1/3/2024 0 Comments Fastlane kayak![]() We met an Austrian couple in Cat Ba that chose a much more rewarding and even cheaper way, we did not know of. We left with the bitter feeling that what could have been a truly unique experience, an experience in a lifetime, was somewhat average… ![]() Is it lack of creativity that drives Vietnam’s tourist industry? Is it shortsightedness to focus on cheap mass-tourism? Whatever the reason, it made this cruise a frustrating and somewhat disheartening experience. In January, the slowest season of the year, we counted 38 (!) boats anchored in one of the bays! What it’s like in the high season, when most of the 1.000 boats based in Halong City & and the 100 boats from Cat Ba are at sea, we simple do not dare to envision. The concentration of tourists was mind-boggling and for us, a real turn off. We never got to see the more secluded places, the true gems of Halong Bay… True, a 3 days / 2 nights cruise including Cat Ba takes you to areas further out, but even there we felt rushed. We would have preferred cruising to the more remote parts of the bay. Swimming or paddling around in kayaks are surely nice breaks during a three-day cruise, but why together with 20 other boats, why not in more remote parts of the Bay? Also the other stops at caves and beaches, even a visit to a pearl farm, followed the same pattern… No escape from the masses! What could and should have been an inspiring cruise through a fairytale-like landscape was really a mediocre medley of unexciting activities.
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