Tommy made this trip delightful

You can't go wrong in Bai Tu Long Bay. The scenery alone is worth the trip.

We also had the pleasure of having Tommy as a tour guide. Tommy has an incredible presence, balancing authority, knowledge, kindness, and humor to keep everyone on track, provide insight into the culture and a few laughs along the way. I'd hire him again in a second.

If you're trying to decide between 2D1N and 3D2N: 3D2N includes everything that is part of the 2D1N trip, your first and last days are spent with the groups doing 2D1N. But on the middle day, you go on a day boat further out into the islands and spend time kayaking, seeing the fishing villages, learnings how they make pearls and you're back in time to join the 2D1N folks on their afternoon kayak outing.

We did the 2D1N trip with Swan Cruises. Tommy picked us up at our hotel in Hanoi at 8am, we stopped at a rest area (government mandated) on the way. We arrived at Ha Long city around 12:30 and made our way to the boat. First order of business: Lunch. Followed by a couple hours of "free time" before the kayak outing. We kayaked to a beach where we could swim in the water. Upon returning to the boat, everyone freshened up and then we had cocktail hour before dinner. That evening, Tommy showed us how to fish for squid; our group caught about 10 which were prepared for our lunch the next day (and supplemented with other squid so that everyone could eat)! On day 2, they took us to a cave that you can walk inside. Then, we made our way back to Ha Long city for the drive back to Hanoi.