Blogs

Halong bay one-day tour is a must-do experience in Vietnam. With only 2.5 hour transfer from Hanoi, you can visit Halong Bay on a day boat and back to Hanoi within 1 day. This one-day tour is a perfect option for travellers who have limited but still want to discover the stunning beauty of the World Natural Heritage Site. 

In this article, Vivu Halong will help you choose the best itinerary (4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours) with suitable cruising boat options (wooden boats, steel boats) at good prices. You also get to know which activities you will experience in a Halong Bay one-day tour.

Price of Halong Bay one-day tour 

Halong Bay one-day tour is a group tour with a transfer from Hanoi, lunch, entrance fee and activities. The private tour is also available based on your request.  Here is the price list for the tour, please contact us for the best price and tour available when booking.

Inclusions

• Lunch with Ha Long seafood dishes with a set menu or buffet depending on the tour.
• Shuttle bus from Hanoi to Ha Long
• Boat to visit the bay (4 hours – 6 hours – 8 hours), depending on the schedule you choose.
• Entrance ticket to visit Halong Bay 1 day (VND 290,000/person)
• Tour guide to escort your trip 
• Not including drinks and personal expenses.

Private boat renting fee

For a private you, you can rent a private boat to explore the bay by yourself, the boat led by a local captain and staff. Price applied for traditional boat, group max of 30 passengers.

• 4-hour tours during the week: 3,000,000VND – 3,500,000VND/boat and 3,700.00VND – 3,900,000VND/boat on the weekends.
• 6-hour tours during the week: 3,700,000VND – 3,900,000VND/boat and 4,200.00VND – 4,500,000VND/boat on weekends.
• 8-hour tours during the week: 6,000,000 VND/ boat/ and 7,500,000VND/ boat on weekends.

Which Halong Bay one-day itinerary to choose? 

6-hour cruise tour in Halong Bay with transfer from Hanoi

This 6-hour tour is the most popular Halong Bay one-day tour, with a shuttle bus transfer from Hanoi. In this tour, you will visit Amazing (Sung Sot) cave, the largest cave in Halong Bay, kayak in Luon cave then get to Titop island for beach relaxing and hiking to the top of the mountain for a panoramic view of Halong Bay. 

• Tour starts at 8:30 am with shuttle bus pick up at your hotels in Hanoi Old Quarter and ends at 08:30 pm
• Cruise from 12:00 pm to 5:30 pm, 5 – 6 hours boat cruising on Halong Bay 
• Itinerary following Route 2: Habour –  Surprise Cave – Luon Cave (kayaking) – Titop Island (beach & panoramic view) 
• Vietnamese lunch included
• Departure from Ha Long International Port or Tuan Chau International Port

Detailed Itinerary 

• 08:45 – 09: 15: The shuttle bus and tour guide pick you up from the hotel in Hanoi Old Quater to Halong Bay.
• 12:15 Arrive at Tuan Chau Harbor, welcome aboard, and safety briefing. Start the 6-hour journey to explore Halong Bay, passing through thousands of limestone islets, including Cock Fighting and Thumb, while enjoying mouth-watering Vietnamese lunch on the boat.
• 13:45  Arrive at Bo Hon archipelago, tour guide escorts you to visit Surprising (Sung Sot) Cave to see a lot of stalagmites and stalactites with different shapes of rock formation, then go kayaking or bamboo boat rowing in Luon Cave to discover a beautiful lagoon. Visit Titov Island, relax on the sandy beach or climb up to Titov island peak for a panoramic view of the Bay.
• 16:30 – Return to the boat for Afternoon Tea and cruise back toward Tuan Chau harbour. There is a lot of time for sunbathing on the upper deck with music and enjoying the great fun of group touring fellows among the world’s iconic natural scenery.
• 17:45 – Disembark and transfer back to Hanoi
• 20:30 – Drop off at your hotel, the trip ends.

