Hello all, I am planning to get married in Vietnam and my father, who is 90 will be joining me. I am very excited about this trip and want to show him a good time and want to make sure he will be comfortale. He is still quiet active, but walks with a cane.
I was looking into Halong Bay tours and it seems like there are only the backpacker style or the luxury style (which is about $150 USD) / night. I was curious if you recommend any tours and whether the luxury tours (exotissimo recommended) are something you recommend or if you know of something in between?
Many thanks in advance.
Ezra
ezra
1
la_vache
The "VIP" option has to do mainly with the class of the boat and its accomodations. I paid a lot less than $150 for my one-night trip and the boat was quite nice. I organized through my hotel, and can't really remember which company. Someone his age may not be able to do the cave visits or the kayaking (he will have to decide when the time comes), but the scenery from the boat is quite fascinating. Another potential problem is getting onto the boat, as there are some fairly steep steps down to the dock, and in addition sometimes one has to clamber over one boat to get another.
3
tabbycat
I don't remember the boats in Halong Bay, but in SE Asia in general getting on and off boats can be tricky. I suffer from vertigo and had a really bad time in Laos last year as you have to walk a gangplank (with no handrail) to get on and off the boats. Also, as #2 mentions, sometimes you have to climb over several boats to actually get on/off.
In Vietnam, I would highly recommend Hoi An as a laid back and lovely place to visit, your father would be probably be fine there. Halong Bay is beautiful but the town is not.
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