Du Yen Atelier Cruise Ha Long Bay 3 Days 2 Nights

Itinerary, day by day

Day 1: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay – Luon Cave – Titop Island (Lunch/Dinner)

Limousine east to the coast, lunch as the ship clears the harbour, a lagoon reached by kayak and the climb on Titop Island, then the Afternoon Atelier.

Your limousine collects you from your hotel in the Hanoi Old Quarter in the morning and runs east to Ha Long on the coastal expressway, a drive of roughly two and a half hours. At the waiting lounge you are met with a welcome drink while the crew handle check-in, so you board with your paperwork already done.

The ship casts off around midday and lunch is served as she clears the harbour, a fusion buffet built on local seafood. Ha Long Bay was inscribed by UNESCO in 1994 and extended in 2000, and holds close to 2,000 limestone islands across the bay and its quieter neighbour Bai Tu Long. You take your suite in the early afternoon and the Cruise Manager runs through the ship and the programme with you.

The first stop is Luon Cave, reached by kayak or by traditional sampan if you would rather be paddled. The cave is really a low arch in the rock that opens into an enclosed lagoon: you duck through under the limestone and come out into still green water ringed by cliffs, with macaques often on the ledges. In the late afternoon the ship anchors at Titop Island, where you can swim from the crescent beach or climb to the viewpoint for the long view back down the bay. The island is named after the Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov, who visited with President Ho Chi Minh in 1962. The viewpoint is a climb of more than 400 steps, steep in places and without shade; the beach below needs no climbing at all and there is no obligation to go up.

Back on board the Afternoon Atelier begins: afternoon tea with live music, then a heritage-inspired art workshop and a cooking class with the ship's chef. Dinner is a seasonal set menu served with live music. Afterwards the crew open the bar for flair bartending and karaoke, set up the lines for traditional night squid fishing, and bring out Vietnamese costume for anyone who wants to try it. Overnight on board.

Meals: Lunch, Dinner · Overnight: Du Yen Atelier Cruise, Ha Long Bay · Drive: about 2.5 hours, limousine

Day 2: Lan Ha Bay – Trinh Nu & Rooster Cave – Ba Trai Dao – Me Cung Cave (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)

A full day by tender into Lan Ha Bay: kayaking under the cliffs, swimming off the Three Peaches, and a cave on the way home.

The day opens with Tai Chi on the sundeck as the light comes up over the karsts, followed by a full breakfast before you transfer to the day boat. The tender collects you off Titop Island and heads south past the rock formations the bay is named for, the Man's Head and Saddle Rock, towards Trinh Nu Cave.

You kayak at Trinh Nu and at Rooster Cave, working along the cliff faces at water level where the limestone is undercut and the water is clear enough to see the bottom. The boat then carries on into Lan Ha Bay to Ba Trai Dao, the Three Peaches, with lunch served on board as you sail. The afternoon is swimming and free time at Ba Trai Dao, then a slow return past Toad Rock and the Devil's Face, with a stop at Me Cung Cave.

Afternoon tea with fresh fruit is served before you rejoin the main ship, and the evening on board follows the same rhythm as the first: dinner, music, and the bar and squid lines for anyone still awake. Overnight on board.

Which stops the day boat makes is set on the morning by the weather and by harbourmaster routing, not by us: Lan Ha and the outer bay close to small craft in strong wind. If a stop is dropped the crew substitute another on the same route. We will not promise you a specific rock on a specific morning.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner · Overnight: Du Yen Atelier Cruise, Ha Long Bay · Full day by tender into Lan Ha Bay

Day 3: Sung Sot Cave – Brunch on board – Ha Long – Hanoi (Breakfast/Brunch)

Sunrise and Tai Chi on the sundeck, the two great chambers of Sung Sot Cave, then brunch as the ship returns to harbour.

Sunrise over the bay from the sundeck, with a Tai Chi session for those who want it, and a light early breakfast served while the ship lies at anchor. Mid-morning you go ashore with the Cruise Manager for Sung Sot Cave, the Cave of Surprises, on Bo Hon Island. It is the largest cave in the bay: two vast chambers of stalactites and limestone formations, lit to pick out the shapes, discovered by French surveyors in 1901.

