall, I would highly recommend a boat cruise exploring Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Bay with Renea Cruises. It was truly wonderful to be with a smaller group of people onboard instead of one of hundreds of passengers packed onto a mega-ship. We were able to see so much more of this stunning area and have a balance of relaxation with the adventure.
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