At six in the morning, Tien Ong Cave belongs to nobody. The gates are still locked to the public, the tour boats are still asleep at their moorings, and the only sound inside is the soft shuffle of thirty people walking very slowly through a cathedral of stone, in silence, because they have been asked to. By ten o’clock the same morning I was standing in a queue of hundreds at Sung Sot Cave, the most visited cave in Ha Long Bay, and I understood exactly what I had been given. That is Bhaya Soul in one morning: the quiet version of the most crowded bay in Vietnam, with a heated pool, a five-course dinner and a bathtub full of karst views waiting back on board.
I spent three days and two nights on this brand-new ship in November 2026, and I am going to tell you what it does brilliantly, which of its suites to book and why, what the food is really like, and the two things I would change. My verdict, after sailing on more than 40 small ships: Bhaya Soul is the luxury cruise I would book in Ha Long Bay, and I rate it 5 / 5.
Ha Long Bay has a problem that every guidebook mentions and no cruise brochure does: it is crowded. Nearly 2,000 limestone islands (the official count is 1,969) rise out of the Gulf of Tonkin, and hundreds of boats sail among them every day. The bay is one of the most unique places in the world, and cruising through it is a joy for the eyes, but the famous caves have queues, the famous beaches have crowds, and most boats follow the same loop. Bhaya Soul, launched in 2025 as the newest and most luxurious ship in the Bhaya Cruises fleet, sets out to solve exactly that problem. TIME magazine named it one of the World’s Greatest Places of 2026, in its places to stay. This Bhaya Soul review is about whether it does.
I spent three days and two nights on board in November 2026, sleeping in a Horizon Suite on the first night and the Soul Legacy Suite at the bow on the second, so I can compare the two. What makes Bhaya Soul truly unique is simple to state and hard to do: finding peace in a crowded place like Ha Long Bay.
Bhaya Soul at a Glance
| My rating | 5 / 5 |
| The concept | A 61.5-meter, four-deck ship with just 20 cabins, 40 crew and a wellness program: cave meditation at dawn, a heated pool, an included foot massage, quiet routes through Ha Long and Lan Ha bays |
| Best for | Couples, friends and families who want Ha Long Bay without the crowds; wellness travelers; food lovers; older or less mobile guests (wide stairs and corridors) |
| Not for | Anyone wanting a full spa week (the spa does foot and body massages only); party cruisers; travelers on a budget who want drinks included |
| Itinerary | 3 days / 2 nights from Tuan Chau Marina, Ha Long: Ba Ham Lake, Tien Ong Cave, Cua Van floating village, with a day-boat excursion on day two |
| My trip | 3–5 November 2026, Horizon Suite then Soul Legacy Suite, traveling solo |
Check availability and prices for Bhaya Soul on Liveaboard.com
How I Know This: Why Trust This Bhaya Soul Review
I sailed the full three-day, two-night program on Bhaya Soul on 3–5 November 2026, in a Horizon Suite at the stern on the first night and in the Soul Legacy Suite at the bow on the second. I took the Hanoi transfer both ways, ate every meal on board, kayaked at Ba Ham Lake, did the dawn walking meditation in Tien Ong Cave, took the day-boat excursion to Sung Sot Cave and Ti Top Island, had the included foot massage, and used the pool deck, the sun deck and the bathtub. I used the Starlink Wi-Fi throughout. I did not test the sleep-well meditation or the squid fishing.
This was my seventh trip to Vietnam, and I have sailed on more than 40 liveaboards and small ships across Indonesia, the Maldives, the Red Sea, Mexico and the Galapagos, including the Scubaspa Zen, Indonesia’s spa liveaboard, so I judge a boat with a wellness program against the boats it actually competes with. This Is Luxury Travel has reviewed more small ships and dive boats than any other luxury travel publication. When I write a Bhaya Soul review, or any ship review, I look at the cabins, the food, the service, the stability, the itinerary and the honest edge cases, and I tell you who the boat is not for.
Bhaya Soul Pros and Cons
Over my seven trips to Vietnam I have stayed in some of the best hotels in the country, including the Four Seasons Nam Hai in Hoi An and Six Senses Con Dao, which gives me plenty to compare this one with.
Getting to Bhaya Soul: The Transfer From Hanoi to Ha Long Bay
Bhaya collected me from my hotel in Hanoi’s Old Quarter at 8 a.m. in a DCar limousine minibus, and it is the nicest road transfer I have taken to a boat: quilted leather captain’s chairs with in-seat massage, Wi-Fi, ambient lighting and a wood-trimmed ceiling. It felt almost like a business-class seat, and with the Wi-Fi the drive went quickly. We reached Tuan Chau International Marina at 11:30 a.m., so count on about 3.5 hours door to boat including the other pickups and a stop on the way, against the 2.5 hours of driving that Bhaya quotes. The round-trip transfer was included in the cruise price.
