It’s no secret if you visit Hanoi, Vietnam for the first time, you have to make the four hour journey outside the city and check out Halong Bay. Unfortunately, the Bay can be very touristy and super overpriced. If you want to experience this wonderful UNESCO World Heritage Site cheaply without dodging cockroaches and getting food poisoning, then look no further young Padiwon, as I have found the secret and will be sharing it with you.
In the Hanoi area, the prices for a tour can range from $100 to $300 and the quality of the tour isn’t always the best. You wanna know the 411? Tour agents are pushing for overpriced bookings to line their pockets with the commission. Don’t waste your precious hard earned cash only to get ripped off. Still don’t believe me? Read some scary reviews on TripAdvisor here. #nobueno
In order to get a cheap tour, first and foremost, you must avoid Bai Chay aka Halong Bay City. The majority of tour boats depart from there. Instead, go to Cat Ba and get your mind blown by the awesome of this UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Since Cat Ba is relatively new to tourism, you can still get a Vietnam vibe without too much of a tourist feel.
How to get to Cat Ba from Hanoi
The best way to get to Cat Ba is to take the Hoang Long Bus from the Ben Xe Nuoc Ngam Bus Station in Hanoi. Make sure when you buy your ticket, it has the bus+speedboat+bus option. Also, I’m gonna be real honest here—you won’t know what’s going on with the buses half the time, but the people working there will direct you. Don’t get too comfy because we were constantly getting on and off the bus, but we managed to get there just fine. The cost of the round trip will be about 240,000 Dong ($12) there and 250,000 Dong ($13) back. Make sure you buy your departure and return ticket there.
- Buses depart at 05h20; 07h20; 11h20; 13h20
- Be there 20 minutes before. The departure times are more like guidelines and will depart when they feel like it.
- Be ready for a long journey and traffic. Bring some e-books or entertainment.
Transportation cost: $25 per person
Accommodation
Once on Cat Ba, the fun part is finding accommodation. While there are loads of hostels and backpacker places to stay, there’s an entire street by Cat Ba Ventures dedicated to hotels and restaurants. These places aren’t on TripAdvisor and we couldn’t find them on Google Maps. We stayed at a place called Tuong Vy run by a Vietnamese family. They cannot speak English well, so make sure you get a receipt after you pay. This hotel has big rooms with air conditioning for a decent price. (I heard they were the cheapest out of the hotels on the street.) The prices for hotels inflate on the weekends. We expected to pay about 800,000 Dong, but ended up paying 1,100,000 Dong. Just be careful when you negotiate. The price below is the the price for 3 nights.
Accomodation cost: $49
If you would like to find this hotel street here are the directions:
If you are facing Cat Bay Ventures, turn right and take the first left. Go up the hill, pass the night club and about 7 minutes after walking, you’ll see Tuong Vy on your right. Since this place is on a hill, it’s above and next to a convenience store.
This isn’t a sponsored post, but I loved this travel agency. Mr. Tung was very helpful and professional. He helped us book a tour. I highly recommend it. We chose option two and we were given a tour of Lan Hay Bay and Halong Bay. On this tour, you don’t have to worry about your valuables because they have lockers for small things and the boat was quaint and charming. It looked like something from the 1970s, but it was clean and well maintained. This awesome tour includes kayaking and a delicious seafood lunch on the boat. The food was delicious and the drinks were priced at about $1. If you want an opportunity for a great adventure, this tour also takes you to a secluded beach.
Tour cost: $29 per person
After doing this tour, I have nothing but good things to say about it! Cat Ba was incredible and we also enjoyed looking out at Lan Ha Bay from the beaches on Cat Ba.. If you ever get the opportunity to do this tour, you won’t regret it! If you hate crowds of people as much as I do, go this route. I learned my lesson after Thailand, when I went on a Koh Phi Phi tour and it wasn’t everything I expected it to be. On this tour, you’ll jump off the boat, eat a great lunch and hopefully make some great friends along the way. We spent a minimal amount of money for a great time. You can’t beat this price anywhere.
Total cost: $103
35 Comments on How to Get a Cheap Halong Bay Tour
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That’s not bad! I paid 130 USD roughly for a 2 night 3 day Bai Tu Long Bay cruise which I thought was well worth it too! But I also shopped around ALOT to find that deal. If I am traveling with a friend I probably would have done your way though!
How long did it take you to find that deal and where did you find it? I would love to read more about that! 😀
Wow this is amazing. I have never been to Vietnam but would like to go and now I know the best way to see the sites without the crowds. I hate crowds. Love the details you provided and your recommendations. Will be bookmarking for future. Happy Roving!!!
I hate crowds too! Cat Ba was not crowded and I enjoyed my time there thoroughly! Thanks so much for reading these recommendations!
Fantastic tip Gina! I would have never thought to recommend Cat Ba to access Halong Bay. I can’t believe how much cheaper it is to do this option. I remember we paid quite a bit to do the Halong Bay cruise. We were really happy with it, but it wasn’t a cheap option that’s for sure. Thanks for the share
For sure! Some of the tours you get from the city are incredibly expensive, but they will be worth it. I think on Cat Ba you can get just as great of quality without the huge price tag.
