After a lot of research and time spent comparing cruise options in Halong Bay, we selected a 2 Day/ 1 Night cruise with Paloma. Paloma Cruise is a mid-size boat, with good reviews and an affordable price.
Part of our cruise package including transportation to/from Hanoi. A comfortable van picked us up from our hotel in the morning and we traveled to Halong Bay with 4 other people. The van made a pit stop half-way at a rest area/marble showcase. We were handed a lanyard and instructed to wear it so we did not get lost and accidentally leave in a different van. After using the clean restrooms, we roamed the grounds and shops checking out the massive marble statues. I am not sure who would actually buy these large statues, but they must have some interested buyers!
Day 1: Halong Bay Cruise
Once we arrived at the dock, we were greeted with a cup of tea and waited in a large room until it was our turn to board the boat. Since 2 Day/1 Night cruises seem to be the most popular option, the boats have an extremely short turnaround time to clean and prepare for the next group of passengers.
When it was time to go, we first boarded a small boat which led us to the large white ‘junk boat’. Junk boat is a classic boat design which you will see all around Halong Bay. Our first impressions of the Paloma were positive and we were pleasantly surprised with the cleanliness of our room. After a few rough hotels in Hanoi, we were feeling spoiled onboard the Paloma Cruise.
A 2 Day/1 Night cruise left almost exactly 24-hours actually onboard the boat. Almost every minuted of that time was planned in a pre-set itinerary. After eating lunch, we were off to explore a cave. We learned about the history of the area and the legend of the dragons that created the unique limestone islands.
When cave exploring was over it was time to go back to the boat to change for kayaking. This was the activity that I was most looking forward to! We had a fairly cloudy day, but we still had fun exploring the area.
After dinner and a less than enthusiastic deck party, we gave squid fishing a try. Squid fishing felt more like searching for a needle in a haystack and required a lot of patience. The staff assured us that some people do catch squid. No one caught a squid during our trip, so I am still not sure if it’s possible to catch one!
Day 2: Halong Bay Cruise
Day 2 started out with an early morning Tai Chi session. Chris decided to sleep in while I braved the Tai Chi class. The early morning views from the top deck were worth the early wake up call!
After a great breakfast buffet (my favorite meal of the trip), we were off to see a floating village. The group from our boat was divided into smaller boats rowed by locals from the floating village. It is impressive and unbelievable to see the families that live on the water, surrounded by this stunning scenery everyday.
Back onboard the Paloma, it was time for a quick cooking class/egg roll competition. Then we had one more meal and it was time to get back on land. We were loaded into another van and we made the 4-hour trip back to Hanoi.
Overall, we had a good experience in Ha Long Bay. Although there were a few annoying passengers in the group, we ended up meeting some great people with interesting stories. Two days was the perfect amount of time on the boat, but if we had to do it again I would want to spend extra time to explore Cat Ba Island! The comfortable vans made it a few easy travel days with plenty of reading time. We enjoyed the trip to Ha Long Bay and the relaxation was much needed 4-weeks into our backpacking trip.
If you are planning a trip to Vietnam, we wrote on a blog post on tips for selecting the best Halong Bay Cruise. We have several other helpful Vietnam posts including: Tips for Traveling to Vietnam, Eating Our Way Through Hue, A Rainy Day in Hoi An, and Two Day Trek Through Bac Ha!
