Halong Bay trip for budget traveler
You are young free spirit and don’t need luxury services to make yourself satisfied? You travel for experience and want to save up some money? Then you can consider this following suggestion for budget traveler to find which match your needs. To save more money, Discover Halong supposes that you want to limit trip’s duration from 1 day to 2 days, and move to Halong Bay from Hanoi.
Discover Halong City
- Transportation: From Hanoi, you can take local bus from Luong Yen station or My Dinh station to Bai Chay station in Halong City that runs frequently during daytime, fee for one way is 5 USD/person. To discover the city, you can rent a motorbike, for around 7-10 USD/day and drive to any corner, just ask for help from the hotel’s receptionist.
- Hostel and hotel: There are many budget hostels/hostels in Hon Gai area or on Vuon Dao road in Bai Chay area with 10 USD/double room/night. If you want to swim, you should stay in Bai Chay area, Bai Chay new beach is just few minutes walking from Vuon Dao road. On the other hand, Hon Gai area is more local. You can find many cheap and delicious restaurants, particularly for seafood, and many appealing attractions to visit there.
- Cuisine: Famous dish is Squid Cake (Squid Ball) served with sticky rice. Best seafood-street is Tran Hung Dao, Hon Gai area (in terms of quality and price). You can also check out some floating restaurants found along Tran Quoc Nghien road.
Note: It will be a great experience if you want to discover real local life in Halong, but don’t expect much about English or any other foreign language there. Moreover, we suggest you never miss a Halong bay cruise trip.
Hour-cruise trip
Those who choose hour-cruise are usually self-traveler. You take local bus from Hanoi to Halong City, buy ticket to visit caves and beaches at Bai Chay Tourist Wharf then start your cruise trip there. You can bargain the price for hours cruise, food, or fee for any optional activities by yourself (Not easy but possible to do). This can be the best way to protect your pocket when you can do your trip with 20 USD, for 4 – 6 hours discovering the Bay on a sharing cruise. However, forget the word “quality” once you choose this option.
Overnight cruise trip
A Halong Bay overnight on cruise trip is always worth to invest in. You will not miss spectacular scenery at sunset and sunrise time. You can have great moment for relaxing and enjoy peaceful atmosphere of the bay, which was twice certified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Moreover, you will not be too tired because of two ways on bus from Hanoi and back to Hanoi in one day.
Price for this type of trip is calculated by cabin, usually designed for 2 people for 1 cabin. In Halong Bay, there are many options available for you, with a large price range, starting from 90 USD/cabin for 2 people. This price is for a 2days 1 night trip, and for 3 days 2 nights, normally price is double.
Tips to find good overnight cruise deal
It is so wonderful if you can visit Halong bay in a glorious cruise. Booking soon to get early bird price, cruising in shoulder season (low season), or contacting directly to cruises companies are some of our advices. For more tips, check our post about tips to get good cruise deals. Wish you all the lucks!