Sung Sot is reached by roughly a hundred stone steps up from the jetty and the same number down on the far side. The steps are often damp and the cave is humid; flat shoes with grip make the difference. Guests who would rather stay on board are welcome to.

Back on board you have time in the suite to pack while check-out is handled quietly at your door, and a semi-buffet brunch is served as the ship returns to harbour. You disembark around midday, where your limousine is waiting for the drive back to Hanoi, arriving mid-afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast, Brunch · Drive: about 2.5 hours, limousine

What's included

Included

Not included

Age pricing

Rates are the starting point for a private quote and move with season, hotel choice and party size. Nothing is charged on this site. Send an inquiry and a designer confirms the exact figure in writing.

Frequently asked questions

• How much does the 3-day Du Yen Atelier Cruise cost?

  From US$412 per person for two sharing The Vault Suite in the summer promotion, 2 May to 30 September 2027. A Du Yen Artisan Suite is US$455 and a Du Yen Galerie Suite is US$486 on the same basis, and the three largest categories run from US$695 to US$1,129. Standard season, 1 January to 1 May and 1 October to 31 December 2027, adds roughly 8 per cent. The price already includes the return limousine transfer from the Hanoi Old Quarter, seven meals on board, the day boat into Lan Ha Bay, the cruise guide and all bay fees. Travelling alone, the ship's own single rate is US$677 in The Vault Suite in the summer promotion. Groups from eight suites pay US$471 per guest on a run-of-house basis. The Vault Suite is the entry category but there are only two of them on board; the Du Yen Artisan Suite, at US$455, is the one with ten suites and the best availability.

• Is this a private cruise?

  No. The limousine transfer between Hanoi and Ha Long is yours, with a pick-up at your hotel in the Old Quarter, but the ship is shared: Du Yen Atelier carries 28 suites and you join the other guests on board for meals, the Afternoon Atelier and the island and cave visits, with an English-speaking cruise guide looking after everyone. The day boat into Lan Ha Bay on day two is shared as well. If you want the whole ship to yourselves, ask us for a charter quote for all 28 suites.

• Is this Ha Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay?

  Both. The ship sails and overnights in Ha Long Bay, and visits Luon Cave, Titop Island and Sung Sot Cave there. The whole of day two is spent in Lan Ha Bay, the quieter water south of the main channel behind Cat Ba Island, reached by tender rather than by the main ship: Trinh Nu Cave, Rooster Cave, Ba Trai Dao and Me Cung Cave. That day is the main reason to take the three-day programme rather than the two-day one.

• What is the difference between the 2-day and the 3-day Du Yen Atelier Cruise?

  One extra night, and one extra day that the two-day programme does not have at all. Day one and the last morning are identical on both: Luon Cave, Titop Island, the Afternoon Atelier, and Sung Sot Cave before brunch on the way back to harbour. The three-day programme inserts a full day by tender into Lan Ha Bay in between, with kayaking at Trinh Nu and Rooster Cave, swimming off Ba Trai Dao and a stop at Me Cung Cave, plus three more meals on board. On price, the three-day fare is not double the two-day one: from US$412 against US$223, because the cabin is charged for two nights while the limousine transfer is only paid once.

• What is Du Yen Atelier Cruise like?

  A 28-suite ship on Ha Long Bay, built around art: the design is contemporary Indochine, with curated pieces through the public rooms and a heritage art workshop as part of the daily programme. Every room on board is a suite with a private balcony facing the bay and a deep soaking tub beside the window, and the top categories add an outdoor tub on a private terrace. There are six categories across two decks: The Vault Suite at 30 m2 and the Du Yen Artisan Suite at 40 m2 on deck one, and the Galerie at 40 m2, the Edition at 45 m2, the Residence at 55 m2 and the Horizon at 60 m2 on deck two. Vietnam runs no official star rating for overnight cruise ships, so the five-star label the ship uses is the operator's own description rather than a government classification.

• How do I get from Hanoi to the ship?

