Halong Bay day tour review & travel tips: cruising, kayaking & cave exploration

Halong Bay is one of the most popular and must-visit destinations in Northern Vietnam. As a result, there are various Halong Bay cruise tour options available, making it overwhelming to choose the right one. To help you decide, this article shares a high-value, carefully selected Halong Bay day tour that I’ve personally experienced and enjoyed. This tour includes cruising, kayaking, and a cave visit, making it perfect for independent and adventurous travelers. I will also share a detailed review to help you know what to expect and decide if this tour is the right fit for you.

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Halong Bay cruise tour recommendation

Since Halong Bay is the iconic must-visit destination in Northern Vietnam, despite our busy Vietnam itinerary, Ale and I made sure to save a full day to experience its breathtaking scenery.

After some careful research, we chose this Halong Bay day tour that included a mix of fun activities, lunch, and convenient pick-up and drop-off services from Hanoi. It turned out to be a great decision—we were really happy with the experience and had an amazing time exploring!

As for pricing, this day tour offers excellent value for money, and sometimes there are even discounts available here—definitely worth checking out! If your time in Vietnam is limited, I highly recommend joining the day tour we experienced—it’s a fantastic option that won’t let you down.

However, if you have more time in Northern Vietnam, consider a 2-day, 1-night Halong Bay cruise. This allows you to fully immerse yourself in the experience—cruising through the bay, and enjoy the breathtaking scenery both day and night.

Halong Bay one day cruise tour review

I’d give this tour an 8/10 rating. Below is a detailed review of the Halong Bay day cruise, covering the activities, the quality of the bus and cruise, meals, and tour guide service.

Halong Bay day tour activities

Rating: 9/10

This Halong Bay day tour, operated by Dragonfly Cruise, includes a Halong Bay cruise ticket, cave exploration, kayaking (or bamboo boat ride), a tour guide, lunch, and pick-up & drop-off services from Hanoi, Vietnam. It’s great value-for-money and definitely worth joining!

Below are details of each activity included in this tour.

1. Cruising around Halong Bay

The main activity of the Halong Bay trip is boarding a boat and cruising around the bay, where you can admire the unique limestones that rise up from water.

It’s a relaxing and hassle-free journey, and the boat’s speed is perfect for enjoying the picturesque views and capturing stunning photos.

During the cruise, you’ll get to see some of the most famous rocks, such as the Fighting Cock Rocks and Dinh Huong Island. The latter is even featured on the Vietnamese 200,000 VND note, so don’t be surprised if you spot people snapping photos of the note alongside the real thing!

As for the Fighting Cock Rocks, it looks like Kissing Rocks from certain angles for me—it’s all about imagination! You might even see them as something entirely different. Let me know what you think when you see them!

2. Kayaking or taking a bamboo boat

Other than cruising around Halong Bay by boat, the tour also offers two activity options to choose- either kayaking by yourself or taking a bamboo boat rowed by a local boatman. For this, you don’t need to decide when you book the tour, you can simply decide on the day of the tour based on what you feel like doing. If you’re up for some adventure, go kayaking; if you’d rather sit back and enjoy the scenery, the bamboo boat is a great choice. Both options allow you to appreciate the breathtaking views up close and at a slower pace, passing through rock caves to reach secluded areas.

For us, kayaking was the highlight of this Halong Bay cruise—the activity we were most excited about. We specifically chose this tour for the chance for it.

And I can confidently say, it did not disappoint! The experience was fantastic. The water in this area is calm, making it easy to navigate if you already know the basics of kayaking. Plus, with two people in a kayak, you can take turns snapping photos—just be extra careful! Hold onto your phone, GoPro, or camera tightly, because if it falls into the water, there’s no way to get it back.

One of our favorite moments was passing through a rock cave into a secluded area. As we entered and looked up, it felt like stepping into a hidden paradise—completely peaceful and quiet. We were in awe. Before we knew it, our 45-minute kayaking session was over, and we were left wishing for more!

It was during this activity that we truly understood why Halong Bay is a must-visit destination in Northern Vietnam.

If you’re up for it and feel comfortable doing it, we highly recommend giving kayaking a try. Just take it slow, stay safe, and always wear your life jacket.

3. Exploring Thien Cung Cave, Vietnam

Visiting the massive Thien Cung Cave (Heavenly Palace Cave), filled with stunning stalactites and stalagmites, is another famous thing to do in Halong Bay, Northern Vietnam.

