by blogger BertBo
Amsterdam, Netherlands
We had booked a 3-day trip through Halong Bay with Indochina Sails on board of their Indochina Sails 1 or 2 and we stayed in two superior rooms. A good midsize boat with in total 15 cabins.
It was GREAT! Luxury boat , excellent service, nice cabins, great program, fine sun deck with deck chairs, cool lounge, sunny clear weather and above all the stunning beauty of Halong Bay . Halong Bay is actually quite a risky location as is is often foggy and it is known for its rainy days. Well, that is just a matter of "luck". In all kinds of weather Halong Bay has a certain magic, and when sailing through you sort of expect a dragon to appear any time.....
The first day, we soon arrived at Luon Cave after an excellent lunch. We explored the area in a sea kayak; great fun and good opportunity to be active. Stay on the sun deck having an early afternoon drink and enjoy the stunning sunset in Halong Bay.
Getting up early the second day we started with a tai chi lesson. Quite an exercise as it was already 30+ Celsius at 7am. We loved it and being home in the Netherlands again my wife and I just started a full course.
During this second day we explored much more of Halong bay using a 'day boat'. I had no idea what a day boat was supposed to be and had imagined a tender or other kind of small motor boat. On the contrary: it proofed to be a mid size fully equipped ship with a nice cool lounge, beautiful sun deck and full staff. And that for about 12 people. Not bad at all.
During this day we really went into Halong Bay visiting a remote floating village, doing some kayaking, visiting a Pearl farm, doing some swimming and all being surrounded by the most beautiful scenery. You did not know what to photograph first or last. I would not want to have missed this second day as it opened up Halong Bay to us.
The third day we visited Surprise Cave . I usually am not so much into caves, if you have seen one of them you have seen all of them, but I have to admit that Surprise Cave was really something special. The size alone is unbelievable and the beautiful rock formations are stunning.
This three-day cruise with Indochina Sails was for sure of of the highlights of out trip through Vietnam. Perfectly organized, and the crew had not lost its personal attention to detail even having done this trip XXX times over. You will regret doing the 2 day only cruise as you miss the most beautiful parts of Halong Bay and all the fun exploring it.
This three-day cruise with Indochina Sails was for sure of of the highlights of out trip through Vietnam. Perfectly organized, and the crew had not lost its personal attention to detail even having done this trip XXX times over. You will regret doing the 2 day only cruise as you miss the most beautiful parts of Halong Bay and all the fun exploring it.
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