A cruise through Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay

The one place I really wanted to see in Vietnam before I left Switzerland were Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay, prefferably both. The scenery looks very picturesque and what could be more romantic than spending a night on a boat amidst these round rocks covered in plants?

Well we did book a tour at our hotel in Hanoi (Golden Charm) and since our first tour to Mai Chau was perfect, we were very much looking forward to this one. More over it included all I wanted (1 night in Halong Bay on a boat, Amazing Cave, kajaking in Lan Ha Bay, swimming on monkey island and a stay on Cat Ba).

So here is what reality looked like:

We arrived in Halong Bay, boarded our boat, which was okay except for the sink in the bathroom, which wasn’t connected to the ground and therefore, every time we turned on the water, one moment later our feet would be wet.

– Too many tourists
We started sailing out into the bay with about 100 other boats only to then stop after about an hour, still with all the other boats around us.
At the cave, we had to wait in line until it was our groups turn and we were probably the 5000st visitors who walked through the cave today.

+ The cave really was amazing. Huge and very diverse with its rock formations.

– All is one big tourist conveyor belt
Then we went to a small island where it seemed that all the boats had a specific time to send their groups there and the sand might have been artificial.
We climbed 300 steps to a pagoda in the incredible heat to have a nice view over the bay. Of course it would have been much nicer without all the boats there but it was still a nice scenery.

– Dirty water
The worst part came afterwards. I would have loved to go swimming in this heat but if you looked at that green-brown soup of oil and who knows what, it made me wish that I hadn’t tasted the fish at lunch.
The next morning we went kayaking in the same water, surrounded by all the boats and I wondered where the pristine blue water was, so many people talked about. It must be clean some times or other people couldn’t possibly be raving about it. However, sadly nobody on our ship or later the people we met in Cat Ba touched any fish dish anymore. The animals had to die for no reason but they probably would soon die in these dirty waters anyways. I’ll stay away from ice now too. Our stomaches haven’t functionned normally since the 3rd day.

+ Less boats in Lan Ha Bay
We then drove on to Lan Ha Bay on a smaller boat. If you didn’t look at the water, the scenery was pretty and there were less other boats now.

– Water just as dirty in Lan Ha Bay
But again we stopped to go kajaking where already three other boats were and since it was so hot, I just had to go swimming. Bilanzggh: one guy got stung by a jellyfish and I still have a rash on my leg from the dirty water.

– Monkey Island might be pretty some times, just not when we were there
Many people told us that we would find the most wonderful beach with the bluest water on monkey island. Well again, it was a green-brown soup. What was going on?

+ Hospitality due to storm
Then we went to Cat Ba, which is like the El Arenal of Mallorca and learned that our tour wouldn’t continue normally because the waters would be closed due to an approaching thyphoon. You can read more about this in retrospect funny adventure here.

Conclusion: Ha Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay?

If you would like to see a cave, go to Halong Bay. The cave really was gorgeous. If you want to be able to enjoy the scenery more on your own (we were told that this was low season and in high season there would be 8000 boats instead of 1000), go to Lan Ha Bay since less tourists go there. You can also make day trips from Cat Ba (click here to find a hotel).
Hopefully, you will have more luck with the water cleanliness than us or otherwise, just get there fast, before it’s all destroyed…:(

If you decide to stay on the mainland in Halong Bay, it might be the perfect time to splurge on a cheap luxury hotel! I have heard really good feedback.

What was your experience in Halong Bay? Did you have clean water?