We booked the day trip to Ha Long Bay with alova gold cruises. Its a very long drive (just over three hours each way) from Hanoi but our guide, Lucky, kept us entertained. We stopped off at handicraft emporiums both ways, which gave us a chance to stretch our legs, grabs some tea and use the rest rooms.

At Ha Long Bay we transferred to the boat and while lunch was nothing to write home about, the food was plentiful and the drinks reasonably priced. Although it was an overcast day, Ha Long Bay was spectacular and Lucky did a great job engaging with his group and pointing out the sights. We opted for the bamboo boat tour and got to see a couple of grottoes and caves up close, which was well worth it.

My only complaint would be the bus: there simply wasn’t enough legroom and Alova would do well to either get a bigger bus or something with a bit more room for their customers to stretch their legs.