What to pack for a Ha Long Bay cruise: day trip or overnight

A day cruise from Hanoi is a long day, out of the Old Quarter at about 07:30 and back at about 20:30 to 21:00, but you only need one small bag. The listings agree on the core: swimwear and a towel for the beach at Ti Top, sunglasses, a sun hat and sunscreen for the open deck, comfortable shoes for the steps up through Sung Sot Cave and to the Ti Top viewpoint, and quick-dry clothes for the kayak at Luon Cave. Wear the swimwear under your clothes and you can go straight into the water at the island stop.

The best-selling Ha Long Bay day cruise, rated 4.8 from more than 14,900 reviews and from €35.90, lists sunglasses, a sun hat, swimwear, a towel and quick-dry clothing, and gives you free bottles of water on the bus. The luxury day cruise with a buffet lunch, rated 4.9 from more than 6,300 reviews and from €37.22, adds a deck jacuzzi on its luxury boat, so the swimwear earns its place twice. The day cruise with lunch, cave and kayaking, rated 4.9 from 334 reviews and from €35.85, asks for comfortable shoes, a hat, a camera, sunscreen and water (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026).

If you are still deciding between a day and a night on the water, our guide to a day trip or an overnight cruise sets out the timings, and all our cruises and tours are on one page.

We read the “what to bring” and “not allowed” lines on all 28 listings. The table gives them for the cruises and tours we recommend most, in each listing’s own terms. Two patterns stand out: the overnight ships ask most often for your passport or passenger details, and the plastic ban appears on day boats and overnights alike.

On the overnight ships we read, check-in comes with a welcome drink and a cold towel, and bottled water waits in the cabin, so you pack for the activities rather than the room. The Elite ship with a panoramic pool, rated 4.9 from more than 3,100 reviews and from €113.39, asks for full passenger details in advance and bans plastic bags and bottles. The 5-star balcony cruise from Hanoi or Ninh Binh, rated 4.8 from more than 6,300 reviews and from €114.30, lists a passport or ID card, comfortable shoes, sunglasses, a sun hat, swimwear and sunscreen, and includes all-day room service. On the best-value balcony and bathtub cruise, from €99.79, and the 5-star Lan Ha and Ha Long balcony cruise, from €128.78, you settle the bar bill at the end of the trip, so a card or some cash is the one extra to pack (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026).

The passport is not a formality the cruise lines invented. Quang Ninh province’s rules for tourist boats on Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay (Decision 43/2024/QĐ-UBND, in force since 20 October 2024) require the port management board and the crew to check every passenger aboard and sign them off on the boat’s passenger list before it leaves (Article 7). For a night on board the rules go further: an overnight boat must declare the temporary residence of its foreign guests under Vietnam’s law on the entry and residence of foreigners (Article 8). That is why the cruise lines ask for full passenger details when you book.

What to carry depends on the listing. The Ha Long and Lan Ha 5-star balcony cruise says a current valid passport is required on the day of travel; the Amethyst luxury day cruise, from €46.35, accepts a passport or ID card, copy accepted, and asks for full name, gender, date of birth and nationality in advance; the Taliya day cruise to Lan Ha Bay, from €51.79, asks for a copy of your passport at least 24 hours before check-in. Send the details as soon as you book, then keep the passport itself in your day bag rather than your suitcase, so it is with you at the pier (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026).

What goes in the bag changes more with the month than with the ship. The table groups the official Bai Chay climate averages (QCVN 02:2022/BXD) and the sea temperatures from World Sea Temperature into four packing seasons; our month-by-month guide to the best time to visit Ha Long Bay has the full table, with rain, sun, fog and storms.

From May to September pack for heat: highs above 30 °C, a sea of 27 to 30 °C, and showers that come and go, so a light rain jacket beats an umbrella on deck. From December to March pack a warm layer and a windproof jacket for the sundeck in the evening, and a change of clothes for the kayak; one listing advises exactly that from December through March. Winter is also when the Elite ship’s four-season pool, spa and sauna and the balcony cruise with a bathtub in every cabin are worth the swimwear you packed. For wet and cool days in more detail, read our guide to Ha Long Bay in the rainy season and winter.

