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3-day tour in Ha Long Bay, including Hotel pickup & drop-off in Hanoi Old Quarter and Limousine transfer between Hanoi – Ha Long – Ninh Binh –. Run by SST Travel, booked direct rather than through a reseller.
Highlights
- Both UNESCO karst landscapes: at sea and inland
- Lan Ha Bay, unreachable on a day trip from Hanoi
- A night on the water after the day fleet leaves
- Tam Coc by rowing boat and the Mua Cave ridge climb
- Limousine across all three legs, not a coach
3-Day UNESCO Luxury Ha Long/Lan Ha and Ninh Binh Tour: Key Facts
| Price | From $593 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 3 days |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Choose from 4 available options
3-Day UNESCO Luxury Ha Long/Lan Ha and Ninh Binh Tour
3D2N Standard 3-Star Overnight Cruise & Ninh Binh Stay
3D2N Deluxe 5-Star Overnight Cruise & Ninh Binh Stay
3D2N Luxury 6-Star Overnight Cruise & Ninh Binh Stay
Full description
Three days across both UNESCO karst landscapes, with the driving handled by limousine.
Ha Long and Ninh Binh are the same limestone doing two different things. In Ha Long the towers rise out of the sea; in Ninh Binh they rise out of rice paddies with a river running between them, which is why it gets called the inland bay. Seeing them a day apart is what makes the pair register as one landscape rather than two attractions.
Lan Ha is the part worth paying for. It lies immediately south of Ha Long proper, off Cat Ba, and holds around 300 islands of the same drowned karst with a fraction of the boats, because the large fleet stays in Ha Long. A day trip from Hanoi cannot get there; an overnight can.
The night on the water is where the bay is quietest. Day boats leave in the late afternoon and return after dawn, so dinner, the night and sunrise all happen with a handful of lights on the water instead of a hundred.
Ninh Binh is Tam Coc by rowing boat through three river caves, rowed by locals working the oars with their feet, and the climb at Mua Cave, several hundred stone steps to a dragon on the ridge.
Limousine transfer between Hanoi, Ha Long and Ninh Binh means reclining seats across several hundred kilometres rather than a coach bench.
Your place is held with the operator before your booking is final. The price covers Hanoi Old Quarter pickup and drop-off, limousine transfers throughout, and one night on a 3, 5 or 6-star luxury cruise depending on the option chosen.
Three days. Minimum one day's notice.
Includes
- Hotel pickup & drop-off in Hanoi Old Quarter
- Limousine transfer between Hanoi – Ha Long – Ninh Binh – Hanoi
- 1 night on a 3/5-star or 6-star luxury cruise (private balcony cabin)
- 1 night in Ninh Binh (clean hotel/homestay, private room & bathroom)
- English-speaking guide throughout the trip
- Entrance fees for Ha Long/Lan Ha Bay & Ninh Binh attractions
- Kayaking, bamboo boat trip, cycling in the village
- Cooking class, Tai Chi, sunset activities on the cruise
- All meals as per itinerary
- Trang An rowing boat tour
- Bottled water on the bus
Excludes
- Tips and gratuities
- 1 dinner in Ninh Binh
- Holiday surcharge applies (please see Important Information)
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Ha Long Bay. SST Travel confirms your pickup time and the exact spot once the booking is in.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
We loved the cruise! The support we had online from our contact “Dolphin” was unbelievable. They vent over backwards to help us as we had to adapt things from our end a bit. Dolphin led us through the whole process and went out of the way to ensure we were taken care of.
I book 3-day trip to Halong and Ninh Bình Tour..Dec 29th 2025 ..my parents and I all had amazing time with all activities.. we were first time to Hanoi..Parents both 72 years old … transportation was very smooth.. pick up from downtown Hanoi..take us to Habour…check in speed up to dragon bay cruise ..tour guild was funny and friendly..food was nice and activities was same as advertised mention…we stay overnight on the cruise then take bus to Ninh Binh…the hotel was cozy and spacious for 3 ppl and location was good …I have to mention one person during this trip- Dolphin.. she add me on wechat (
From beginning to end, my experience was amazing. I greatly appreciate my coordinator, Dolphin, for being so detailed and a constant communicator. She had plans A and B ready to be executed at any time. The cruise was amazing, action-packed, informative, cozy, relaxing, amongst many other things. There was so much food you won't go hungry. The staff was outstanding and warm. Each transfer was better than the last and the buses/limousines were icing on the cake. Be prepared to stay active and embrace it all.
We had an amazing experience on the Hanoi 3-day UNESCO Luxury Ha Long/Lan Ha Bay & Ninh Binh tour. The itinerary was perfectly put together, giving us a great balance of sightseeing, relaxation, and cultural experiences. Ha Long/Lan Ha Bay was stunning, and Ninh Binh was equally breathtaking. Everything ran smoothly from start to finish. A special mention to the tour operator, Dolphin, who was always quick to respond whenever we had questions and made the whole process easy and stress-free. Their communication and organization were excellent. Overall, a fantastic tour that we would highly reco
Ha Long bay was beautiful so was Ninh Binh, but way too many people being funnelled through all at the same time.
Very good and worth the price! We had three amazing days, we were picked up and left at every day and did not have to think about anything!really recommend.
overall, great trip and great included activities. The Ha Lan Bay cruise was okay, you are there for the landscape and peace, so if you want wifi do not come as there is none (despite it saying there is). The food on the boat for lunch is great, Vietnemese and very tasty, dinner they try to do 5 star westernised and it doesnt work, salmon was overcooked and flavour isnt there, just stick to Vietnamese food - its what we're here for! Overall great trip, would do again!
the food was great and the tour guides were really knowledgeable and friendly, however, the communication from the tour agency wasn't great and felt quite unorganised. also the boat is not shown as photed, its much more budget and rustic.
Ce n'est pas le même bateau que sur les photos. Mais cela restait un très bien , le repas du soir etait excelle.
Loved the kayaking, bamboo boats, seeing the caves and being in such a place of natural beauty. The places and activities were awesome. Our only negative feedback - everyone else on the tour was French so the guide did all the commentary in French and we missed some of the instructions including what time to be back from one place! Maybe some written guides in other languages would help people who cannot follow the spoken guide would be helpful especially at dinner time and when giving instructions, directions.
The contact for the trip was very quick to respond and helpful. There were a couple of things which needed improvement - firstly, my 2 nearly 3 year old was not treated as an individual - so it meant no separate bed and he shared with me and my husband, transfer taxi squeezed other people in in Ninh Binh which meant my 18kg tall child was balancing on my knee in an overcrowded hot taxi. Then for the boat trip near Ninh Binh (which was absolutely amazing and stunning), the guide told us it was 4 people and a child to the boat which was frankly ridiculous because for 2 hours i had to balance my
on a fait 2 jours sur la baie d’Halong et 1 jour à Ninh binh. La personne de contact est sur WhatsApp et est très réactive pour toutes questions d'organisation. Les transferts ont été fluides. Les chauffeurs nous contactent par WhatsApp. A l’aller ils sont venus nous prendre même si nous n'étions pas dans le vieux quartier. et au retour, on a continué notre séjour à Ninh Bình (et donc pas de retour sur Hanoi) ils nous ont déposé directement à notre hôtel. Les activités sont vraiment tops et respectent bien la description donnée