Explore Halong Bay in a Day: Best One-day Tour Packages

I joined a local tour, and the approximate schedule is as follows:
8:30 Pick up from the hotel
11:30 Arrival at Halong Bay
12:00 Boarding the boat
12:15-13:00 Lunch with a view of the karst peaks outside the window
13:00-14:00 Kayaking or wooden boat (P5-8)
14:30-16:00 Surprise Cave
16:20-17:00 Small island beach, climb to the top for a panoramic view (P1-4)
17:10-18:00 Sunset party and return to the dock
20:30 Back to Hanoi
⭐️ I booked a day tour with a local travel agency in Hanoi, T-Travel (P17).

After communicating with the staff, I reserved the five-star luxury cruise ship Apollo (a three-deck cruise, buffet lunch, luxury sunset party, same route, P10-16) for 1,050,000 VND per person. This price is the lowest I found for a five-star ship. For a three-star ship, it was 900,000 VND per person, so just a little more for a five-star cruise!

⭐️ The night before departure, the guide will contact you via WhatsApp to confirm the pick-up time for the next day, which is usually between 7:30-8:30. Traffic in Hanoi can be very congested, so delays are common. You will arrive at the Halong Bay pier around 11:30, exchange tickets, and then board the ship, which is very luxurious, with many options for the buffet.

⭐️ After lunch, the itinerary is quite tight, just follow the guide. Some places require climbing stairs, so it’s recommended to prepare both athletic shoes and beach shoes.
⭐️ As expected of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the karst peaks of Halong Bay are absolutely stunning!