Day Tour Serenity Cruise at Lan Ha Bay from Hanoi, Hai Phong

We did the Cat Ba/Lan Ha Premium Day Cruise with pick up/drop-off in Hanoi by Cat Ba Express and Serenity Cruises, and had a wonderful experience! Transportation was smooth, and the cruise was very relaxing. Our request for vegetarian lunch was accommodated well. There were about 80 people on our boat, which was not too crowded. We especially appreciated our guide Ha’s service. Would highly recommend! I recommend confirming if they can drop you off directly at your Hanoi hotel, as they were unable to on Sunday due to street closures and we did not know prior. Also please note all drinks are an extra cost.

Wonderful experience, everything went smooth, from start to finish. We got a great tour without many other tourist biat due to the early starting time. The boat is very comfy and new. Food was great, staff even better. They really took care of us from start to finish. Our guide had perfect english, very cheerful and motivated, you can tell they like what they do and share everything about this part of vietnam since some of em were born there. Again, thank you for this wonderful tour. 10/10

Tour was a highlight of our two weeks in Vietnam. Value of this excursion is phenomenal! The staff were friendly, the lead guide had a great sense of humour, and service was top notch. Our boat was the newest and nicest in all of Lan Ha Bay. If you find another serenity cruise listing with pictures of an older boat- that one is no longer in service, it's just the new boat now in operation. Everything from pick up to drop off at the end of the day (Cat Ba island for us) was perfection. Loved that the operator only books the boat to about 1/3 of capacity so there is lots of room for all passengers.

Everything was perfect,excellent preparation, no dead timing, the trip was perfectly managed! Our guide, Tony, demonstrated excellent human skills, empathic, excellent English,excellent entertainer -he was everywhere providing explanations and being thoughtful with every client and what I appreciated the most: sharing his true love for his motherland!! Good variety of the food with vegetarian choice . All activities were very carefully prepared ( fish massage, jumping in the water,kayaking,cycling) We enjoyed the most the kayaking,but not only; and being prepared: the name of the boat(serenity) is a prediction of what you can expect from this trip!

Billy was absolutely fantastic and truly made our trip from Hanoi to Lan Ha Bay unforgettable. From the moment we arrived, his humour and warm personality stood out, he had everyone smiling and instantly created such a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere. The organisation at the port was honestly the best I’ve experienced anywhere in Asia. Everything ran smoothly, efficiently, and without stress, which made a huge difference to the start of our day. Billy was incredibly helpful throughout—always attentive, approachable, and ready to go the extra mile to make sure everyone was comfortable and having a great time. He’s a real credit to the team, and I couldn’t recommend him highly enough. Thank you, Billy, for making our day so special!

Ha was a great tour guide, professional, warm, earnest. Food was surprisingly great (I had low expectations for a buffet). The cruise ship had great internet, which was a godsend because I had an urgent family matter during the cruise.

Had a lovely time! The crew was very helpful and made the day very enjoyable

We had an absolutely incredible day on the Serenity Cruise through Lan Ha Bay – easily the highlight of our Vietnam trip. Our guide, Cong Hua (aka “Happy”), truly lived up to his name. He was energetic, positive, and had such an infectious personality that made the whole day even better. The day started cruising through the stunning karst landscapes (those limestone cliffs are unreal), followed by kayaking around the bay which was a lot of fun. We also explored a small island, then had the chance to swim and jump off the boat – such a great experience. Lunch on board was excellent, with plenty of food and great attention to dietary requirements and allergies. After maybe one too many coffees, we jumped on a bicycle ride through Viet Hai village, which was a really cool way to see local life. The fish foot massage was a funny and memorable bonus! We finished the day cruising back with fresh fruit and tea, which was the perfect way to wind down. Everything was super well organised, including hotel pickup from Cat Ba and drop-off back in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Highly recommend this tour – it covers so much in one day and is an unforgettable way to experience Lan Ha Bay!

From Hanoi, we woke up early, around 5:30a to be picked up and shuttled over to Cat Ba. The journey was a bit long but not too bad. Once we arrived at the ferry, we were greeted by our guide, Tony. Tony was very knowledgeable and presented our itinerary very clearly. We had a nice kayak experience in the morning around 10:30a, a short walk, a short swim, and then lunch. Lunch was served around 12:30p and it was tasty and cooked fresh on board. After lunch, we took a nice 30 min nap on the top level of the boat and enjoyed the lovely scenery. We then arrived at the national park for a bike ride to a village where we experienced a fish massage and some local rice wine. Only complaint here is that the time was too short! We wrapped up the day with tea and fruit as the boat brought us back to the dock and dropped us off at our hotels. Despite the light on/off rain, Tony made sure we had a perfect day!

It was of the best experiences in Vietnam, it was complete in all senses. It was not a really good weather but we make an extra of visiting a village in middle of no where in the island of Cat Ba. One of the best experiences I could have , Tony is the MVP.