How to find a Halong junk best fit you?

Vietnam has two places that passengers can take cruise: Halong bay and Mekong River. Both of those names are very popular in geographical aspect, and so is cruising destination. This post is going to discuss some general ideas to pick a cruise best fitting interests and budgets

Halong bay, yes it is, the most well-known place of Vietnam for all travelers. Many things making this fame can be listed but the most widely known is twice recognized as Natural World Heritage. And best activity in Halong bay must be sailing. Recent years, cruising trips in Halong widely extend to overnight trip on-board. Today, there is hundreds of cruises (actually wooden junks) operating their business in Halong bay. Due to the rapidly increasing number of Halong junks, the competition has been becoming tougher and tougher which eventually help customers enjoy many benefits. Cruising in Halong bay has never been that easy and cheap

The passengers should know that cruising route here is nearly similar for all junks. Cruise companies just adjust the itinerary a little to best fit to junks’ size and piers then reorder the visiting sites making it sound different. Moreover, the itinerary runs as a circle meaning embark and disembark at the same pier. Each company often has some junks in their fleet then cruises in Halong bay actually can embark everyday. With overnight trips, there are two typical programs: 2 days and 3 days. For longer trips, the passengers are expected to charter the cruise. So when choosing a Halong junk, two features only should be taken into account: boat size (length, width, how many cabins? How many passengers max onboard? ect) and price. This feature is very much different from Mekong cruises which will be told in next post

There is a general rule: the bigger the junk is, the lower privacy it can offer. The junks in Halong today widely differ in size from: very private 01-02 cabin per boat (like Princess cruise), to small ones 5-6 cabins (like Violet and Valentine) up to 14-17 cabins per boat (most popular like: Jasmine, Indochina Sails) and even 32 cabins (like Victory Star cruise). The services on board is various too, from standard ones (as famous, long-standing Bait ho junks), to deluxe and affordable (like Dragon Pearl, Emotion, Oriental Sails), or luxury ones (like Indochina Sails, Ginger, Jasmine) or beyond-your-imagination services of which Violet and Paradise are most typical. Thanks to that, price for a trip here can widely range from about 120$ per person up to 400US$ person for 1 night trip. With longer trip and/or some additional services, the price is more. To sum up, passengers pick a suitable cruise very much depending on the expected privacy and budget. Great news is almost Vietnam cruise agents offering price including all service charges and taxes, then you do not have to pay any extra for taxes.

Based on our own experience (VietnamCruiseTrips.com and HolidayIndochina.com/cruises) and our customers’ feedbacks: the best luxury cruise in Halong bay now is Violet. The luxury services but most affordable cruise is Indochina Sails. The top picked cruises are Jasmine junk and Indochina Sails. The best standard cruise is Bait ho junks

Halong bay cruises with Holiday Indochina - Big deals in Low season

Holiday Indochina's cruise collection including Mekong cruises and Halong bay junks is one of our best selling product. In order to offer our value customers excellent junks cruising through amazing Halong bay, Holiday Indochina excitedly launch a Big Promotion applied for many Halong bay cruise junks of which some are listed below:

1/ Jasmine and Ginger cruise - Big deals with 15% off:
Jasmine cruise officially opened o­n 18 December 2007, the newest four star junk will set the standard for services and amenities o­n the bay. Fitted out in the 1930's Indochine style, the Halong jasmine will feature 22 spacious cabin, restaurant, lounge and two special jasmine Suites with their own jacuzzi & balcony for uninterrupted views of the bay.

Jasmine's sister cruise, Ginger blends classical beauty with modern comfort, catering to groups of between six and 20 people. Measuring 38m in length and 8m in width, it has three decks that house the elegant restaurant, a lounge, two bars, a small boutique and a library, as well as ten luxurious sleeping cabins. Fitted out with wood and bamboo, its interior is charming. The stylish decoration of the dining room – not to mention the fact that the staff change their uniforms to serve meals – is highly impressive, seemingly more suited to a five-star hotel.

Promotion rate applied for both 2days/3days program and start from 181USD per person.

2/ Halong Indochina Sails junk - 5% off
Indochina Sails owns a fleet of 4 cruises in Halong bay. The Indo 1 (14 cabins) and Indo 2 (15 cabins) are identical boats and were both launched in 2007. Each comprises 15 cabins (Superior and Deluxe Cabins). The deluxe cabins are are a bit larger and feature rainfall showers and are all situated on the second decks of the boats.
The newest boat, the Indo 3 (15cabins), launched in late 2008, also features ceramic artworks handcrafted in Bat Trang, well known as the home of the country’s most talented ceramic craftsmen. All of our boats are decorated with silk from Van Phuc, the “Silk Village”.

The smaller but more luxurious boat, the “Valentine”, launched in late 2007, is perfect for those seeking a more exclusive and intimate experience. Valentine is a full service vessel offering all the facilities and amenities of our larger boats, but with only five cabins; four Deluxe cabins at 19 square meters each and one Suite cabin at 30 square meters, all with Jacuzzis.

Promotion rate applied for both 2days/3days program and start from 159USD per person.

3/ Halong Bhaya cruise - 5% off
Launched in July 2007, the first Bhaya cruise ship features twenty luxurious cabins furnished in classical style. The ship can accommodate up to 40 passengers for either 2days/1night cruise or 3days/2nights cruise in Halong Bay. In November 2008, Bhaya will be accompanied by the launch of her sister ship. Together, the two ships offer 40 luxurious cabins and suites and an exciting array of activities and facilities for you to enjoy as you discover the scenic delights of Halong Bay

Promotion rate applied for both 2days/3days program and start from 156USD per person. Click here for cruise details and program

Above are some that can be listed on this promotion campaign. Visit the official website of Holiday Indochina at: http://www.holidayindochina.com/cruise.html OR its Premium website specializing on cruise bookings at http://www.mekonghalongbaycruise.com for more information and cruise deals

*** Offered by Holiday Indochina - A Vietnam-based professional Online tour operator of Inbound Market