Overview
Explore amazing seascapes and make new travel buddies on the famous Halong Hideaway Boat Trip! On this two or three-day adventure, you’ll visit the best and untouched parts of Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay and witness life on the floating fishing villages. You’ll sail by immense limestone karsts and lose yourself in a world of lush tropical landscapes, amazing mountain views and emerald-green waters. During the trip, you’ll enjoy a range of activities such as kayaking, cycling, caving, trekking, boat jumping, swimming, relaxing in the on-deck jacuzzi and partying the night away with new friends!
Itinerary
DAY 1
- Meet your tour guide at 7:45 am in Hanoi at the Central Backpackers’ Hostel / Hanoi Buffalo Hostel for departure. You will be travelling by bus and boat to Halong Bay. Along the way, you’ll witness the beauty of Cat Ba Island.
- A jam-packed day of activities will begin by taking a boat and cruising around Halong Bay enjoying the beautiful scenery and passing by an authentic floating village.
- Enjoy a delicious Vietnamese lunch on the boat, complete with epic views of the bay as you sail by new landscapes.
- After lunch, we will continue cruising to a quiet area of the bay where you can challenge yourself to a four-metre boat jump and swim in the bay.
- After spending a fun afternoon cruising and enjoying getting to know your crew mates, the boat will anchor and you can settle down with a cocktail of your choice to watch a spectacular sunset.
- At the end of a wonderful day, a BBQ dinner (vegetarian and vegan food available) will be served and after dark – the party will really begin!
DAY 2
- The second day will start in a very tranquil area of Halong Bay and you will enjoy a delicious breakfast from 7am-9 am.
- We will start the adventure in day boats heading through a beautiful region where the movie “King Kong” was shot. Here you will have another opportunity to do boat jumping!
- We will enjoy a delicious lunch on the boat.
👉 Note: If you choose the 2-day, 1-night trip, you will say goodbye to the group after lunch on Day 2 and commence your journey back to Hanoi. You will arrive at the Central Backpackers’ Hostel approximately at 5pm. The rest of the activities in this itinerary are not included in the 2-day. 1-night tour…
- After lunch, we will pause at a remote fishing village in the heart of Halong Bay.
- You will cycle through unique landscapes, see traditional houses, explore tunnels and visit the mysterious “Bat Cave”
- After that, we will go on an amazing jungle trek up a hill (hiking shoes recommended) where you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with spectacular views over the whole bay.
- In the late afternoon, we will return to the Halong Hideaway cruise ready for a BBQ dinner (vegetarian and vegan food available) and a sunset party in the middle of nowhere!
DAY 3
- On the last day of the tour, you can enjoy a slow morning without any rush, taking in the spectacular scenery, sunbathing on the deck or swimming in the sea.
- After breakfast, you will take a spectacular kayak tour around one of the most beautiful and peaceful areas of Halong Bay for a magical experience – this is one of the highlights of the trip!
- After a delicious lunch, we will make our way back by boat to the harbour and then onwards by bus to Hanoi.
- You will arrive at the Central Backpackers’ Hostel approximately at 5 pm.
Accommodation
Mostly, the rooms on the boat are small dorm rooms shared between 3-4 people. This means if you are a solo traveller or a couple, you will be paired with other travellers on the boat to share a room. We will always try to match you with someone of the same gender. If you are a group of 3-4 friends, you can, of course, request to be in the same room together. If you are a couple wanting a double room or a solo traveller wanting a single room, you can request a private room for two people or a private room for one person (by yourself). See examples of the rooms below:
Food
The food is healthy, fresh Vietnamese cuisine. Vegetarian and vegan options are available. If you have a specific diet or an allergy, we are able to cater for you. Please inform us at the time of booking.
Guide
English speaking local guide.
What’s Included
INCLUDED:
- All accommodation on the Halong Hideaway Cruise Ship
- All meals – 3 x day
- Boat cruise
- English-speaking tour guide
- Transport to and from Hanoi
- All activities; trekking, kayaking, cycling, caving etc.
- Any entrance fees
NOT INCLUDED:
- Drinks
- Personal expenses
- Travel Insurance
FAQs
- What do I need to bring on the tour? Comfortable clothes, swim wear, sun-screen, sun hat, sunglasses, hiking shoes. flip-flops.
Further Information
In August 2022 the itinerary for Halong Hideaway changed. Reviews from before then describe the previous slightly altered itinerary. The tour is still run by the same amazing team, visiting the same incredible scenery and each day ending with the same legendary parties.
