Lan Ha Bay day tour from Cat Ba, Hanoi - Serenity Boutique Cruise
Description
The Lan Ha Bay day tour from Cat Ba Island, Hai Phong, and Hanoi offers a distinctive itinerary on a spacious cruise, featuring a plethora of outdoor activities such as kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, and jumping. This tour stands out for its longest route to the less touristy area of Lan Ha Bay - Ha Long Bay, and its departure from Beo Wharf. Guests will have the opportunity to indulge in kayaking and swimming in the most picturesque area of Lan Ha Bay, followed by a delectable lunch of fresh seafood and Vietnamese dishes. The tour is facilitated by a friendly staff and a humorous local tour guide, ensuring a memorable experience. The group size is limited to under 45 people, despite the boat's capacity of 99 people.
Tour Options
Itinerary
5:30 AM - 5:45 AM: Pick-up at your hotel located in Hanoi Old Quarter. 6:00 AM: Pick-up at the Serenity Cruises Office (No. 214 Tran Quan Khai, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi).
Pick up at Hai Phong: Lan Ha Bay day tour at 16 Ben Binh, Minh Khai Ward, Hong Bang District, Hai Phong at 6:30 am.
8:15 - 8:45 am Pick up from Cat Ba Express office at No. 191, 1/4 (Mot Thang Tu) street, and hotels in the area of 1/4 (Mot Thang Tu) street - Tung Dinh - Nui Ngoc. If you stay out of this area, kindly contact us for the most convenient pick-up point.
9:00 Check-in Serenity Premium Cruise, enjoy welcome drinks and friendly smiles from our crew.
9:15 The trip starts! Our captain steers the cruise slowly, and the poetic scenery of Cai Beo ancient fishing village constantly appears with floating houses lying along the mountainside. You will be surprised at the peaceful beauty of this 7,000-year-old village. It's time to learn more about the local fishers, their daily life, and the cultural values shared by our experienced guides.
The cruise moves further into the core of bay where you can't help but be amazed by the gift of Mother Nature: a large bay area, the phenomenal emerald water embracing hundreds of rocky islands of various sizes and shapes.
10:30 The boat anchors at DARK CAVE AND BRIGHT CAVE area ( Sang – Toi Cave). Located in the border region between Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay, this is surely one of the best places for kayaking. Let’s spend one and a half hour doing kayaking to discover stunning limestone structure and interesting natural habitat there. "The subject can be changed due to of the sea currents, weather conditions and tide. It can be changed to visit Viet Hai Village & Cat Ba National Park in stead of Dark & Bright Cave"
12:00 Come back to Premium Serenity Cruises and relax 12:30 Lunch served with Cat Ba fresh seafood and Vietnamese tradition food. Kindly inform us if you have speacial request for food vegetarian.
13:30 The boat moves to the Ba Trai Dao Beach erea (Three Peach Islets) where you expect to see white sandy beaches and charming mountain scenery, swim among the cleanest part of Lan Ha Bay, snorkeling (snorkeling activity depends on the tide level and weather condition).
15:00 The cruise heads back to harbour by different route wehre you can keep admiring the romantic landscape of Lan Ha Bay. 16:00 Sunset Party.
17:00 Arrive at Beo wharf, say “Goodbye Lan Ha bay”, ends up an unforgetable trip.
18:45 The tour arrived back in Hai Phong.
20:20 The tour arrived back in Hanoi.
21:00 The tour arrived back in Ninh Binh.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
5:30 AM - 5:45 AM: Pick-up at your hotel located in Hanoi Old Quarter. 6:00 AM: Pick-up at the Serenity Cruises Office (No. 214 Tran Quan Khai, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi). Pick up at Hai Phong: Công ty TNHH Vận Tải Du Lịch Cát Bà - Bến xe Vận Tải Cát Bà, No. 16 Ben Binh, Minh Khai Ward, Hong Bang District, Hai Phong at 6:30 AM. Pick up at Cat Ba Island: Cat Ba Express office, No. 191, 1/4 Street, Cat Ba Town, Hai Phong at 8:30 AM.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(495)
Fantastic cruise with majestic views around, some kayaking in caves, swimming and great lunch. The ship is extremely clean and comfortable, and the crew is friendly. Absolutely worth it. And thanks to Tony Stark, he was our superhero
Amazing experience during one day. The boat was very clean and secure. Meal and refreshments were incredible, tasty and generous. The crew was very attentive especially Mr Happy who was a perfect dynamic guide all the day. He was abble to bounds back inlight of the changing climate context. We were very reassured with him all day. We highly recommand the serenity cruise to discover lan ha bay.
