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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

IndoChina Junk Cruise: Ha Long and Bai Tu Long Bay {Travel Tuesday}

Happy Wednesday Y'all! 

Today I wanted to share a little more about the cruise we took while in Vietnam. We went through the company called IndoChina Junk and we absolutely loved them. 

We did a 2 day 1 night cruise and I really think we should have added the 3rd day- it was that much fun. We did the 2 day because we had never done a cruise before and I really didn't know how I would like it. So we played it safe and just did 2 days. If we ever visit Vietnam again- I know I will go for the longer cruise. 


We did our cruise on the Red Dragon which had 5 cabins and could have up to 11 people. They have smaller junks for honeymooners or families to have to themselves and they have larger ones that hold up to 22 people. We really wanted to do the small boat and just be the 2 of us, but we didn't like the $700 price tag. So we opted for the Red Dragon for about $400 total. We really lucked out because we were just with one another family, so there were just 7 of us on the boat. It was perfect. 


For dinner, they set up this table by the wheel for Matt and I to eat dinner alone. It was so romantic and nice to break apart from the other family for awhile. 


I loved sitting on the lounge chairs and enjoying the view. The only downside was our chairs weren't fully shaded, so it got a bit hot. I wish there was more water time to help cool off, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. 



Okay- let's talk food. We loved the food. I requested not to have shrimp in my meals ahead of time, and it was no problem at all. If there was shrimp in the meal- they would serve me a side of chicken instead. It worked out perfectly. The dinner was amazing. We had grilled fish, crab, beef, and clams. We loved every meal we ate while on the boat. I still dream about the yummy clams and crab we had.

*While the food is included- you do have to pay for drinks. We got a drink or 2 every meal and spent about $20. {By drink I mean- coke or non-alcoholic drinks.}



Not only do you get to travel and see the limestone islands- which are amazing- there are also a lot of fun activities planned into your tour. 
Ours included- exploring Thien Cahn Son Cave, playing at the beach at Hon Co Islands, kayaking, visiting Vung Vieng fishing village, and a water puppet show in Yen Duc village. 

 (This is the largest of their junks.) 



This junk was seriously the best thing ever. Our little cabin was the cutest room. We had a great window, so even if we were in our room (which we hardly ever were) we could see the wonderful limestone islands. Everything was real clean in our cabin. The bathroom was great. The bed was comfortable. And the AC was nice and cold. Our room was right off the kitchen, and we never heard any noise from them. It was the perfect experience for first time cruisers. 
(The IndoChina website has pictures of the cabins if you want to take a look.) 





We love love loved our 2 day cruise along Ha Long and Bai Tu Long Bay. I would definitely go with IndoChina because they made everything so wonderful. We had great activities planned and saw some truly wonderful things. It was a great experience. 

Would you ever take a cruise along Ha Long Bay? 

{Linking up with Bonnie

28 comments:

  1. This looks like a blast!

    Side note: Why are they called junks?

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    Replies
    1. It was a ton of fun! It was one of our favorite trips.

      And here is what I found- "The type of Chinese sailing boat called a 'junk' derives its name from the Portugese 'junco' which came from the Malay 'jong', which is thought to come from the Javanese 'djong'."

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    2. Yeah- it is! Love how all the languages meld together sometimes.

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  2. That looks so fun! When I was in Vietnam we had planned on heading north and taking one of these tours at Ha Long Bay, but then we loved Hoi An so much we ended up just extending our stay there instead. I don't regret that but I definitely want to get back there and do that cruise someday!

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    Replies
    1. We loved Hoi An as well. That was another reason why we only did a 2 day cruise- we wanted another day to explore the city. I hope you get to Ha Long Bay one day- it really was amazing.

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  3. I have to admit you threw me off with the word "junk" because I thought it sounded kind of dodgy, but that actually sounds really nice and looks amazing!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah- junk does sound really bad, but it was not like that at all. It really was a nice luxury cruise. We had a blast.

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  4. Wow, this looks like such a unique way to travel! And, those colourful views; wow-eee!
    ~ Marcella

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    1. It was perfect. I loved the size of the junk we were on. I'm still not sure about large cruise ships, but junks I can get on board with. And the views were amazing throughout our whole trip.

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  5. Oh my gosh that is so absolutely cool! I mean the fact that you had this boat almost to yourself - it can't be much more intimate than that! :D

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    1. It was perfect. Even though we were with other family- it felt like we were alone. The crew was really great about giving us our own space (like with the dinner). It was the perfect size boat.

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  6. I feel sunburned just looking at this post!

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    1. Hahaha- yeah it was really warm. Luckily, we had tons of sunscreen and our chairs were covered by the umbrella, so we didn't get burnt.

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  7. We're doing a cruise in February with friends when we're in Vietnam! I'm so excited!

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    1. Oh how fun! You are going to love it. What company did you go with?

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  8. I can't believe I still haven't been on a cruise, this one looks so cool especially the fact that it wasn't completely full!

    diana @ life in German., [stopping over via the link up]

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    1. This was our first cruise and we loved it. I don't think I will doing any large boat cruises soon, but this was cool.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Isn't Ha Long Bay just incredible? I also did a cruise there but yours looks WAY better than ours was. It was still fun, though, but definitely a party cruise! We still got to see the caves, though, and ended up staying on Cat Ba Island. If I go back I will take your recommendation!!

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    Replies
    1. OMG Amy- it really its! We loved our tour through this company. It sounds like yours was just as fun as well!

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  11. nice post you have posted there. you have posted picture of your tour which is looking very good.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment- I appreciate and read each and every one of them. All replies will be in the comment section, please check back to read them!

- Alex