Halong Bay is definitely one of the highlights of Vietnam with stunning sites for pretty much any traveler to enjoy one way or another. Located in the north, it’s about 3 hours east of Hanoi and best known for its emerald green waters and limestone rock formations. There are many different tour groups you choose from, which is a popular way to go since it’s the easiest to organize in terms of logistics coming from Hanoi.
Since we were staying at Vietnam Backpackers hostel in Hanoi, they had many organized tour groups to choose from that were affordable and providing everything we were looking for. Here are the details:
- Included transportation to and from hostel
- Accommodation on Castaway Island for 2 nights
- Meals: 2 breakfast, 3 lunches, 2 dinners
- Tubing and/or rock climbing and/or wakeboarding for additional fees
- Boat booze cruise around the islands including kayaking, lunch, and drinks
- Free kayak rentals on Castaway Island
TOTAL Tour Price: $179
Castaway Island
The total tour and trip was 3 days, 2 nights departing from Hanoi. We had a group of about 30 people so there were plenty of new people to meet, ages 18-35. The bus ride took about 3 hours and then about another hour on a ferry to get to Castaway Island. The beach wasn’t too big but it was our own private island just for our group so it made it a lot more intimate.
Our accommodation was right on the beach and consisted of bunk beds in each hut, with outdoor showers and a large area for where we ate dinners and drank during the evenings. It wasn’t the most glamorous and very sandy as you can imagine since we were right on the beach but what do you expect?! The location made up for it all.
The first night consisted of dinner, drinks, and games with the group which was a great way to break the ice with everyone and meet the group. The second day was definitely the highlight on the booze cruise that took us for a tour around Halong Bay. Unfortunately the time of year we went it was very foggy and cold so we weren’t able to see too much of the limestone formations but we made the most of it. We spent majority of the day drinking on the boat and taking kayaks around the rock formations. At one point we stopped for a swim but I think only the bold did that since it was pretty cold. The third day was spent doing activities like kayaking, water tubing, and relaxing by the beach before heading back onto the bus back to Hanoi.
Overall the trip was a ton of fun, but I would definitely recommend to go during the warmer seasons when the weather and visibility is better. This tour is recommended for 18-35s so as you can imagine there are lots of people who are there to have a good time, which means drinking and late nights so it might not be the tour for you if you are looking for something a little bit more low key.
go.bo.travel 