Hi, I’m Nikki and I started South East Asia Backpacker in 2008 after my own first solo backpacking trip! My vision was to create a travel diary for everyone, a place for travellers to share their experiences from the road. After backpacking and writing about Southeast Asia for over 10 years, I saw the opportunity to provide backpackers with the kind of experiences that I’d treasured myself in the region! 
Amelie Vorchheimer –
Very fun cruise and the rooms were very clean
Ian –
This was my first overseas holiday and first tour after Covid. I was really concerned that there would not be numbers but I was definitely wrong.
We had 30ish people on the tour meet at the backpackers. What followed was a party cruise, swimming, boat jumping and partying into the evening. The second day consisted of a kayak around the area before departing.
Food was great (locally cooked food – very seafood heavy although a few vegetarians didn’t seem to have the most options). Accommodation is your usual hostel style buildings.
Only thing I would of changed is have 5mins of culture/history explaining The significance of Ha Long Bay before diving is into the drinking and partying
filippo –
top tour ! good people..
the two guide boy and girl were amazing !! perfect place to stay and sleep and wake ou in the middle of the nature ! with the monkey boss of the Isla keef !
for sure place to visit and tour to do !
Désirée –
I booked the 3d/2n tour and didn’t regret it. It included all the activities that I wanted to do and Alex, Lucy and the rest of the team did a great job. Thank you very much 🙂
Javaneh –
Just got back from the 3 days tour, loved every moment of it. It was sooo beautiful and loved all the adventures they planned for us. Met a lot of cool people there and Bobby the tour leader was the best
Shawn springer –
Just got back from the 3d2n tour. It was great. The guides were helpful, made tons of new friends and the food was plentiful and tasty with enough variety to satisfy everyone. The bike ride and hike on the second day provide a nice view into the lives of the local people and scenery. The boat ride to the island was great with a nice time to go swimming and jump off the boat. Great tour and worth every penny!
Harriet –
I don’t leave reviews, I can’t be bothered usually haha. But this trip was just incredible. I usually choose to do things the cheap way, so rather than going on a tour I wanted to do a simple boat trip.
My goodness I’m glad I chose to spend the extra money to do the tour.
From start to finish you felt involved and included in everything. The Western & local Vietnamese tour guides were all wonderful and couldn’t have been more helpful or accommodating.
I would really warn anybody that isn’t physically fit to consider doing a bit of exercise before the hike because my goodness we sweated more than we ever have in our lives before and we’re not unfit.
But whether you hike or not, definitely go for the 3 days over 1 because you get much more time to relax and enjoy the friends you’ll make!
The party side of the trip was great, a little bit of forced fun from a certain tour guide (who knows I rolled my eyes at him far too many times) haha. But other than that it really was awesome, you can either join in or go off and do your own thing in a group.
Alcohol is a little expensive, 60 VND for a drink & mixer but theres 2 happy hours where its 3 for 2 and the guides usually bring loads of free shots around so it really is fine in the end.
Lots of laughs, lots of smiles, lots of sweat!! Best time ever.
Also, do a midnight skinny dip, it’s hilarious and you’ll love seeing the luminescent plankton in the water!
I would go back in a heartbeat.
Maddy cliff –
Such an unforgettable experience. If I had more time in Vietnam I would’ve extended my stay on the island. Everything was sorted for you from start to end. Don’t even get me started on the tour guides, grace and Stephen were one of the best things about the trip. Whether you want to relax and soak in all the beautiful scenery or socialise, dance AND soak in the scenery..these guys have you covered ? thanks hideaway!
Hannah Hale –
Me and my friend had SO much fun on this tour! We weren’t sure whether to book this tour or the castaways one, which was the main rival. It was cheaper to go with this option but we loved that it included more activities on this one! The drink deals on the trip were really great value, and the evenings spent on the island were awesome! I’d definitely recommend doing the two night option otherwise it’s a bit too much of a rush with the activities and travelling!
Joe Nicholson –
I took the 3D2N tour organised directly through the hostel during my stay and couldn’t recommend it enough. The three days are a perfect mix of daytime activities and crazy evenings, all hosted by the local reps who do a great job of keeping the party going. If you’re lucky enough to have decent weather then you’ll also get to see some of the most iconic views in Vietnam, whether it’s from the boat or the private island’s beach.