Ha Long Things to Do

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Kayaking

This is the best way for you to explore the breathtaking scenery in Ha Long Bay with the six hundred square miles of paradise in the north East of Vietnam, offer the visitor many exciting opportunities to discover the mysterious haven in there. Kayaking is very popular in Ha long and attracts a lot of travelers all over the world. It is considered as a must-do if you really want to adventure Ha Long Bay wholeheartedly.

Rock Climbing

Ha long Bay is one of the most scenically beautiful place on earth with 3000 limestone cliff, many of which rise in the water. It is worth exploring especially for those who are interested in adventurous sports.

Scuba Diving

With the diverse coral reef and ecosystem, scuba diving will become a favorite activity for tourist. This is a unique opportunity to cruise and dive through one of the world's great natural wonders in style and comfort. Joining to scuba diving, you will have chance to experience the feeling of conquering the natural beauty and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and tranquility undersea.

Squid Fishing

Beside the exciting activities during daylight hours, let take part in Squid Fishing to undergo the mysterious night in Ha Long Bay. This is particular interesting for the group of friends or family. Just experience yourself as a fisherman and enjoy the achievements from the fishing. Boat service will be pleased to cook your dinner with the squids and fish captured.

Cycling

Ha Long Bay has not only beautiful beaches and limestone but also peaceful islands which are waiting for you to explore by bicycle. Imagine you are cycling along the beaches or fishing villages, and enjoy the light of stunning sunset. It is really awesome.

Swimming

It is wonderful if you can enjoy clear and blue water of Ha long Bay, play with waves and build sand castle or simply just lying on the beaches and enjoying the tropical sunlight. You can enjoy the best services in luxury cruises.

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The tours to visit the Best of the North Vietnam couldn’t complete without traveling Halong bay- the magnificent and poetic bay- the precious present the Nature Mother gave for Vietnam.
Vietwindtravel would like to provide you some necessary information for your Halong bay trip.

Halong Bay’s climate is symbolic of the climate of North Vietnam; featuring all four seasons. In summer, it's hot, humid and rainy, while monsoons flourish. In winter, it's cold, dry, and sees little rainfall.

The best time of year to visit Halong Bay is during the spring or fall, especially from March to May with constant sunshine. As the bay is situated in the northern part of the country, it can get colder in the fall and winter, and though you won't see extremes such as blizzards, it's still a lousy place to be when it gets cold. This area is one of the most popular destinations for vacations in Vietnam. Though there will be more tourists in the area in the spring and summer, the area is still a good place to go. In some situations, it's actually better that there are more people there. There will be more places to go for food and more entertainment in the area. When the weather is good you can go out in the bay on a junk, or a boat, and take a tour of the area. You can go swimming if you wish and just explore the beauty of the area. You can't do all of that in the fall and winter because it gets too cold. When you visit the area you should pack a swim suit, some shorts and a t-shirt. You should have enough clothes to keep you comfortable.

If you travel Halong from August to November, there may be infrequent typhoons and your cruise may be cancelled. In that case be sure to contact your agent for alternative solutions and in many cases, choose to stay one or two nights in a hotel on the mainland and the next day you may continue the cruise with sunshine.
To know more information about The Best of the North Vietnam’s weather.

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Includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a human presence The site’s outstanding scenic beauty is complemented by its great biological interest

The outstanding value of the property is centered around the drowned limestone karst landforms, displaying spectacular pillars with a variety of coastal erosional features such as arches and caves which form a majestic natural scenery

The repeated regression and transgression of the sea on the limestone karst over geological time has produced a mature landscape of clusters of conical peaks and isolated towers which were modified by sea invasion, adding an extra elemant to the process of lateral undercutting of the limstone towers and islands

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Two option by going here if you don't like to paddle you can go with the rowing boat, we prefer to kayak as it seems we have more freedom, and can get very closer the the locals in the village

The floating village is a cultural heritage and tourist attraction in Halong bay, people have been living in these houses for hundred of year with fishing as the main income activity

It is a magically calm place an escape from the hustle of streets. People living here they have no home or land ownership and their main lively hood is fishing and aquaculture

