Red Dragon Junk

Red Dragon Junk is a new steel boat with eight cabins that carries the name and the batwing sails of a five-cabin wooden junk Indochina Junk retired in 2019. The operator’s one-night trip reaches the Cong Dam area by mid-afternoon on the first day. We think that is a long way out for an overnight route, and it is the reason to look at this boat.

The cabins come in two classes, and both have a bathtub facing the sea. The operator lists a jacuzzi pool, a small gym, a wellness room for massage and steam, an indoor lounge on the top deck, and two places to eat: an indoor dining room in oak and an open-air one. Eight cabins puts it among our small boats.

The catch is that she is new, built in 2025, so there is little guest record to read, and she is sold on request.

Is this the same Red Dragon people reviewed before 2019?

No. The operator says so in plain terms. Its “Legend Reborn” article describes the original Red Dragon as a wooden boat with five cabins, launched in 2010, which stopped sailing in 2019. The new one is built in steel, has eight cabins and keeps only the sail shape and the name.

If you read old praise for Red Dragon, it was most likely written about the smaller wooden junk. Our guide to wooden hulls and steel sets the two hull materials side by side, with launch years and refits.

What are the two cabins like?

Both cabin classes are close in size, and the difference is the deck and the outdoor space. The operator’s figures, read on 6 August 2026:

Cabin	Size	Deck	Bed	Outside space
Deluxe Cabin	26.5 m²	Main deck	1 king or 2 twin	Private loggia, sea-view bathtub
Deluxe Balcony Cabin	27 m²	Upper deck	1 king only	Balcony with sun lounger, open-air bathtub

Half a square metre separates them. Six of the eight are Deluxe Cabins on the main deck, which the operator now calls Deluxe Indoor Balcony Cabins, and two are Deluxe Balcony Cabins upstairs, so a family of four who want balconies need both of them. Twins can only have the Deluxe Cabin, since the balcony class lists a king bed alone. Extra beds are on request in both.

The cabin photographs on the operator’s site show dark wood ceilings, green walls and a cream bed runner embroidered with a red dragon. The operator says each cabin is themed on a craft or trade of the old Van Don port. Our guide to what your cabin gets you sets these sizes against the rest of the fleet.

How does the one-night trip run?

The operator’s two-day trip starts at a Hanoi hotel and ends back in Hanoi; you are on the boat from about 12:30 until 11:30 the next morning. Times below are the operator’s 2D1N timetable, read on 6 August 2026.

Time	Day 1
08:20–08:45	Van collects you in the Old Quarter
11:30	Rest at the Indochina Junk office lounge
11:50–12:15	Electric carts to Ha Long International Cruise Port, check-in
13:15	Seafood lunch as the boat sails out
15:10	Cong Dam by kayak or tender, weather permitting; swim at 15:50
17:30	Sunset, or a Vietnamese cooking class
19:00–19:30	Dinner at anchor (7pm in winter, 7.30pm in summer)
20:30	Squid fishing

Time	Day 2
06:00	Tai Chi on the sundeck
07:45	Thien Canh Son Cave
08:15	Kayaking in the Cong Do area
10:15	Set menu while sailing back
11:30	Off the boat; van to Yen Duc village, water puppet show 13:00–13:45
16:00–16:30	Arrive in Hanoi

Two things stand out. Kayaking is scheduled on both days. And the drive home includes a stop at Yen Duc, an agricultural village in Dong Trieu where local artists stage a water puppet show, so you reach Hanoi between 4pm and 4.30pm. The operator’s blog places Da Xep Park, beside Cong Dam, on this same voyage. Our Bai Tu Long cruise guide explains why that end of the bay sees fewer boats.

What does a second night add?

The three-day trip adds Vung Vieng, a fishing village you go round by bamboo boat on the first afternoon, and a whole middle day around Cong Dam: kayaking among the rock formations and Xep Islet in the morning, then a barbecue lunch the chefs cook on a wild beach. The last morning repeats Thien Canh Son and the Cong Do kayak. If the beach lunch is the reason you book, remember the operator ties it to weather and tide. Both trips stop at Yen Duc on the drive home. Our page on two days or three weighs the extra night more generally.

How much does it cost?

Red Dragon Junk is priced on request. Ask for the price per cabin for the trip length you want, and ask which cabin class it covers. Under the operator’s booking conditions, cancelling more than 30 days out costs $10 a booking ($15 for the three-day trip); from 30 to 14 days it is 15%, from 14 to 7 days 25%, from 7 to 2 days 50%, and inside 48 hours the full fare. Indochina Junk’s guide for solo travellers puts the single supplement on its boats at 70% to 85% of one person’s rate. Card payments carry a 4% fee. For a sense of what Bai Tu Long boats charge, see how much a Ha Long cruise costs.

If the bay authority cancels the sailing before you leave Hanoi, you get a full refund. If it allows only a day trip, the operator runs Red Dragon as a day cruise at $85 a person.

What is included and what is not?

The operator’s itinerary pages list these in the price: the Hanoi to Ha Long van both ways, a welcome drink, all meals on board, tea and coffee at breakfast, an English-speaking guide, kayaking, the cooking class and Tai Chi. Drinks beyond that, spa and massage treatments, personal spending and the bank charge on card payments are extra. The van seats eight at most.

The operator says it can cook vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals with notice. It also says Wi-Fi does not reach the remote parts of the route. Its pages advise against the trip for anyone over 80 and for guests who are claustrophobic or sleepwalk. Read our note on what is not included before you compare quotes.

Who is Red Dragon Junk right for?

Couples who want a quiet night far from the main Ha Long anchorage, and who would trade a track record for a new boat with a tub in the cabin. Anyone who has done the busy Ha Long loop and wants Cong Dam and Thien Canh Son will find both on the operator’s shortest trip. The tubs face the water.

Who should look elsewhere

If you need a long review record before you book, this boat cannot give you one yet, and the scores you will find most likely belong to the older wooden junk or the whole fleet. If you want the classic Ha Long sights on a one-night trip, this route does not go there. If you work through the trip, the missing Wi-Fi will bother you. And if the shared van and a village stop on the way home sound like a long day, ask about a private car, which the operator offers on request.

Where do you board?

At the international cruise port on the Bai Chay side, after a rest at the Indochina Junk office lounge; electric carts take you down at about noon. If you book anywhere but the operator, ask which programme you are buying and whether the van is included; our harbour guide explains the options. More boats on this side of the water sit in our Bai Tu Long Bay section and the Bai Tu Long cruises list.

Facts on this page come from indochina-junk.com (read 6 August and 14 October 2026).