The world famous Halong Bay is a must see in any travel to Vietnam. The bay and its 3,000 islands will surprise you no matter how many pictures you have seen before.
The area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Many travel agencies in Hanoi offer excursions to Halong Bay. Allow, at least, two days to visit the bay. The islands vary in size, some are small -- as the one in the picture --, others are quite big. Some of the islands have grottoes that can be visited.
In Hanoi you will find plenty of agencies that offer tours to Halong Bay. Usually they offer one-, two- and three-days trips. One day is definetly not enough to visit the bay. Only the bus ride from Hanoi to Ving Ha Long takes almost five hours! With the one-day excursion you will only be able to do a small boat tour. Two days is the minimum stay I recommend. If you add a third day, you will be able to sleep in one of the islands, Cat Ba Island for instance.
The trip from Hanoi is done by bus. Your guide will bring you to Halong Bay port, where you will get on one of the boats.
Halong Bay: Grotto
Some of the bigger islands have grottoes. They are open to the public. Most of the organized tours will stop in one of these islands, and take you on a guided tour of a grotto. The visit to these caves lasts around an hour. Some of them are in better conditions than others, but it is always a magical experience to get inside the mountains, and see how powerful water is.
The tour guide will give you some explanations about the geological origin of the formations. He will also show you some stalagmites and stalactites that resemble animals and plants. This is an experience that will amuse kids and grown ups alike.
In this picture you can see the view from one of the grottos in an island in Halong Bay. The boats you see are tourists boats.
Halong Bay is a paradise for photography lovers. Each of the rock formations is unique. If you visit the area in Summer, the air will be clearer. In Autumn and winter, the air is almost always misty.
Locals live mainly from the sea. Most of the rock islands in the area are too poor to be cultivated. Halong Bay is very rich in fish and sea food. In this picture you can see some floating houses. Locals live in these houses. Every morning they go fishing. They sell their catches to bigger boats, that bring the fresh fish to markets in the continent.
On the way to the island where you will spend the night, most probably your boat will stop in front of a nice rock karsts in order for you to go for a swim. Bring you swimwear and a towel.
Some of the Karsts have a popular name. Fighting Cock Rock, Dragon island, Tortoise Islet, Black Cloud Island, Neck of Horse Formation, Fighting Cock Rock, and Elephant Island are some of the names locals have given to these islets. While you lie on the deck of your boat, you can entertain yourself finding new names for the formations you see.
Van Don Island is the name of an archipelago of more than 600 islets. The two main islets in this archipelago are Van Hai and Cai Bau islets. During the Ly and Tran dynasties, the local port of Cai Rong Town was very prosperous.
Nowadays Van Don Island is very popular among tourists. The island has some nice sandy beaches. Tourism is developing fast in Van Don. New restaurants have already opened their doors in the island. New tourist facilities are being planned.
If you take the three-days tour, you will spend one night on the boat, and another night in one of the islands. One of the most popular islands is Cat Ba Island. The offer of accommodation is still not very varied in this island, but the offer of places to sleep is growing fast. If you come during the high season (Summer), you do have to book in advance. In Winter it should be easy to find accommodation, and you may get better deals.
I thought it would be nice to sleep on a boat and to see the sunset from its deck, but there was a change of plans. My tour guide told me there had been a problem with the police, and that I could not sleep on any boat. I thought it was a very bad excuse, but I opted for a money refund (sleeping on the boat is more expensive than sleeping on the island). Later I learnt that it was not possible to see the sunset from the boat, that dinner was not very good, and that the ones who stayed on the boat could hardly sleep.
Some movies shot in Halong Bay have made the area world famous. One of this pictures is the French film "Indochine". Although the site where part of the action takes place is referred in the film as the "Dragon Island", the island where the film was actually shot is called "Hon Oan". The real "Dragon Island" is not open to foreigners.
The area of Halong Bay is huge, but most tourists will only have time to visit one of the islands. In my case the island visited was Cat Bat. This is the most popular island in the bay. Most tourist agencies only offer tours to this island, but if you ask, they can organize a tour to any island you choose.
In the picture you can see a detailed view of one of the islands in Halong Bay. Note how the water has drilled a big hole at the foot of the hill. This is how grottoes are formatted.
