Town Life or Life on the Water
Hoi An is a place you settle into. Mornings might be a fitting at an old town tailor, then a bicycle ride through the rice paddies to Tra Que village, where farmers grow herbs fertilized with lagoon algae. Afternoons are for the beach at An Bang. At dusk the lanterns come on and you take a small wooden boat on the Thu Bon River to set a candle afloat. It is touristy and lovely at once.
Ha Long Bay is a place you float through. You board around midday. By late afternoon the karsts turn gold and then blue. Dinner is on deck or behind wide windows. You fall asleep at anchor in a sheltered cove and wake early for tai chi on glassy water.
Hoi An gives you variety and freedom to wander. Ha Long gives you one sustained, scenic hit with no decisions to make. Those are very different honeymoon moods.
Villas Versus Cabins
In Hoi An you choose a setting. Old town and riverside hotels put you a short walk from the lanterns. Anantara Hoi An Resort sits on the Thu Bon River less than a kilometer from the old town, with 92 rooms and suites in low colonial-style buildings around gardens. Beach resorts trade evening strolls for sea views. Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai has 100 villas stepping down to Ha My Beach, about 15 minutes from town, many with private pools. Countryside homestays around Cam Thanh are the third option.
On Ha Long Bay the boat is your hotel. Paradise Grand sails Lan Ha Bay with 39 balcony cabins, a spa with four treatment rooms and a sky bar. Heritage Cruises Binh Chuan is smaller, with 20 balcony suites with bathtubs and an art gallery on board. For a honeymoon, look for fewer than 25 cabins and a route that names Lan Ha or Bai Tu Long Bay.
Weather Works Against You Differently
Hoi An's best window is February to April, with dry, warm days and green rice fields. May to August is hotter, with highs in the 90s, but dry and good for the beach. Rain builds from September and October and November bring flood risk, when the Thu Bon can rise into the old town overnight. December and January are cool and drizzly.
Ha Long's most reliable months are March to May and late September to November. December to February is cool and misty, atmospheric but often gray for photos. June to August is hot with heavy showers. It is also storm season, when authorities order cruises to stay in port, sometimes on the morning of departure.
The overlap is March and April, when both are at their best. In summer, Hoi An is the safer bet. If you cruise from June through October, schedule it early in your trip and keep a spare day in Hanoi.
Food on Shore and on Board
Hoi An punches far above its size at the table. Cao lau, the chewy noodle dish with pork, greens and crunchy fried dough, is the town's signature. White rose dumplings are made by only a few families. Mi Quang turmeric noodles are worth ordering more than once and the banh mi at Banh Mi Phuong draws lines from morning to night. Evenings bring candlelit riverside tables in An Hoi. A cooking class with a market visit is an easy shared activity.
On a cruise, meals are included and better than many couples expect, with set menus heavy on steamed clams, grilled squid, prawns and whole fish. Tell the line about allergies when you book, since galleys are small. Drinks are usually extra and priced well above shore levels. Some boats will set a private table for two on the sundeck if you ask ahead. It is scenery first, food second.
Getting There and Fitting Them In
Hoi An is served by Da Nang International Airport (DAD), about 45 minutes by car, with frequent flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City plus regional links to Seoul, Bangkok and Singapore. Once there, you need only bicycles and the occasional taxi.
Ha Long Bay is reached by road from Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport (HAN) in about two and a half to three hours. Nearly every cruise includes a shuttle or private car from your Hanoi hotel. Lan Ha boats often board farther south, closer to Cat Ba Island.
The classic route uses both. Land in Hanoi for two nights, drive out for a one-night cruise and be back in Hanoi in time for an evening flight to Da Nang, about an hour and a quarter. Then spend three to five nights in Hoi An. Fly south afterward for a beach finish on Phu Quoc, or use The Nam Hai as your beach.
Budget Notes
Hoi An is very flexible on cost. Riverside boutique hotels, tailored clothes, cooking classes and massages are friendly on the wallet. The splurge is a villa at Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, one of the best-known honeymoon hotels in the country. Our listings start around $220 a night at Anantara Hoi An Resort and around $750 at The Nam Hai, approximate starting points that rise in peak months.
A Ha Long cruise packs its cost into one or two nights. Balcony cabins on the boats we cover start around $380 to $425 a night with meals included, though drinks, tips and transfers add up. Cheaper boats exist, but cabin size, food and route quality track closely with price. Ask exactly which bay the route covers, since some boats sold as Lan Ha spend most of their time in central Ha Long.
Bring cash for the crew tip, usually left in an envelope at the end.
