IS HA LONG BAY OVERRATED?! 🇻🇳 Vietnam Vlog

In this Vietnam vlog, we check an item off our bucket list by embarking on our first luxury Ha Long Bay cruise. We boarded a one-night, two-day stay and were pleasantly surprised by our complimentary upgrade. But was the overall experience worth the high price tag, or is this another overrated tourist trap? Let's find out!
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🇻🇳 WATCH EVERY EPISODE IN OUR VIETNAM SERIES:
🌆 Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City: • ARRIVING IN SAIGON (HO...
🏙️ Ho Chi Minh City: • FIRST DAY IN HO CHI MI...
🥟 Ho Chi Minh City Street Food: • AMERICANS' FIRST TIME ...
🚌 Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat: • THE BEST WAY TO TRAVEL...
🛍️ Da Lat Night Market: • $1 STREET FOOD IN DA L...
🌷 Da Lat: • $1 STREET FOOD IN DA L...
🏝️ Nha Trang: • WE DIDN'T EXPECT NHA T...
🏮 Hoi An: • HOI AN IS BETTER THAN ...
🍜 Hoi An Food: • DON'T LEAVE HOI AN WIT...
🦐 Da Nang Night Market: • $10 STREET FOOD CHALLE...
🏯 Hue: • EATING THE BEST BUN BO...
🛵 Hanoi: • 48 HOURS IN HANOI, VIE...
🛥️ Ha Long Bay: • IS HA LONG BAY OVERRAT...
🏞️ Ninh Binh: • 3 DAYS IN NINH BINH (V...
🧧 Tết in Hanoi: • AMERICANS' FIRST TET I...
🍜 Hanoi Street Food Tour: • EATING LIKE A LOCAL (H...
🚶🏻Hanoi Walking Tour: • BETTER THAN OLD QUARTE...
🚠 Sapa: • 2 DAYS IN SAPA VIETNAM...
---------------
00:00 Introduction
01:11 First Impressions & Lunch
02:43 Honeymoon Suite Room Tour
04:40 SafetyWing Travel Insurance
05:24 Happy Hour on the Boat
06:43 Day 2: Breakfast Overlooking the Bay
08:01 Final Thoughts, Cost & Activities Breakdown

[@mikeandashley]

Thank you so much for watching! If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to follow us on our adventures across Vietnam. 🇻🇳 www.youtube.com/@mikeandashley?sub_confirmation=1

[@user-hf5gc1wf1u]

Nhớ quay lại du lịch Việt Nam nhiều lần nữa nha. Yêu 2 bạn ❤❤❤❤

[@mikeandashley]

You couldn’t keep us away! ☺️🥰 Thanks so much for the love! 🥰🥰🥰

[@Kaylynyang24]

That was the best room I've seen out of all the Ha Long Bay videos on YT.

[@mikeandashley]

It was pretty incredible! Thanks for watching. 🥰❤️

[@musicful7036]

If your guys in Ninh Binh, take the TRANG AN BOAT TOUR, not the one Tam Coc. Trang An Boat Tour is professionally run bussiness and you get to see more caves and scenery compared to the other one for the same price. Bich Dong attraction is free, no entrance fee, be sure to go up to the high top of the mountain, don't miss it. We stayed in Tam Con for nightlife but did the boat tour in Trang An, which was our best decision.

[@mikeandashley]

You’ll see in our next video we made the wrong decision. We had fun, but we definitely plan to take the Trang An Boat Tour next time. 😅

[@duyphanhoang9859]

Love your energy !!! Those B-roll shots of Ha Long Bay are simply mesmerizing!!!

[@mikeandashley]

Thank you so much! It was really easy since everything was so beautiful! ☺️

[@ryoanji08]

We also visited Ha Long Bay in October 2022. Our cruise included an early morning visit on the 2nd day to a floating fishing village as you may recall from Bourdain’s trip there. If you ever go to Vietnam, an overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay is a must! It’s unbelievably beautiful.

[@mikeandashley]

That sounds amazing! I don't believe they offered the fishing village trip on ours. That would certainly be a cool site to see! Thanks so much for watching!

