Here were some of the many cruises we considered going with. Prices are as published on the site but you should email them to see if its still valid and if you book more tours with them they may also give you a better price.
My budget I was looking for is USD80-USD100 for a 3D2N Halong Bay-Catba Island Cruise.
The similarities across each of the below are as follows:
– 1 night in Holiday View Resort (Catba Island)
– 1 night on Junk (do ask for pictures of the junk if possible! there are apparently lots of imperial junks on HLB!)
HERE GOES!!
A) KHOAVIET TRAVEL CO.,LTD
http://www.khoaviettravel.com/english/Tours_in_Vietnam_Tour_operator_in_Vietnam/detail_tour/Cruises_Tours/2/0/435/.html – USD 89/pax (Imperial Junk)
B) AN PHU HA NOI TRAVEL SERVICE TRADING COMPANY LIMITED
http://www.anphutour.com/anphu/?module=tours&action=view&tourid=32&catid=37 – USD 95/pax (Imperial Junk)
C) VIETNAM OPENTOUR CO., LTD
http://www.vietnamopentour.com.vn/vietnam-tour/halong-bay-tours/halong-bay-imperial-junk-boat-3-days-tours.html – USD 93/pax (Imperial Junk)
D) APT EZ HOLIDAYS HOTEL
http://aptezholidayhotel.com/Tour.asp?Nid=1011 – USD 95/pax (Bai Tu Long Junk)
E) DIEP TRAN CO., LTD/TREKKING TRAVEL
http://trekkingtravelvietnam.com/?view=contentdetail&cat=11&id=106 – USD 96/pax (Diep Tran Junk?)
F ) SINH CAFE
http://www.sinhcafevn.com/Tour_Detail.asp – USD 93/pax (Hoa Phuong Junk)
A friend in Hanoi said OPTION C AND D have relatively newer junks among the above few.
Seriously I spent like 100 hours on research for HLB alone! Hope you guys benefit from this! My trip is 01-08 March 09. :)
In the end I took up a HLB package with Hanoi Lucky Hotel.
SO FAR, the service online seems very good. I’ll be back to post about whether they’re really good. :)
Here’s the details for the one I booked with Lucky Hotel:
http://www.hanoiluckyhotel.com/Hotel1/Default.aspx?f=Content&p=34&id=10 – USD 88 (Le Tonkin Junk)
I did not book in advance when I went to Halong Bay.
We took the day tour package. There are lots of travel agencies in Hanoi, even hotels have their own.
Josephine: Yea I heard as well but we land v late on the first day. no time to shop ard and the next day we have to go to HLB already. :/
I going for 3D2N :)