La Casta Cruise

La Casta is a 22-cabin steel boat on Lan Ha Bay where the cheapest room already has a balcony. That room, the Junior Suite, was $300 a night for two when we read the listing’s rate sheet on 6 August 2026, and the same seller’s staff told a guest that every cabin on La Casta has a bathtub. You check in at the La Casta lounge, Station 17 of the overnight cruise port at Tuan Chau, and the aerial photograph on the La Casta website shows HP 5558, the boat’s registration, painted on a white hull.

What does La Casta give you for the money?

Balconies all round. One listing’s cabin sheet gives each of its five classes a balcony, a bathtub, bathrobes, a hair dryer and an in-room safe, and a second site describes every room and bathroom on the boat as facing the sea.

Twenty-two cabins is exactly the median for the 92 boats we publish, so La Casta sits in the middle of the fleet on size. It was launched in 2020, has three decks and a steel hull. On the third deck the operator has put a four-season jacuzzi big enough for 20 people, and there is a spa. Kayaking is in the fare.

Which La Casta cabin should you book?

The Junior Suite, unless you need the room. These are the prices on the halongbaytours.com rate sheet read on 6 August 2026, the highest it published for each class, with sizes that match the operator’s. Prices are per cabin; the two-night column is the whole trip.

The Junior Suite has one real drawback, and it is where the cabin sits. Twelve of the 22 cabins are Junior Suites and, on two listings, all of them are on the first deck, the lowest on the boat. The Senior Suite is the same 30 m² on the second deck, where one listing promises a better view of the bay for the extra $20. The bigger jump is the VIP Suite Balcony: another $20 again and the floor area goes from 30 to 50 m² on this sheet. The President VIP Suite Terrace is a single cabin of 70 m² on the third deck. What your cabin gets you explains why sellers quote different sizes for the same boat.

What does the La Casta day look like, hour by hour?

A car from Hanoi’s Old Quarter collects between 07:45 and 08:15, and it costs extra. You reach the La Casta lounge at Station 17 by about 11:30, and a fast tender takes about 25 minutes to reach the boat, where you check in before noon. Lunch is at one, while the boat sails through Ha Long into Lan Ha. Which harbour you leave from covers Tuan Chau if you are driving yourself.

The afternoon stop, from 15:45, is Ba Trai Dao, sold in English as Three Peaches, with time to kayak or swim. If the weather turns, the operator switches it to the Dark and Bright Cave by kayak or rowing boat. Back on board there is a sunset happy hour from 17:30, a cooking demonstration at 18:00, then dinner at 19:30. Evenings are squid fishing, karaoke or board games at the bar.

Day two starts with tai chi on the sundeck at 06:15 and breakfast at seven. At eight the boat anchors at Tra Bau for kayaking or a swim. You check out at 09:30, eat brunch at 10:30 on the sail back, and step off at Tuan Chau at about 11:30. Hanoi is between 14:30 and 15:00. Kayaking in Ha Long covers what a paddle in these lagoons involves.

Is the three-day La Casta trip worth it?

Only if Viet Hai is the point. On the same listing, read on 6 August 2026, the Junior Suite costs $600 for two nights against $300 for one, and the President VIP Suite Terrace $800 against $390. Across all five classes two nights cost 2.00 to 2.06 times one night, so the second night is never cheaper than the first and in four classes it costs slightly more. On that one listing we hold both sheets for 66 boats, read between 6 August and 8 October 2026, and the median ratio by boat is 1.94.

The middle day is also spent off the boat. A day boat leaves at about eight, past Ba Trai Dao and the Van Boi area, to Viet Hai, a village on Cat Ba where you cycle or ride an electric cart between the paddy fields from 09:40. It takes you kayaking in the lagoons at 10:30, serves lunch at 12:30 and stops at a beach at two, and you are back on La Casta at about 16:40. One listing’s policy says you have no access to La Casta or your cabin until later in the afternoon. Its own staff, asked by a guest, suggested staying on board instead with the jacuzzi and sundeck, warning that the menu would be repeated. Get whichever you want in writing, and pack a day bag if you go. Viet Hai village and two days or three set out when the extra night earns its price.

What is included on La Casta, and what goes on your bill?

The operator’s fare covers the meals, a welcome drink, kayaking, the bamboo boat, an English- or Vietnamese-speaking guide, entrance and sightseeing fees, Wi-Fi, on-board insurance, the jacuzzi and the gear for squid fishing; one listing adds a pair of water bottles in each cabin. Drinks are extra, which the buy-two-get-one happy hour makes plain, and so are spa treatments, tips and the Hanoi transfer.

One listing adds a gala dinner charge of $40 a person a night on 24 and 31 December, and $15 a person on 30 April, 1 May, 2 September and over Lunar New Year. What is not included covers the rest of a typical bill.

Who is La Casta for?

Couples who want a balcony in Lan Ha for about the middle of the market: the Junior Suite’s $300 is $10 under the $310 middle entry price across the 82 boats we hold a one-night cabin rate for, read on different dates. Families with a small child also do well, since one listing lets a child under four sail free with two adults, charges 75% of the adult rate from four to ten, and full fare from eleven. The best-value boats collect other cabins priced around here.

Who should look elsewhere?

Three guests hoping the triple saves money. The Family Triple’s $480 is $160 a head against $150 each in a Junior Suite, so what the extra buys is 40 m² on the third deck. Look elsewhere too if you want to swim on board: the “Jacuzzi pool” two listings mention is the big jacuzzi on the third deck. The Lan Ha Bay page and the Lan Ha Bay cruises list the other Lan Ha boats we cover.

Where these facts come from

The lounge, times, both programmes, decks, hull, launch year, jacuzzi and the inclusions come from lacastacruise.com, the La Casta Cruise Group site. Prices, sizes, the holiday charges and the child terms are from the halongbaytours.com listing read on 6 August 2026; the prices are the highest it showed before any holiday surcharge, and a quote can come in lower. Split two ways, the $300 Junior Suite is $150 each for two sharing. La Casta Regal is a separate boat sold on the same La Casta website, and none of its figures are used here.