Galaxy Cruise Kayak

[Mei Li Wu]

Ourtrip began in Hanoi. At 8:30 am we were picked up by a Galaxy Cruise shuttle, joining approximately 14 other people on board the van. We drove east towards the Vietnam coastline for four hours, arriving at the pier at 12:30. The drive was very scenic, taking us past more rice fields and small towns. From here, a tender, or small shuttle boat, carried all of us 150 meters to our Galaxy Premium cruise ship.

Once on board, we were given a few minutes to explore the ship before being served lunch. In the dining area, a room surrounded by windows so we would not miss those spectacular views of the Ha Long Bay islands, we ate a Vietnamese lunch of meat dishes, seafood, and vegetables, with fruit for dessert.

After lunch everyone got settled into their rooms. Tim and I splurged here, reserving the Honeymoon Suite for the two of us and a twin room for Tyler and Kara just across the hall. Normally we do not book such fancy accommodations but we wanted this experience to be as nice as possible.

This would also be the first time that Tyler and Kara would sleep alone in their own room since starting this trip. All four of us were thrilled with our rooms. With the Honeymoon Suite we had a slightly larger room with larger windows. Most rooms are on the bottom deck with small windows and less visibility. Our room was one of four on the upper level, the advantage here being better views out of our windows.

After cruising a short ways through Ha Long Bay we arrived at our first excursion, kayaking in the bay. We all paired off into bright yellow kayaks for a one and a half hour journey through the bay and nearby wet caves.

Upon waking up the next morning we were greeted with foggy skies. The fog was so bad that we could barely see the mountains that were not even 100 meters away. It was very disappointing but it could have been worse; sometimes the fog is so thick that the events for the day are cancelled. Today, we could at least stick to the original itinerary.

We boarded a smaller day boat to take us to a Pearl Farm and Lan Ha Bay. At the Pearl Farm we learned about different species of oysters and how pearls are made. Afterwards, we went on another short kayaking excursion through one of the nearby lagoons.

From the Pearl Farm we cruised through the Lan Ha Bay and out towards the South China Sea. Even though it was foggy and totally overcast, it was still very beautiful. On board the boat we ate a fabulous lunch of fresh seafood and vegetables, by far the best meal we ate on the entire cruise. And after lunch the sky began to brighten, just enough to give us hope that we may actually get to see the sun.

By mid afternoon we reached our final destination of the day trip, a spot to go swimming. Our family was not very excited about swimming here because of the cool temperatures and the amount of trash in the water. The amount of trash was a little better here, but after watching trash drift by our boat all day none of us were interested in swimming in this water.

Instead of swimming we kayaked around the area, visiting the small beaches and looking for shells. This was the prettiest place we went kayaking while in Ha Long Bay, and exploring the beaches, even though they were very small, was a lot of fun for Tyler and Kara.

It was only a twenty minute ride back to our Galaxy Cruise ship. On board we showered and then went up on the deck to enjoy the views. The sun was out now, lighting up the sky and the mountains. Beautiful. It was 5 pm and the sun was just beginning to set. What a fabulous day!

On the third day of the cruise we awoke to clouds and rain, but no fog, a huge improvement. After breakfast the sun peaked out from behind the clouds and slowly the clouds began to drift away. We would have sunny skies on our final day, for which we were very thankful.

The four of us and most of the people on our boat went for a tour through the Me Cung Cave. Our tiny, young, and very enthusiastic guide, Happy, had us crawling through all kinds of tunnels and tight spaces. We felt like we were back in the Cu Chi Tunnels again.

The cruise on Ha Long Bay was wonderful and is probably the highlight of Vietnam for our family, although Hoi An is a close second. It started off dreary and awakening to fog on our first morning was a bit of a let down, but it was still a beautiful, enjoyable experience. The tour itinerary kept us busy, with activities like kayaking, tai chi, cooking, squid fishing, and karaoke. It is impossible to get bored. The staff on board made sure that everyone was always comfortable and having a good time, and the accommodations were very clean and comfortable.

