Short answerYes, you can start a Halong Bay cruise in Ninh Binh: several overnight cruises sell a $25 transfer that picks up there, at 7:00 on the most booked one, and drops you back in Ninh Binh at about 16:00 the next day, or in Hanoi instead. The road is about 200 km and about 3.5 hours each way, an hour more than from Hanoi.
Ninh Binh has no pier: the cruise starts with a shared limousine van from your hotel in Tam Coc or Ninh Binh town to Tuan Chau, about 200 km and about 3.5 hours away. On our pick it leaves at 7:00, and you board at about 12:00 together with the guests who left Hanoi at 8:00.
A limousine here means a nine- or eleven-seat van with reclining seats, not a car. It is shared, so the driver may collect other hotels in Tam Coc and Ninh Binh town before leaving; be in the lobby a few minutes before the time the operator gives you.
The transfer is almost always sold separately from the cruise. On our pick, the balcony cruise through Ha Long and Lan Ha Bays, the cruise costs $187 and the shared transfer adds $25 per person. The Lan Ha 5-star cruise with balcony and the Bai Tu Long 5-star cruise charge the same $25 and offer the same three routes: Hanoi and back, Ninh Binh to Ha Long then Hanoi, or Hanoi to Ha Long then Ninh Binh.
One night from Ninh Binh and back · 33 h door to door≈23 h on the water
Road 3.5 hOn the water 23 hRoad 3.5 h
One night from Ninh Binh, drop-off in Hanoi · 32 h door to door≈23 h on the water
Road 3.5 hOn the water 23 h
What the extra hour of road costs you is small on an overnight cruise: about 23 hours on the water out of 33 from Ninh Binh and back, against 23 of 31 from Hanoi. On a day cruise it is a lot, which is why we suggest a night on board if you come from Ninh Binh.
This is the route for travellers who went south to Ninh Binh first and fly home from Hanoi. You are collected in Ninh Binh at 7:00, spend the night on the bay and are dropped in the Hanoi Old Quarter at about 15:00 the next day. The transfer is the same $25 as the round trip.
The small Lan Ha boat from Ninh Binh is built around this route. The pickup at your hotel is at 7:45, you reach Cai Beo harbour near Cat Ba at about 11:30 and take a tender to a ten-cabin boat with at most 20 guests. On day two there is a bike ride to Viet Hai village inside Cat Ba National Park; the boat is back at Cai Beo at 11:45 and you reach Hanoi at 15:45.
The Lan Ha boat from Ninh Binh in figures
Cruise from $124 per person, ★ 4.8 from 126 reviews
Transfer extra: $12 per way by shuttle bus, $15 by limousine
About 3 hours by bus, then 45 minutes by boat to the ship
Three guests are put in a triple cabin; a single cabin costs extra
If you have one day, the Ninh Binh day cruise with drop-off in Hanoi collects you in Hoa Lu, drives about 4 hours with one stop and gives a 6-hour cruise by the partner's own count: buffet lunch, Sung Sot Cave, Luon Cave by kayak or bamboo boat, and Ti Top Island. The limousine then takes you to the Hanoi Opera House. It costs $50 and has 39 reviews on GetYourGuide.
Going south after the bay? Book a Halong Bay cruise with Ninh Binh drop off and skip the return to Hanoi. The same balcony cruises sell the Hanoi to Ha Long to Ninh Binh route for $25: pickup in the Old Quarter at 8:00, and on day two the van takes you from the pier to Ninh Binh, arriving at about 16:00, early enough to check in and see Tam Coc at sunset.
It also works the other way round for people who stay in Ninh Binh for several nights: the round trip Ninh Binh to Ha Long and back is the same $25, and you can ask your hotel in Tam Coc to keep your large luggage for the night. The 2-day cruise that names the drop-off in its title, the 5-star cruise with drop in Ninh Binh, is newer, with only 7 reviews; we would book one of the older balcony cruises and choose the Ninh Binh drop-off option.
Tam Coc
The village south of Ninh Binh town where most visitors stay; transfers collect from hotels there and in town.
Tuan Chau
The marina island near Ha Long city where most cruises in this guide board.
