How We Compare Halong Bay Cruises

Short answerEvery price, rating and review count comes from GetYourGuide. Hours on the water come from the partner's itinerary where it gives times, and are our own estimate everywhere else; we say which, wherever the number appears.

Where the Data Comes From

We read the 170 Halong Bay cruises listed on GetYourGuide: title, duration, bays, cabin, pickup, "from" price, rating and review count. Prices are the lowest price for a departure about ten days after the day we checked, per person or per group for private boats, not the headline "from" price, which is often a far-off date or a promotion. Checked: 27 Sep 2026.

How We Count Hours on the Water

A cruise is sold by its length, but what you pay for is the time on the boat. We subtract the road and the pier from the length of the trip and draw what is left as a moon-coloured arc.

Start13 hDay cruise from Hanoi, door to door

Minus− 5 hRoad, 2.5 h each way

Minus− 2 hPier, boarding and transfers

Equals≈ 6 hOn the water · our estimate

Day from Hanoilength − 5 h road − 2 h pier

Day from the portlength − 0.5 h

One night≈23 of ~32 h door to door

Unclear lengthshown as "not stated", never zero

Two nights on the ship come to about 46 of roughly 56 hours. When the duration is ambiguous, for example a three-day trip whose first night may be in a hotel, we do not guess: the ring stays empty and the card says "Nights on board: check the itinerary". When the partner publishes exact times, the arc becomes solid and the label changes from "our estimate" to the stated figure.

Why We Don't Recommend the Cheapest

The cheapest cruise is often a day trip, and a day trip from Hanoi spends almost as long getting to the water and back as on it. We recommend the cruise that gives the most bay for the money among well-reviewed options, and we say what it costs you in return: a large ship, a shared deck, a longer drive.

When We Update Prices

Prices change daily on GetYourGuide. We re-check the catalogue every quarter and before any change to a recommendation; the date is printed next to every price. The calendar on each page is the partner's own and always shows the live price for your date.

Our Partnership with GetYourGuide

We are a GetYourGuide partner. When you book through our links we earn a commission; you pay the same price. We have no boats of our own and no cruise pays to be recommended.

What We Check on Each Listing

A cruise title on GetYourGuide is written to sell; the facts are further down the listing. Before a cruise goes into a recommendation, we read its itinerary, its includes and not-included lists and its notes, and we check five things.

Nights on the ship. Of 33 trips sold as three days, only 12 spend two nights on board; 14 spend one of the nights in a hotel in Ninh Binh. The card says so.
The transfer. Many one-night cruises sell the Hanoi or Ninh Binh transfer separately, usually $25 per person. We show it next to the pickup.
Per person or per group. Private boats are priced per group; everything else per person. A “private balcony” is a cabin, not a private boat.
What is extra. Single cabins, drinks, cabin upgrades, holiday gala dinners and peak-season surcharges.
The pier. Tuan Chau, Ha Long International Cruise Port or a harbour on Cat Ba: it decides how long the road is.

Which cruises appear here at all: those rated 4.0 or higher, and in the cheapest quarter of each length only those with 4.5 stars and at least 30 reviews. The price we show is the lowest for a departure about ten days after the day we checked, not the headline “from”, which is often a far-off date or a promotion.

Listings change, and some contradict themselves, for example a “pickup included” line above a paid transfer. When that happens we go by the more detailed part of the listing and say so on the page.

Check prices and dates on GetYourGuide

Still deciding? Start with the one we would book

Hanoi: 2-Day Ha Long, Lan Ha Bay 5-Star Cruise with Balcony

$187from, per person

on the water

4.8· 6,049 reviews

Check dates

Pickup: Hanoi Old Quarter · transfer $25 extra