Halong Travel Guides

Majestic and mysterious, inspiring and imperious: words alone cannot do justice to the natural wonder that is Halong Bay. Imagine 3000 or more incredible islands rising from the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and you have a vision of breathtaking beauty. Halong Bay is pure art, a priceless collection of unfinished sculptures hewn from the hand of nature.

Halong Bay is the stuff of myths and naturally the Vietnamese have concocted one. Halong translates as ‘where the dragon descends into the sea’. Legend has it that the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon that lived in the mountains. As it charged towards the coast, its flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses. When it finally plunged into the sea, the area filled with water, leaving only the pinnacles visible.

Getting there & around

Bus & boat: For more on tours to Halong Bay, see the boxed text below. It is hard to do it any cheaper on your own, but some travellers prefer to steer their own course. Travelling independently allows you to take more or less time in places, depending on the weather. The downside is that it is hard to arrange an overnight on a boat this way. You can take a bus to Halong City from Hanoi (40, 000d, 3½ hours) and book a passage on a Cat Ba tourist boat (130, 000d including entry ticket, six hours). This boat takes in the main sites and drops you at Ben Beo harbour. Then chill out on Cat Ba before taking a hydrofoil to Haiphong and a bus to Hanoi. Alternatively, run the route in reverse and try and hook up with a tour boat in Cat Ba.

Air: Northern Airport Flight Service Company offers a helicopter charter service from Gia Lam in Hanoi to H along Bay on Saturday from 8am. Free transfers are available from the Sofitel Metropole Hotel. The cost for the charter service is US$175 per person, but it only runs with a minimum of six guests. The same helicopters can be privately chartered for US$3695 round trip.