15 Boat Tours in Hanoi Worth Booking

1.Ha Long Bay Day Cruise – Swimming, Meal, Kayaking

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 7,415 reviews · from $41Our pick

A practical review of Hanoi’s Ha Long Bay day cruise, covering caves, kayaking, swimming, lunch, transport, guides, and value at $41.

“My partner and I had a great time! Our guide, Sunny was amazing! He gave us lots of informations about the Vietnamese culture, which we loved. The cruise was really fun! The view is amazing and all the activities were really cool. The only thing which wasn’t as amazing was the food on the cruise… But other than that, I would highly recommend it! Thank you, Sunny!”

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2.Ninh Binh Full-Day Tour from Hanoi to Hoa Lu, Tam Coc & Mua Cave Via Boat & Bike

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4,384 reviews · from $33Best value

Review of a Ninh Binh day trip from Hanoi covering Hoa Lu, Tam Coc by boat, village cycling, Mua Cave, lunch, and practical costs.

“I liked it better then ha long bay! Cycling was great. Go hiking as high as possible. I'd even recommend to stay there for a night!”

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3.Amanda Cruise – Ha Long, Lan Ha Bay – All Inclusive 2D1N & 3D2N

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4,358 reviews · from $56

Amanda Cruise explores Ha Long and Lan Ha Bay with caves, kayaking, meals, transfers, and overnight cabins, but ship quality can vary.

“We have marked this down one star as the company emailed us with one day's notice to say they were changing our boat to the Hera Grand. The reason being that the one that had previously been confirmed to us was then allocated to a larger group that had come in. That may be good business for them, but isn't customer friendly for people who have booked so far in advance. Other than that, we still enjoyed the trip. The cabin was very nice and the food was excellent. All staff were efficient, friendly and approachable. One big drawback was the lack of internet, even though it is advertised as…”

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4.Cozy Bay Halong 5-Star Day Cruise, Buffet, Cave, Kayak, Swimming

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3,512 reviews · from $48

Review of Cozy Bay’s Ha Long Bay day cruise from Hanoi, with cave, Ti Top Island, kayaking, buffet lunch, sunset party, and practical tips.

“Ideal trip for someone low on time but yet wanting to catch the best of halong bay. Every moment is fun filled and full of picturesque views. For the kayaking/ Bamboo boat part, I would recommend kayaking if no kids else the bamboo boat is Read more”

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5.2-Day Halong & Lan Ha Bay 5-Star Cruise with Balcony

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 3,300 reviews · from $188

Review of a 2-day Halong and Lan Ha Bay luxury cruise from Hanoi, with balcony cabin, kayaking, caves, meals, tai chi, and practical tips.

“Food was very good. The bamboo boat trip was not as spectacular as I thought it would be”

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6.Mon Chéri Cruise 5 star: Unique 2 Days Tuan Chau – Halong bay – Lan Ha Bay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2,422 reviews · from $195

Review of Mon Chéri Cruise’s 2-day Halong and Lan Ha Bay trip, with kayaking, caves, fine dining, sunrise views, costs, and practical tips.

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7.Doris Cruise 5 star cruise 2 days visiting Halong Bay Lan Ha Bay private balcony

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2,338 reviews · from $235

Review of Doris Cruise’s 2-day Halong and Lan Ha Bay trip, with private balcony rooms, kayaking, meals, transfers, and practical booking advice.

“Very nice rooms , vegan food, well planned activities and the sundeck.”

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8.CozyBay Cruise-The Best Small Group 2D/1N inHalong-All inclusive

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2,199 reviews · from $122

Review of CozyBay Cruise, a budget 2-day Ha Long Bay trip with Hanoi transport, meals, kayaking, cave visits, and private cabins.

“Cabin a little basic but a fabulous small boat experience with a nice group of people. Loved the kayak experience”

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9.Halong Bay – Hera Cruise – All Inclusive Multi Days Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,967 reviews · from $56

Review of Hera Cruise’s 2-day Halong Bay tour from Hanoi, with Ti Top Island, caves, kayaking, meals, Tai Chi, and practical booking tips.

“Was a beautiful cruise with a fantastic crew, nice views all around, room was very comfortable and exceeded my expectations. Good food and good drinks! All around great time”

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10.Ninh Binh Day Trip: Hoa Lu-Trang An/Tam Coc-Mua Cave-Cycling-Boat

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,886 reviews · from $43

Review of a $43 Ninh Binh day trip from Hanoi with Hoa Lu temples, cycling, Trang An boat ride, Mua Cave hike, and buffet lunch.

“I'm very torn on how to write this review... Our guide was great- good English, very energetic. Van was comfortable. Temple stop was nice, good information by our guide. I think we stayed too long though. Everyone was just standing around and we could have gotten on the road to the next stop. The cycling was only ok. Very old bikes and not really much to see on the route, especially when trying to dodge potholes. It was extremely hot but that is not the fault of the company. Lunch was not good. Not only was the food sub par but I also found something in one of the dishes…”

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11.Renea Cruises – BEST Small Boat in Bai Tu Long & Halong Bay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,485 reviews · from $139

Review of Renea Cruises in Bai Tu Long Bay, with quiet scenery, kayaking, cave visits, meals, cabins, costs, and practical booking advice.

“Enjoyed our cruise with Renea Cruises and our engaging host Cong. Kayaking was very enjoyable as was the visit to the caves. Bai Tu Long was much less crowed but still spectacular. Food was good, drinks a little pricey. Tour length was perfect for us, although really only one day, as we left at 12.30 and arrived back the following day at 11.30.”

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12.3-Day Ninh Binh, Ha Long, & Lan Ha Bay 5-Star Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 1,401 reviews · from $313

Review of a 3-day Hanoi tour to Ninh Binh, Ha Long Bay, and Lan Ha Bay, with a 5-star cruise, kayaking, meals, and transfers.

“I really liked how well organised whole trip was. We were passed from person to person. No chance you will be confused or lost. Best experience i’ve had so far.”

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13.Islands & Caves Ha Long Cruise with Lunch & Kayaking

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 1,317 reviews · 4 - 13 hours · from $34

Cruise UNESCO-listed Ha Long Bay from Hanoi with seafood lunch, Heavenly Palace Cave, kayaking, and limestone island views for $34.

“it was wonderful..wish I could have climb up the steps like the others in the group but we both enjoyed the trip..”

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14.Halong Bay Day Tour By Diamond Era Cruise,Titop,Sung Sot & kayak

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,301 reviews · from $48

Review of Diamond Era’s $48 Halong Bay day tour from Hanoi, with Sung Sot Cave, kayaking, Titop Island, buffet lunch, and practical tips.

“Loved the trip. Pickup to drop off. All the activities, lunch and tea. It was a bit crowded for me. But I guess it will be as I went on Dec 25th.”

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15.Best seller Halong Bay Day Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,233 reviews · from $37

Review of a $37.59 Halong Bay day cruise from Hanoi with Sung Sot Cave, Titop Island, lunch, transfers, kayaking, and practical tips.

“Do not book this tour on weekend. It was very disorganised. We booked it on Saturday. Our group were asked to switch tour guides 3 times without prior notification. The second tour guide didn’t even come to pick us up. We were told to ‘just follow’ the driver who couldn’t speak English without a proper explanation. We tried to ask the first tour guide what happened but he didn’t seem to understand English well. There was a serious communication issue. The second tour guide took us for the cruise tour but refused to let us go back to Hanoi with her bus. We had to wait around 15 minutes for…”

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