Syrena Cruise

Syrena takes small groups around the classic part of Ha Long Bay in one tight overnight: a bamboo boat through Luon Cave after lunch, the climb up Titop before sunset, and Surprising Cave at seven the next morning, back on the pier by about half past ten. The operator runs two boats with 34 cabins between them, which puts each one in the small-boat bracket of the bay.

Which Syrena boat will you be on?

You cannot know in advance. Syrena’s own site says it operates “2 large cruise ships” with 34 cabins and 68 passengers in total, then describes a single set of rooms and never gives either boat a name. Our Google review file for Syrena is one listing that covers both, so no review on this page can be pinned to one hull.

Two reseller listings give each boat 17 cabins, which is the operator’s total halved; Syrena itself never splits the figure. Nobody publishes which of the two was launched in 2010, the year the operator, Tripadvisor and both resellers give. If the age of the boat matters to you, and our guide to boat age explains why it might, ask the operator which boat your date is on and when it was built.

What happens on the two-day trip?

The operator’s timetable for the 2 days 1 night programme, read on 10 October 2026, runs like this:

• 11:45 to 12:00. Check-in on Tuan Chau. The operator’s timetable names the international harbour, but guests have found the boat elsewhere, so confirm the meeting point (see below).
• 12:30. A tender takes you out to the boat; welcome drink, safety talk, keys.
• 13:00. The boat sails and lunch is a buffet, eaten while you pass Ba Hang and the Fighting Cocks islets.
• 14:15. Tender to Luon Cave, where a local boatman rows you through in a woven bamboo boat.
• 15:15. Titop Island: swim off the beach or take the steps to the lookout.
• 16:20. Back on board, sunset from the sun deck, and the boat moves to its overnight mooring near Titop.
• 17:00 to 19:00. Happy hour on a two-for-one basis (wine excluded), with a cooking demonstration.
• 19:00. Set dinner, then a film in the dining room and squid fishing.
• 06:00, day two. Tai chi on the sun deck, then a light breakfast at 06:30.
• 07:05. Surprising Cave, the bay’s best-known cavern, covered in our Sung Sot guide.
• 08:30 to 09:30. Pack, leave the cabin, brunch, settle the bar bill.
• 10:30. Tender back to the pier.

Two things in that timetable deserve a note. Titop is a stop for 17 of the 64 boats whose route we hold (counted 10 October 2026), and German guests who reviewed in October 2024 gave up on the Titop lookout after ten minutes stuck on the stairs behind other groups. And the owner’s 2-day page lists no kayaking, although its About page names kayaking among the activities. Two reseller listings include a kayak or bamboo boat at Luon Cave in the fare, which fits a Vietnamese guest who wrote of paddling there. If a kayak is the point of the trip for you, get it confirmed for your date.

The 3 days 2 nights programme swaps the order of the caves and adds a full middle day on a separate day boat: kayaking at Bright and Dark Cave, a set lunch on board, a swim at Ba Trai Dao beach and a pearl farm, then back to the main boat at Titop for a second night. Our guide to two days or three covers whether that middle day earns its money.

Which cabin should you choose?

There are three grades, all described on the operator’s room pages:

The balcony cabin is the smaller room. You give up a square metre inside for somewhere to sit outdoors. In drizzle the balcony is of little use. The operator says there are “two Exclusive Suites” without saying whether that means two per boat or two across both, and it does not give the split between the two deluxe grades at all.

One Dutch guest in November 2025 found the cabin clean but the ceiling low, with the rain shower head at about shoulder height for them.

What does a Syrena cruise cost?

From $110 per person, two sharing, for one night, on a reseller’s rates read on 6 August 2026. Syrena publishes no rate table of its own, so that listing on halongbaytours.com is the only price we hold. Per cabin for two:

The balcony costs $20 more for one night and buys the smaller room. The second night adds $210 to $225, almost as much as the first. These are the highest rates the listing shows, so a direct quote may land below them, and the suite has no price anywhere we have read. On 10 October 2026 the operator’s own site showed only discounts: 10% for booking 30 days ahead, 15% at 60 days and 20% at 90, plus a code worth up to 35% for direct bookings. Ask for the full price per cabin, for your date and grade, in writing.

Syrena’s own site publishes no inclusions list. Two resellers agree that an English-speaking guide, a welcome drink and the Luon Cave boat are in the fare, and that drinks, insurance and the Hanoi shuttle are extra. One of them adds tips to the extras and a surcharge over Christmas, New Year and Tet. One says only the meals in the programme are covered. The two-for-one happy hour and the bar bill settled at brunch fit the drinks being extra. One guest still had to buy drinking water, although a reseller lists two free bottles in the cabin; another found Wi-Fi did not work and phone signal was weak. Our guide to what is not included lists what to ask about.

Finding the boat at Tuan Chau

Syrena’s office is kiosk 26 to 27 at Tuan Chau Marina, and its timetable sends you to the international harbour, yet guests have found the boat somewhere else. One searched for an hour without seeing a sign, and only reached the boat, near pier 27, once a third taxi driver rang their agency. Another said the check-in point on their booking site was the international marina while the boat waited about 2 km away. Before you set out, get the exact pier and a phone number for the day; the operator lists +84 203 384 5810 and +84 333 817 318. Our harbour guide helps with Tuan Chau’s layout.

Most of the low reviews are about how guests were spoken to on board. If something goes wrong, tell your booking agent in writing while you are still on the boat. Separately, one Spanish guest fell on the stairs and called the floors slippery.

Is it good for vegetarians?

Usually, if you say so early. Most vegetarians who wrote about it were cooked for, one saying the chef made separate dishes just for them. The complaints are about bland vegetables and rice, and about a group that wanted dal and roti. Put your diet in the booking and ask what the kitchen will make. Our food on board guide covers what boats in this bay usually serve.

Who Syrena suits

• Couples and families who want the standard Ha Long Bay sights in one night on a boat of about seventeen cabins.
• Guests who want a balcony and will accept 15 m² to get one.
• Vegetarians who will write their needs into the booking.

Who should look elsewhere

• Anyone who wants a rate from the operator itself; every price on this page is one reseller’s, read in August 2026.
• Travellers who want a quieter route; Titop and Surprising Cave draw the bay’s crowds.
• Groups expecting Indian vegetarian cooking without arranging it in advance.

What we could not confirm

Two resellers describe a wooden hull; the operator does not say. Nobody publishes the number of decks or the length of either boat. The 17 cabins per boat come from two resellers and the 34 guests from one; both fit the operator’s brand total of 34 and 68. Which boat dates from 2010 is not stated, and the suite count may be per boat or for the pair. Every review we hold covers both boats together.