The shuttle only picks up at hotels in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, so book your hotel there.
The minibus collects other passengers on the way; the last guests on my run were picked up at the Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi Centre, so stay there if you would rather sleep later.
Bring your own bottle of water for the drive: a bottle was provided on the return trip but not on the way out.
Now the honest part. About halfway, the minibus stopped at a roadside tourist shopping center and we were asked to get off for 20 minutes. The toilets were clean, which is the only reason to get off. Everything else is skippable: a mass-market souvenir hall of chocolate, nuts, cosmetics, lacquerware and wine at very inflated prices, even for drinks, which cost about three times what they do in Hanoi. Each passenger is handed a small numbered lanyard on the way in. We then waited about 15 minutes standing in a parking lot full of buses from other cruise lines, with bus exhaust and people smoking. This first stop felt everything but premium. It is the only thing on the whole trip that does not belong in a luxury product, and it is easily fixed; I hope Bhaya fixes it.
At the halfway stop: use the toilets, skip the shop, and buy your water in Hanoi.
At the marina, things snapped back to the standard I expected. We waited in an air-conditioned lounge with a cold towel and a drink, boarding was at noon, and Bhaya Soul left promptly at 12:00 into a view that was spectacular from the first minute.
The Bhaya Soul Ship: Spacious, Stable and Brand New
Bhaya Soul is 61.5 meters long with a 14-meter beam, four decks and only 20 cabins for a maximum of 40 guests, and that ratio is the first thing you feel. The boat is really spacious. Decks 1 and 2 are the cabins, with ten on each; all of Deck 2 is suites. Deck 3 holds the restaurant, the bar and the heated pool with shaded sun loungers around it, and Deck 4 is a large sun deck with linen sofas and loungers. Hallways and staircases are wide and easy to navigate, which matters more than it sounds: many Ha Long boats have the steep, narrow stairs of a converted junk, and this one does not, so it suits older or less mobile guests well. Be aware that there are still stairs: even with a cabin on Deck 1, you climb two decks to reach the restaurant.
The boat was also very stable. The sea in Ha Long Bay is almost flat, and on a ship this size I never felt it move, so if you get seasick this is a great boat for you. Everything on board was super clean and still looked new, which it is: Bhaya Soul started sailing in 2025. What you get with Bhaya Soul is the best of both: a brand-new ship run by a very experienced company. Bhaya Cruises has been sailing Ha Long Bay since 2007, one of the first operators to run overnight cruises here, and today operates a fleet of 12 ships.
| Operator | Bhaya Cruises, sailing Ha Long Bay since 2007; Bhaya Soul is its newest and most luxurious ship |
| Launched | 2025 |
| Length | 61.5 m, 14 m beam, four decks |
| Guests | 40 in 20 cabins (10 on Deck 1, 10 on Deck 2); 30 on my sailing |
| Crew | 40, including five Soul Hosts |
| Facilities | Heated pool, Horizon Lounge and pool bar, restaurant, Wellness Sanctuary spa, sun deck, promenade deck |
| Departs | Tuan Chau International Marina, Ha Long, at 12:00 |
| Wi-Fi | Starlink satellite Wi-Fi, free, and it worked everywhere I tried it |
What Makes Bhaya Soul Different From Other Ha Long Bay Cruises
Hundreds of boats sail Ha Long Bay, and on paper many of them promise the same thing: a cabin with a balcony, kayaks, a cave and a sunset. What sets Bhaya Soul apart is everything it does to keep you away from the other boats. It sails a quieter route through the southeast of Ha Long Bay into Lan Ha Bay, the southern end of the same karst seascape off Cat Ba Island, which UNESCO added to the World Heritage listing in 2023. Lan Ha has the same limestone towers and far fewer ships.
| On Bhaya Soul | Why it matters in Ha Long Bay |
| 20 suites and 40 guests at most | At Sung Sot Cave I saw boats the size of our five-guest day yacht carrying fifty people |
| A quiet route into Lan Ha Bay | Most boats follow the same loop past the same caves and beaches |
| Tien Ong Cave opened before public hours | You walk the cave in silence instead of in a queue |
| Wide corridors and staircases | Many boats here have the steep, narrow stairs of a converted junk |
| Wellness built into the price | The foot ritual, the meditations and the heated pool are not sold as extras |
| One crew member per guest | A named Soul Host looks after you from boarding to the shuttle back |
Bhaya Soul Cabins: Which Suite to Book
Bhaya Soul is an all-suite ship, and all the cabins are great. There are four categories, and every one of them has a private terrace or balcony, an ocean-view bathtub, air-conditioning, a minibar with soft drinks, water and juices, premium teas and coffees, a flat-screen TV and a goodnight treat.
| Cabin | Deck | Size | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signature Suite | Deck 1 | 30 m² | 10 |
| Symphony Suite | Deck 2 | 46 m² | 6 |
| Horizon Suite | Deck 2, stern | 52 m² | 2 |
| Soul Legacy Suite | Deck 2, bow | 80 m² | 2 |
Sizes from Bhaya’s website; they include the terraces.