[@phuongvo104]

I really love this video's vibe, very calming to me and helping me with my long list of deadline. Luv you two, hope you guys will come back to Vietnam soon after this trip

[@mikeandashley]

Thank you so much! We're glad you enjoyed the video. 😊

[@nguyenvanphi722]

You should experience the coastal roads and bars of Ha Long Valley at night, it is one of the great experiences in Ha Long. And it's free

[@mikeandashley]

That sounds lovely. We should absolutely do that on our next visit! Thank you for the tips. ☺️

[@caryhuynh88]

It was so calm and relax. Thank you for the video quys .❤❤

[@mikeandashley]

Thanks for watching! ❤️

[@20luzer52]

Wowza, what a cabin. It looks nicer than many hotel rooms. Throw in the view and it’s like a resort.

[@mikeandashley]

It was an incredible experience. Definitely out of our usual budget, but worth it. 🥰

[@lindsayvu9210]

This is the happiest couple in the universe. Love all your travel series.

[@mikeandashley]

Thank you so much! 🥰

[@hisnameisvu]

Spectacular Spectacular my friends

[@mikeandashley]

Thanks so much, Vu! 🙏

[@kushal809]

It looks so amazing ❤❤Beautiful view 😍😍

[@mikeandashley]

The views were beautiful! 🥰

[@nhattruongcong]

Thật tuyệt vời khi được hưởng bầu không khí trong lành và yên tĩnh

[@mikeandashley]

It was so peaceful! 🥰

[@blinkytran]

it’s set, i can’t wait for vietnam in december!

[@mikeandashley]

We’re going back in December and can’t wait. Have fun and safe travels! 🥰

[@akhoaledang1991]

Welcome you and your wife to Ha Long Bay. Wishing you a happy trip and many interesting experiences ^^

[@mikeandashley]

Thank you! 🥰❤️

[@emeafter5list1]

Got picked up in Hà Nội, Driven to Ha Long Bay, Then onto a small boat, taken to the bigger boat/ship (junk) to go to Cat Bà island. Spent 2 nights at Cat Bà, with guided trekking and 3 meals a day. Then was transported back to Hà Nội. …and if I remember correctly it was $50 Canadian dollars ($40 USD) …it was Christmas 1998. It beautifully then and it is beautiful now. Great video.

[@mikeandashley]

Man! $40?! That’s a way better deal! 😂 We’d have love to see Ha Long Bay back then. I bet it was breathtaking. Thank you for watching and for sharing your story with us. ☺️

[@bepcuaba68]

Hey guys, I thought you make a right trip to Hạ Long Bay for honey moon trip :). Fantastic with your time there. Hope you guys enjoy the trip in VietNam. Stay safe!👌❤️

[@mikeandashley]

Thank you so much! We had an incredible time in Vietnam and can’t wait to return. ❤️🥰

[@xuanoanh8138]

Ashley has lovely looks. They melt into Halong Bay scenery

[@mikeandashley]

Thank you so much! 🥰❤️

[@doodahgurlie]

Okay, your suite/room has to be top 3 of the ones I've seen so far! That is one spectacular room! I love the decor and the outdoors area is so well designed, too. That round bed is uber cool, but I don't think Mike fits on it...were his legs hanging off all night? 😂

[@mikeandashley]

Thanks so much! It was a beautiful room. The bed was a bit small for Mike, but he made it work. 😅🤣

[@Tienreview-tai79]

wow what a beautiful yacht, thank you for sharing

[@mikeandashley]

Thanks so much for watching. ☺️ We’re glad you enjoyed.

[@razynh3190]

We just got back from our Doris Cruise in Ha Long too. We loved it... Just wish that there would be more squid to catch at night ;)

[@mikeandashley]

Glad you had a great time, but bummer about the squid fishing. Sounds like they're very hard to catch! 😊

[@quoccuongtran4468]

❤❤👍👍👍i love mike and ashley

[@mikeandashley]

🙏🙏🥰🥰❤️❤️

[@duc_nguyen_official]

I love ha long! Nice 🎉🎉🎉

[@mikeandashley]

It was really beautiful. ☺️

[@gliddensbest]

My wife and I took a three day trip to Ha Long Bay last summer. The boat was luxurious, the staff could not have been more helpful, and the scenery was every bit as spectacular as we had hoped. Our only disappointment came when we were offered the opportunity to do some fishing from the back deck late one night. The spotlights in the water revealed just how polluted the water has become with tons of trash that was not visible during the day. Sad to see in one of the world's most beautiful locations. Aside from that, everything was as memorable as we had hoped and more.