> Tour details: https://vivuhalong.com/en/tours/halong-bay-one-day-tour-wonder-bay-cruise/ 

8-hour cruise tour in Halong Bay, with transfer from Hanoi 

Halong bay 8-hour tour is the longest journey to visit the bay during the daytime. You can have a lot of time to visit caves, and beaches, explore the islands and experience kayaking on the calm water of Halong Bay. 

Unlike other tours departing at noon, this tour departs early at 9:30 am, so you will depart from Hanoi at 06:00 am. It means you can have enough time for an 8-hour journey. Travellers can visit tourist attractions and experience no less than an overnight cruise. In the past, visitors used to rent a private boat for such long tours. But now there is such an interesting 8-hour tour to from choose. 

• Tour starts at 06:00 am with shuttle bus pick up at your hotels in Hanoi Old Quarter and ends at 08:30 pm
• Cruise from 09:30 pm to 5:00 pm, 8 hours on the boat to visit the bay
• Itinerary following Route 2: Thien Cung Cave – Fighting cocks Islet – Amazing (Sung Sot) Cave – Titop Island – Afternoon tea 
• Tour includes lunch
• Departure from Tuan Chau International Port

Detailed Itinerary 

• 05:30 – 06:00: Pick up at hotels in Hanoi Old Quarter 
• 9:30 Arrive at Tuan Chau Marina and check in on the cruise.
• 10:00 The boat will take you around the bay to explore the most beautiful islets…such as Human Head, Stone Dog islet, Incense Burner Islet, Hoa Cuong Fishing Village, and Fighting Cock islet which is a symbol of Ha Long Bay. The cruise will stop for 5 minutes for you to take pictures to keep the beautiful moments here. After that, the boat continues to move to Sung Sot cave.
• 11h00 Enjoy a nice BUFFET (< 30 pax) or Set Menu (> 30 pax) lunch will be served with Vietnamese cuisines and fresh seafood while it is cruising to Ha Long Bay.
• 12h15 You will leave the boat and visit Sung Sot ( Surprising) cave which is the most beautiful and the widest cave in Ha Long Bay.
• 13h45 The boat will explore to Hang Luon ( three tunnels) area, a water cave for kayaking, rowing a bamboo boat or just staying on board for relaxing and the boat will move around slowly to sightsee more the bay. You will discover the area’s tranquillity by kayaking – an indispensable water activity in Ha Long, for those who love challenging themselves or sitting on a bamboo boat, for those who love being gentle and sophisticated, to admire breathtaking scenes. This is the moment you get closer to Ha Long’s nature. If you do not join any of those activities, you can stay on sundeck for relaxing.
• 14:45 You will visit Titop Island, you can conquer Titop’s Peak to admire a panoramic view of Ha Long Bay from above. You will go to the white sandy beach to swim.
• 15:45 Come back to the boat and enjoy Sun Set Party with coffee and tea assorted homemade pastries, and fresh juices.
• 17:00 Disembarking at the harbour. Finishing Ha Long Bay 8 hours tour.
• 08: 30 Arrive in Hanoi. Trip ends.

> Tour details: https://vivuhalong.com/en/tours/halong-bay-day-cruise-8-hour/

4-hour day cruise, easy to combine with a hotel stay in Halong city 

This traditional tour takes you to the most famous spots of Ha Long Bay. 4 hours is a suitable time if you don’t want to be on the boat for too long. The tour is suitable for travellers who stay in hotels in Halong city and want to see Halong Bay on a half-day tour. The tour includes a visit to Thien Cung cave, go kayaking in Ba Hang and a Vietnamese lunch included. 