If you are budget-conscious, book a Signature Suite. The basic cabins are comfortable and have a small balcony, and because the public areas and the sun deck are so spacious, you can lounge up there all day and never feel you need a bigger room.
If you want more space, book one of the top suites. I slept in both, the Horizon Suite at the stern on the first night and the Soul Legacy Suite at the bow on the second, so I can compare them. Inside, they felt equivalent in size: both have a super-comfortable bed, a bathtub with jacuzzi jets, and very large panoramic windows that give you a 270-degree view of the bay and the karsts. And that is why you are in Ha Long Bay: the views are majestic and stunning, and in these two suites you never stop looking at them. The difference between them is outside the room, and in the price.
The Horizon Suite is the cheaper of the two. Its terrace is covered, which gives you more shade in summer and better protection in the rainy season. Its drawbacks come from its position at the stern: it sits closer to the engine, and the small activity boat that takes guests kayaking and ashore is often moored right behind it, which is loud, smelly, and means the staff on that boat can see straight into your terrace and room.
The Soul Legacy Suite at the bow has a much bigger wraparound terrace, it is much quieter, and because nothing is moored in front of it, it has far more privacy. On most cruises I do not recommend cabins at the bow, because they move too much; here that is not an issue, because the sea in Ha Long Bay is super flat.
My recommendation is the Soul Legacy Suite, if the budget allows. The egg-style loungers on its bow terrace are to die for. I spent a few hours there on the second afternoon as the ship navigated through the islands, and I felt so good and cocooned cruising through the bay that I wished I could have stayed longer.
Whatever category you book, ask for a cabin at the front of the boat. They are away from the engine and much quieter.
Service: 40 Crew for 40 Guests
Bhaya Soul carries 40 crew for a maximum of 40 guests, and there were only 30 guests on my sailing, so the crew outnumbered us. The team was very helpful throughout. Five Soul Hosts look after the guests, and each guest has a named host; mine was Hill, who was always there to help. On other ships this role is called a butler, and it is the same idea: one person who books your massage, answers your questions and sorts out anything you need. Lam is the head chef, Tomy runs the bar, and Isa and Lyn are the spa therapists. There was live music too: a traditional đàn nhị player welcomed us on board, and a violinist played in the bar in the evening. Compared with the hundreds of other, smaller boats in the bay, this level of service is a game changer.
Who sails on Bhaya Soul? On my trip, mostly couples and friends traveling together, with several girls’ trips and family groups, and a lot of women drawn by the wellness side of the program. It is a sociable ship without being a party one.
The Wellness Program and the Spa
Bhaya calls the Soul Vietnam’s first wellness-inclusive cruise, and the program is built into the days rather than sold on top of them: a 40-minute herbal foot ritual and massage for every guest, a sleep-well guided meditation under the stars at 9:15 p.m., stargazing, and the walking meditation in Tien Ong Cave at 6 a.m. on both mornings.
The cave meditation is the signature moment of the trip. Bhaya arranges for Tien Ong Cave to open for its guests before public opening hours, so on the second morning we had the whole cave to ourselves. Walking slowly through the lit chambers in silence was very special, and a wonderful way to start the day mindfully. A few hours later we stood in the queue at Sung Sot Cave, the bay’s most visited cave, and realized how privileged we had been.
The included foot massage is very good quality. Isa was my therapist and she was great. The Wellness Sanctuary is a small room with four massage chairs, so four guests can be treated at the same time, and that is also the honest limit of the spa: it does foot and body massages only. The menu runs from the Soul Therapy, a 40-minute herbal foot soak and foot massage (650,000 VND if you want a second one), to a 45-minute leg massage or neck-and-back massage at 1,100,000 VND and a 60-minute full relaxation massage at 1,400,000 VND. If you are looking for a full-on spa week, with facials, hammams and a treatment every afternoon, you will be better off at a hotel with a destination spa, such as the Auko Eco-Wellness Lodges in Phong Nha or the Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, with Bhaya Soul as the two-night escape in between.
Book your included treatment with your Soul Host as soon as you board, because the slots go.
The heated pool on Deck 3 is the other wellness asset. It is open in all seasons, which matters in Ha Long Bay, where winter mornings can be 15°C.
A note on staying connected, because it is part of the wellness equation for anyone who cannot switch off completely: the Wi-Fi on board is great. Bhaya Soul uses Starlink, and it needs to, because the 4G signal among the islands is spotty; from one minute to the next you lose it as the karsts come between you and the mast. It is free of charge, and it worked well everywhere on the boat, including in both my cabins, at the front and at the back.