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Swimming is include in the package program, after visiting the Sung Sot cave our tour guide took us here in this little beach of Halong Bay

Swimming the rest of the afternoon, I haven't expected there's a little beach in Halong Bay, the water of this beach is emerald green and turquoise color, so you cannot see the bottom but still safe place for swimming
Swimming in Halong bay is really a nice experience and so refreshing

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The largest cave in Halong Bay, the cave is now heavily developed for tourism with granite pavements and coloured lighting beautification
The natural elements seems pretty well preserved hopefully the in-flock of tourists won’t cause too much harm
Too many stair to go up, but once you're on the top you have the excellent view of Halong

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I got a trip to Halong bay for 3 days. As adviced by my friends, I travel Halong bay, visit Thien Cung cave and Dau Go cave, go kayaking, swimming and sleep on boat for the first night. The second day, I went throught Cat Ba island and then get to Monkey Island Resort where they have beaches, mountains and bungalows for staying overnight. This trip was very interesting especially I had a private trip to visit Lan Ha bay with beautiful islets and floating village. All was so lovely trip. I love Halong bay, I love Lan Ha bay and I love Monkey Island Resort beach and staff.

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There are several caves around the Ha Long Bay area, and a visit to the Thien Cung Caves was included in our boat trip. I was told that you can not decide yourself what cave you want to visit: People on day trips visits one cave and people on overnight cruises visits another cave – and it changes during the season...

The caves of Thien Cung are located 4 km from Ha Long City. The way to the caves is a bit demanding, going up a small path covered on both sides by thick forest. The caves are 130 meter long and you are guided though the caves by following a snake-like trail. Inside the caves there are many beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, but I also found the colourful lighting very nice. The name means “Heavens Palace” and it is said that the Thien Cung Caves are the most beautiful caves of Ha Long Bay.

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Ha Long Bay is a place of outstanding natural beauty and is an UNESCO World Heritage site – absolutely one of the World’s natural wonders... All around the bay there are thousands of limestone karsts and islands, some of them with grottos and caves which are open for visitors.

Ha Long Bay means “Bay of Descending Dragons” from a legend about dragons descended from heaven to help locals by spitting jewels and jade to the sea, forming a natural fortress against invaders.

I went on a 4-hour boat trip, but you can also take an overnight cruise in the bay. Included in our boat trip was a fantastic sea food lunch with shrimps, big crabs, grilled fish and more. We also visited the caves at Thien Cung (read my other tip) and had a really great day. The scenery was amazing, but there were many, many, many tourist boats in the bay…

There are hundred of cruises in Halong Bay at the moment, and sometimes it is difficult for visitors to find a suitable one for their vacation. Normally, guests make choices on Halong Bay cruises based on their budgets or preferences in terms of tour length and cruise style. Besides, customer reviews are another important contributing factor to the final decision of travelers. For a greater convenience of customers when finding a cruise for their Halong Bay holidays, the fascinatinghalongbay.com website has featured a thoroughly picked cruise collection of 4 classes each of which includes the best options of its kind.
For the top-class cruises, the undefeatable candidates are the following ones: Au Co Cruise, Valentine Cruise, Indochina Sails, Paradise Cruise, Emeraude Cruise, Bhaya Cruise, Ginger Cruise, Jasmine Cruise and Violet Cruise. Don’t expect disappointment when choosing among these cruisers for your holiday since every single aspect of your cruise trip, from the food, staffs to the facilities and services onboard has been professionally prepared for excellent satisfaction. Every minute you spend on the cruises is enjoyable with delicious food served in gorgeous restaurants and truly relaxing time in the bar as well as on the sundeck. The prices range from 250 bucks to more than 600 bucks per cabin of two adults, great values for money.
For list of Halong Bay Cruise Tours 4 star standards, guests may consider one of the following recommendations: Emotion Cruise Halong, Calypso Cruise, Paloma Cruise, Glory Cruise, White Dolphin Cruise, Victory Star Cruise, Dragon Pearl, Red Dragon Cruise, Aclass Opera Cruise and Lagoon Explorer Junk. These cruises offer high quality services and well appointed amenities and facilities on board to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction. As a matter of fact, all of these 4 star cruises have attained really good reviews from previous customers. Prices range from 200 bucks to more than 300 bucks per cabin of 2 adults.
For the most affordable options, guests can choose among the following cruisers: Halong Poseidon Sails, Oriental Sails, Phoenix Cruise, Huong Hai Junk, Bai Tu Long Junk, and A Class Cruise. Though there are a number of cheaper, even much cheaper, cruises can be picked, these are the ones with greatest values for money. Prices start from 90 buck per person, inclusive of transportation , meals on board, entrance fee, etc. Customers just need to pay extra for the drinks they order on board.
Besides, those travelers who are seeking for romantic or intimate moments in Halong Bay will find what they desire among the following options : Bhaya Legend 1 Junk, Premium Valentine, Paloma Family Junk, Bhaya Legend 2 Junk, Paradise Privilege Junk, Life Heritage Cruise, Halong Princess Junk and Prince Junk Halong. All of these private cruises offer luxurious services and amenities that bring about unforgettable experiences, especially for honeymooners and travelers in groups. All of these cruises are just available for charter with prices ranging from 250 bucks for 2 people.

