Ha Noi: 3d- Halong, Lan Ha Bay Classic Cruise, Ninh Binh Full Day

A lovely cruise on Ha Long Bay, a lot of included activities (kayaking and swimming in the bay, squid fishing, cycle ride) and a lot of fun. We enjoyed our spacious cabin, the scenery, the great food and the very nice staff. The boat was just the right size, and we had good travelling companions. Heading on to Ninh Binh was also worth it - rather than heading back in and out of Hanoi. The day's tour was great, informative and the temples and caves spectacular. Great way to see the two places if time is tight. Special mention to footprint bungalow (our overnight in Ninh Binh) - they couldnt have been nicer or more welcoming 🙂.

Good communication from Jackie at Dolphin Travel, but it was a bit of a bait and switch. The write up on Viator and the pictures Jackie sent me were nothing like the actual cruise and home stay. Cruise: boat itself was okay and food was fine. Cruise director/ tour guide was a real pain. He told everyone at the beginning of cruise that if there was a problem with our rooms, no problem switching since only 5 of the 10 were occupied. We discovered a problem with the a/c condensation draining straight onto our bathroom floor resulting in a huge water build up and slip hazard in our room. We asked to be moved and the cruise director refused even though he had just told the entire group 15 minutes earlier that moving to another room would be no problem. We spent the entire cruise managing the water problem on our bathroom floor. Ironically I did experience a serious fall on another part of the boat and hit my head with a strong, direct impact on a cast iron pipe. No crew member, including the cruise director ever acknowledged my accident or asked if I was okay! Amazingly I am okay but only a couple of the other passengers checked on me. The staff and cruise director could have cared less. Ninh Bihn: The tour agency that Dolphin contracted with for this part of tour put us up at their home stay (hotel) that looked nothing like the pictures that Jackie sent me. Okay, that was a minor part of the…scam. No hot water for shower; the absolute worst breakfast you could imagine. We had to roust the owner or manager out of bed to get us our breakfast before the tour driver arrived. The result was two cold eggs, over easy and two slices of Wonder bread. What an embarrassment for him and a disappointment for us. So would I recommend Dolphin Travel and their associate Footprint Travel? No Way!!!

Overall, we enjoyed this tour and the many tours/activities we were able to be a part of. We were able to see a lot of attractions and beautiful sights over these few days! The first part of our trip, from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, was great! Awesome tour guide, good activities, and organized. The transfer to Ninh Binh was where the communication was poor and no one seemed to know the plan, with no one to contact regarding everything. We did however end up staying in an awesome homestay and had amazing food, arranged by the tour, but was difficult to find out these plans! Also, when I initially booked the trip I was told there was no availability for the Ninh Binh portion of the tour, so we had made other plans. However, the morning of the Ninh Binh tour a tour guide showed up at our door. We still attended but were quite unprepared. Unlike the Ha Long Bay portion of the trip there was no communication from our tour guide prior to our pick up.

Everything was well executed. From pick up at my hotel in Hà Nội to drop off after the cruise at the hotel in Ninh Binh. The accommodations were great both on the boat and in Ninh Binh. The cruise was perfect for me and I met some very nice people as well. All the staff - boat and hotel, were very nice and helpful. I highly recommend this.

Fascinating locations and experiences mixed with disappointing elements. I would recommend both locations, but the absence of a broad indication of the travelling times to and between locations is warranted. Could not fault the dedication of staff and planning of pick-ups, etc. Promotional material makes no mention of the approximately 5-6 hour bus travel time between Lan Ha Bay and Ninh Binh. on day 2, effectively negating any sightseeing/activity other than visiting a village in Lan ha Bay. Staff excellent.

This is a unique less busy version of hai long bay....Now I did have the issue of being left behind, charged for a tram or gondola I never took, but that happens when you dont speak the language well. Lucky there was wifi as my esim was not working in the area and the tour operator fixed my problem and arranged for me to be picked up and transported to my next destination.

Well organised and good accommodate. Friendly and responsive staff the whole way. Transport was comfortable as well.