Food on Bhaya Soul: A Gastronomic Cruise
I did not expect the food to be the headline, but it is. The food not only looks good but is also delicious, and Bhaya Soul is really a gastronomic cruise: a four-course lunch and a five-course dinner every day, cooked by head chef Lam, served in a restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows and the karsts right outside. Everyone eats at the same time, at set seatings, which keeps the rhythm of the day simple. The ingredients are named for their regions across Vietnam, from northwest lamb to Phu Quoc pepper and Nha Trang tuna.
To give you a sense of the kitchen: a dinner might open with duck confit and vegetable summer rolls, move through a herbed pumpkin soup with clams and a Phuc Trach pomelo salad with seared Nha Trang tuna, offer a choice of grilled northwest lamb chops with Phu Quoc pepper or an herb-grilled lobster roll with black sticky-rice risotto, and finish with a crème brûlée and coconut panna cotta served in a nest of twigs. Another evening brought a luffa gourd soup with seared shrimp, then a choice of Australian Angus beef tenderloin or pan-seared sea bass with tamarind glaze, and Bhaya Soul’s White Pearl, a black sesame mousse.
Lunches were in the same spirit: tempura soft-shell crab with green mango, Ha Long grouper with brown rice noodles, a beetroot and potato soup with a seared scallop, a fennel and kale salad with Parma ham, slow-cooked duck breast with mulberry sauce and sweet potato, and a lemon curd tart with mango.
One note on the first lunch, which opened with charcoal-grilled Ha Long octopus. Octopuses are among the most intelligent animals in the sea, and a review of more than 300 studies by the London School of Economics, commissioned by the UK government, concluded that they are sentient; it led the UK to recognize them as such in law in 2022. I would encourage you not to eat them. Bhaya asks for dietary requests a week before departure, so if you feel the same way, tell them when you book and the kitchen will serve you something else. I don’t eat duck, and when the slow-cooked duck breast came up at lunch the chef simply swapped it for salmon, without any fuss.
Breakfast is great: a good-quality buffet spread, with fresh celery, watermelon and orange juices, a salad bar, homemade croissants and sourdough, and hot dishes, plus an à la carte menu on top, and every morning there was more I wanted to try than I could eat. The Vietnamese five-spice braised beef was delicious and I loved the celery juice. The à la carte menu has Ha Long seafood noodle soup, steamed rice rolls with squid cake, eggs any way including Benedict, waffles, and a bánh mì station with egg, char siu pork, cinnamon pork terrine, pâté, pickles and herbs.
Cold cuts and salads at breakfast. Photo © This is Luxury Travel
On the last morning I tried the bánh mì, and if you have never had one, this is the place. The bánh mì is Vietnam’s sandwich and one of the clearest tastes of its history: the French brought the baguette in the mid-19th century, the Vietnamese first called it bánh tây, “foreign cake”, and for decades it was food for the rich, eaten on its own. The name that stuck means simply “wheat bread”. The sandwich as the world knows it, split, spread with pâté and mayonnaise and stuffed with cold cuts, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro and chili, was born in Saigon in the 1950s, and the Vietnamese loaf itself changed on the way: shorter, with a thin, crackly crust and an airy crumb that does not fight the filling. Hanoi’s version, which is what you get on Bhaya Soul, is the restrained northern one, built on good pâté and cold cuts with less sauce and sharper pickles. In 2011 the Oxford English Dictionary added “banh mi” as a word in its own right. Eating one off a crisp loaf, with Ha Long Bay going by outside the window, is a small, perfect breakfast.
Drinks and What Is Not Included
Drinks are the thing to budget for. Apart from the welcome drink, the breakfast juices, the minibar and the filtered water in the restaurant, nothing from the bar is included in the cruise price. The November 2026 menu puts a soft drink, a beer or a bottle of water at 95,000 VND (about $4), a cappuccino at 129,000 VND, a mocktail at 179,000 VND, a classic cocktail such as a Whisky Sour or a Tamarind Margarita at 279,000 VND, and a glass of house wine at 260,000 VND (about $10), with bottles from 1,300,000 VND. Corkage is 1,000,000 VND per bottle of wine if you bring your own.
Two ways to soften that.
Happy Hour runs twice a day, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and again from 9 to 10 p.m., with 30 percent off drinks, so a 279,000 VND cocktail becomes about 195,000 VND. Order then.
And the ship is plastic-free: it lends every guest a refillable bottle for the stay, and there is a free filtered-water tap in the restaurant, so you never need to pay for water.
Refill your loaned bottle before the excursions and take it with you off the boat.
Happy Hour on the deck at sunset, with eagles soaring around the karsts, is one of the nicest hours of the day.
Bhaya Soul 2 Days 1 Night or 3 Days 2 Nights?
