Whilst the time of year was against us we had to visit Ha Long Bay, it would have been a crime not to. The weather didn't disappoint, freezing, grey and windy but with a little imagination you can tell just how stunning this trip would have been with better weather. Talking to various people along our travels we were advised to book atleast a 2* boat trip or higher to avoid some of the nightmare stories including mice infested boats, inedible food and extra charges. There is a mind boggling array of operators, trip combinations and durations so we eventually settled for a two day, one night onboard 3* package with V-Spirit.
The trip was great, nice passengers, clean room and well organised. Even Health & Safety taken care of with a mallet to knock out a panicking husband in times of emergency!
We saw almost every couple attempt the famous Titanic pose so resisted the urge.
The real shame, apart from the weather, is the multitude of tourists and boats all doing the same thing (the reason we don't usually take the organised package tours). The trip included visits to Hang Sung Sot cave
and Soi Sim island. There were so many boat loads of tourists that the climb to the top of Soi Sim produced a 'tourist jam' as there was insufficient room at the summit after the 'organised' climb and the beach photo is taken just before the hoards descended on the minuscule beach.
All in all a fantastic place to visit but spend more money to get the privacy/reduced tourist numbers and visit at the right time of year.
Back to Hanoi for some peace and quiet ;)
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