Thien Cung Cave is massive, and the entire walkthrough took about 30 minutes. From the start to finish, we were constantly amazed by the stunning views around every corner.

Even though I had seen limestone caves before I was blown away by nature’s remarkable ability to craft something magical like this.

To explore the cave, you won’t even need a flashlight —it’s well-lit with a mix of natural and artificial lights, making it safe for visitors to walk around and perfect for capturing photos.

When we finished the cave tour and stepped out of the cave, it almost felt surreal—like, “Wait, was what I just saw real?” or “Was that a dream? Did I really just explore a cave?”

Overall, Thien Cung Cave is absolutely worth visiting! I’m really glad our Halong Bay day tour included this attraction, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

The quality of the bus and cruise

Rating: 8/10

The cruise operated by Dragonfly Cruise company has two levels. The lower deck features an indoor dining area where you can enjoy the lunch provided by the tour while relaxing and gazing at the landscapes. If you’re looking for a wider view and great photo opportunities, the upper deck is the perfect spot. You can even relax on the sunbeds.

The entire cruise was smooth and enjoyable, allowing us to fully appreciate the breathtaking scenery.

As for the bus that transported us, it was also comfortable and clean, adding to the overall great experience.

Lunch

Rating: 7/10

A variety of dishes are served at each table, shared among 4-5 people. If you’re traveling in a small group of 1-2 people, like us, you will be seated with other travelers—which is actually a great chance to meet new people! We ended up sharing a table with three young travelers from Singapore, who gave us some tips and food recommendations for our upcoming visit to Singapore.

The food was fairly simple, with nothing particularly standing out, but it was all hygienic, safe to eat, and tasted fine. For us, food wasn’t the main focus of this trip—as long as it was clean, safe, and enjoyable, we were fine with it. Though the canned drinks aren’t included in the tour, you will need to pay extra cash for it.

One nice detail we appreciated was the fresh fruit and iced tea were served after everyone returned to the cruise from the outdoor activities- kayaking/taking a bamboo boat. It was the perfect way to cool down and relax.

Tour guide and the service

Rating: 8/10

The tour guide for our Halong Bay day tour was really fun, energetic, had good humour and spoke good English that is easy to understand. He was also informative, sharing interesting insights about Vietnamese culture, calling out the names of the limestone rocks as we saw them, and providing a detailed guide through Thien Cung Cave (Heavenly Palace Cave). Overall, he was an excellent guide!

Our bus driver was also great, he drove smoothly and safe. In a place like Vietnam, where traffic can be chaotic, having a safe and reliable driver is crucial—and he was excellent! I didn’t feel nervous or unsafe throughout the entire journey.

Quality of the tour members on the Halong Bay day tour

Rating: 8/10

The other travelers on our Halong Bay cruise tour were from both the East and West, and are all really friendly, open-minded and are all the independent travelers who love to plan their own trips.

Other than the Singaporeans who shared travel tips to us, the Japanese girl was also kind and helped us take great photos. Everyone seemed easy to get along with, and the atmosphere was pleasant—it was a great experience overall.

Essentials things to bring when joining a Halong Bay day tour

As it’s mostly really hot in Vietnam, I suggest you to bring sunscreen, hat, sunglasses when joining a Halong Bay cruising tour, especially if you want to experience kayaking or have a ride on the bamboo boat which doesn’t have an indoor space to hide.

Also, bring some cash (can be VND or small amounts of USD) for tips or souvenirs, or drinks.

What should you wear for a Halong Bay cruise trip?

As the day tour includes kayaking/bamboo boat ride, it’s best to keep it casual and comfortable. Avoid tight pants and skirts.

I wore a long dress, which I later regretted.

Is tipping required for Halong Bay day tour? If so, how much should you give?

The prices for all the tours don’t include the tips for the tour guide and the driver, it is usually up to travelers whether to give tips to them or not.

For us, we tipped around $5-20 USD in cash, depending on how satisfied we were with the tour and the service. If we are really unhappy with the service, we don’t tip them at all, which happened once.

Note: in Vietnam, people accept USD notes, so make sure to bring some small notes (like a few 1 USD notes) with you.

Have a very best trip! I hope you enjoy the Halong Bay day tour as much as we did!!