Bhaya Soul sells two programs: two days and one night, or three days and two nights. Book the three days. On the one-night cruise you board at noon and you are back at the marina the next morning, so you get one afternoon, one evening and one dawn in the cave, and then it is over. The second night is what gives you a full day on the water: the excursion by day boat, a long, lazy afternoon on your terrace while the ship cruises, a second sunset and a second night at anchor in the silence.
I sailed the three-day program and two nights still felt too short. Take the one-night cruise only if your Vietnam itinerary leaves you no choice. Bhaya also packages the ship into longer journeys, including a four-day version that adds Bai Tu Long Bay, which I have not tried.
Bhaya Soul Itinerary: 3 Days and 2 Nights, Day by Day
Bhaya Soul sails what the company calls its quiet route, through the southeast of Ha Long Bay and into Lan Ha Bay. The standard program is below; on my sailing, the second day was swapped for an excursion to Sung Sot Cave and Ti Top Island, which is not the normal route, and I describe that too, because it taught me more about the boat than the quiet days did.
Day 1: Ba Ham Lake, kayaking and sunset eagles
The first thing you notice when Bhaya Soul slips out of Tuan Chau at noon is how little you hear. The engine is a low hum somewhere far below the restaurant, the water parts with a soft hiss along the hull, and the karsts start sliding past the floor-to-ceiling windows while lunch is served: four courses, the Trong Mai (Fighting Cocks) and Finger islets going by between the soup and the main, on the way to Ho Ba Ham.
The kayaking there, in two sessions between 2:45 and 5 p.m., was great. Ba Ham is a lake walled in by karsts, reached through a low tunnel in the rock where you duck your head and the paddle strokes echo back at you, and inside the sound changes completely: no engines, no voices, just the drip of water off the blade and birds somewhere up in the cliffs. We helped collect trash from the water as we paddled, which is the kind of conservation gesture Bhaya talks about and, I can confirm, actually does. Guests who prefer not to paddle can take their foot ritual or the pool instead.
Use a waterproof bag if you take your phone kayaking, because you will get wet.
The ship anchored near Tien Ong Cave at 5 p.m. for Happy Hour on deck. We could not see the sun itself, which set behind the karsts, but the sky went from gold to rose behind their silhouettes, and many eagles and other birds were floating around the cliffs, calling to each other, fun to watch with a drink in hand. Dinner was the five-course set menu, then a second Happy Hour and the sleep-well meditation under the stars, with squid fishing off the stern for those still awake. At anchor, with the engine off, the only sounds at night were the water lapping at the hull and, now and then, the splash of a squid line.
Day 2: The empty cave at dawn, then the busiest cave in the bay
The 6 a.m. walking meditation in Tien Ong Cave is described above; do not sleep through it. After breakfast, at 8:15, we transferred to a smaller boat for the day’s excursion. I was expecting a cramped little boat and got a small private yacht with a jacuzzi and plenty of space for just five guests. I lay on a sunbed next to the jacuzzi, listening to the water churn in the tub and slap against the hull, and watched the islands go by, which is my idea of an excursion.
Our day took us to Sung Sot Cave, which is not on Bhaya Soul’s standard route and is, with Ti Top Island, among the busiest sites in the bay. It was very, very busy: a long line of people, non-stop, and after the silence of Tien Ong the noise was the first thing that hit me. Sung Sot means “surprise”, and the French who found it in 1901 called it the Grotte des Surprises. The stone steps climb through the trees on Bo Hon Island to a mouth that gives little away; then the first hall opens like a theater, and a narrow passage spills you into a second chamber so vast, about 10,000 square meters in all with ceilings around 30 meters high, that it swallows the voices of the crowd. Stalactites hang in curtains and ribs, and the walls ripple and fold into shapes your eye keeps turning into animals and faces. Nature is amazing: so many shapes and textures. The lookouts at the entrance and the exit are scenic too. The cave was spectacular despite the crowd, and the crowd was the lesson: our day boat for five people was as big as some of the boats there carrying fifty.
The queue on the steps up to Sung Sot Cave. Photo © This is Luxury Travel
Ti Top Island came next: about 400 steps to the summit, a steep but easy climb, and flip-flops are fine. The view from the top is stunning, a 360-degree sweep of the bay with the islands stacked to the horizon. The island is named after the Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov, the second human to orbit the Earth, who visited Ha Long Bay with President Ho Chi Minh on 22 January 1962; Ho Chi Minh named the island after him, and a statue of Titov near the pier was unveiled in 2015. Then it was back to Bhaya Soul at 1:30 p.m., and back to peace and quiet.
