Petit White Dolphin Cruise

We went through a tour operator to book our trip on the Petit White Dolphin, a 4 cabin boat with a maximum of just 8 passengers. Despite its small size, it still had plenty of room for large cabins and good-sized bathrooms. The only problem I found was that the beds were pretty hard.Along the trip, we headed out to a fishing village on the sampan boat of a local, went kayaking and visited a cave. The food is cooked on board so it’s very fresh, and the quality and quantity are nothing to be sniffed at in the slightest. The crew were really nice and helpful and contributed to a fantastic 24 hours in the bay. I think I would prefer to do the Petit White Dolphin Cruise again because the small passenger size is perfect for me and my girlfriend.

This was exactly the cruise that me and my girlfriend were after. Everyone reading this will already know of the 1000 other tour companies in Halong Bay, but we found through similar research that the Petit White Dolphin was great value for a very personalised service.The small size of 4 cabins is why we chose the Petit White Dolphin; it was just us and one other couple cruising during the time that we were there! The cruise goes through the most beautiful of areas and it was so relaxing just to lounge on the top deck and watch them all pass.The food was good but a little bland at times. I prefer very spicy food but I don’t think the cruise is catered to people like me! It was still overall nice so I don’t really have any complaints.The staff were very approachable for the whole trip and they were always smiling whenever we ran into them on the ship (which was constantly seeing as there are only 4 cabins). The activities were also very fun, with kayaking and caving being the two that really stood out to us.This is really good value for money, which is saying a lot coming from us as we are definitely low-budget travellers!

8 of the 7 spots on the Petit White Dolphin Cruise were taken by me and my friends, meaning we had a private cruise in beautiful Bai Tu Long Bay! Our bus picked us up on time and drove us swiftly, but safely, to the bay, which took about 4 hours with the obligatory tourist stop on the way.It only took about 20 minutes to load the boat from the waiting lounge, during which time we told the staff our dietary requirements. We stepped on board and found some excellent cabins that were really tastefully decorated and spacious. The bed was very comfortable but we didn’t get a chance to test out the air con seeing as it was winter (which also meant no mosquitos – hallelujah!)The initial lunch was absolutely incredible, and then every meal we had after that was of a similar quality. The scenery we saw from the smaller boat was unbelievable, and we took so many photos and videos of everything around us. Kayaking and swimming around the bay was, yes, totally amazing.The next morning we had a great breakfast and a fascinating trip out to a floating village. Back on the boat after this and then disembarking at the harbour. Another smooth ride got us back to Hanoi when they said it would and that concluded an insanely good trip! We were so happy with our time on the Petit White Dolphin Cruise and would book it again in a heartbeat!

There’s no point in me describing the itinerary, which many others have done, but I can talk about how fantastic our experience was on the Petit White Dolphin. Me and three friends went together to Halong Bay and thus comprised half of the passengers on the tiny boat. Nam was an excellent guide, who took care of us and explained everything about the bay in crystal clear English. He boat itself looks a bit old, but it is very clean and well-varnished, with all of the furniture looking beautiful. We got very lucky as we had nothing but beautiful sunshine the entire time, so we made sure to enjoy it outside throughout the day and with our dinner, which was very peaceful. We opted for Bai Tu Long Bay as it is less crowded than Halong Bay, and we also went during the off-season, so the price was lower and their were even fewer tourists about. The food was really special and we happily wolfed down everything they put in front of us. We went kayaking and swimming during the time that the boat was moored. This experience is unmissable if visiting Vietnam and we can’t have had a better time! Thank you to the awesome Petit White Dolphin Cruise!

While this may not be the most luxurious boat in Halong Bay, we found nothing to complain about on the Petit White Dolphin Cruise. We were a group of 8 people and so we completed the maximum capacity of the boat ourselves. The cabins were fantastic – very comfortable and big enough for everything we needed them for. The bathrooms were clean and functional as well.The best part of the cruise was that we were expecting a very busy tour of the bay, with lots of other boats obscuring the view, but it seemed like we always found a quiet corner or something where we could relax. The views were out of this world and we were able to enjoy them in peace.Both the food and the drink were really delicious (the cocktails were maybe a touch expensive, but nothing more than we’d pay back home). Organisation of all of the activities was immaculate and we were very well treated by the crew, who work extremely hard considering that there are just a few of them.It really was everything we hoped for and more; many thanks to the Petit White Dolphin Cruise!