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Asia, Travel Tips, Vietnam
Two Days Halong Bay Cruise on a Budget
Jun
Two days Ha Long Bay or Halong Bay tour on Cozy Bay Cruise was one of the best experiences during my solo trip to Vietnam. I always wanted to visit Halong Bay in Vietnam and finally got the chance to do so. I had a fantastic two days Halong Bay cruise on a budget for the first time. It was nice to enjoy a standard budget-friendly cruise trip with Cozy Bay. It was not necessary to spend a lot on this tour, but fun was unlimited. The entire Halong Bay cruise cost was within $130 (price varies) included all meals and transport.
My solo cruise trip to Halong Bay was not lonely at all. It was safe and exciting with Cozy Bay Cruise. I joined a group of 18 travelers and loved to meet each of them from different countries. We all shared fun and enjoyed several outdoor activities together. We had a good time during this 2 Days 1 Night cruise in our way.
The overall arrangements and decorations of the traditional Vietnamese wooden junk boat of Cozy Bay Cruise were outstanding. Our tour guide Minh was helpful and cooperative with all. In the beginning, he gave us a brief introduction about Halong Bay, Cozy Bay Cruise itinerary, and safety guidelines.
Table of Contents
How To Get To Halong Bay
Halong Bay is a must-see naturally beautiful destination when you visit Vietnam in Southeast Asia. It is now becoming a symbol of Vietnam tourism. You can travel from Hanoi to Halong Bay either by road or air. Hanoi Noi Bai is the nearest International Airport and easy to catch the flight everyday from Hanoi to Halong Bay.
We traveled by bus, and our journey started at 8 AM. The tour guide picks up everyone from various Hanoi Old Quarter accommodations. We all had reached Halong Bay by shuttle bus within 3.5 hours.
During the journey, we took 20 minutes short break in Hai Duong province and then arrived at Tuan Chau Harbour by noon. From the Halong Bay cruise terminal, we took a boat to reach our Cozy Bay Cruise.
Best Time To Visit Halong Bay
It was interesting to discover the different beauty of Halong Bay in a different hour. Undoubtedly, it is the most beautiful bays in the world. March to April or September to October is the best time to visit Halong Bay. I traveled in March and found good weather. Neither too hot nor cold, the temperature was average, it was foggy and drizzling sometimes but not raining. Overall, the climate was perfect during this time. October to December is the peak season, so more tourists. June to August is the low season but summertime, and you have to face rain and stormy weather.
Halong Bay Cruise Tour Tips
- How to choose the best Halong Bay cruise? You have two options, either you can select a wooden junk boat or an iron boat. The iron boat is bigger and more luxurious than a wooden ship. For the Halong Bay budget cruise it is best to choose a wooden junk boat.
- You can book a cruise either online or directly from the local agent. Direct booking will help you to save a few extra amounts.
- Don’t forget to carry your passport to board the Halong Bay cruise.
- Are you in a group Halong Bay tour? You can take free pick up and drop off service if you stay in any hotel nearby Hanoi Old Quarter.
- Though Halong Bay overnight boat cruise is the popular one, you can also enjoy Halong Bay day cruise from Halong city. You’ll be able to back to Hanoi on the same day.
- You can also enjoy a cruise tour at Cat Ba Island, which is less touristic and not much far away from the Halong Bay cruise. This beautiful island is just 25 km away from Cozy Bay Cruise.
- What should you pack for a cruise? Here are the must-have cruise packing list items to enjoy your cruise trip to Vietnam.
Halong Bay Cruise Review – Cozy Bay Cruise
Budget-friendly Cozy Bay Cruise got different air conditioning cabins with sea view and private bathroom for every traveler. They have deluxe double cabins, twin cabins, triple cabins, and family cabins.
There is a shared restaurant & bar, sun deck with comfortable lounge chairs. The sea view and even sunrise/sunset moment are best to enjoy from the sun deck. WiFi provides on the bus and boat. You can also have a diet or vegetarian dishes, including all yummy Vietnamese food.
I was in a deluxe double cabin. The cabin size was 13 square meters. This cabin is best for two persons with one double bed, en-suite bathroom with complimentary toiletries. I loved the sea view from the cabin window and the terrace. Only there was a problem with the router and couldn’t provide WiFi to all of us during our stay.
Cozy Bay Cruise also provides airport shuttle service. Halong city is only 15 km away from the cruise. Cat Bi International Airport is not much far away (30 km) from Cozy Bay Cruise.