The afternoon is the part of the day the program does not list, and it was my favorite. I had my massage in the Wellness Sanctuary, then went back to the Soul Legacy Suite and did nothing at all on the private terrace while the ship cruised. Spectacular views all around: karst after karst rising out of the water on three sides, the bow wave whispering below the rail, the occasional fishing boat puttering past and fading away. Then sunset and Happy Hour again on the deck, dinner, and the night’s meditation under the stars, this time with a gong bath, the long shimmer of the gong rolling out over the water and the bay answering with silence.
Day 3: Cua Van floating village, and the weather lesson
On the last morning I slept in, until 6:30, and skipped the second cave meditation, then went on the rowing-boat tour of Cua Van floating village at 7:15. It was raining and cloudy, the oars creaking in their rope loops and the rain pattering on the water, and it made me realize how lucky we had been to have blue sky and sun for two days, because the sea and the karsts look quite different under cloud: the water turns gray, the islands lose their edges, and the bay you see on the brochures disappears. Then another great breakfast, the bánh mì, and the cruise back to Tuan Chau. As we sailed, I ran a warm bath in the Legacy Suite and switched on the jacuzzi; the bubbles were surprisingly strong, loud enough to drown out the engine entirely. Soaking in hot water while the landscape passed by the window was an amazing experience, and the right way to end the trip. Checkout is between 9 and 9:30 a.m., and the ship docks at 10 a.m. for the shuttle back to Hanoi.
Best Time to Cruise Ha Long Bay: Choose Your Season
Ha Long Bay follows northern Vietnam’s seasons, not Southeast Asia’s, and the weather is not background here; it is the whole experience. The northeast monsoon, from October to April, is cool and dry, with 18 to 26°C, little rain and morning fog over the bay. Within it, October and November are the sweet spot: 23 to 28°C, clear skies, low humidity and the lowest rainfall of the year, with November averaging around 26 mm. That is when I sailed, and for two of my three days the sky was blue. From December to February the bay turns cold, 15 to 20°C, and the famous fog rolls in; it is atmospheric and quiet, and the right time for the heated pool, but you may not see the karsts clearly for days. March and April warm up and are the second-best window. From May to September it is hot and humid, with tropical showers and the typhoon season; when a typhoon warning is up, the port authority closes the bay and no boat sails, so build a buffer day into a summer trip. My advice: choose your season. Book October, November or April if you can, and if you are coming in winter, come for the mist rather than against it.
What to Pack for a Bhaya Soul Cruise
- Your passport: it is required at check-in
- A swimsuit for the heated pool and the jacuzzi on the day yacht
- A waterproof bag for your phone when you kayak
- A warm layer from December to February, when mornings can be 15°C, and for the 6 a.m. cave meditation
- Sun protection for the sun deck and the excursions
- A bottle of water for the drive from Hanoi; on board the ship lends you a refillable one
- Light shoes or flip-flops: they were fine even for the 400 steps of Ti Top Island
Who Bhaya Soul Is For (and Who It Is Not For)
If one line of this Bhaya Soul review is worth keeping, it is this one. Book Bhaya Soul if you want to see Ha Long Bay without the crowds, in a brand-new, spacious, very clean ship with a crew that outnumbers the guests; if you are traveling as a couple, with friends or as a family and want a wellness program built into the days; if you care about food, because every meal is a restaurant meal; if you are older or less mobile, because the corridors and stairs are wide; or if you travel solo, because the Soul Hosts and the set-seating meals make it easy.
Look elsewhere if you want a full spa week, because the Wellness Sanctuary does foot and body massages only; if you want a party boat; or if you want an all-inclusive bar, because drinks are extra. Book this trip if you are looking for a premium, luxury experience: this is not your standard Ha Long Bay cruise.
Two nights on board felt too short. The views are addictive, so beautiful that you keep watching them, and I would have happily stayed a third night.
Where to Stay in Hanoi Before or After Bhaya Soul
Most Bhaya Soul guests spend at least a night in Hanoi on either side of the cruise, and where you sleep makes a big difference to how you remember the city. Skip the Old Quarter. It looks charming on a map, but the streets around the lake are now full of cheap bars and kebab shops, and the noise runs late. The French Quarter, a short walk south-east of Hoan Kiem Lake around the Opera House, is a far better neighborhood: wide tree-lined boulevards, colonial villas, galleries and some of the city’s best restaurants.
Three hotels stand out there.
Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is the grande dame, open since 1901 and still the address in the city: French-colonial architecture, a heated courtyard pool and a location on Ngo Quyen Street a couple of minutes from the Opera House. Check rates on Booking.com, compare on Trip.com or see it on Expedia.
Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi Centre is the practical choice for Bhaya Soul guests. It sits on Ly Thuong Kiet Street on the edge of the French Quarter, it has an outdoor pool, and it was the last pickup on my shuttle run, so you get the latest start of the morning. Check rates on Booking.com, compare on Trip.com or see it on Expedia.