[@mikeandashley]

Oh wow, I can imagine that being a jarring experience. We were only on the boat for one day and it was drizzly and raining most of the time, so we didn't spend too much time outside of the room or the spots on the boat. We didn't even do the kayaking. 😬 That is really a shame. You'd think for such a well known attraction and a place that is highly regarded and a UNESCO site, that there would be more care as well as funding. I'm happy you had a good experience other than that, and thank you so much for sharing.

[@user-kn2jd2mi3j]

hạ long tuyệt đỉnh của tự nhiên.

[@mikeandashley]

Ha Long Bay is beautiful indeed. 😊

[@honghoang-kb6os]

toi yeu ban

[@mikeandashley]

🥰❤️🥰❤️

[@Blizzarkian]

Brooooo Bow and I are doing this 💯. Love from Flying Tiger

[@mikeandashley]

Dope! Let us know if you have any questions. We miss you guys! 🥰🥰🥰

[@Mr.judele]

Thanks!

[@mikeandashley]

You are so kind. Thank you! 🙏❤️

[@davidhumphrey2593]

Sadly, despite the fact that I have LIVED in Saigon, I have never been to Halong Bay!!! 😱😱😱 But nonetheless, I still feel the need to go, so hopefully, I will go someday!!! 😢😢😢

[@mikeandashley]

Hope you are able to visit one day. It's a beautiful place! 🥰

[@yeulakho6574]

Nice cruise💐💟

[@mikeandashley]

It was! 😊

[@ThanhHoang-ev9qw]

Đẹp quá

[@mikeandashley]

It really was. ☺️

[@adamandlinds]

Oh wow, that room was amazing! I think we looked at that cruise line before booking ours. It's such a crapshoot when picking a HaLong Bay cruise!

[@mikeandashley]

There are so many choices! Who did you end up booking with?

[@adamandlinds]

@@mikeandashley orchid cruise lines. On the ship “trendy”

[@mikeandashley]

Oh nice! We’re going back with friends in a few months, but we’re gonna do it budget this time. Stay in a cheap hotel in town and do the public day cruise. It will be nice to see both sides, as the fancy isn’t usually our thing! But we had to try it. ☺️

[@adamandlinds]

@@mikeandashley Oh, that sounds awesome! It's really one of the most stunning places I've ever been.

[@mikeandashley]

Yea, it’s pretty epic. Have you guys been to Ninh Binh?

[@nopka2293]

สวยงามมหัสจรรย์มากฮาลองเบร์

[@mikeandashley]

It really is! 🥰

[@vickyandjosh]

Great video guys! That bed tho🤣. How did you fit!?🛌

[@mikeandashley]

Haha, Mike didn't, but he made it work. Thanks for watching! 🥰

[@gianglai5412]

~ HeLLo..thank you. Mike. Ashley. Good. 👍💕👫💜💜💜💜💜🌹🌷🌻🌹🌻🌸 ~ video. Geat. I.Lo ve you. HA Long bay. ( VIET NAM. )👍👏👏👏

[@mikeandashley]

Thanks for watching! We're glad you enjoyed the video. 🥰❤️

[@juliebabin]

Can we talk about this suite that you got !!! OMG.

[@mikeandashley]

It was a beautiful room! We were so surprised by the upgrade- that never happens to us! 😅

[@anhthujohnson4257]

Hello Mike and Ashley. Thank you for a beautiful and detailed experience of your Doris cruise. We are planning our journey to Vietnam at the moment! We do have some questions to ask. Did you book your cruise or trip with a travel company? What is the name? Were you happy with their service, accommodations and costs? Your response is most appreciated. Safe travels.

[@mikeandashley]

Hello! ☺️ Thank you for watching. 🤗 We booked directly with Doris Cruise. The price seemed comparable to other offerings, and the ship was quite nice. The staff was lovely, the food was pretty standard for buffet style cruise offerings. There are a lot of activities that are available included in the price, that we didn’t have the time to explore with filming and working on our video. I feel that for us, one night on the ship was plenty, as we’re not typically cruise people, we like to be able to get out and about, but if you want to enjoy all the amenities and excursions, two nights is probably better as it’s not quite as rushed. I hope this answers your questions. ☺️ There is a link in the description of this video that goes to the cruise we booked if you’re interested. We hope you enjoy your time in Vietnam, please let us know if you have any questions. Safe travels! ☺️

[@anhthujohnson4257]

Thank you for your response. We are researching and looking at different travel companies, they all have various tour packages . Picking the right ones seem such a task. Thank you . Safe travels.

