Fun day but be prepared to pay for water
Took the trip as a group of 2, and it was largely enjoyable, fun and a great experience to see Halong Bay
The good: we were picked up from hotel in old quarter( 10 mins late but traffic… can’t be helped). The tour guild was great, the drive to harbour and whole process of getting into the cruise was organized well, and our stops getting into and out of the cruise ship was well done.
Prior to the trip, there is sufficient communication via WhatsApp with instructions on timing, activities, guidance and details on what to expect which is also very helpful since we took this trip the next day after we landed in Hanoi.
The tour and activities: we take a bus to the halong bay harbour with two stops for coffee/ washroom and one of those stops included a presentation about pearls and of course the showroom to buy said pearls. No pushy sales, so that was ok too. We get on the cruise and there are three stops: hiking up to the top of the halong bay (400 steps up/ down in 20 mins if you want to swim or 40 mins to hike/swim… your pick) and tiptop island swimming (20 mins if you did the hike or can do 40 mins swimming/ hiking… your pick) or kayak/ bamboo boat for 20 mins and surprise cave which is a hike inside the cave and walk inside the wet cave for 30 mins and come out the other end. . Lunch is provided with lots of veg/ vegan options and complimentary snack and drinks given in the afternoon as well.
The medium/bad: you have to pay additional cash only fees to enter halong bay and for kayak activities, which ain’t fully clear and if you go as a family, it can add up. tourists can’t bring plastic water bottle only reusable ones. So if you just land in Hanoi you might not know where to source reusable bottle… I didn’t and I decide to forego water. I left my bottle in the bus. The cruise doesn’t give free water, and you have lost ability to drink your bottled water at the bus or once you run out of water in your reusable bottle. I found this a bit ridiculous since we pay for hiking and spend day in the sun, hike everywhere , and we only get to bring reusable bottle or you have to pay for water if you run out. They sell water in the cruise and in every activity even in the caves but it’s 20k + Viet Dong.. which isn’t too much money but your body will be very dehydrated walking in the sun, hiking up the stairs and the expectation to pay for basic things like water is a bit much in my opinion and this didn’t happen to me anywhere else ( I hiked in Bali, and other countries)