Fairmont Hanoi is the new one, open since March 2026 on Ly Thai To Street, a few hundred meters from the lake on the French Quarter side, with a rooftop pool and some of the largest rooms in the city center. I covered the opening in my Fairmont Hanoi article. Check rates on Booking.com, compare on Trip.com or see it on Expedia.
Where to Eat: Tam Vi, Possibly the Cheapest Michelin Star in the World
For dinner, go to Tam Vi at 4B Yen The Street, a five-minute walk from the Temple of Literature. It has held a Michelin star since the first Vietnam guide in 2023 and serves northern Vietnamese home cooking in an old villa with a leafy courtyard. My appetizer, main, a beer and a bottle of water came to 468,000 VND, about US$18. It might be the cheapest Michelin-starred meal in the world.
Book Tam Vi in advance; it fills up. If you have no booking, it is still possible: I turned up at 4:55 p.m., five minutes before the 5 p.m. evening opening, got a table on the condition that I finished by 6:20 p.m., and that was more than enough time. The dishes come out very quickly.
How Much Does Bhaya Soul Cost?
Bhaya Soul is sold per cabin per cruise, with the two-night program as the standard trip, and prices vary by season, cabin category and how far ahead you book. Rather than quote a rate that will be out of date by the time you read this, check prices and availability on the Bhaya Soul website or on Liveaboard.com, which lists every departure and cabin type. Budget on top for drinks (see above), any spa treatment beyond the included foot ritual, and tips. Entrance and sightseeing fees, the kayaking, the excursions and the wellness program are included, and a valid passport is required at check-in, with your passport details registered with the port authority in advance.
Check prices and availability for Bhaya Soul on Liveaboard.com
What Is Included in the Bhaya Soul Price
| Included | Not included |
| Round-trip limousine transfer from Hanoi | Drinks from the bar |
| Two nights in a suite with terrace and bathtub | Spa treatments beyond the foot ritual |
| All meals, the welcome drink, breakfast juices, minibar and filtered water | Tips |
| The 40-minute herbal foot ritual and massage | Flights and visa |
| Kayaking, excursions, the cave and sleep-well meditations, and all entrance fees | Hotels in Hanoi before and after |
| Heated pool, Starlink Wi-Fi, taxes and service | Personal expenses |
Bhaya Soul FAQ
Is Bhaya Soul worth it?
Yes. After three days and two nights on board in November 2026, the verdict of this Bhaya Soul review is 5/5: a brand-new, spacious, very stable 20-cabin ship with 40 crew, excellent food, a heated pool and a wellness program that includes a private dawn meditation in Tien Ong Cave. The spa is small and drinks are extra.
How many cabins does Bhaya Soul have?
Twenty cabins for a maximum of 40 guests: 10 Signature Suites on Deck 1, and 6 Symphony Suites, 2 Horizon Suites and 2 Soul Legacy Suites on Deck 2. All have a private terrace and an ocean-view bathtub.
Which is the best cabin on Bhaya Soul?
The Soul Legacy Suite at the bow. It is the quietest cabin, away from the engine and the activity boat moored at the stern, with a wraparound terrace and egg-style loungers. The Horizon Suite at the stern is the same size inside and has a covered terrace, but less privacy. In any category, ask for a cabin at the front of the boat.
Are drinks included on Bhaya Soul?
No. The welcome drink, breakfast juices, the cabin minibar and filtered water are included; the bar is not. A soft drink or beer is 95,000 VND, a cocktail 279,000 VND and a glass of house wine 260,000 VND. Happy Hour, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and 9 to 10 p.m., takes 30 percent off.
Does Bhaya Soul have a pool?
Yes, a heated pool on Deck 3 with shaded sun loungers, open in every season.
Is a massage included on Bhaya Soul?
Yes. Every guest gets a 40-minute herbal foot ritual and foot massage. Further treatments cost 650,000 to 1,400,000 VND. The spa has four massage chairs and offers foot and body massages only.
How do you get from Hanoi to Bhaya Soul?
The round-trip transfer is included in the cruise price. Bhaya runs a limousine minibus with Wi-Fi and massage seats from hotels in Hanoi’s Old Quarter at 8 a.m. The drive to Tuan Chau Marina takes about 3.5 hours door to boat, including a 20-minute stop at a roadside shopping center and other pickups. Bring your own water.
Is Bhaya Soul good if I get seasick?
Yes. Ha Long Bay is almost flat, and Bhaya Soul is a 61.5-meter ship that I never felt move. Even the bow cabins, which I normally avoid, are fine here.
What is included in the Bhaya Soul cruise price?
Two nights in your cabin, the welcome drink, all meals (four-course lunches, five-course dinners, breakfast buffet with à la carte), the foot ritual, the pool and lounges, the round-trip Hanoi transfer, the shore excursions and kayaking, entrance fees, the cave meditation and sleep-well meditation, and taxes and service. Drinks, extra spa treatments and personal expenses are not included.
