12/13/2025 - 12/15/2025

We left Tam Coc bright and early with a private driver to head north east about 3 hours to Ha Long Bay for a 2 night cruise to Lan Ha Bay and Cat Ba Island.

We arrived at the port to cloudy drizzly weather. We took a tender boat about 40 minutes out to Lan Ha Bay to board the cruise ship. The ship was really nice and very small (about 40 passengers). As we arrived, the staff were at the door waving as we arrived and throwing little rose petals as we walked through the entry. We were ushered straight to the dining room for a really good lunch buffet.

After that we could have gone kayaking or swimming, but it was pretty cold out, so we opted to sit on the balcony outside our room and drink wine. Our room was really nice! While we were on the balcony, this lady came by in a little boat selling beer and wine … it was SO cool. We bought a bottle of wine from her that she hoisted up in a long net. Unfortunately, we didn’t think to get much for photos because we were so fascinated with the whole situation. We got a few photos of her selling to some other people.

The next day we took the “day trip boat” a couple hours to Cat Ba Island. The weather was still a little chilly, but the boat was MUCH nicer than I expected. We arrived on Cat Ba Island and did a short bike ride to a local village where we tasted the local rice wine (one jug had a snake in it – we did NOT taste that one!), wandered around a bit, and bought some local pearl jewelry (who knows if it’s real – but its pretty!).

We spent the afternoon/evening on the main cruise ship enjoying the jacuzzi and incredible views. The weather got warm, the clouds cleared and the views were spectacular.

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Lan Ha Bay

Tam Coc

Hanoi