Authentic Hanoi Cooking Class & Local Market Tour

Evan was a great guide. He was very enthusiastic and fun. Took very good care of us.

The trip was well planned and was fun for me and my friends. Kien the tour guide was really engaging and fun to be with, hope to come again!

La vue est magnifique. L activite kayak est genial. Enjoyed every moment with Swan Cruises. Highly recommend to all

We did the 3D2N tour and it was very nice! We went to perfect spots for kayaking/swimming. On the boat we had very good food and the staff was extremely fiendly.

We had a one night boat tour with Lyn as our guide. She was a bubbly and enthusiastic guide that made the experience that much better. The cabin was clean and well maintained although the beds were a bit firm for me. The rooming quarters and bathrooms are more roomy than a regular cruise. The excursions we had for kayaking and visiting the cave were well organized and I felt that there was enough active vs down time. Night squid fishing was a blast (more fun than we expected!). The meals onboard were also great. Lyn kept us entertained by games and her happy personality.

This was an overnight trip. The staff could not have been any better. They were fantastic from start to finish. Our tour guide ( Sunday) was great as were the crew on the boat. The boat was designed for a smaller group but the cabins were superb as were the food and activities. I’d recommend this company.

I was apprehensive about doing this because I get motion sickness, but with just a little Dramamine I had nothing to worry about! The bay was calm and beautiful. Kien was a very knowledgeable guide and very funny! Don’t hesitate to ask him questions! This was a highlight a my Vietnam vacation. Don’t forget to go to Bai Tu Long Bay if you want to get away from the traffic!

Had an amazing time on our cruise to Bai Tu Long Bay. The boat was lovely and we had a nice big cabin with a balcony (excellent heating/aircon!) The food was amazing with every lunch and dinner having 4 or 5 courses. Kien was a great guide, always kept us up to date with the itinerary and a great kayak leader making up new routes for us when we couldn’t stop at the beach, he also did a cooking class for us and took us to a cave and gave us some history which was really interesting. All in all an amazing stay!

Fantastic trip. Highlight was the kayaking and cooking lesson. Staff are very kind and enthusiastic.

This tour and the activities was wonderful. Our guide Kien was funny, knowledgeable and made all the activities interesting. Cabins were lovely & food was good too.

We had a great couple of days on Bai Tu Long Bay! It was great to only be around a few other boats, whereas Halong Bay is mich busier. Our guide Kien did a wonderful job showing us around and telling us about the history of the bay. Highly suggested!

Kien was a wonderful guide with a great sense of humor. He was very knowledgeable and personable. Sleeping quarters were nice and clean, food was good and plentiful, and the drinks were great.

We went on a cruise in January 2020, and had an amazing stay. David were a really great guide, lots of humour and knowledge! He brought the group together and made everyone comfortable :) Really recommend this trip!

We loved our stay on Bai Tu Long Bay. Everything was great - from the food, staff and planned events. Tai Chi at sunrise was a highlight, as was the kayaking and squid fishing in the evening. Staff could not have done more to help and the food was delicious. Best part of the trip though was the tour guide Luna - she provided amazing local information and history, as well as taking the time to talk to all members of the cruise individually. We loved learning about her Vietnamese culture and her asking about our culture. We would like to thank her for making it such a memorable tour.

Did this overnight tour during a visit to Hanoi Vietnam. Everything was well planned. Driver & tour guide picked everyone up from their hotels in Hanoi, then a ~3hr drive to HaLong. Our guide Minh (Marcus) was great & knowledgeable. He even had some fun games for us to play after dinner our first night. Food was delicious. Staff on board the boat were also very nice and provided excellent service. I enjoyed kayaking, however the beach was very rocky so this was the only part of the tour I did not enjoy as much.

I love the whole tour, the scenery, and Kien the guide is very good guy and funny. Totally recommended.

Kien is a really good tour guide. He was very nice, help Ud a lot. Speaks very good English and Explains Us of Vietnam life style. The food was really great!!!

We had a great day, the bay is beautiful, highlight for us was visiting the fishing villages. Kien was a great guide.

We had a great time on the Bai Tu Long Bay tour. The staff was very welcoming and friendly. I was pleasantly surprised that the group on the tour was small. Our guide Kien spoke English very well. So well he was able to understand our puns. He was knowledgeable about the area and provided the group with insights about the islands and areas we visited. The scenery is amazing. The tour came with a large lunch and a tasty dinner. I would highly recommend this tour. Just seeing the sunset between the islands would be more than enough of a reason to go on the tour.

I had such a wonderful time! I ate lunch before I went on the day cruise and didn't expect the huge spread we had for lunch on the boat. The food was very delicious! Washrooms on the boat were very clean and Kien, our tour guide, was very informative and personable. It was amazing seeing the limestone islands. I highly recommend!

We have two cildren 7 and 9 and we all enjoyed very much. We did some kayaking and swimming, resting on the ship and cook in cooking class.We were sorry we didn't take 3 day trip. Our guide Kien was funny and easy to follow.

