Ha Long Bay

Travel guide

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


Text and/or map last updated on 21st August, 2009.
Further reading
 » Ha Long Bay conclusions and a confession
 » Ha Long Bay for backpackers
 » Ha Long Bay for budget-busters
 » Ha Long Bay for flashpackers
 » How to pick the right Ha Long Bay cruise

Considering a tour to Vietnam?



Add to scrapbook

 

 

  Search for accommodation

Search for guesthouses & hotels
where in Vietnam?
A Luoi Bac Ha Ben Tre Buon Ma Thuot Ca Na Cam Ranh Bay Can Tho Cat Ba Island Chau Doc China Beach Con Dao Islands Cua Lo Da Lat Da Nang Dai Lanh Dien Bien Phu Dong Ha Dong Hoi Dong Xoai Gia Nghia Ha Long Bay Ha Tien Ha Tinh Halong City Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Hoa Binh Hoi An Hon Chong Hue Kon Tum Lai Chau Lao Cai Long Xuyen Mai Chau Moc Chau Mui Ne Muong Lay My Khe Beach My Tho Nha Trang Ninh Binh Ninh Chu North of Kon Tum North of Nha Trang Phan Rang Thap Cham Phan Thiet Pho Rang Phong Nha Phong To Phu Quoc Island Pleiku Quang Ngai Qui Nhon Rach Gia Sa Huynh Sapa Sinh Ho Son La Song Cau Tam Dao Hill Station Tay Ninh Thanh Hoa Tra Vinh Tuan Giao Tuy Hoa Vinh Vinh Long Vung Tau Yen Chau

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

 

Fresh off our Asia travel forum

Here are some discussions off the Travelfish forum, perhaps related to Ha Long Bay. You can find the full forum here.

Topic	Replies	Views
WARNING: re Ha Long Bay cruise touts  - Sticky! In Vietnam: by somtam2000, last reply by somtam2000	1	11594
Ha Long Bay 3 days and 2 nights on the Jolly Roger & Castaway Island  In Vietnam: by drunkeneddy, last reply by Precious24	1	503
Ha Long Bay Cruise  In Vietnam: by archiebaby, last reply by hasherjoe34	4	2158
Hanoi/Ha Long Bay/Sapa doable weather-wise in November/december?  In Vietnam: by Seba, last reply by veloasia	9	2663
ha long bay tour recomendation - 3 days / 2 nights  In Vietnam: by saso, last reply by gooze	7	1506
Christmas in Ha Long Bay  In Vietnam: by mlr, last reply by PalleKuling	1	617
Ocean Tours - Ha Noi/Ha Long Bay :-)  In Vietnam: by andrea73, last reply by Wangbenkoowloon	5	3009
Handspan or Ocean Tours for 2 day tour of Ha Long bay?  In Vietnam: by enk, last reply by enk	9	1726
Ha Long Bay Independent  In Vietnam: by Asheai, last reply by DLuek	4	1391
Ha Long Bay on a raft  In Vietnam: by lodge, last reply by trailwalker	1	764
Least toúristy way to do Ha Long Bay?  In Vietnam: by DLuek, last reply by DLuek	3	1398
Ha Long Bay - Small Boat Tours  In Vietnam: by niko, last reply by CatBa2	1	1242
Ha Long Bay... Ocean Tours, Fanispan or Et Pumpkin  In Vietnam: by funkfaerie, last reply by CatBa	1	1651
Ha Long Bay cable car project approved  In Vietnam: by somtam2000, last reply by somtam2000	4	1703
HCM to Ha Long Bay  In Vietnam: by JamieB, last reply by CatBa	2	1130

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