Cozy Bay Cruise Itinerary
Day 1
Hanoi, Halong Bay, Lunch, Sung Sot Cave/Surprising Cave, Titop Island, Sunset Party, Cooking Class, Dinner, Fishing or Sing Karaoke
The first day we all welcomed with a drink and enjoyed special lunch with traditional Vietnamese dishes while cruising and admiring the magnificent beauty of the Halong Bay, which has inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
In the afternoon we all visited Surprising Cave which is locally known as Sung Sot Cave. After passing long stone staircases, you’ll be surprised to see 10,000-kilometer square expansion area of Sung Sot Cave. This unique cave is full of the dramatic formation of stalactites and stalagmites. Many strange shapes will amaze you inside the cave.
Then we enjoyed hiking to enjoy the splendid highest viewpoint of Halong Bay from the top of Titop Island. The most spectacular landscape of Halong Bay you’ll get to see from the beautiful Titop Island. You can also have a relaxing time at sandy Titop Beach, and swimming also allowed.
After that we had a relaxing time on the sun deck, watching the sunset. It’s just a perfect time to admire the most magical moment on Cozy Bay Cruise.
In the evening had fun at a sunset party with Vietnamese wine. There is also a cooking class for all. Minh taught us the natural process to make delicious Vietnamese spring rolls, which is locally known as Nem.
We all enjoyed dinner together in the romantic Halong Bay. Then you can have some of your own time, and you can enjoy fishing, karaoke or dancing. The choice is yours.
Day 2
Halong Bay, Breakfast, Pearl Farm, Pearl House, Kayak, Lunch, Back To Hanoi
The second day early morning got up to watch the sunrise from the deck, but it was too foggy and gloomy. Surprisingly this moody climate gave us the chance to enjoy one mysterious beauty of Halong Bay. During that moment, I realized Halong Bay is indeed the natural wonder. Moreover, it deserved to be the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World in 2012.
After a healthy and delicious breakfast, we went to visit one Pearl Farm and saw the process of making natural pearls from the oyster. Many works to harvest pearl from Halong Bay. You can also buy valuable and original pearl jewelry from the Pearl House.
After that, kayaking is a must-do activity in Halong Bay; this is the best way to be able to see very close the extreme beauty of the Halong Bay. The blue water, mountains, and caves all together became a beautiful scenery to enjoy while kayaking. Though it was drizzling the view was breathtaking.
We all came back to the boat and started to get ready to leave soon after a memorable two days and one night Halong Bay budget cruise tour. A drop off service to each Hanoi hotel was also included with the cruise tour package.
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Disclaimer: The review of Cozy Bay Cruise based on my one night stay here. Every opinion is entirely my own.
I’d love to know your experiences. Share your top tips on an overnight cruise trip in Halong Bay.
What a detailed itinerary! I have wanted to visit this area and especially do the kayaking for awhile now and you’ve provided such great tips. Everything from the cave, the food, and the cooking class look awesome!
Thank you, yes kayaking is must along with other cool cruise activities. This trip was the ultimate fun!
Sometimes going on a tour is the best way to see a place! That cave looked awesome and the kayaking so fun! But I think the best part about going on a tour is meeting other travelers. Your room looked quite comfy for a cruise!
Absolutely meeting other travelers was the best part. Overall this cruise provided all best services to every traveler.
I did kind of the same cruise during my trip to Vietnam a couple of years ago and it was truly fascinating! The boat was beautiful and I watched one of the most beautiful sunsets from its terrace…such great memories!
That’s cool and a trip to Halong Bay cruise deserve to be a great memory.
I did exactly this trip when I visited Viet Nam – just like everyone else 😉 – and did also enjoy it a lot. Did you do the kayaking, too? However, our ship was by far not as fancy as yours. But it didn’t sink – and that’s the most important aspect, right?! 😀
Yes, kayaking was fun, I really enjoyed that. Hahaha, I was not thinking of it at all, whether it will sink or not. They maintained the safety things no nicely and the weather was good as well 🙂
I did this trip a couple of years ago and it was definitely one of many highlights of my trip to Vietnam. Apart from the scenery, I really enjoyed making and eating the Vietnamese spring rolls. We did morning tai chi too. Do they still offer that?
No, our cruise was not offering tai chi, instead we went the next early morning for kayaking.
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