The tour only started once we got on the boat. The 3.5hrs travelling each way wasn't guided and felt impersonal. The boat trip was fantastic, great guide, great food and lots of time to relax. Much less crowded and peaceful compared with Halong Bay. Relaxed trip around the bay, no stops for caves, hiking etch. which we liked. More time to swim kayak and relax on the boat.
First of all, we would like to sincerely thank you for choosing to travel with us. We are delighted to know that you experienced exactly what we promised as the highlights of this tour: a peaceful, unspoiled bay and a cruise that is not overcrowded with tourists. To make that possible, we naturally have to travel farther than most other tours. Many travelers prefer destinations that are easier and quicker to reach, such as Ha Long Bay, which is one of the main reasons why it is much busier. Unfortunately, it is simply not possible to offer both a very short journey and access to the quiet, untouched parts of the bay at the same time. We believe that no tour operator can genuinely provide both. The journey from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island covers approximately 160 km and includes hotel pick-up, transfer to the island, and transportation to the cruise pier. Thanks to our experience and careful planning, we work hard to ensure that our guests spend as little time waiting as possible—from the scheduled hotel pick-up to each transfer throughout the journey. However, we were disappointed to see a 3-star review without any acknowledgement that this entire transfer takes only around 3.5 hours, allowing you to enjoy a full day of relaxation aboard the cruise—from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (8 hours)—exploring the beautiful Lan Ha Bay, together with its peaceful scenery, friendly crew, quality meals, and comfortable boat. We truly value every piece of feedback from our guests, whether positive or negative, because it helps us continue improving. But if you ask whether we feel saddened after doing everything we could, delivering exactly what we promised, and still not meeting your expectations, then the honest answer is yes. We do feel disappointed, because your satisfaction is what shapes our future. We sincerely wish you all the very best in life. Once again, thank you for choosing to travel with us.
the views were absolutely stunning, we were a small group (13 people), our guide was knowledgeable and so nice, they catered to our vegan diet which was amazing.
Because I have heard a lot of things about the HaLongBay i have decided to book this tour instead and it was the best choice ever! Well organized, we took of with comfortable busses to the speed boat pick up. Our guide "Happy" is the standard of how a guide should be! The cruise on the boat through the bay was really something special and the drinks on board were delicious and low priced. The lunch was great and the activities like kayaking, swimming, jumping off the second deck of the boat, crawling through a cave (optional) and enjoying the beauty of this not-overcrowded bay was great! If you struggle with overtouristic areas, then this tour is for you!
Really fantastic day cruise. Went to some cool spots throughout Lan Ha Bay. The guide, Happy, was really fantastic and passionate about the area, he made the trip exception. I would highly recommend this day trip.
A great premium experience. Good food. Locations never felt busy, and we had lots of time for swimming. Tony was a brilliant host. Met some other great people on board.
Despite a slightly bumpy start with the pickup, the trip was smooth sailing once we arrived at Cat Ba Island. Our guide, Tony, was excellent and truly made the experience. I loved that the tour wasn't overcrowded, allowing us to see the bays in their unspoilt beauty. The kayaking was a major highlight, and having the freedom to swim around the bays was incredible. A truly lovely and peaceful experience!
The Serenity Boutique cruise was really good and fun. We had a lot of joy kayaking through the bay, lots of swimming opportunities, jumping of the boat into the water, exploring the little islands around. The (vegetarian) food was excellent. Our guide Happy brought truly a lot of happiness. He made the tour and a big sparkle to the day!
Perfect day spent on Serenity in Lan Ha Bay. Early pick-up but you'll not regret it. Boat was on half capacity which was very pleasant. Cruising in Lan Ha Bay is so relaxing, tour guides are super friendly (Tony and Billy are both little gems), boat crew are all helpful, lunch is diverse and hearty. Kayaking is a great experience with tour guide giving some explanations about the place and telling stories. Swimming in a not crowded Bay is great compared to Ha Long. Towels for everyone and 2 bathrooms on the boat. Very good value for money. Journey is well organised and everything is taken care of by the Serenity crew