The best-known 2-Day Hanoi Ninh Binh Halong Bay Luxury Cruise Tour is not a night on the bay. It is two day trips from Hanoi: on day one a limousine takes you to Hoa Lu, a sampan ride of 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours through Trang An and the climb of about 500 steps up Mua Cave, then back to Hanoi between 17:00 and 19:30. On day two a Ha Long day cruise boards at Tuan Chau at 12:00 and you are back in Hanoi at about 21:00.
It costs $110 with ★ 4.8 from 884 reviews, and it is honest about it: your hotel in Hanoi for the night between is not included, and the listing adds a government VAT of $15 per person. That makes it a good choice if you already have a hotel in Hanoi and cannot sleep on a boat; it is not a luxury cruise in the sense of a cabin.
If you want a cabin and Ninh Binh in two days, you have to give one of them up: either go to Ninh Binh on your own and take a cruise with Ninh Binh pickup, or book the 3-day combination below.
The 3-day tours from Hanoi solve the problem with a Hanoi Halong Bay cruise with Ninh Binh transfer built in. The most reviewed spends day one in Hoa Lu, Trang An and Mua Cave and the night at a villa or bungalow in Tam Coc, then drives to the bay for one night on a 5-star ship with a private balcony and a bathtub, and ends in the Hanoi Old Quarter at about 15:00 on day three.
It is from $310 per person with ★ 4.8 from 2,101 reviews. The limousine transfers, the Trang An boat, the Ninh Binh and Lan Ha entry fees and all meals on the ship are included; the dinner in Ninh Binh, drinks and the $120 single supplement are not. Pickup is only from hotels in central Hanoi.
Before you book a 3-day combination
Only one of the two nights is on the ship: check the night count on the listing
By road, about 200 km and about 3.5 hours from Tam Coc or Ninh Binh town to the Ha Long piers. The transfer on our pick leaves Ninh Binh at 7:00, an hour before the Hanoi pickup, and both groups board at Tuan Chau at about 12:00. The day cruise from Ninh Binh plans about four hours for the drive, plus a 30-minute stop.
is there a direct cruise from ninh binh to halong bay?
No boat links the two: Ninh Binh is inland, and every cruise starts with a limousine van from your hotel to the pier. What exists is a direct transfer. Several overnight cruises sell a $25 limousine that picks up in Ninh Binh and drops off either back in Ninh Binh or in Hanoi, so you never pass through Hanoi on the way out.
how much is the transfer from ninh binh to the cruise?
On the balcony cruises we compare it is $25 per person for a shared limousine, the same price as from Hanoi, and it can run Ninh Binh to Ha Long and back, or Ninh Binh to Ha Long and on to Hanoi. The small Lan Ha boat from Ninh Binh charges per way: $12 by shuttle bus or $15 by limousine.
can i leave my luggage in ninh binh during the cruise?
If you come back to the same hotel, ask it to hold your large bag for the night; many small hotels in Tam Coc will, but it is their choice, not the cruise's. If the cruise ends in Hanoi, everything travels with you in the van. The 3-day Ninh Binh and Lan Ha cruise says in its listing that you can bring all your suitcases on the trip.
what time do cruises from ninh binh get back?
The balcony cruise with Ninh Binh transfer drops off in Ninh Binh at about 16:00 on day two, an hour after the Hanoi passengers reach the Old Quarter. The small Lan Ha boat disembarks at Cai Beo at 11:45 and reaches Hanoi at 15:45. The day cruise from Ninh Binh ends at the Hanoi Opera House in the evening.
should i do ninh binh or halong bay first?
If you travel south afterwards, do Ha Long first and end the cruise in Ninh Binh: the train and buses south stop there. If you fly out of Hanoi, do Ninh Binh first and take a cruise with drop-off in Hanoi. The 3-day combined tours from Hanoi put Ninh Binh first, with one night in Tam Coc, then one night on the ship.
do i need my passport on a cruise from ninh binh?
Yes. Overnight cruises register every passenger with the port authority. The Bai Tu Long cruise with Ninh Binh transfer asks in advance for full name, date of birth, nationality, gender, passport number and visa expiry; the 3-day Ninh Binh and Lan Ha cruise accepts a copy. Send the details through GetYourGuide messages as soon as the operator asks.
what if the weather cancels the cruise?
When a storm warning is issued, the Quang Ninh port authority stops all tourist boats and the cruise is cancelled. The Lan Ha balcony cruise with Ninh Binh pickup promises a full refund when it is cancelled for weather, and every listing we checked allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before. From late May to early November, keep a spare day in your plan.