Warmly welcome you to visit our website: www.halongvietnamcruises.com , a product of AsiaLink Travel JSC to promote Halong Bay Cruises. Halong Vietnamshould be a “must see” place in your lifetime. We provides a selection of Halong Cruises . Easy check rate & availability of all Halong boats and get rapid responses. We pick the best Halong Cruises for this collection and give you the best deals for your Halong cruise tours
We have been working with all Halong Cruises, we do not attract you by the cheapest offer in Vietnam, but we ensure the most effective rates to our clients. We inform you about news and updates, let you know about special promotions and give advice on the quality of a particular product , Halong tours and how to enjoy yourcruise in Halong
www.halongvietnamcruises.com promises to provide services with the most reasonable price. From the beginning, we – AsiaLink Travel , are specialized in Halong Bay segment and we have become a long-term liable partners gaining great credit from hotels, boat’s companies in Halong bay. Therefore, these respected partners always give us top priority in terms of prices and service quality.

We had a two day, one night tour on Ha Long Bay in March 2012. $180 each. It was well worth it. The minibus picked us up at 8am and set off north, Lots of rice paddies, buffalo, women selling bread on side of road. Takes aboutT 3.5 hrs including a 20 min stop at a huge souvenir/clothes/tourist centre with toilets and cafe. The merchandise is more expensive than Hanoi so beware. After the stop the road gets rather bumpy and monotanous. But well worth it when you arrive in Ha Long Bay. The Cruise is well organised, your name ticked off, bags tagged for your cruise (there were 4 Bhayas the day we went) and you have a cup of tea till everyone arrives. Then you take a tender out to the boat and your luggage is delivered to your room. There is a welcome drink and introductory briefing before a great buffet lunch is served as you sail out of port.

Later in the afternoon, the boat moors and the tender takes you to a pontoon where ladies with bamboo boats are waiting. You are rowed, four to a boat, to a floating fishing village and go past little houses with kids and dogs to a pontoon with a gift shop, school and fish in holding pens.

Row back to pearl shop and then back to boat. Time for swimming or kayaking. At 5pm there is happy hour to 6.30pm, beers are $3 but you get two for one during this time. Cooking demo by the on board chef on fresh spring rolls. This blurs into dinner when a five course meal is served. Squid fishing on back desk.

The rooms have en suite bathrooms are are very comfortable.

Next day I got up at 6am for a half hour Tai Chi class on the deck. Then a light breakfast is served as you sail to the caves. There is a tour of the cave system which was more interesting than I thought it would be. Back to the boat and a brunch is served as you sail back to the port.

Bus back to Hanoi.

The staff are excellent and the cruise is good value and highly recommended.

