Travel Forum / Destinations / Asia / April 2008

In article <916e309e-8e77-449d-bec5-
1b12d7cc6a0c@i7g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,  says...

They should be all more or less the same, although in some case they
provide a better boat and better food based on what I heard. I would
just walk around the old town of Hanoi (north of the Hoan Kiem lake),
visit a few travel agencies and compare the offerings.
In the hotel they might try to sell you an overpriced tour.

jobloj wrote,

My wife and I did this trip last year.  As suggested by Alfred Molon, there
are plenty of operators in the 'Old Quarter', north of Hoan Kiem Lake.  We
used Handspan located at 80 Ma May Street for the Ha Long cruise.  They
offer one or several nights tours and other adventure tours.  Their prices
were reasonable and provided an excellent boat and food for the cruise.  I
would use them again.  You can Google them on the Internet.  Happy travels.

rg

well. I have done the Ha Long Bay trip last year and it was a wonderful
experience that for sure I would repeat if I go back to Viet nam

there are all ranges of prices. I met people that paid about 100 dollars for
three nights.. but had to pay for their air conditioning extra

we paid about 300 dollars each. It was one of the best junks ( not the
biggest though) with 14 cabins

we were actually 3 groups of people. and each of them had a guide taking
care of them.

all excursions were included in  the price. and so was the transport to and
from Ha Noi ( with stops at the so called tourist traps shops.. where you
pay 3 times what you can find everywhere)

food was delicious.. only beverages were extra and of course they try to
serve wine that costs about 15 to 25 dollars a bottle.

kayaks were free of charge.. so were tea and small snacks during the day.

In the night there were mosquitoes.. but not so wild.

more or less.. you will see that prices are the same. Agencies in HA NOI
just get their commission

you can find my agency in Skype   a man called Duong Dong or Duong Van Dong

Ha Noi itself is a beautiful town and offers many excursions
Prices are very reasonable. You cannot spend more than 15 dollars in any
restaurant. If you can  bargain. a can of bier will be about 25 dollar
cents..
and so will a bottle of mineral water. if you cannot bargain. expect to pay
the double.
You will find a lot of shops around the main square of Ha Noi
I recommend buying silk kimonos. they hardly go for more than 10 dollars.
then all types of high level leather articles brand imitations.

I also recommend massage for about 5 dollars for an hour

in small towns you can find  custom made dresses for about 25 to 50 dollars.
they will do it for you in 3 days.
and so on.
on the whole.. Viet nam  is about 50% cheaper than  Thailand or Cambodja
Taxis are ridicolously cheap.
with a dollar you can buy up to 5 litres of Home made bier  .. Bia Hoi..

People are good and kind.  You will have to bargain everywhere.. but after
all
it is like that everywhere.