Ha Long Bay asks visitors to leave single-use plastic behind. The Ha Long Bay Management Board’s visitor rules say not to bring or use single-use plastic products on a Ha Long Bay trip and not to throw rubbish into the bay, and the province’s boat rules bar single-use plastic products and hard-to-degrade nylon bags on tourist boats, in line with Vietnam’s national plan against marine plastic litter (Decision 43/2024, Article 7). Six of our 28 listings repeat it in their “not allowed” lines, among them the best-selling Ha Long Bay day cruise and the Elite overnight ship.

So pack a reusable bottle. Water is easy to come by: the best-selling day cruise hands out bottles of water on the bus, and the overnight ships put one or two bottles a person in the cabin. The one listing to plan for is the luxury day cruise with a buffet lunch: drinks are sold on board, you may bring your own water in a reusable bottle, and the listing says there is no water refill on board, so fill it before you leave Hanoi. On every cruise, drinks beyond the welcome drink and the sunset tea are usually extra, and the bar takes payment on board (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026).

Travel light and the day is easier. Most of our overnight ships anchor off Tuan Chau and you reach them by tender, where the province’s rules have everyone wear a life jacket for the whole transfer (Decision 43/2024, Article 11), so a backpack or soft holdall you can carry on your lap beats a wheeled case. For one night you need little: the change of clothes, swimwear, a warm layer in winter, chargers and the passport. If you are coming back through Hanoi, leave the large case where you are staying and take only the overnight bag.

Some listings are clear about it. The Taliya day cruise asks you not to bring large luggage; the Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay 5-star cruise, from €31.75, says you can bring your luggage on the boat, which suits travellers carrying on south; and on the Elite ship the guide escorts transfer guests to the vehicle and helps with the luggage at the end of the cruise. The shuttles from Hanoi run about 3 hours on most day cruises and 3.5 to 4 hours on most overnights, so keep water, a layer for the air-conditioning and anything you need on the road in the bag at your feet. Our guide to getting from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay covers the shuttles, limousine vans and private cars (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026).

From Cat Ba Island the days are more active, and the kit lists are longer. The Cat Ba kayak and snorkelling boat tour, rated 4.6 from 493 reviews and from €31.17, includes the kayak, safety vests and snorkelling gear, and asks you to bring a towel, a change of clothes, sandals, hiking shoes, beachwear, sunscreen and insect repellent. At Monkey Island the boat may not be able to anchor at the shore, depending on the tide, so you swim in; the listing suggests a larger waterproof bag for your hiking boots if you plan to climb to the viewpoint.

The half-day hike in Cat Ba National Park, rated 4.7 from 424 reviews and from €24.94, climbs about 45 minutes through the forest to Ngu Lam peak, 220 metres above the sea, and visits Trung Trang Cave; it asks for hiking shoes, a sun hat, water, sunscreen, insect repellent and outdoor clothing, and leaves pushchairs behind. Both include hotel pick-up on Cat Ba (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026). Our guide to kayaking in Lan Ha Bay compares the paddling days.

Choose the day-bag list if you are taking a day cruise from Hanoi: passport or ID, swimwear, a towel, sun cover, comfortable shoes and a reusable bottle, on the best-selling Ha Long Bay day cruise from €35.90 or the luxury buffet day cruise from €37.22. Choose the overnight list if you are sleeping on the bay: add a change of clothes, a warm layer from December to March and a card for the bar bill, on the Elite ship with a panoramic pool from €113.39 or the best-value balcony and bathtub cruise from €99.79. Choose the active list if you are based on Cat Ba: hiking shoes, sandals, insect repellent and a dry bag, for the kayak and snorkelling boat tour from €31.17 (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026).

Travelling with children, add spare clothes and a carrier rather than a pushchair; our guide to the best Ha Long Bay cruises for families has the child rules for each cruise. Every one of the 28 cruises we list can be cancelled free up to 24 hours ahead, so you can book now and pack later.