My only real complaint has nothing to do with Galaxy Cruise Lines but with the cleanliness of Ha Long Bay. The amount of trash floating in the water was appalling. We were told that the fisherman who work here carelessly throw their trash into the harbor, polluting this absolutely beautiful part of the world. The Vietnamese government is trying to stop this by moving the fisherman on land, offering free housing and free schooling for their children. Hopefully this will work, although I do wonder how fisherman will be able to work by living on the land. It is very distressing to see such a beautiful place treated with such carelessness and disrespect.

The best time of year to visit Ha Long Bay is between the months of September and December. The skies are clear at this time of year and the summer heat is fading away. From December through March the skies are overcast and drizzly and temperatures are cooler.

In February, our average daytime temperature was 23 Celsius (about 74 Fahrenheit), very pleasant, but not quite warm enough to go swimming. In April the skies clear but Ha Long Bay really begins to warm up. During the summer months we were told that temperatures can reach up to 38 Celsius.

A two day cruise only gives travelers the afternoon of the first day and the morning of the second day on Ha Long Bay, with a four hour van ride both days. In my opinion, this is hardly enough time to get to really enjoy Ha Long Bay. If you have the time in your schedule, the three day cruise is worth it. We would have missed so much if we had only taken the two day cruise (such as the trip out to the swimming area, the highlight of the cruise for our family).

PLACES TO GO IN VIETNAM: Hoi An is our favorite city in Vietnam but Hanoi is a close second. Taking a boat trip on the Mekong Delta is a wonderful experience to have. For a bigger list of things to do, read our article Best Things to Do in Vietnam.

TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD: Learn more how to plan a trip around the world in our Around the World Travel Guide. You can also read our 13 Month Around the World Itinerary and a recap about our around the world trip.

TRAVEL INSPIRATION: Looking for more travel ideas? Here are 10 great destinations to visit during the winter months. We also have articles listing our favorite bucket list destinations and 10 different ways to spend 10 days in Europe.

Yes, I believe it has been several years since they offered tours, unfortunately, because they did a great job. I kept their name in the post just to clarify who we used. I will add a note that they are no longer offering tours. Cheers, Julie

This is one of the best vlogs on Ha Long Bay that I have seen, the top-notch. Your vlog forces me to do this cruise very soon, although feel like I have been on this cruise. a brilliant job. I need this trip. Thank you for sharing.

Earth Trekkers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by advertising & linking to Amazon.com.

Yes, my wife and I did this excursion in December (Galaxy). You tender off the ship after passing through the locks. Tender takes you to a waiting bus, where you board and travel to a viewing area at the Gatun Locks. You spend about 45 minutes watching ships pass through the locks (nice to see it from that side). The bus then takes you to a resort hotel on the lake. From there you walk down to the docks where your guide helps you into the two passenger kayaks. You paddle around the lake with two guides. You do see some wildlife and we could hear the Howler monkeys in the forest. At the end of the excursion they bus you back to where the ship is docked in Christobal. There is a large shopping area at the port, and they flat out tell you not to walk into the city of Christobal (it did appear to be pretty rough looking). It was pretty basic as far as the kayaking was concerned, but we enjoyed it. Great guides with lots of information and in prefect English. You do travel through some of the old American zones, which is where the military housed forces before the canal was turned over to the country of Panama.

Yes runnerman, it was worth it to us. This was our second trip through the Panama Canal, so we wanted to do something different. Some people stayed on the ship so they could experience the locks again without all the crowds. We've done these kayak excursions in at least different 10 ports and have always had fun.

Thanks for starting this thread...we are wondering the same thing! Can anyone else comment on this tour? How long is the travel time between the Colon port and the Sol Melia Resort? How long from Gamboa Resort back to the cruise port? Is there much wildlife to be seen? How long are you actually kayaking?

My family of 4 did this tour December 2009 and thought it was just ok. There was so much travel time by bus & boat, very little time kayaking. The area was beautiful but wasn't really what we expected.

From the Sol Melia back to Colon is not far at all, maybe a 20 minute drive. Gamboa back to the Atlantic side is not as long as it used to be, there is a new road open and the trip can usually be made in an hour. Allowing for 1.5 hours each way is a reasonable estimate for loading, unloading etc.

3a8082e126