Three bays, one limestone landscape, very different crowds
Short answerBook a cruise that sails both: 48 of the 76 Lan Ha cruises we compare also cross Ha Long Bay, so a first night on board gives you the famous caves and the quieter water. Choose Ha Long alone for a day trip from Hanoi, and Bai Tu Long when you want the fewest boats.
Same limestone, different nights
The three bays sit side by side on the Gulf of Tonkin. Ha Long is the middle and the busiest; Lan Ha lies to the south-west, off Cat Ba Island; Bai Tu Long runs to the north-east. We count 135 cruises in Ha Long, 76 in Lan Ha and 19 in Bai Tu Long; many sail in two bays, so the numbers overlap.
Most boats for all three bays board at Tuan Chau International Marina or Ha Long International Cruise Port on the Ha Long side. Lan Ha day boats leave from Ben Beo pier, just east of Cat Ba town, and a few Bai Tu Long ships use Hon Gai port.
135 cruises · 60 with a night, 74 day
Ha Long is where almost every day trip from Hanoi goes, and where the classic sights are: Sung Sot Cave, the largest cave in the bay; Luon Cave, which you pass through by kayak or bamboo boat; and Ti Top Island, with a beach and a climb to the viewpoint. 75 cruises in our list sail only here, 58 of them day boats.
The price of that fame is company. Every day boat reaches the same three stops in the same afternoon hours, and the listings say it plainly: boats may not anchor at Ti Top, they drop you off and come back. Choose Ha Long alone for a single day from Hanoi, or when the caves are the reason you came.
Compare day cruises in Ha Long Bay76 cruises · 52 with a night, 24 day
Lan Ha has the same karst islands with fewer boats between them. The stops are smaller: the beaches of Ba Trai Dao, kayaking through Dark Cave and Bright Cave into closed lagoons, and Viet Hai village inside Cat Ba National Park. 28 cruises sail only in Lan Ha; 48 combine it with Ha Long.
Since 16 September 2023 Lan Ha is part of the UNESCO site, now named Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago. A night here costs about the same as in Ha Long: among well-reviewed cruises, one night starts at $108 per person in Lan Ha against $103 in Ha Long.
19 cruises · one night from $140
Bai Tu Long is the bay with the fewest boats: 19 cruises in our list against 135 in Ha Long. You see Vung Vieng fishing village and Thien Canh Son Cave, and the most reviewed cruise kayaks around Cong Do and Cap La islands. It starts at the Ha Long International Cruise Port and sails the east of Ha Long Bay on the way.
It costs more: one night from $140 against $103 in Ha Long. On the most reviewed Bai Tu Long cruise, a single cabin adds $60, and a peak-season surcharge of $10 per person applies from 1 October to 30 April. Pick it for a second visit, or when crowds would spoil the bay for you.
Hanoi: 2-Day Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay CruiseWhen you already sleep on the island
13 cruises in our list start on Cat Ba Island rather than in Hanoi: 8 day boats from $30 to $67, and a few overnight trips. From the island the bay begins at the pier, so a day boat gives about 7 of 9 hours on the water, against about 6 of 13 for a day trip from Hanoi.
The most reviewed, the Cat Ba day trip with biking, kayaking and lunch, runs like this by the partner's own times. It sails in Lan Ha and crosses into the south of Ha Long Bay, so you see both on one day.
Drinks and tips are extra; entrance fees, kayaking, the bike and lunch are included. A bus back to the Hanoi Old Quarter after the tour costs $12 per person, booked with the operator the day before.
Cat Ba: Lan Ha, Ha Long Bay full day: biking, kayaking, lunch29 overnight cruises · $124 to $444
A balcony is the most common upgrade on Lan Ha ships. We count 29 overnight cruises in Lan Ha with a private balcony, 17 of them with a bathtub by the window. They start at $124 per person; almost all board at Tuan Chau and sail through Ha Long Bay first.
The one we read in full, the 2D1N luxury Ha Long and Lan Ha cruise with a private balcony, costs $159 per person for a departure on 7 October, with a balcony and bathtub in every room, ★ 4.83 from 1,138 reviews. What it leaves out is on the listing: the shuttle from the Hanoi Old Quarter at $25 per person, with pickup at 7:15, drinks, and $40 per person on 24 and 31 December and the Lunar New Year.
What a balcony changes
Pickup: Hanoi · transfer $25 extra
10 one-night cruises · $124 to $343
A 2-day luxury cruise through both bays is the most booked overnight format we compare. 10 one-night cruises sail Ha Long and Lan Ha with a balcony cabin, from $124 to $343 per person. The route and the hours on the water barely change: about 23 of 31 hours from Hanoi. You pay for the cabin, the pool and the size of the ship.
