Three hours from Hanoi is the majestic island-speckled attraction of Halong Bay. There are 
nearly 2,000 rocky little islands sprinkled around the bay, and to see pictures of these islands makes you think that there may be no more beautiful place on earth. It’s true, the islands are incredibly beautiful but for every one of these islands there is a tour boat loaded down with 15+ tourists all with digital camera at the ready. The tour trips are run out of Hanoi and the general feeling (ours included) is that many fail to live up to their promises at booking. Halong Bay is still a must visit if in northern Vietnam but in order to fully enjoy the experience you’d have to somehow arrange it independent of the standard tour groups, or be willing to shell out enough cash to customize your tour. Halong Bay reminded us that our best traveling experiences are those where we guide ourselves. On the positive, we met friendly travelers on the boat and got to jump off the top deck into the water a few times. Not bad for a Saturday afternoon.
nearly 2,000 rocky little islands sprinkled around the bay, and to see pictures of these islands makes you think that there may be no more beautiful place on earth. It’s true, the islands are incredibly beautiful but for every one of these islands there is a tour boat loaded down with 15+ tourists all with digital camera at the ready. The tour trips are run out of Hanoi and the general feeling (ours included) is that many fail to live up to their promises at booking. Halong Bay is still a must visit if in northern Vietnam but in order to fully enjoy the experience you’d have to somehow arrange it independent of the standard tour groups, or be willing to shell out enough cash to customize your tour. Halong Bay reminded us that our best traveling experiences are those where we guide ourselves. On the positive, we met friendly travelers on the boat and got to jump off the top deck into the water a few times. Not bad for a Saturday afternoon.
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