Whenever there’s a conversation about Vietnam, it is pretty much expected that you’ll be visiting Ha Long Bay. As a UNESCO World Heritage site and recently named one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, it’s Vietnam’s star attraction. However, I had heard mixed reviews from multiple different people:

1. That Ha Long Bay is overcrowded, filled with trash, and is way overhyped.

2. That Ha Long Bay is breathtaking and by far the highlight of their trip to Vietnam.

I met one girl who said that the tour she went on fed them instant noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and didn’t follow through on anything that was promised in the itinerary offered. Some people I met chose to bypass Ha Long Bay altogether to check out its neighbor Bai Tu Long Bay, which is meant to be similar landscapes with a fraction of the crowds drawn to Ha Long Bay.

These mixed reviews started to stress me out. Was I going to make the right decision?!

I looked into Tu Long Bay, but it was about double the price I saw for multiple different cruises to Ha Long Bay. Ultimately, I landed on Golden Bay Cruises. The tour office that I booked through warned me that it was not the best cruise they offered, but was decent enough, and would be a good way to see Ha Long Bay on a backpacker’s budget. The tour costs $75 for a two-day-one-night cruise with the below itinerary. Besides the price, a good reason to choose a budget-friendly cruise is that you have a better chance of meeting other backpackers too.

Ha Long Bay Golden Bay Cruise Review:

What was the food like?

Ha Long Bay.

The food was actually better than I thought it would be, and the portions were plentiful. Lunches were the best, with sticky rice, fish, tofu, vegetables, and fruit. Dinner was buffet style and was all random dishes that didn’t really go together, but it was still good. Breakfast was tea, coffee, toast with jam, and some very bland pho, but for a budget cruise, it honestly was pretty good.

What was the boat like?

Enjoying the sun on the top deck.

The image of the boat in the brochure was clearly taken 10 years ago, as the exterior was a bit rough, but it was in good enough condition that it didn’t take away from the experience. The dining space was nice and open, and they played fun music on a decent sound system. The top deck was nice with sun loungers and plenty of tables and chairs for relaxing. The rooms were decent enough, with clean linens, and a private bathroom. The beds were not particularly comfortable, but I still got a great night sleep. (There’s something magical about falling asleep to the rocking of the waves!) Other people on the top deck found cockroaches in their room (yuck), but I didn’t manage to see any throughout the trip.

What was the staff like?

Colorful boat floating in the bay.

Our main guide Peter was hilarious, but I don’t think he was trying to be. His dry sense of humor had me chuckling, and when he did tell a joke, he wouldn’t even crack a smile. The whole group loved Peter for his dry personality, and it definitely added to the trip. The rest of the crew had limited English skills so communication was minimum, but most were friendly and helpful.

What are some of the activities included?

SUNSET PARTY

The catalog stated that there would be a sunset party from 7-10pm with free keg beer and red wine. That didn’t happen. Instead, they offered free beer and wine in the middle of the day for one hour while the boat cruised through the bay. Of course this was very enjoyable at the time, cruising through the gorgeous bay socializing with all of the other travelers with a beer in hand, but obviously, no one took serious advantage of the free drinks (especially the red wine), as it was the middle of the day in the Vietnamese muggy heat. Of course, no one is going to be drinking like they would from 7-10pm! Also, we still had two activities to do (kayaking & exploring the cave) so not too many were interested in partaking in a drinking session before this. When we got back from kayaking and exploring the cave, ready for a beverage, we were told that there were no more free drinks, but that there was a happy hour deal for buy 2 beers get one free or buy one get one cocktails. As you can imagine, there were plenty of people who were quite upset, as they were promised one thing and then told another. It’s easy to see what they did here. They moved up the advertised sunset party with free drinks to the middle of the day where people wouldn’t drink all that much, then claim later that free drinks were already given out, giving them the opportunity to make some serious $$ on alcohol sales. I was a little upset at first, but at the end of the day it’s $4 for 3 beers we’re talking about here, so sometimes you have to put things into perspective and say screw it, let’s have a good time!

SUNG SOT CAVE:

I was a little disappointed to see just how much they’ve turned this into a tourist attraction, with trinket shops and artificial multi-colored lights illuminating the cave, but it really is such an impressive sight.

Just when you think it ends, the cave just keeps on going. Though they’ve turned it into something you’d see at Disney World, I’m still glad I had the opportunity to see it.

KAYAKING:

This was by far my favorite activity! Our guide gave us 40 minutes of free time to kayak around the bay at our leisure, but I think we pushed it more towards an hour, maybe more.

We spotted a tiny beach at the base of one of the limestone giants, and parked our kayaks for a group swim. The water was incredibly warm and I was in a state of bliss, as was everyone else. We were the only people in sight and it truly felt like we had Ha Long Bay all to ourselves.

PEARL FARM:

The Ha Long Bay Pearl Farm is an enterprise that literally floats in the middle of the bay, and has over 1 million oysters growing on their nets.

We stopped by on the morning of day two for a tour and informational session on all of the different types of pearls and how they are cultivated. Apparently, I’ve been living a lie because I thought pearls were only produced naturally inside of oysters like in The Little Mermaid. But nope.

Oysters of a certain age are pulled off of the nets and someone known as “The Surgeon” of a Pearl Farm implants a white bead into the uterus or the testicles of the oyster depending on the gender. They then put them back in the water and wait a couple years to harvest them. At that point, the oyster has somehow turned that original bead into a pearl. The woman giving us the tour told us that 50% of the oysters die in the process. Pearls may be beautiful, but I don’t think this is an industry I plan to support anymore!

So What Are My Overall Thoughts of the Ha Long Bay Golden Bay Cruise?

After being told how overcrowded and dirty Ha Long Bay is, I was so pleasantly surprised to have had the opposite experience. I swear at times it seemed as if we were the only tourists there. From exploring the cave with virtually no one else there, to kayaking and swimming with just the group I went out with, it was anything but overcrowded. I guess the secret to Ha Long Bay is to go during the low season like I did!