[@mikeandashley]

Yea! It can all be so overwhelming. Thankfully, I have an Ashley, who is like our little travel planner extraordinaire! We hope you enjoy your time. 🤗

[@vinoymichael645]

No kayaking nd other activities ?? Bad weather ?

[@mikeandashley]

There was kayaking and other activities, but we didn’t have a way to film it in the weather unfortunately, so we just took it easy and relaxed. ☺️

[@vinoymichael645]

@@mikeandashley Just the way to be at it !! 😇

[@mikeandashley]

☺️🤗

[@dungthaousa]

Amazing my country ❤

[@mikeandashley]

It really is! We can't wait to return.

[@ng5437]

How long was the cruise? And just wondering what is your factors of consideration based on the so many cruises available out there?

[@mikeandashley]

Our cruise on the actual ship was from about 1pm till about 11am the next day. They also have two day options. We chose this cruise because Ashley preferred the look of the rooms and it seemed comparably priced with what was available. We booked pretty last minute though, so perhaps we would have had more variables had we looked ahead of time. Hope this helps!

[@ando9760]

Good morning from SoCal, Wow! You two did it! Hạ Long Bay is the most beautiful place in Vietnam. Congratulations! So how long was the trip from the moment they picked up and dropped off you two back to the hotel? ?450 was the cost per person? Forgive me for asking because I’ve never been back to VN since I left. Besides, the last real trip that my wife and I had was …14 ago so I have no clue how things cost Well, it’s great to follow you two on your videos. Good job! Thank you for sharing your trip. Have a great Labor Day weekend wherever you two currently are. Take care.

[@ductritran8637]

450 for two / day . Depend on what’s tour you buy in Hanoi . Too many 5 stars tours for Halong bay that you can shop around , some cheaper but some dearer .

[@ando9760]

@@ductritran8637 Thank you for the info.

[@trinhintranslation]

Ha Long bay is not really the most beautiful place in VN. I must say it's Ha Giang loop and Son Doong cave

[@ando9760]

@@trinhintranslation You can be right. It’s just my personal opinion. As the matter of fact, I have never been to any of those places. Thank you for stating your opinion.

[@mikeandashley]

Hey Ando! Good to hear from you again. It was from about 8:30am till about 4 or 5pm the following day. With about 3 hours commute in a van each way. The price, as someone else mentioned was $450 total, which included meals, but not drinks (not even soda, tea or coffee) and the activities, which we were lame, and didn’t partake in… mainly cause of the rain for kayaking and waking up too late for tai chi. 😅😂 It was certainly a beautiful place, but to be fair, so is so much of Vietnam. We can’t wait to be able to explore more beautiful places, and even more off the tourist trail the next time! Thanks for watching and saying hello! ☺️

[@ando9760]

I meant our last real trip was …14 years ago. Sorry that I had to clarify what I meant. Thank you.

[@mikeandashley]

No worries! ☺️

[@kdao4538]

Nice couple ❤

[@mikeandashley]

Thank you! 🥰

[@diepkhanghy]

Đồ ăn Việt Nam biết cách ăn sẽ kích thích lão bộ.Các vị giác sẽ cảm nhận rất rõ

[@mikeandashley]

Vietnamese food is the best! 😋😋😋

[@apam3108]

It's a pity that you missed out on so many beautiful caves here

[@mikeandashley]

In Vietnam or in Ha Long Bay? We are planning another trip to Vietnam where we hope to be able to explore some of the expansive cave systems. ☺️

[@apam3108]

​@@mikeandashleyCurrently in QUANG NINH province, in addition to HA LONG, there are more than a dozen caves that have been put into service for tourists, including: Thien Cung Cave, Dau Go Cave, Ba Hang Cave, Sung Sot Cave, Bo Nau Cave, Luon Cave , Ho Dong Tien Cave, Trong Cave. , and Ba Hang cave. Trinh Nu cave, Me Cung cave, Tien Ong cave, Co cave, Thay cave, Cap La cave. Famous beautiful caves

[@doodahgurlie]

@@mikeandashley Ooh...I am guessing you guys are gonna come back to do Phong Nha! Not sure how adventurous you guys are, but loved the ones "Adventures of A+K" did recently (they're fans of "Tim and Fin", the OG of caving as far as I'm concerned). But if you're not adventurous, then you can do as "Sammy and Tommy" did...but there's also Paradise and Dark Cave that are popular.