Halong Bay has been inhabited since immemorial times. The oldest artifacts found in the area are more than 20,000 years old. The first cultures that lived here were the Soi Nhu, Cai Beo and Halong.
Now that you know the area of Halong Bay it is time to go back to Vinh Ha Long Town, the city from where we departed the first day of our journey. On the way back to the port you will enjoy the sight of thousands of islands. The Karsts are specially beautiful before sun set.
The town of Hai Phong is a small fishing town that has no other interest than its great sea food restaurants. Next to Hai Phong a new tourist town is being developed on a former island, the project is called Tuan Chau. Although the new town has a great aquarium with dolphins shows, and some venues where special events take place, you'd better not waste your time visiting it.
Well my friend this is it, this Virtual Tour came to its end. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you have some useful information you want to share with visitors of this site, send me an email, and I will post it here. Thanks for your time. Good bye.
The tour guide will give you some explanations about the geological origin of the formations. He will also show you some stalagmites and stalactites that resemble animals and plants. This is an experience that will amuse kids and grown ups alike.
In this picture you can see the view from one of the grottos in an island in Halong Bay. The boats you see are tourists boats.
Some of the Karsts have a popular name. Fighting Cock Rock, Dragon island, Tortoise Islet, Black Cloud Island, Neck of Horse Formation, Fighting Cock Rock, and Elephant Island are some of the names locals have given to these islets. While you lie on the deck of your boat, you can entertain yourself finding new names for the formations you see.
Van Don Island is the name of an archipelago of more than 600 islets. The two main islets in this archipelago are Van Hai and Cai Bau islets. During the Ly and Tran dynasties, the local port of Cai Rong Town was very prosperous.
Nowadays Van Don Island is very popular among tourists. The island has some nice sandy beaches. Tourism is developing fast in Van Don. New restaurants have already opened their doors in the island. New tourist facilities are being planned.
If you take the three-days tour, you will spend one night on the boat, and another night in one of the islands. One of the most popular islands is Cat Ba Island. The offer of accommodation is still not very varied in this island, but the offer of places to sleep is growing fast. If you come during the high season (Summer), you do have to book in advance. In Winter it should be easy to find accommodation, and you may get better deals.
I thought it would be nice to sleep on a boat and to see the sunset from its deck, but there was a change of plans. My tour guide told me there had been a problem with the police, and that I could not sleep on any boat. I thought it was a very bad excuse, but I opted for a money refund (sleeping on the boat is more expensive than sleeping on the island). Later I learnt that it was not possible to see the sunset from the boat, that dinner was not very good, and that the ones who stayed on the boat could hardly sleep.
Some movies shot in Halong Bay have made the area world famous. One of this pictures is the French film "Indochine". Although the site where part of the action takes place is referred in the film as the "Dragon Island", the island where the film was actually shot is called "Hon Oan". The real "Dragon Island" is not open to foreigners.
The area of Halong Bay is huge, but most tourists will only have time to visit one of the islands. In my case the island visited was Cat Bat. This is the most popular island in the bay. Most tourist agencies only offer tours to this island, but if you ask, they can organize a tour to any island you choose.
In the picture you can see a detailed view of one of the islands in Halong Bay. Note how the water has drilled a big hole at the foot of the hill. This is how grottoes are formatted.
Halong Bay has been inhabited since immemorial times. The oldest artifacts found in the area are more than 20,000 years old. The first cultures that lived here were the Soi Nhu, Cai Beo and Halong.
Now that you know the area of Halong Bay it is time to go back to Vinh Ha Long Town, the city from where we departed the first day of our journey. On the way back to the port you will enjoy the sight of thousands of islands. The Karsts are specially beautiful before sun set.
The town of Hai Phong is a small fishing town that has no other interest than its great sea food restaurants. Next to Hai Phong a new tourist town is being developed on a former island, the project is called Tuan Chau. Although the new town has a great aquarium with dolphins shows, and some venues where special events take place, you'd better not waste your time visiting it.
Well my friend this is it, this Virtual Tour came to its end. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you have some useful information you want to share with visitors of this site, send me an email, and I will post it here. Thanks for your time. Good bye.
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