The tour guide we had was rude and pushy. There were 8 of us (paying customers) on the boat and everyone had a different issue with the guy. My issue started early on when he began hearding me, very hands-on, around the dock and on the boat.

There were many instances of his rude and inconsiderate behaviour but the pinacle came on the promised Cat Ba island stop including meal. There was a trek around the national park included but i and a few others didn't fancy it as it was pouring with rain. We asked if he could take us straight in to Cat Ba town and he said ok. Once we got to the national park he told us to wait outside in the rain for the 3 hours while he was in the park. We said we were not happy to do that and he said; "Do what you want. Not my problem". There are no taxis or buses from that park, we were stranded. If he'd told us we would be sitting in the rain for 3 hours we would have arranged our own transport from the pier, or even just stayed on the boat. Out of the 8 people on board i am not aware of anybody being totally satisfied. Certainly nobody i spoke to.

Note: this is not the only example but i don't have the time right now to note all of the issues we encountered.

The guide not-withstanding i did enjoy the beautiful scenery and Cat Ba island (i abandoned the tour). It's an amazing place.

Rasheed, that was the kind of suggestion i was interested in. Where can you get your own boat to tour the bay? Is there a company that operates around Ha Long/Haiphong? Too late for me but maybe somebody else might be interested..

North Vietnam is cold in from November until March. It is warm in Spring and very hot in summer. If it is warm, Monkey Island in Cat Ba ( near Halong bay) is always the first choice with a private beach and bungalows.

You will miss the great chance if skip Halong. To avoid "tour", please take a high quality bus Hanoi - Halong. Rent a clean hotel and go to the boat harbour to join rent some private boat which is cheap if you know they do not have other guests.

Go far from the shore and the bay is great. When I saw litter or polutted I though the bay was going down, but offshore is always better.

Come back to Hanoi by Hanoi - Halong Bus.

have a nice trips

i had three trips to Ha Long, the final destination is Minh Chau beach and It's really the best place i've been ever. From HaNoi, you can take a bus HN-Quang Ninh with one 70000VND ticket then down at Cai Lan seaport and continue to take a ship to Van Don island (etheir wooden ship or high-speed one which is more expensive.) Enjoy your trip. the best news is the local people there are really friendly and helpful, honest and they can serve you many delicious seafood recipes such as shrimp, shells and mussels.