We booked our one-night excursion to Ha Long through the Kangaroo Cafe - an Australian-run establishment. An easy process and decently priced, we were also welcome to leave our luggage in their back room whilst away. The place is decorated somewhat gaudily with pictures of the staff, owners, boats etc all advertising how wonderful the Cafe is and that it is the 'Real' place and not a rip-off joint like other rip-off joints etc etc. The website is much the same. Gets tiresome after a while!
Anyway, we were only a small group of 9 people and we all enjoyed Ha Long Bay and the junk boat. The bus-ride there and back was very long and tiring but that's no one's fault. Road trips in Vietnam are very long, bumpy and uncomfortable!
The boat was simple, basic and clean, the food absolutely impeccable and must rate as one of the finest culinary experiences we've had in Vietnam! The staff were so polite and friendly that it was easy to optionally tip them at the end of the trip. The bedrooms were decent in size, private and comfortable.
We managed to pack in a lot in 24hrs - a 419-step-climb up a steep karst to a view-point overlooking the glorious scenery, plus a kayak trip into an enclosed bay to see some monkeys play, a walk through a massive limestone cave and some of our companions also enjoyed jumping off the side of the boat into the sea. We weren't a 'party-boat' crowd - opting instead for a calm, easy going evening of quiet chit-chat and reflection - but they had everything on board such as a karaoke machine if we fancied a party-night. The only downside was that we were not allowed to bring our own alcohol and food on-board (but we snuck a bit on anyway :-) !). The drinks were expensive as well. I'm assuming booze isn't allowed for 2 reasons: good margin for the company on sale of alcohol and to prevent people from getting completely wasted and out of control (as backpackers are prone to do)
I wish we had booked two nights but considering the experience we'd had in the Mekong, we opted to just have the one night - better to be safe than sorry. There isn't much to do on the boat but that's the point really - it forces you to relax!
Even though it was hazy out on the water, this is still a magical place and deserves a visit.

Friends of ours had spent a lot of money on a 5* experience which they thoroughly enjoyed. I'd say this was a 3* but perfectly fine and not to be sniffed at.

PS: we had a meal at the Cafe on our return and although generally good, don't get anything with sausages as those are not very nice in Vietnam!

You MUST take a boat on Ha Long Bay, Hanoi travel agents can arrange this and help you stay for one or two nights (second day Cat Ba island). The atmosphere is nice and laid back and the scenery is eerily beautiful and unique.

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The boat was pre-booked from London, complete with shuttle bus from and to Hanoi. After much painful research, we deemed the best and most luxurious boat company to be the Red Dragon Boats, run by Indochina Junk (beware the many companies and web sites with copycat names). Our tickets came from their Hanoi sales office.

They run a fleet of boats and we chose the Prince II, one with four cabins only, of which we needed two. We chose the three-day, two-night tour, which took away any "rush factor" we'd heard about for the shorter cruises. It takes half a day each way for the bus ride to and from Hanoi, included with the trip. Our van had a maximum capacity of about 12 passengers. This cruise covered part of Halong Bay but spent most time in the less crowded Bai Tu Long Bay.

This company lived up to their promises and this was a truly luxurious cruise. Only one of the other two cabins was taken, so there were 6 staff for 6 passengers.

The Prince II junk was beautiful. It was tourist-tacky, but done up with much better quality than we saw from any other fleet of junks. Our cabins each had individual air-conditioners and large en-suite bathrooms with hot showers. They were nicely decorated and in very good shape.

The service was good, equivalent to a 5-star hotel, though not quite at the Leading Hotel of the World level. Meals were eaten together with the other guests on the top covered deck, and most meals were special affairs created by the chef from local seafood, with the chef providing cooking demonstrations at our tables. The food was delicious the first two days, but it did taper off dramatically in quality the last day. Meals were included in the price, but drinks were not, and they were expensive - maybe US $4 for a mixed drink, $5 for a cocktail.

The guide was excellent, as were the shore excursions, the sampan ride through a floating fishing village, and the kayaking. We could choose either single or double kayaks early in the trip, and these were towed behind the junk for the duration of the cruise.

The junks found secluded bays to anchor for the night. One night there were no other boats in sight and the other night there was only one other Red Dragon junk. It was quite peaceful.

I would definitely use this company again. Next time, I would put this cruise at the end of the holiday, rather than the beginning, to finish off with a truly relaxing three days.