Inland tour from Halong Bay

We now have two days in Halong Bay next Feb because of an itinerary change. We do not want to do an overnight boat trip, but have seen reference to an inland tour, visiting unspoilt villages and scenic areas. We could perhaps do that independently on our first day, though would likely be just two of us as we are on a very small ship that does not usually get a response from roll call. I have seen reviews of the immediate port area and it does not sound impressive.

Has anyone been there done that, either independently or with ship's excursion?