Hanoi
Most Ha Long Bay cruises sold from Hanoi collect you from your hotel in the Old Quarter or around Hoan Kiem Lake, so a room here means a door-to-door start: the shuttle comes between about 06:30 and 08:45 and brings you back the same way. These are the hotels we would book for the night before and after the boat, from grand French Quarter classics to small Old Quarter spa hotels.
18 hotels, including the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake and the French Quarter. Listed by classification, then size; not a ranking.
French Quarter, Hanoi · 5 stars · 358 rooms
Hanoi’s grand colonial hotel since 1901, with an outdoor pool and a famous spa, in the French Quarter where cruise shuttles collect.
From £266 a night
Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi · 5 stars · 123 rooms
An art-filled five-star hotel facing Hoan Kiem Lake, with a rooftop pool and bar, right where Ha Long Bay cruise shuttles collect.
From £92 a night
Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi · 5 stars · 120 rooms
A five-star hotel by Hoan Kiem Lake with a 12th-floor pool, O’Spa and a rooftop bar, in the area where Ha Long cruise shuttles collect.
From £104 a night
French Quarter, Hanoi · 5 stars · 107 rooms
A stylish 107-room MGallery hotel beside the Opera House, with a heated pool and spa, in the area where cruise shuttles collect.
From £135 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · 5 stars · 105 rooms
A five-star Old Quarter hotel with a rooftop infinity pool and sky bar, in the area where Ha Long Bay cruise shuttles collect.
From £99 a night
French Quarter, Hanoi · 5 stars · 47 rooms
A 47-room luxury hotel themed on 1920s opera, with an indoor pool and spa, steps from the Opera House where cruise shuttles collect.
From £367 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · 4 stars · 106 rooms
A polished 4-star on Hang Bong Street with a spa, sauna and gym, in the Old Quarter where cruise shuttles collect.
From £49 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · 4 stars · 55 rooms
A well-reviewed 55-room spa hotel on Hang Bong Street, near Train Street and Hoan Kiem Lake, with breakfast and a cruise shuttle pick-up close by.
From £95 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · 4 stars · 52 rooms
A modern 4-star boutique hotel with a rooftop bar on Hang Buom Street, in the Old Quarter where Ha Long cruise shuttles collect.
From £77 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · 4 stars · 50 rooms
A friendly boutique hotel on Ma May Street with a spa and a Vietnamese restaurant, right where Ha Long cruise shuttles collect in the Old Quarter.
From £73 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · 4 stars · 50 rooms
A polished Old Quarter hotel with La Spa and the Lighthouse Sky Bar on top, a short walk from Hoan Kiem Lake and in the cruise pick-up area.
From £75 a night
Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi · 4 stars · 48 rooms
A 4-star with a spa and a rooftop sky bar over Hoan Kiem Lake, in the area where Ha Long Bay cruise shuttles collect.
From £82 a night
Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi · 4 stars · 48 rooms
A stylish 4-star with a sky pool, spa and breakfast included, a minute from Hoan Kiem Lake where Ha Long cruise shuttles collect.
From £63 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · 4 stars · 35 rooms
A 4-star boutique hotel near St. Joseph’s Cathedral with buffet breakfast included and balcony rooms, where Ha Long cruise shuttles collect.
From £107 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · 4 stars · 30 rooms
A good-value 4-star with its own spa on Hang Trong Street, by Hoan Kiem Lake where Ha Long cruise shuttles collect.
From £43 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · Hotel · 80 rooms
An Old Quarter hotel with an outdoor pool, Ciel Spa and the Skyline rooftop restaurant, five minutes from Hoan Kiem Lake and in the cruise pick-up area.
From £70 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · Boutique hotel · 16 rooms
A small, well-rated Old Quarter hotel near St. Joseph’s Cathedral, a good-value base in the area where Ha Long cruise shuttles collect.
From £29 a night
Old Quarter, Hanoi · Hotel
A good-value Old Quarter hotel by Hoan Kiem Lake with its own rooftop sky bar, handy for the morning Ha Long cruise shuttle.
From £64 a night
The best-selling day cruise: Sung Sot Cave, Luon Cave kayaking and Ti Top, with Hanoi pick-up for US$10 more.
Departs from Hanoi Old Quarter · About 13 hours
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
The top-rated day trip, with a set-menu standard boat or a buffet and jacuzzi luxury boat.
Departs from Hanoi Old Quarter · About 13 hours
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
The most-reviewed overnight, with Sung Sot Cave and a US$25 return transfer from Hanoi or Ninh Binh.
Departs from Hanoi or Ninh Binh · 2 days, 1 night
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Ninh Binh with a hotel night, then a 5-star balcony cruise on Lan Ha Bay.
Departs from Hanoi · 3 days, 2 nights
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
The quieter route into Bai Tu Long Bay: Cap La kayaking and Thien Canh Son Cave.
Departs from Hanoi Old Quarter · 2 days, 1 night
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
The Taliya yacht to quiet Lan Ha Bay: bamboo boat through Dark and Bright Cave, kayaking at Ao Ech.
Departs from Hanoi Old Quarter · 7 hours on the bay
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Ha Long is about 130 km from Hanoi by expressway: about 3 hours on most day-cruise shuttles and 3.5 to 4 hours on most overnight ones, with a rest stop on the way. A private car takes about 2 to 2.5 hours door to door.
The Old Quarter’s narrow streets of shops and street food, Hoan Kiem Lake at its southern edge, and the French Quarter’s opera house and boulevards a short walk beyond. Every hotel on this page is in this central area.
Where a street is too narrow for a bus, the shuttle meets you at a point a short walk from the hotel; the cruise listing or your confirmation names it. On day cruises you are back in the Old Quarter at about 20:30 to 21:00.
Yes. Almost every cruise sold from Hanoi runs its own bus or limousine van from the Old Quarter and the Hoan Kiem Lake area to the harbour and back, collecting between about 06:30 and 08:45 at your hotel or a meeting point a short walk away.
About 3 hours on most day-cruise shuttles and 3.5 to 4 hours on most overnight ones, including a stop. A private car takes about 2 to 2.5 hours.
From a day cruise at about 20:30 to 21:00; from an overnight cruise at about 15:00 to 16:00 on the last day, as the listings on this site show.
Our list covers the hotels we would book. Around them, this map shows apartments and other places to stay with prices from the big booking sites, in case none of ours suits your dates.
The map is by Stay22, which links to the booking sites. If you book through it we may earn a commission.
Sources: bhayacruises.com, en.baochinhphu.vn.