Can not fault!! This organised tour was amazing from the food to the way it was organised. The operators are extremely easy to communicate with if you have any questions and they keep you up to date as the trip is progressing. Expect a lot of driving as Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh are all a couple of hours from each other but the busses that are organised are very comfortable.

Both the guides, Jack for Cat Ba and Chung for Ninh Binh were excellent and the cruise and the food on board were amazing. The transfers between Cat Ba to Ninh Binh and then back to Hanoi were disappointing!

Amazing views, both at sea (lan ha bay; 2 day 1 night cruise) and inland (Ninh Binh). Well-fed along the way, with excellent tour guides. Our main issue was how many buses we boarded along the way, as they were hired to get us from point A to point B, yet didn't know where they were taking us. Search "accommodation" for a review from Erez A that basically mirrored what we experienced.

While it’s possible to book this tour independently, it is definitely easier and better value to book as a package. It was such a pleasure to sit back and enjoy the itinerary created by local experts for a few days. Highly recommended! I decided to extent my time in Nimh Binh and it was no problem at all. Use the advantage of having a package to shape to your itinerary :)

I had thought when booking the tour that I would be joining a small tour group that would involve a 2 day and 1 night cruise in Ha Long and Lan Ha bays followed by 1 day and 1 night with excursions in Ninh Binh with transportation provided to and from central Hanoi. What actually happened is that I was picked up at 7 am, an hour ahead of schedule, in a bus that took me and the various other tourists from Hanoi on a 5 hour drive to the Cat Ba Island Cruise Terminal. I then discovered that the other tourists were mostly on different cruises before being directed to join the cruise that had been arranged for me. The cruise took me and my fellow passengers around Cat Ba Island and Lan Ha Bay, with some activities along the way, before returning me and the other tourists to the same cruise terminal 23 hours later. So, the ship never made it all the way to Ha Long Bay and it was actually a 1 day, 1 night cruise. I was then directed, along with a few of the other tourists who were on the cruise, to board a bus to Ninh Binh, which took over 5 hours to arrive. A couple who were on the cruise appeared to have the closest matching itinerary to my own but had booked through a different travel agency. So, I joined them after confirming where I would be staying with the owner of the travel company that had arranged the tour. When I arrived at the guest house with the couple, I was informed that the guest house was fully booked, which led to a local tour company making alternative arrangements for me at a different guest house in town. After being transferred via moped, I was then brought to dinner at a restaurant in town, where I crossed paths with the same couple, before walking back to my accommodations. At 8:30 am the next morning, I was picked up by moped to join a small tour bus with the same couple for an 8 hour tour of Ninh Binh before being brought back to tour operator's office to take a bus back to my hotel in Hanoi. However, the "bus" turned out to be a minivan which drove me for half an hour to get on a minibus, which brought me to the edge of Hanoi, which involved boarding another minivan to bring me back to a major landmark near where I was staying, as there was substantial miscommunication most of the way there. Still, I managed to return to the apartment I had rented almost exactly 3 days and 1 hour from the time I left. So, in all, it was an adventure that I wasn't expecting with lots of interesting characters along the way. I was rather surprised that the whole operation managed to roughly fulfill its obligations, considering that there were at least a dozen different parties involved. It was certainly a lot of activity for the price and the food was plentiful. The scenic parts were beautiful and the tour guides were full of enthusiasm.

Ha Long Bay is a must visit! & our tour guide T was excellent in explaining everything for us. Note: Bringing a big camera might be an issue due to the water & activities

Awesome trip and services was amazing. The trip guy Mr Turn (T) was an awesome person and guided us properly and extreme mannerly. Thanks.

The place and the services are good. Specially the food is awesome. The cave, kayaking, speedboat ride, all together its a memorable journey.

Best guide & we feel very good in a ship side set scene ….its real beautiful please.. Ha Long bay is a must go destination 🥰🥰

The whole trip was super comfortable everything was perfectly planned and executed! Provided meal was good and most importantly no language barrier they easily understand English and respond!