[@mikeandashley]

@apam3108, we’ll have to check them out! We’re coming back with some friends and I know they would want to see them. We’ll have to hope we will have enough time. ☺️ Thanks for the suggestions!

[@mikeandashley]

We would love too. It’s one of Ashley’s bucket list items!

[@tango2usa1]

❤

[@mikeandashley]

🥰

[@anonymousperson2345]

❤👍❤❤❤

[@mikeandashley]

🥰🥰🥰

[@2226robin]

Did you receive incentives from the cruise company ??? I cruised Ha Long bay once and I saw a lot a lot of plastic trash floating . Hmm $450 for 2 days, I can cruise Caribbean for a week from Miami with that price.

[@mikeandashley]

We received a $20 discount, but we’ll always share our honest opinions regardless of any incentives received. We didn’t see any trash, but parts of the water were a bit discolored. Truthfully, for the price, we would probably opt for the week-long cruise in the Caribbean, too. 😅

[@user-qu1ke8wv4d]

Does their safety measure strict?

[@mikeandashley]

What do you mean? On the ship?

[@TrongTran_1998]

❤❤❤🥰🥰🥰

[@mikeandashley]

❤️❤️❤️🤗🤗🤗

[@jaun6754]

Teluk Halong mantap indah Jaun 67 dari Indonesia 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@mikeandashley]

It really is! Indonesia is also beautiful. 🤗😉

[@mikeandashley]

@jaun6754 we hope you’ve seen some of our videos from Indonesia. ☺️🙏 Hope you’re having a lovely day!

[@maeranni]

Price pp?

[@mikeandashley]

No, this was the total price for both of us. ☺️

[@claushansen4381]

The 450 $ was that for both or each ? 😊

[@mikeandashley]

Hello! ☺️ The $450 was total price for both of us.

[@claushansen4381]

@@mikeandashley nice im planing to go in a cub of years :)

[@mikeandashley]

Have fun! 🫶

[@TrongTran_1998.]

❤❤❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊😊😊

[@mikeandashley]

🥰🥰🥰☺️☺️☺️

[@honghan5948]

$450 for each?

[@mikeandashley]

Oh no! 😅 $450 total. Sorry for the confusion. ☺️

[@tuka1751]

❤️❤️❤️ việt nam

[@mikeandashley]

🥰🥰🥰

[@truesouth4784]

Ha Long Bay is overrated for the money it costs.

[@mikeandashley]

We have to agree with you slightly. We're glad we experienced it, but we've had way better adventures for much less money in our travels. 😅

[@dmacquoid4702]

Time to nit pick…..love all of you videos but have you ever noticed that wearing a hat indoors in a restaurant might not be necessary? Just asking…..

[@amt7877]

Maybe a bad hair day 😅

[@mikeandashley]

It’s probably not necessary, but I’m just so accustomed to wearing it. I’m not a huge fan of my hair, so I wear the hat. 😅

[@mikeandashley]

Always! 😅😩

[@jon-ie4li]

The most overrated trip in Vietnam, Not the real Vietnam.

[@wtp4110]

What would be a real Vietnam trip to you?

[@douglashtang]

@@wtp4110I think he means to show more of the day to day Vietnam, the local side of Vietnam instead of the touristy side of Vietnam.

[@mikeandashley]

You may enjoy our next video, where we explore Ninh Bình. The cruise to Hạ Long Bay was a bucket list item for us, but we actually had more fun riding bicycles in the rain and exploring the local side of Tam Cốc. We try our best to show a mixture of popular tourist spots and local destinations on our channel, but we always prefer more authentic experiences. 😊

[@ucthonguyen685]

CHÚC HAI BẠN MỘT CHUYẾN DU LỊCH...HALONGBAY LOVE ❤❤❤❤❤

[@mikeandashley]

Thanks so much!

[@fissou1erfissionjr605]

Magnifique endroit mais il faut qu'il fasse beau sinon tout le charme disparait !!!🙂 mais j'ai opté pour un bateau plus petit (Dragon's pearl ) donc qui va dans des endroits différents que ces gros bateaux de croisière .

[@mikeandashley]

That sounds lovely! We’ve seen advertisements for that ship. Sounds lovely!