• The cruise schedule is from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm in the afternoon, or  from 08:00 to 12:00 in the morning
• 4 hours on the cruising boat to visit the bay.
• Itinerary following Route 2: Habour > Cho Da islet > Dinh Huong islet >  Thien Cung cave > Ba Hang fishing village (kayak or bamboo boat ride)
• Lunch included 
• Departure from HaLong International Port (Ha Long road, Bai Chay, Halong city) 

Details Itineraries 

Morning tour 

• 07:00 – 07:30: Pick up at your Hotel in Bai Chay area
• 07:40: Arrive at Ha Long International Port to check in on the boat.
• 08:00 – 08:15: The cruise starts visiting Halong bay – one of the New Seven Wonder world heritage
• 08:50: Passing through Stone Dog islet, Incense burner Islet – the image in the back side of Vietnam currency 200.000d.
• 09:00: Visit Ba Hang area – where you can do kayaking or bamboo boat to explore the area.
• 09:50: Visit Fighting Cock Islet – a symbol of Halong Bay
• 10:10: Visit Thien Cung grottos – one of the most beautiful areas of Halong Bay
• 11:10: Have lunch on the boat (Set Menu lunch,  6 person/table) 
• 11:45-12:10: Back to Ha Long International Port.
• 12:30: Shuttle bus take you back to your hotel in Bai Chay 

Afternoon tour 

• 11h-11h30: Pick up at your hotels in Bai Chay area, Halong city
• 11h40: Arrive at Ha Long International Port.
• 12h00 – 12h15: Ha Binh cruise starts to visit Halong bay – the World Heritage Site
• 12h30: Have lunch on the boat (Set Menu lunch,  6 person/table) 
• 13h30: Visit Stone dog islet, Incense burner islet – the image in the Vietnam currency 200.000d
• 13h40:Visit Ba Hang area – where you can do kayaking or bamboo boat or relax on the cruise.
• 14h20: Visit Fighting Cock Islet – a symbol of Halong Bay
• 14h40: Visit Thien Cung grotto – one of the most beautiful caves in Halong Bay
• 16h30: The cruise arrives at Ha Long International Port
• 17h00: Shuttle bus takes you back to the hotels

> Tour details: https://vivuhalong.com/en/tours/halong-bay-day-tour-4-hour-cruise/

Which route to choose? 

There would be different routes for visiting Halong Bay in one day, you can choose to visit the route of Halong Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay. All the routes have similar natural landscapes with limestone islets on green water. However, each cruising route has its own advantage.

Let’s check which route might suit you!

Ha Long Bay route

• Departure: Ha Long International Port & Tuan Chau International Port
• Attractions: Sung Sot Cave, Thien Cung Cave, Trinh Nu Cave, Titop Island, Luon Cave, etc.
• Time to visit the bay: 4 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours, 8-hour cruise 

This route is the most popular day cruise itinerary when visiting Halong Bay. The tour starts from Halong Port or Tuan Chau Port. Following local authority, the route is named Route 1 and Route 2.

• Route 1 (4-hour cruise): Habour > Stone Dog islet > Ba Hang > > Thien Cung cave
• Route 2 (6-hour cruise): Habour > Stone Dog islet > Fighting Cocks islet > Sung Sot (Amazing) cave > Luon cave > Titov island

*This route has the most beautiful landscape of Halong Bay but it is crowded in the summer when domestic tourists are in high season 

Bai Tu Long Bay route 

• Route to visit Bai Tu Long Bay
• Departure: Ha Long International Port
• Attractions: Thien Canh Son Cave, Vong Vieng fishing village, Cong Do
• Itinerary: 6-hour cruise 

The route is named Route 4 with the itinerary: Habour > Cong Do area > Thien Canh Son cave > Vung Vieng fishing village.

*This itinerary is less crowded but there are only some boats operating this tour, mainly for foreigners 

Lan Ha Bay  route 

This is a new route for travellers to visit Halong Bay. The tour starts at Tuan Chau Port in Halong city or Beo Pier in Cat Ba island (Hai Phong). The day cruise to Lan Ha Bay will include a trip to visit the cave on a bamboo boat, go kayaking and relax on the beaches. The longer trip might have the cycling to the forests. on Cat Ba island

• Departure: Tuan Chau International Port (Ha Long city) or Ben Beo (Beo Pier)  in Cat Ba island 
• Attraction: Bright Cave, Ao Ech (kayaking), floating village 
• Experience: kayaking, visiting caves, swimming 
• Time to visit the bay: 5 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours

Source: https://vivuhalong.com/en/ha-long-bay-one-day-tour/