Very fun visit to Halong Bay with a lot of interesting activities on the cruise such as Vietnamese cooking demonstration, Tai Chi lesson, kayaking and other activities. The cruise staff and our tour leader Kien provided us excellent services and nice food for lunch and dinner. Highly recommended this tour with Swan Cruise.

Compared to other expensive cruises in bai tu long bay I think this is the most cost effective for a 2days 1 night tour. Tour guide Sunday was very informative and accommodating. On the cruise we were provided customised food for young kids. Absolutely recommended for everyone looking for a peaceful holiday in Bai tu Long.

We went with Swan Cruises for a wonderful Bai Tu Long Bay overnight trip from Hanoi. The spectacular views, comfortable accommodations and delicious meals all made for a truly memorable trip. Luna, our tour guide, was excellent, knowledgeable and charming. I skipped the morning cave trip and had a wonderful time watching the eagles fishing for their breakfast.

Highly recommended cruise trip. Well organised,comfortable and clean cabin, delicious food and such a variety of activities. The tour guide, Kien was one of the best. As well as being super organised, he really cared about making sure you had a great time. Gill & Jay

Great trip! Did the 2 day 1 night cruise. Good range of activities. Our guide Kien was also good. Would recommend!

Excellent tour. Great food, amazing guide. We took a 2 day trip with Swan Cruises. The activities were lovely, and it was only made better by our nice and funny guide Kien. Only thing is i wish was disembark would be later on the 2nd day, but then again the price would obviously increase. So can't have it all now can we. Being vegetarian was also no problem, there was plenty of food to go around!

Overnight cruise for two families with five children with Daisy as our tour guide. Daisy is brilliant. She made sure we were looked after from hotel pick up, throughout the cruise and then back to our Hanoi hotel. Daisy was excellent with our kids, making sure they enjoyed every part of the experience. Go Team Daisy! The trip was wonderful-kayaking, cave exploring, cruising around, magnificent food and happy hour. Service from all staff was great. Highly recommend.

Our tour of Halong bay was extremely enjoyable. Our guide Daisy was super nice, caring, funny and outgoing. Without Daisy the experience would not have been anywhere near as enjoyable she always made sure everyone was included, new what was going on, and having a good time. As well as being great at communicating to the whole group she made sure everyone was safe and following the regulations. Personally had an amazing time and would recommend the tour and certainly daisy as a tour guide ❤️❤️ - Xavier

Kien picked us up and organised a great tour . Thumbs up for swan cruises. Thumbs up for the chefff for the great food

Excellent tour to Bai Tu Long Bay. Tour guide Kien was very informative and knowledgeable. Would highly recommend to anyone.

My family and I wanted to experience one of the world's natural wonders and glad we booked with Swan Tours. Kien was very knowledgeable and hospitable. The boat was well kept and food was delicious. Our family enjoyed the amazing sights and enjoyed being able to get close to the rock islands. If you plan to visit Ha Long Bay, I recommend you book it with Swan Tours and ask for Kien to be your guide! Happy travels!

Exceeded our expectation. A really nice and meaning full day with Kien explain. Great guide Line. Lip up the great job

Excellent tour guide and tour opperator. Kien was our great host. Always cheerful and explain well to all of us. Big and nice lunch. Thumbs all up

Well worth the effort coming a long way here. Bai Tu Long Bay is the must see destination and Swan Cruises is a good choice. Luck to get Kien as a guide

Well organized trip. Hospitable guide and Crew. Huge freshly cooked lunch. Beautiful and peaceful root. 20 out of 10

Really enjoyed the cruise and recommend Kien as a guide great lucnh. The trip was well organized. Highly recommend Swan Cruises

I had an excellent day trip out to the bay. I was picked up first thing in the morning by our guide, Kien, and from there the group went off to Ha Long. The bus ride was smooth and we had a thirty minute rest stop as well. Once we got there, all the tickets had been taken care of and we just had short wait for our departure. On board, a large lunch was provided of delicious Vietnamese food. We continued to cruise around the bay at a relaxing speed and eventually reached a small fishing village. We were given the choice of kayaking or riding in a bamboo sampan through the village. I chose to kayak and the experience was simply magical. After, we sailed over to a cave where we were able to explore at our leisure as well as relax on the adjacent beach. Kien, our guide, was very knowledge of the history and formation of the bay and was quick to share his information with the group! After touring the cave and beach, we boarded the boat again and enjoyed making Vietnamese spring rolls as we return back to shore with the sun setting behind us.

Our tour to Halong Bay was smooth. Guided by Kien who was informative and cheerful. Lunch was lots of food. Beautiful. Thanks

kien explained to us about the place and was good. He knows what he was saying and explaining so we could all understand. Other than that, it was chill yea.

nice trip. the visit to the fishing village was interesting. the lunch was also good. recommend to all. thanks

Spot on! Smooth transfer to/from Old Quarter Hanoi to the boat. Outstanding crew, condition of the boat and catering. Flawless! Bai Tu Long Bay was our choice as it only has a fraction of the boats, compared to neighbouring Halong bay. It exceeded our expectations. Will return for an overnight cruise.