What is the best time to cruise Ha Long Bay?
October and November, with clear skies, 23 to 28°C and the least rain, and April as a second choice. Winter, December to February, is cool and foggy; summer, May to September, is hot with showers and the typhoon season, when the bay can close.
Does Bhaya Soul visit Sung Sot Cave?
Not on its standard route, which favors quieter sites such as Ba Ham Lake, Tien Ong Cave and Cua Van. My sailing made a one-off excursion to Sung Sot Cave and Ti Top Island on a private day yacht.
Is Wi-Fi available on Bhaya Soul?
Yes, and it is great. Bhaya Soul uses Starlink satellite Wi-Fi, free for guests, and it worked well everywhere on the boat, including in both my cabins at the bow and the stern. The 4G signal among the islands, by contrast, comes and goes from one minute to the next.
How long is the Bhaya Soul cruise?
Bhaya Soul sails two programs: 2 days and 1 night, or 3 days and 2 nights. I recommend the three-day cruise, because the second night gives you a full day on the water, and even that felt too short.
Does Bhaya Soul sail Ha Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay?
Both. Bhaya Soul leaves from Tuan Chau Marina in Ha Long, sails the quieter southeast of Ha Long Bay and continues into Lan Ha Bay, off Cat Ba Island, where there are far fewer boats.
Where does Bhaya Soul depart from?
From Tuan Chau International Marina in Ha Long, at 12:00. Guests wait in an air-conditioned lounge with a cold towel and a drink, and boarding is at noon.
Is Bhaya Soul good for solo travelers?
Yes. I sailed Bhaya Soul solo. Each guest has a named Soul Host, meals are at set seatings and the ship is sociable without being a party boat, so it is easy and comfortable on your own.
Is Bhaya Soul suitable for families?
Yes, for families who want calm. There were several family groups on my sailing. It is a quiet, wellness-led ship, not one built around children’s entertainment.
Is Bhaya Soul suitable for older travelers?
Yes. The corridors and staircases are wide, the ship is very stable and every activity is optional. There are still stairs: from a Deck 1 cabin you climb two decks to the restaurant.
Can Bhaya Soul cater for dietary requirements?
Yes. Bhaya asks for dietary requests a week before departure. I do not eat duck, and the chef replaced the duck course with salmon without any fuss.
Has Bhaya Soul won any awards?
TIME magazine included Bhaya Soul in its World’s Greatest Places of 2026 list, in the places to stay category.
Is Bhaya Soul the same as The Au Co or Bhaya Classic?
No. They belong to the same company, Bhaya Cruises, but Bhaya Soul is its newest and most luxurious ship, launched in 2025 with 20 suites and a wellness program. Check the ship name when you book.
Conclusion: Is Bhaya Soul the Right Ha Long Bay Cruise for You?
Amazing boat, brand new, spacious, comfortable and super clean, with a very helpful team and a concierge who was always there. Against the hundreds of other, smaller boats in the bay, Bhaya Soul is a game changer, and the dawn in Tien Ong Cave, alone, is the moment that explains why: the bay is crowded, and this ship has found the quiet in it. The spa is small, but that does not change the verdict. I was on board for two nights and it felt too short. The views are addictive, so beautiful, and I would go back tomorrow. And if you are continuing south, my alternative to the classic Vietnam route picks up where Bhaya Soul leaves off.
One warning when you book: do not confuse Bhaya Soul with the other Bhaya boats. Bhaya Cruises runs 12 ships across four lines, Bhaya Classic (the traditional wooden boats), The Au Co (its two-night luxury cruise, sailing since 2012), Bhaya Legend (private charter boats of one to four cabins) and Bhaya Soul, and the Soul is the ultra-premium one, by far the most luxurious ship in the fleet. The others are good boats at their own level; they are not this.
My Other Vietnam Articles
This was my seventh trip to Vietnam. If you are planning more of the country around a Ha Long Bay cruise, start with my review of the Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, which I have stayed at three times, and my comparison of Six Senses Con Dao and the Nam Hai for a beach escape. For the islands, read my Six Senses Con Dao review and my guide to what to do in Con Dao. And for Hanoi itself, before or after the cruise, see what the new Fairmont Hanoi brings to the Old Quarter.
Check availability and prices for Bhaya Soul on Liveaboard.com
More on luxury travel in Vietnam: the best luxury hotels in Vietnam · the best luxury hotels in Hoi An · Azerai La Residence Hue review · Namia River Retreat review (Hoi An).
Disclosure: this article contains affiliate links. If you book through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy.
I sailed the full 3-day, 2-night program on Bhaya Soul on 3–5 November 2026, in a Horizon Suite and a Soul Legacy Suite. Read more about how I review or visit my Work With Me page.
