Ha Long Bay

A cruise on Ha Long Bay -- or the Bay of the Descending Dragon -- for many represents the pinnacle of their experience in Vietnam. easily one of the most popular destinations in the country, UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay is both mystical and magnificent, an incredible feat of nature that almost never fails to impress.

Yes, it really is that good.

Last time we counted, UNESCO had picked out 830 World Heritage sites around the world, chosen for their cultural and historical importance, and also for their geological uniqueness. Ha Long Bay offers a little of all three.

It's not the cliffs themselves that make Ha Long Bay unique, but rather their sheer number. A huge bay, dotted with nearly 2,000 mostly uninhabited limestone cliffs, the breathtaking scenery is very similar to that of the Andaman coast of Thailand, Vang Vieng in Laos and Guilin in China.

Created over millions of years, tectonic forces slowly thrust the limestone above the water-line. During this process waves lapping against the stone carved out a number of vast, striking caverns, as well as other geologically interesting formations, such as tunnel caves and uniquely shaped massifs.

Over the ages, Vietnamese fishermen with too much time on their hands began to see shapes in the stone massifs atop many of the islands, and named the islands accordingly -- Turtle Island, Human Head Island, Chicken Island and so on.

In what constitutes one of the most fascinating cultural features of the area, some of these fisherman still live on the bay today -- on floating fishing villages, where houses are set atop barges year round, the inhabitants catching and cultivating fish throughout.

Ha Long Bay cruises mostly run out of Hanoi or the coastal town of Halong City (which faces out and over the bay). There are hundreds of agencies selling tours on the bay, but very few actually run their own boats -- instead most are consolidators or resellers. Organising a tour is very much a buyer beware scenario -- talk to other travellers and shop around -- if you're paying $15 a head for a two day tour of Ha Long Bay rest assured it will be pretty dodgy. Try to include a stay on Cat Ba Island if you can.

We've put a series of stories together concerning trying to pick the right tour, and there's also some good threads on the Travelfish Forum, including:
Ha Long Bay tours (long)
Bad Ha Long trip
Ha Long Bay tours
Ha Long Bay daytrip

Add to scrapbook

Jump to a destination

Considering a tour to Vietnam?

Travelfish Guides: Bringing together the best of the Travelfish site in a concise, easy to read format.

Buy a Central Highlands Travelfish Guide Travelfish Guide

Buy a Da Nang and Hoi An Travelfish Guide

Search for accommodation

Search for guesthouses & hotels
where in Vietnam?

Sort results by:
Travelfish ranking (best first)
Price (cheapest first)
Name (A-Z)
Show only properties bookable online

Ha Long Bay reviews

Backchat from the Travelfish community

Not a soul has had a thing to say about this place -- why don't you get the ball rolling?

Have your say

Review title

Snappiness encouraged ;-)

When did you visit here?

This gives your review a bit of context - especially if you were last in Ha Long Bay in 1932.

Your review

(Remotely sensible, non-ranting comments are much appreciated. If you don't like somewhere, please explain why -- it's all far more helpful for others that way.) Serial ranters, loons and spammers will be banished!
And please, no self-promotional URLs -- that's what your signature field is for.

So how does it rate?
On a scale of one to ten (with 10 being outstanding and 1 being bloody awful) how would you rate Ha Long Bay for the following criteria?

Note: Ratings are OUT OF TEN -- not five!

Sights & activities:
History & culture:
Scenery & environment:
Eat & drink:

Traveller scene:
Romance:
Value for money:
I'll be back (or not):

Please note comments are edited for clarity, typos and style before they appear. Ranting tirades, spam and anything else that really belongs somewhere else won't make the cut. If you want to rant, go to Thorntree.

Please login and refresh this screen before writing your review -- thanks!