Three Heritage Line bay ships, all from Tuan Chau Marina · map not to scale
At a glance
- Ships
- Ylang (10 suites), Violet (6 suites), Ginger (12 suites)
- Nights
- Ylang and Violet two nights; Ginger one night
- Best for
- Ylang: older couples and teens · Violet: privacy · Ginger: short routes
- Budget
- From 140 USD per person per day at 4★ (2 travellers sharing); ships priced in your private quote
- Getting there
- About two and a half hours by private car from Hanoi
The short answer
I choose Ylang for most long trips: two nights on Lan Ha Bay, ten suites, a spa and a gentle wellness programme that suits older couples and families with teenagers. Violet, with six jacuzzi suites in Bai Tu Long Bay, is for couples or one group wanting privacy. Ginger is the one-night ship, right only when the route is short.
Heritage Line runs three small ships on the bays east of Hanoi, and guests often assume they are versions of the same thing. They are not. Ylang, Violet and Ginger differ in size, in how many nights they sail, in which water they sail, and in the kind of traveller they suit. When our team at Metta Voyage places one of them inside a long private trip, the choice is made by the people travelling and the shape of the route, not by the photos. This is how I match them.
Heritage Line cruise: Ylang, Violet and Ginger at a glance
| Ship | Water | Suites | Nights | What stands out | Who I book it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ylang | Lan Ha Bay | 10 suites of 40–54 m², at most 20 guests | 2 | Spa with three treatment rooms, steam bath and sauna; tai chi and meditation on deck | Older couples, wellness-minded guests, families with teenagers who want calm |
| Violet | Bai Tu Long Bay | 6 suites, each with an in-suite jacuzzi | 2 | 1930s French-Indochinese Art Deco; private dining room for four and a library lounge | Couples who want privacy; one family or group of friends taking the whole ship |
| Ginger | Lan Ha Bay | 12 suites of 37–50 m² | 1 | Terrace deck pool; glass-walled restaurant with an open kitchen | Shorter northern sections where only one night fits |
All three give every suite a private balcony, and all three include meals, guided excursions, coffee, tea and water. Each leaves from Tuan Chau Marina, about two and a half hours from Hanoi by private car.
Ylang: the ship I choose for slow, quiet days
Ylang sails two nights on Lan Ha Bay, the quieter southern part of the Ha Long seascape, going deeper than the day boats reach. With ten suites and no more than 20 guests, the pace is set by a handful of people. The programme is built around wellness: tai chi and meditation on deck, a spa, cycling through Viet Hai village and a walk in Cat Ba National Park, with kayaking at Frog Lake on the last morning.
In our experience, this is the Heritage Line ship that suits the widest range of our long-trip guests. Parents in their sixties and seventies like the unhurried middle day; teenagers get a bicycle and a kayak. I place it after two or three nights in Hanoi, and for a slower trip we add Ninh Binh or Mai Chau before the bay.
Violet: the whole bay to yourselves
Violet is Heritage Line’s smallest bay ship: six suites, each with a private balcony and an in-suite jacuzzi, styled after 1930s French-Indochinese Art Deco. It sails a two-night circuit into Bai Tu Long Bay, the eastern, less-visited extension of Ha Long, with kayaking at Tra San, Thien Canh Son cave and the Vung Vieng floating village.
I book Violet when a couple wants privacy, or when a family or group of friends of up to twelve wants the ship to themselves. Six suites means you will know everyone on board by the first evening, which is exactly what some guests want and not what others want. For wellness-led trips, we recommend pairing Violet with a few resort nights in Central Vietnam later in the route.
Ginger: when the route only has room for one night
Ginger is the one-night ship. Its “Hidden Worlds” programme packs a lot into 24 hours: cycling through Viet Hai village, which is reached only by sea, a hands-on Vietnamese cooking class, squid fishing after dinner, then tai chi and kayaking at Frog Lake the next morning. Twelve suites of 37 to 50 m² and a pool on the terrace deck keep it comfortable.
Ginger fits a compact northern section: Hanoi, the cruise, then a flight south the same afternoon. On day two the car waits at the pier and takes you to Hanoi airport for Hue, Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City. On a trip of two weeks or longer, though, I rarely choose it, because one night leaves almost no slack.
Heritage Line cruise on Ylang, Violet or Ginger: how I match guests
- Older couple, 14 to 21 days: Ylang. Two nights, a calm programme, and a spa with sauna and steam bath.
- Couple on a honeymoon or anniversary: Violet, for the jacuzzi in the suite and the small number of guests.
- Family with teenagers: Ylang for the cycling, kayaking and the national park walk; Violet if the family takes several suites and wants privacy.
- Three generations or a group of friends: Violet as a whole-ship booking, if the group fits in six suites.
- Ten days or less: Ginger, so the bay does not eat two days of a short route.
