We took the 1-day Halong bay tour with Alova Cruises which was recommended by our hotel. We paid 33 USD per person, which was more expensive than other companies but we didn’t regret it. The package included
– hotel pick-up in the morning and drop-off at your hotel in the evening
– mini bus transfer to Halong bay in a relatively new car with properly working A/C (driver was no maniac: careful, whereby this doesn’t mean he was driving too slow)
– 2 small bottles of water
– boat cruise around Halong bay on a boat which was not brand new but still ok (capacity approx. 36 people, but we (12) had it exclusively)
– delicious and extensive lunch buffet + welcome drink + 2 wet & cold refreshing towels
– visiting the cave (very beautiful)
– kayaking (we had a special deal with our hotel that this is included)
– very nice tour guide (Thang aka Victor) who spoke a good English

Whether it is necessary to stop on the way to and back from Halong bay at a place where you can buy overpriced souvenirs for half an hour each may remain questionable, but our impression is that all tour operators do it.

We were absolutely happy with Alova Cruises and would use them for other trips as well if we had more time! 100% recommendation!

– Reviewed by 2012sea –