Filter by bay, sort by price or hours on the water
Pickup: Hanoi Old Quarter · transfer $25 extra
Pickup: Hanoi Old Quarter
Pickup: Hanoi Old Quarter
Pickup: Hanoi · transfer $25 extra
Pickup: Hanoi · transfer $25 extra
Pickup: Hanoi Old Quarter
Pickup: Cat Ba Island
Pickup: Ha Long cruise port; Hanoi on the Hanoi option
Pickup: Hanoi
Pickup: Hanoi
Pickup: Hanoi Old Quarter
Pickup: Cat Ba Island
Pickup: Cat Ba Island
Pickup: Hanoi Old Quarter · transfer $25 extra
Pickup: Hanoi · transfer $20 extra
No cruise in this bay matches.
One cruise for each choice
What the listings say in small print
Lan Ha in the title, Tuan Chau on the ticket
Most Lan Ha cruises board at Tuan Chau Marina and reach Lan Ha through Ha Long Bay.
Good news: you see both bays. Check the pier on the listing if you are staying on Cat Ba.
Transfer sold separately
On many one-night cruises the Hanoi shuttle is an extra $25 per person.
Add it when you book; you can often start in Hanoi and end in Ninh Binh.
Two bays, one fee
Entrance fees for both bays are included on the listings we read.
Nothing to pay at the pier except drinks and tips.
Peak-season surcharge
The most reviewed Bai Tu Long cruise adds $10 per person from 1 October to 30 April.
It is paid on the day; the listing price does not show it.
Holiday surcharges
24 and 31 December and the Lunar New Year cost $40 more per person on several Lan Ha ships.
Check the listing if you travel on those dates.
Weather decides the route
Every listing warns that the itinerary can change with the tide and the weather.
Book with free cancellation, up to 24 hours before on the listings we read.
Not better, quieter. Lan Ha has the same limestone islands with fewer boats, small beaches such as Ba Trai Dao and kayaking through Dark and Bright Cave. Ha Long has the famous stops, Sung Sot Cave and Ti Top Island, and most of the day boats. For a first night on board, a cruise that sails both is the easy choice: most Lan Ha cruises from Tuan Chau cross Ha Long Bay on the way.
Yes. 48 of the 76 Lan Ha cruises we compare also sail in Ha Long Bay, most of them one-night cruises that board at Tuan Chau Marina and cross the south of Ha Long Bay into Lan Ha. The most reviewed is the 2-day Ha Long and Lan Ha 5-star cruise with a balcony, from $187 per person.
Yes, since 2023. The site was inscribed as Ha Long Bay in 1994, extended in 2000, and on 16 September 2023 extended again to take in the Cat Ba archipelago with Lan Ha Bay. Its name is now Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago, with 1,133 islands and islets. A Lan Ha cruise therefore sails inside the same World Heritage site as a Ha Long cruise.
Most Lan Ha cruises collect you in the Hanoi Old Quarter and board at Tuan Chau Marina, about 2.5 to 3 hours by road; the ship then sails south into Lan Ha. A few board on Cat Ba Island itself, at Ben Beo harbour near Cat Ba town. On the one-night cruises we read, the shared transfer is often sold separately, at $25 per person.
Yes, if a quiet bay matters more than the famous caves. It has the fewest boats of the three: 19 cruises in our list against 135 in Ha Long. You see Vung Vieng fishing village and Thien Canh Son Cave. The trade-off is choice and price: fewer departures, and one-night cruises from $140 per person rather than $103.
Lan Ha. Its kayaking runs through low caves such as Dark Cave and Bright Cave into enclosed lagoons with few other boats. In Ha Long Bay the kayak stop is almost always Luon Cave, which every day boat visits in the afternoon, so it is busy. Kayaks take two people on the listings we read; on the luxury day boat we read, children must be over 10 and taller than 130 cm.
Not by much. Among cruises with at least five reviews and ★4.5, one night starts at $108 per person in Lan Ha and at $103 in Ha Long. Day boats from Cat Ba Island into Lan Ha are among the cheapest trips we list, from $30, though you first have to reach the island. Bai Tu Long starts higher, at $140 for one night.
Ha Long Bay. Sung Sot Cave, the largest in the bay, Luon Cave, which you pass by kayak or bamboo boat, and Ti Top Island with its viewpoint are all on the classic Ha Long route. Lan Ha has smaller caves you paddle through rather than walk in, and Bai Tu Long has Thien Canh Son Cave.
Both bays, one night, a balcony
Hanoi: 2-Day Ha Long, Lan Ha Bay 5-Star Cruise with BalconyPickup: Hanoi Old Quarter · transfer $25 extra