Superb service by the crew and the our guide. The cruise was very well equipped with activities and each activity was very well planned. Loved how each and every request of the guest was taken care of. Excellent experience and loved it

Mr T is an amazing and caring guide. He has a good knowledge about his job and does it quite efficiently Seriously recommend him as your tour guide

Visited with my family . Had a lovely time at Velar cruise and T was a great guide as well . The cruise had amazing rooms and delicious food as well.

Trung is smart & amazing, he is very helpful throughout the tour. I like the cruise and all the staff specially in the dine area staff. They are very friendly. Baling bay is lovely & has scenic beauty. Wish to come again

The service was amazing, views are spectacular, the guide T is amazing and has good knowledge about the information and island.

Trung was an amazing guide!!! His English was great. He provided really cool insights and facts and did a good job keeping us safe.

amazing cruise experience, staff was nice and helpful. Vegetarian food was delicious. Would really recommend Crown legend cruise if you are coming with your family

Trung Very Nice , awesome and knowgebale Guide and very polite Hates Off.... To You Trung for guide us For ha long cruise..... For 2 Days

I took my parents here to celebrate my dad’s bday. In a nutshell, it was the best part of our Hanoi trip. My dad was a bit struggling with food since the day1 in Vietnam because of lots of spices or vegetable scent he’s not familiar with. So we were a bit worried before this cruise tour what if he can’t eat anything and there won’t be other options. However it turned out to be the best food has had in Vietnam! We enjoy every meal for 2days. And all the crew member are absolutely amazing. We also feel very lucky to have our tour guide Trung! Not to mention the Halong bay view is absolute gorgeous. We enjoyed our evening in the balcony attached our room. Amazing sunset view. Wish it was 2nights instead of 1night 2days.

The views were amazing, the service in the cruise was nice, tour guide helped us whenever needed and made sure no one was left out. An amazing experience overall

The ha long cruise (crown cruise) was a great experience! Got to see caves, swimming at the beach, kayaking, pearl farms and karaoke at night and ofcourse food. . Trung and Larry were awesome hosts and took care of us during our stay. Ending the Vietnam trip with the cruise was perfect (Have fun diving off the deck of the ship) Hope you have a great experience as we did.

Larry (Nam) and Trung were amazing hosts and made our stay at the cruise quite comfortable. We stayed for 3 days 2 nights. The activities were well planned leaving in enough space to relax and enjoy the views at the deck. Would definitely recommend and come back again! Ps. Don't miss out on the karaoke and kayaking!

Trung and Larry were amazing guides, they were helpful and fun. Overvall cruise experience was so relaxing. The view from the cruise was beautiful and the caves especially surprising caves were actually very surprising :)

Great service knowledge and enthusiasm. T was very professional and gave great insights around Halong Bay. Also a super nice and friendly guy

Amazing views and good food on cruise for 2 days and 1 night. Guide Trung was knowledgable and spoke good english. Nice sundeck and rooms with balcony were clean.

Trung was an amazing tour guide! He was definitely the highlight of the experience. He was a very good English speaker, and gave really great context/history at every location we visited. The cruise service was also amazing, and the activities were all very thoughtfully planned. Personally, on our boat, we didn’t enjoy the crowd as much, but that doesn’t speak to the conduction of the tour rather than the luck of the draw with tour groups. We were slightly surprised that water wasn’t included, so make sure you pack some water bottles! Also, the drinks were very expensive, more than a 50% markup. Otherwise, a great experience. Thank you trung!

Overall trip is so organised and service is excellent indeed. Food quality and room is so good. The tour guide elaborated all the places.

We had the 3 days two nights cruise. It was an amazing experience . The three day cruise definately take you further in Halong Bay. The scenery is beautiful witch the many rock islands coming out of the sea. The caves are also very nice. The service and the food was very good. The food was a variety of western food and Vietnamese food. In my opinion they should serve much more Vietnamese food, but that’s just me. I would definitely recommend taking a cruise from Halong Bay.