My boyfriend, my sister and I only had a short amount of time we could visit the UNESCO HaLong Bay area and wanted to skip the crowds of HaLong Bay. I stumbled across a one day tour that Swan Cruises has for Bai Tu Long Bay and after some initial research, booked it for our visit. The online booking was easy, as was paying the deposit. The morning of our tour, our guide Luna, met us in the lobby of our hotel in the Old Quarter and directed us to the minivan on the main road where we were going to pick up another group not too far away. In total, there were 7 of us on this tour, which made it a nice small group. Luna passed out souvenir glass water bottles for us, for the 3 hour long drive there and proceeded to tell us about herself and help the group get to know everyone else. Her English was excellent and she had a lively engaging manner that put everyone at ease. She told us about the legend of the Bay and how it was given UNESCO status and what was special about Bai Tu Long Bay that we were visiting instead. She also let us know that our tour group was among the last to be able to take the day trip as Swan Cruises is phasing that out and concentrating on the overnight cruises for Bai Tu Long Bay instead, so we felt privileged in being the last to experience this. Along the way to the boat, we had a rest stop at a handicrafts emporium and also, as we were on track to arrive early to the HaLong office to check in, we stopped by a pearl emporium. I paid the rest of my group's balance at the HaLong office and we got clearance to board our boat. Once situated while on our way to the bay, Luna and the staff started to bring out the lunch that was included on our tour, and it was a bounty of a feast. Seafood soup, salads, grilled prawns, broiled oysters, stuffed crabs and spring rolls made for a delicious lunch. During lunch, our approach to the bay started showing the limestone mountains (karsts) that have made the region so popular. After lunch was cleared, we were encouraged to go to the upper deck where we could enjoy the views as we made our way to the Vung Vieng fishing village. Once there, we had the option of being rowed in a boat around the fishing village or kayaking around. I was the only one who opted to kayak from our tour group. However, once she saw I was floundering around in the kayak, Luna gamely stepped into the kayak with me to help steer me in the right direction, quite literally. The views of the bay around the fishing village are astounding, especially as one giant karst has an arch that opens into the sea. The kayak/rowboat tour ended at a pearl farm, where we could see how oysters were seeded for pearls. Our boat then led us to the Thien Canh Son Cave, where we roamed about to look at the stone formations inside and marvel at more karsts from the beach outside the cave. From there, we started our journey back to port with a summer roll cooking class where we made as many as we could eat. The boat ride back was relaxing as we took in the last views of the Bay before getting back in the minivan and taking the high speed highway back to Hanoi in 2 hours and getting dropped off at our respective hotels. Much praise to Luna for being a fantastic tour guide and for stepping in to help me kayak. And the crew of the Bai Tho boat was also great getting us there and back. Getting to see Bai Tu Long Bay was an experience to treasure for a lifetime.

I did the day trip to Bai Tu Long bay in November. It was absolutely beautiful and an amazing experience. Swan Cruises was a great company, Jack was a fantastic guide, the lunch was lovely. As others have commented on...definitely more quiet and way less tourists than Ha long Bay. For those of you worried about only a day long experience (and not an overnight), I was really happy with how much we were able to see in one day and was quite happy not to stay overnight. Definitely worth visiting.

Our guide, Kien was the best. He taught us many things about Bai Tu Long Bay and the area around it. The food was delicious, the drinks were plentiful, and the views were unbelievable. I missed this experience the first time I came to Vietnam so I couldn't miss it this time. Would gladly do this again and maybe the 2 night trip next time. If you book through trip advisor, which we did, just be sure to contact them ahead of your departure to coordinate and confirm pick up for the morning of your trip! Don't want to almost miss the bus!

We had a perfect day in Bai Tu Long Bay with our guide, Kien and Swan Cruises. He was very easy going and added to the fun! The bay itself is so beautiful...indescribable. You really have to see it for yourself. The day cruise was perfect, with stops to kayak through a fishing village and sight seeing in a cave. Every minute on the boat is so picturesque, and we had a great meal for lunch, full bar, etc. I would whole heartedly recommend this trip to anyone. Also much less crowded with ships and tourists than Halong Bay!

We had a great experience during our 1 day tour! We drank we ate we cooked went to a cave and beach and had a wooden boat tour at the fishing village . There were very little boats in sight and it was so peaceful. Our guide Kien was great

Kien was great! Highly recommended. Very knowledgeable of the city and culture. English is good as well :)

We went on the day long trip with Kian and had the best time! There was a communication error for pick up location, so I recommend that you double check the pick up and time. It stated 11:30 on trip advisor but pickup was around 8:30am. Kian and his crew were welcoming and provided great service. The boat was beautiful, food was delicious, and overall an awesome day. Would highly recommend!