Our guides also ask about knees and balance before we choose. Bay ships have stairs, there is a gangway at the pier, and caves and beaches are reached by small boat or kayak. Kayaking is always optional. Our checklist for parents in their seventies covers this in more detail, and our guide to choosing a bay ship compares Heritage Line with the larger ships.
Mistakes I see most often
- Assuming the three ships sail the same water. Ylang and Ginger sail Lan Ha Bay; Violet sails Bai Tu Long Bay. Read the route, not the brand.
- Choosing one night on a long trip. With one night, much of the cruise goes on boarding and disembarking. On 14 days or more, two nights is my default.
- Putting the cruise just before the flight home. Between June and August the bay is stormy and sailings can be cancelled. I always leave a night between the bay and the international flight.
- Booking a six- or ten-suite ship late. The smallest ships fill first in the busy months, so I suggest deciding early.
- Bringing the big suitcase. Leave it with your driver or Hanoi hotel and take an overnight bag.
Where to stay before and after the bay
Fairmont Hanoi opened in February 2026 a short walk from Hoan Kiem Lake, with 241 rooms and suites and a 3,500 m² wellness floor with a bathhouse and a 20-metre lap pool. It is a calm base for the first Hanoi nights before the drive to the coast. To break that drive, Hilton Quang Hanh Onsen Resort in Cam Pha, about 30 minutes from Ha Long, opened on 23 February 2026; every villa and room has a private hot-spring bath, with the remaining villas due towards the end of 2026. If you add a countryside stop before the cruise, we use Avana Retreat in Mai Chau, with 36 villas in 15 hectares of forest, or Pullman Ninh Binh. For the full picture, see how I choose 4–5★ hotels.
What it costs
We don’t publish prices for individual ships; each is priced in your private quote. A private trip with 4★ hotels, your own guide and driver is from 140 USD per person per day, based on two travellers sharing, confirmed in your private quote; two weeks at that level is from 1,960 USD per person. A group of four pays from 133 USD per person per day, a group of six from 128.8. Trips built around small ships such as Ylang or Violet and 5★ resorts sit in our top tier, from 350 USD per person per day, always quoted individually.
Domestic flights are quoted separately. We take a 30% deposit, with the balance due 45 days before arrival, and a non-refundable 100 USD per traveller holding fee (kept even if you cancel early), separate from the 30% deposit; your quote shows how it is applied to the final invoice. Card payments carry a 3.5% fee. Our notes on pricing 10, 14 and 21 days show worked examples.
To see a Heritage Line ship inside a full journey, see Metta Voyage’s 12-day luxury Vietnam package or the 9-day luxury tour for the current from-price. Heritage Line also runs The Jahan, a 26-stateroom river ship sailing seven nights between Saigon and Siem Reap, which we use on Vietnam and Cambodia routes.
Sample itinerary, price from and a quote
If you want to see this advice turned into a bookable plan, start with a two-week private tour with a Heritage Line night: Vietnam Tour in Two Weeks: My Private 14-Day Route and Prices. It has a day-by-day sample itinerary, the hotels I would use and the price logic.
As a guide, a private trip of 14 days starts from 1,960 USD per person (14 days × 140 USD, 2 travellers sharing, 4★ hotels, private guide and driver), about 1,862 USD per person for a group of four and 1,803 USD for a group of six, confirmed in your written quote. Domestic flights are not included and are quoted separately; 5★ and luxury stays are quoted individually.
Request a quote for this route
Sources
Metta Voyage: Heritage Line Ylang · Metta Voyage: Heritage Line Violet · Metta Voyage: Heritage Line Ginger · Vietnam National Authority of Tourism: weather and climate · Hilton press release: Hilton Quang Hanh Onsen Resort · CDC: travel health advice for Vietnam
Questions we are often asked
What is the difference between Heritage Line Ylang, Violet and Ginger?
Ylang sails two nights on Lan Ha Bay with ten suites and a wellness programme. Violet sails two nights in Bai Tu Long Bay with six suites, each with a jacuzzi. Ginger is a one-night ship on Lan Ha Bay with twelve suites and a terrace pool.
Which Heritage Line ship suits older travellers?
We usually recommend Ylang: at most 20 guests, two unhurried nights, tai chi, a spa with sauna and steam bath, and optional kayaking. Tell us about mobility first, because bay ships have stairs.
Can we book the whole of Violet?
Violet has six suites, and we use it when a couple wants privacy or when a family or group of up to twelve wants the ship to themselves. Availability is checked for your dates.
Is one night on Ginger enough?
It works on a trip of ten days or less, and the programme fits cycling, a cooking class and kayaking into 24 hours. On longer trips we prefer a two-night ship.
What is included on Heritage Line bay cruises?
Meals, guided excursions, coffee, tea and water are included on Ylang, Violet and Ginger. Anything else appears as a separate line in your private quote.
David — for The Metta Voyage team. Checked against our itineraries and the sources above on 11 November 2026.