  A limousine collects you from your hotel in the Hanoi Old Quarter in the morning and brings you back the following afternoon. Both legs are in the price. The drive is about two and a half hours each way on the coastal expressway. You check in at the cruise lounge in Ha Long, where a welcome drink is waiting and the crew take your luggage, and a tender runs you out to the ship. A shared shuttle bus is the cheaper alternative and takes US$14 per person off the fare, but it picks up from a fixed point rather than from your hotel. If your hotel is outside the Old Quarter, expect a short taxi to the meeting point, or ask us to quote a pick-up from your address.

• What meals are included, and can you cater for special diets?

  Four meals are included: a fusion buffet lunch and a set-menu dinner with live music on the first day, and a light early breakfast and a semi-buffet brunch on the second. All of them are in the fare, along with the welcome drink and the afternoon tea. Vegetarian, halal, no-pork, no-beef and allergy requirements are straightforward when you tell us at the time of booking, because the ship provisions for the whole voyage before it sails. Told at the table, they are much harder. Drinks are not included.

• What about children?

  Children are welcome. Infants aged 0 to 2 travel free sharing their parents' bed. Children aged 3 to 10 pay 68 per cent of the adult fare sharing their parents' bed, or 86 per cent with an extra bed, which is about US$280 and US$354 against the US$412 entry fare. One child per suite may share the bed and only one extra bed fits in a suite. From 11 they pay the adult fare. The climb at Titop Island and the stairs into Sung Sot Cave are both optional. The full day on the tender in Lan Ha Bay is long for a small child, so tell us their ages when you ask for a quote and we will say plainly whether the two-day programme suits you better.

• How much walking and climbing is there?

  Two things are worth saying plainly. The climb to the Titop viewpoint is more than 400 steps, steep in places and without shade. Sung Sot Cave is about a hundred stone steps up from the jetty and the same number down the far side, often damp underfoot and humid inside. Both are optional and nobody will hurry you; the beach at Titop needs no climbing at all. Everything else, the kayak or sampan at Luon Cave, the meals, the art workshop, Tai Chi and squid fishing, is level and undemanding. Flat shoes with grip make the cave much easier.

• What happens if the bay closes or the weather turns?

  In a storm or in heavy monsoon conditions the harbourmaster can refuse the overnight sailing permit, and no cruise on Ha Long Bay sails without one. If that happens before you leave Hanoi, the cruise is not charged. If the ship has already sailed, the ship applies a graduated charge against the days actually delivered, and we work the options with the ship and confirm the position to you in writing on the day. We do not promise a full refund in that case, because the ship's contract does not provide one. One more thing worth knowing: the mobile signal in the middle of the bay is patchy and the ship's Wi-Fi runs over the same network, so treat the night on board as time offline.

• Do I need a visa for Vietnam?

  Citizens of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Nordic countries, Japan, South Korea and a number of other European countries can enter Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days. Most ASEAN citizens get 14 to 30 days. Everyone else, including US, Canadian, Australian and Indian passport holders, applies online for an e-visa (up to 90 days, single or multiple entry) at the official portal evisa.gov.vn, usually issued in about 3 working days. Full list in our Vietnam e-visa guide at worldmatetravel.com/guide-for-vietnam-evisa

• How do I book and pay?

  Send an inquiry and we confirm the price in writing within 24 hours. Nothing is charged on this website. To confirm your cruise, pay a 30% deposit by bank transfer or by Visa, Mastercard or Amex through a secure OnePay payment link that we email to you. The remaining 70% is due at least 14 days before you arrive. Card payments carry a 3% convenience fee for Visa and Mastercard and 4.5% for Amex. An overnight cruise cancels on the ship's own scale, not on our general land-tour terms, and the ship's scale governs where the two differ: for one or two suites there is no charge until six days before check-in, then 25% from six to three days, and 100% inside three days. Larger bookings come under a longer scale that begins 60 days out, and we will set out the exact figures for your party in writing when you book. All cancellations must reach us in writing. Full terms at worldmatetravel.com/terms-and-conditions#cancellation The port authority also requires a full guest list before the ship may sail: full name, nationality, passport number, gender, date of birth and bed preference.