We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights. The bus drive there was great except they stopped for 30min and showed us how they make clothes from bamboo and we had to wait while they let people shop around for items made from bamboo. I definitely think the 2 nights was worth it as we were with some guests that left after 1 night and it just seemed rushed for them. Staff were great! Food was good but the breakfast needs more options. The drinks are extremely expensive. I would recommend bringing your own soft drinks and beer honestly 😂 The 2 guides were great! I do recommend speaking louder on the intercom because I couldn’t understand anything. I liked that on the second day I could have a nap after the day full of activities. They gave us time to relax which is great. Kayaking, swimming and visiting the caves were all awesome activities.

The cruise was truly superb. So were the activities offered. And what about the crew? It simply took great care of us. Everything was extremely well organized. We were guided and accompanied from start to finish. The rooms were really beautiful and comfortable, even better than some hotels. A big thank you to the whole crew and a special mention to Trung. My family and I highly recommend the Crown Legend Cruise. Thanks a lot.

Great cruise and lovely tour guide Trung. Enjoyed the set meal dinner and the karaoke night. The itinerary was very packed and overlapping activities - helped us experience a lot but meant that our stay was very busy not much time left to enjoy the cruise itself. Ninh Bin was a very beautiful destination, the tour guides (Happy) and the mode of transport to the destination was excellent. The Trang A boat ride was exceptional with great views, but I felt like it was shorter than it was said to be which was slightly disappointing. The Mua Cave was the highlight of the day with great views however it would’ve been nice to allocate more time for it as we only had about an hour and a half. There was some inefficiency with timings of the journey to the main destination. Overall, the package was a great deal we saw some of the best parts of North Vietnam, the service was excellent, and I’d definitely recommend it!

Awesome cruise experience where we were able to witness the beautiful caves and scenes all while having a luxurious room and delicious food to come back to. Trung is an expert tour guide and a really nice guy - he was great fun to be with throughout the trip and made sure all the guests were looked after. Highly recommend

great guide Trung and very enjoyable experience! crew were very hospitable and warm, and activities were well planned. would recommend for families

Trung is a so good guide! He has a clear English and a perfect knowledge of Ha Long Bay. He also has plenty of anecdotes about the area and a good sense of humor😊

I liked the service. It was beyond my expectations. Wow wow wow. I will recommend to my friends and relatives. Best of luck

Trung, our tour guide, was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful, ensuring we had a fantastic experience. The cruise was impeccably clean, and the staff were extremely helpful. HaLong Bay is astonishingly beautiful and truly a rare gem. Highly recommend!

Thanks to mr Trung who had helping us on the cruise. The service was great. And Ha Long bay is very beautiful. Strongly recommended

Vietnam is truly amazing. During our visit, we explored numerous breathtaking landscapes, including stunning islands, scenic vistas, and encountered warm and friendly people. We would like to express our gratitude to our tour guide, Mr. T, for his exceptional hospitality throughout our journey. We gained valuable insights into Vietnam's rich history, especially at the places we visited. I am already looking forward to returning to Vietnam. Our group comprised 28 tourists from the Philippines, and we couldn't be happier with our experience. As a friendly reminder, when traveling abroad, it's always wise to carry some medicines just in case. Thank you.

The cruise was fantastic, very helpful and friendly staff! We had and amazing time Thank you Special shoutout to T the tour guide. Love ya work man

We went on a two days one night cruise experience to Halong bay with Crown legend and experience was amazing. The rooms in the cruise were neat and it provided every necessities. Rooms come with a private balcony which is a boon. Cruise is clean and hygiene is well taken care off, staff's friendly too and they took us on small boats to wet caves where we can do kayak or bamboo boating. And the tour guide named Trung is an excellent guide. Well spoken, friendly guy and has a good knowledge about the place and it's history. My rating 5* credit goes totally to him. He also made sure we were safe. Ambience - 5* Staff - 5* Activities - 5* Guide - 5* FOOD- The staff prepared special vegetarian meals for us on our special request. Halal food is main struggle here.

The trip was lovely. I love everything about Ha Long bay. The service on the cruise is amazing. Thank mr Trung have organized this trip for us

Best time ever ! Very clean room, great vegetarian food options, and helpful crew. Our tour guide Mr.T was very good ans knowledgeable as well. Overall it was a great experience for us.