Halong Bay, Vietnam – Dragon Legend Boat Cruise

I am in Vietnam! And loving every minute 🙂 We spent the first night in the hustle and bustle of Hanoi City and then travelled a little south to the amazing Halong Bay

A trip to this Bay was an absolute must for my trip, this world heritage site that consists of over 1000 individual islands has long been listed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. After much deliberation and research into which itinerary and boat would be best to go for I decided on the Dragon Legend Cruise with Indochina Junk.  They ofer a trip that is in the opposite direction to all the other live aboards. We travelled to Bai Tu Long Bay, which occupies three quarters of Halong Bay and we were the only boat to take this route out of the hundreds that were docked at the main port. It was so great not to see another boat during our sail as there is nothing worse than seeing countless other tourists, especially somewhere as beautiful and picturesque as Vietnam.

It took around 3 hours to get from Hanoi to the port and Indochina Junk picked us up from our Hotel in a super swish minibus/taxi equipped with recliner seats and wifi. I’d love to tell you how fab the scenery was on the journey but after a crazy few travel days I spent most of it snoozing!

The boat itself was lovely, nice and large with all the thoughtful touches of a luxury hotel. Every room had a great view of the bay and authentic Vietnamese decor. The facilities and staff were really great. We ate inside mostly due to the breeze being quite sharp but there was also an outside seating area and a high deck with sun beds, great if the sun was out 😉 There was also a large Jacuzzi that was lush, no bubbles, but really hot water. Not surprisingly, this was my favourite spot for island gazing whilst sipping on a cocktail.

As you may be able to tell the weather wasn’t all that fab whilst we were there, such a shame as I can imagine how gorgeous this setting must be with blue skies and sea! That didn’t stop us from heading out onto the waters in our canoes though as the majority our our exploring was done whilst kayaking (the best way to explore!) The boat staff also organised a trip which lead us to these breathtaking views of the whale island. From here we explored some inner caves, where Vietnamese families used to live before the site was made a tourist attraction.

Even without the sunshine, these few days were so special. The Bay didn’t disappoint in beauty and we couldn’t have chosen a better company to tour with. I need to say a big thanks to all the staff on board and the team that helped with my booking, a truly memorable experience!

I am now heading off to the second part of the tour, a home stay at the village of Yen Duc. Stay tuned!

For the finer details of my tour and all booking requires click here