I did a Halong Bay cruise a couple of years ago. In one spot we moored next to a backpacker boat which was packed with noisy guys who were jumping off the side of the boat to cool off. It looks like they were having fun though.
Hahaha. We were definitely jumping off the side of the boat to cool off too! It was so much fun! We really enjoyed it! Would you do it too? 😉
I admit that I have no interest in touring Halong Bay. I would, however love to visit a few of the less touristy spots. Cat Ba looks more my speed, and I’ve always enjoyed visiting UNESCO sites. I guess it pays to shop around when looking for a tour. Such a huge range of prices.
Halong Bay isn’t for everyone since it has a bad rep for being too touristy. Cat Ba is an amazing speed for those who hate hoards of people. It took me awhile when searching the internet for this, but I found it!
Interesting and useful tips you have shared here. Have not yet been to Halong bay but when I do, I know where to look. Bookmarking it.
Thanks so much for bookmarking it! I hope this helps you and helps you enjoy your time there!
These are great tips. My best friend is living in Vietnam, teaching english abroad and I really want to visit her soon. Hopefully she will be impressed with my knew knowledge and money saving tips!
I think she’ll definitely be impressed and you guys can take this tour together. It’s light on the wallet and amazing on the eyes! You definitely can’t beat it! 😀
That’s something that puts me off about Thailand – too many tourists! But this looks like you managed to escape them! Great tips, Thanks!
It put me off about Thailand too. I definitely learned my lesson after Koh Phi Phi. I just wanted a pleasant experience in a foreign country and I found it. I hope you try this too!
I love posts like this that are really informative with prices & times! I visited Halong Bay about 8 years ago so I think it’s time for another trip there 🙂
How was your trip to Halong Bay 8 years ago? Were there a lot of tourists? I heard it’s becoming more touristy now. I hope this guide helps you in your second trip!
I should’ve gone to Cat Ba. I went with a cheaper company from Halong Bay City and I wasn’t impressed with Halong Bay at all, and everyone that I met in Vietnam who loved it went to Cat Ba. I may have to give it another try…
Bummer that Halong Bay City turned out to be a bust. 🙁 Cat Ba is definitely the place to be. The island is nice and so are the beaches! There’s loads to do!
This looked really helpful! I’ve never been to Vietnam but I want to go. And when I do, I don’t want to deal with cockroaches or food poisoning or pay too much for a really touristy tour. Your photos look gorgeous too. I had no idea that the water in Vietnam was so blue.
Yes! Cockroaches, food poisoning and lots of money aren’t my cup of tea either. I was disappointed after Koh Phi Phi not because the tour was bad, but because of all the people. Thanks for checking out my photos! The water in Vietnam was incredible! I loved swimming in it!
Great tips! I have been in Cat Ba and Halong Bay 🙂 I really liked Can Ba island especially trekking in National park 🙂 Halong Bay was ok just the weather wasn’t so good, so we didn’t get those “amazing” views 🙂 I like to read tips like this, it helps to save some money and avoid scammers 🙂
The national park was also a great park! When we hiked it, we thought we were going to die because it was so hot and the mosquitos wanted to eat us alive! I hope you can share this to help others figure out what to do on Cat Ba!
I love that Cat Ba Ventures took you to a secluded beach, these are the kind of experiences I live for and since you did it cheaply, that’s fantastic. $100 Total is a steal!
Thanks so much! It totally was a steal for $100! Food was also super cheap and we enjoyed eating calamari for next to nothing every night! I also love Vietnam’s Tiger Beer! 🙂
I visited a few years back when there were hardly any tourists! It is good to see that things haven’t changed too much. So beautiful isn’t it? Thanks for sharing
That’s fantastic to know! It still hasn’t changed much for sure! Where did you go on Cat Ba?
Ahh Ha Long Bay looks sooo pretty! This has been one of the top places I wanted to see for the past year plus! Sounds like a really great tour — thanks for sharing! 🙂
I hope you get to visit! It felt like something out of a movie! I’m pretty sure one of the James Bond movies was filmed there!
This is so useful! As I was planning a trip to Vietnam this year and needs to be super cheap (so I can go to Europe next year). Will definitely use this guide!
I’ve pinned it also.
Thanks so much for reading this! I hope it is useful for you and you can go! Thanks for pinning it and I look forward to seeing blog posts from your trip there!
When I visited Halong Bay, I took a tour for $25 that included transfer two ways, boat tour, lunch and kayak. I guess it’s all about asking in many agencies before booking – that’s how I got a good price.
Anyway, your tips are very useful and well detailed! Good job!
For someone planning a trip to Vietnam in the near future, this post is really helpful. Am going to keep your tip in mind and head out to Cat Ba instead of Halong Bay city.
Thanks for providing the directions for the hotel street, a big help indeed.
This is a really great post Gina! I am actually looking at visiting vietnam laster in the year and this would be such a great money saver / less touristy thing to do. Thank you for the tip off – that’s great!
Kristie you.theworld.wandering