City Escape: Halong Bay Private Day Trip

Ruby is an absolute star. She is fun, knowledgeable, and took many photos of us as we enjoyed our time in Vietnam. She enabled priority access for everything, no queues, and extra service alround. She made Vietnam special. Without her, we wouldn't have seen much at all. But we saw so much that we wouldn't have ever found alone. We visited Ha long city, ha long bay, old quarter hanoi, lotte tower, hidden cafes and quirky temples, even Trang An where they filmed king kong and so much more. We couldn't speak highly enough of Ruby or our amazing experience in Vietnam. Thank you so much.

This trip was made in May 2019, so it was pre-Covid 19. This tour is a little more expensive as you get taken in a private car and the route taken is along the new highway which cuts down the journey time from 4 or 5 hours to just 2-3 hours. There was a short stop at a new motorway services where you can go for a loo break and/or get some snacks and a drink. We had to wait at the new terminal in Halong for the sailing. It is a huge place which looks more like a hotel lobby and reception. When our boat arrived, Loan had explained that we would be joining a boat with other groups. Each boat can take up to 40-50 passengers. Once on board, a sumptuous meal was provided. As there was only three of us, Loan had requested that we have a table to ourselves. There was more than enough of this delicious meal. We arrived in Halong Bay and were given the choice of kayaking ourselves or being taken in a boat by a local person. We chose the lazy option and were rowed to interesting parts around the bays and inlets. We got back to the boat after about 40 mins and were taken to another island where we could explore two limestone caves. Both were very interesting and awe-inspiring. We returned to the mainland around 4:30-5pm and our driver was waiting for us. We returned to Hanoi by 7:30pm. We found Loan, our guide, to be very pleasant . She was very helpful and always eager to please. There was good communication between Loan and us via e-mails and WhatsApp from booking through to pick-up at our hotel, when she informed us that she was running late. The traffic in Hanoi is really bad, and it was great to be updated. Her command of English is good and we can thoroughly recommend her

Perfect organization from our local guide Loan. She was absolutely competent, spoke excellent English and was like a friend and not only a private guide. We highly appreciated her guidance to one of the most spectacular sight all over.