Rita Halong & Lan Ha Bay Cruise - 2 Days

Hanoi - Halong Bay - Lan Ha Bay. If you have opted for the Hanoi start, you will be collected from your hotel in the Hanoi Old Quarter area or Hanoi Opera House between 8 am and 8:30 am, for the two and a half hour drive to Halong Bay on the new expressway, with a short rest stop along the way. Alternatively, if you choose to start your tour in Halong Bay, you will need to make your way to the harbour.

Between 11:30 am and 12:15 pm, a speedboat transfers you from the wharf across Halong Bay to board your luxury cruise, continuing into Lan Ha Bay - a quieter, less visited stretch of the wider bay. Once aboard, we enjoy a welcome drink and safety briefing at 12:45 pm, then a special lunch of fresh Vietnamese seafood and a vegetarian set menu at 1 pm as the boat cruises through Halong Bay's dramatic rock formations.

From 2 pm, you check into your cabin and freshen up as the boat passes Con Vit Islet, Thumb Islet and Gia Luan Harbour in the Cat Ba area, before you can discover a natural lagoon for swimming or sunbathing, then continue to Tra Bau Island for kayaking and a swim.

Back on board by 5:30 pm, we join a sunset party with fruit, cake and wine, followed by a cooking class at 6 pm to learn traditional Vietnamese dishes, then dinner in the restaurant at 7 pm. The evening then opens up for you to spend as you choose - cards, chess, music, squid fishing, or a massage at an additional cost, before settling in for the night aboard.

Lan Ha Bay - Tuan Chau Marina - Hanoi. This morning, you have the option of a Tai Chi session on the sundeck between 6:30 am and 7 am, followed by tea or coffee with the morning view and breakfast at the restaurant.

At 8 am, the ship moves to Frog Pond, filming location for the Hollywood blockbuster King Kong, where you can swim or kayak for around 45 minutes. Back on board by 9 am, you shower and check out of your cabin, leaving luggage in the corridor outside, before a buffet lunch at 10 am as the boat cruises back towards the harbour.

Between 11 am and 11:20 am, you transfer to Tuan Chau Pier by tender boat, before the boat returns to Tuan Chau Harbour by 11:30 am. From here, we continue by limousine to Hanoi between 12 pm and 12:30 pm, with a short rest stop between 1:50 pm and 2 pm, arriving back at your hotel in Hanoi between 3 pm and 3:20 pm.