Halong Bay is famous for thousands of limestone karst mountains dot the tranquil green waters. Most of the islands are towering rocks emerging from the ocean, could not put their feet on. However, some are great places with beautiful beaches, and amazing caves that could be approached by boat.
Halong Bay in Vietnamese means the Descending Dragon Bay has been recognized many times by UNESCO as the world's natural heritage. With its irresistible beauty, Halong Bay is the leading tourist destination in Vietnam as well as in the world.
The legend tells that when the enemy reached the bay, the Jade Emperor immediately ordered the Mother Dragon and her children to descend into the bay to fight the enemy. The dragons sprayed fire to burn the enemy ships and released many dragon gems to block the enemy, which led to a victory. After that, the dragons did not fly back to the sky but decided to stay. Therefore, this bay is named Descending Dragon (Halong Bay). The dragon gems turn into large and small wonderful islands.
Halong Bay - Descending Dragon Bay
For your trip to Vietnam, we suggest the top things to do in Halong Bay.
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1/ Visit the Islands
There are thousands of islands in Halong Bay. Some are big, some are small, and all of them create the shapes of descending dragons as the name. On some islands, there will be a cave that tourists can visit by kayak, rowing boat, or walk inside. You even can stay in a resort or villa on a big island.
Tuan Chau Island
The island is located in the northwest of Halong Bay, 8 km south-west of Ha Long City. Tuan Chau Marina is an official gateway to Halong Bay. Every year, the pier welcomes thousands of tourists to visit Halong Bay by cruise.
Tuan Chau Island in Halong Bay
Besides, Tuan Chau Island is a complex entertainment with beaches, villas, resorts, golf courses and cafés, souvenir shops, and daily entertainment shows. Tourists could enjoy the water activities on Tuan Chau island such as kayaking, canoe parachuting, jet skiing, parasailing… Tuan Chau Island is also the “airport” of seaplane Hai Au Aviation for the 15-minute flight over Halong Bay for a great sightseeing experience as well as flights to other destinations.
It is easy to get to Tuan Chau Island by car.
Titov Island
Titov Island is one of the top attractions in Halong Bay. This is a small island with a beautiful beach. Just 14km from Halong city. In the late 19th century, the island was called Cat Nang. On 22 November 1962, President Ho Chi Minh and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Stepanovich Titov visited the island. To mark this event, President Ho Chi Minh named the island Titov Island.
The island is about 110m high, taking about 450 steps to reach its peak. From the top, tourists will have a great panorama view of Halong Bay. In particular, tourists could enjoy sunbathing, swimming, climbing. Titov Island is also knowTitov Beach which looks like a crescent moon with tranquility and beautiful calm blue waters.
Titov or Titop island with beautiful white sand beach
Therefore, Titov Island is regarded as one of the most attractive sites for both international and domestic tourists to visit in Halong Bay.
To get to Titov Island, the only way is by boat.
Soi Sim Island
Soi Sim Island is another beautiful small beach island in Halong Bay, located in the southwest of Halong Bay, about 10km from Tuan Chau pier and 700 meters from Titov Island. The island is named Soi Sim meaning rose myrtle which lives on this island with a large number. In summer, the mountain will be filled with the purple colour of flowers.
Soi Sim Island in the middle of the tranquil green seawater
Soi Sim Island is an ideal destination for kayaking and swimming, as well as the water motorcycle for your thrills. In addition, you can enjoy trekking and relaxing in the wilderness in the middle of Halong Bay.
Like Titov Island, the only way to access Soi Sim is by boat.
Cat Ba Island
Cat Ba Island is the biggest island located in the south of Halong Bay. This is another paradise for tourists who love nature and exploration. Cat Ba Island is also home to plenty of hotels, restaurants, and bars.
To explore Cat Ba, tourists need at least 3 days, to enjoy Cat Co 1, 2, 3 beaches, a boat trip to Monkey Island, Cai Beo fishing village, fish or squid fishing at night, trekking in Cat Ca national park, conquer Ngu Lam peak, trekking in Viet Hai Village, Kayaking and swimming in Lan Ha Bay. They are all interesting activities that could not be missed when visiting Cat Ba island.
Cat Ba Archipelago - A tourist destination in the south of Halong Bay
To access Cat Ba Island, you can take a boat or a car.
Read more:
>> How to get from Ha Long Bay to Cat Ba Island?
>> How to get from Hanoi to Cat Ba island?
2/ Explore the caves in Halong Bay
With thousands of islands in Halong Bay, there is no surprise that it has many caves. Many are found and many still remain undiscovered. The main caves that tourists could easily access to explore are Sung Sot Cave (Surprising Cave), Thien Cung Cave (Paradise Cave), Dau Go Cave (Driftwood Cave), Trinh Nu Cave (Virgin Cave). Bo Nong Cave (Pelican Cave, etc.
To access these caves, the only way is by boat.
Sung Sot Cave (Surprising cave)
Sung Sot cave in Ha Long is one of the most beautiful caves in Quang Ninh, with strange and unique shapes. Sung Sot Cave is located on Bo Hon Island. In 1901, a French scientist came here and named the cave "Grotte de la surprise", meaning the amazing cave because of the mystery and beauty that nature has bestowed on this place.
This Halong Bay attraction is one of the large and beautiful caves in Ha Long Bay. The way to Sung Sot cave is under the forest canopy, the stone steps are craggy. The cave is divided into two main compartments. The entire first compartment is like a large and spacious theater. The ceiling of the cave is covered with a layer of shiny velvet carpet, countless chandeliers of stalactites and stalactites, stone statues, stone elephants, seals, raspberries, flowers... Enter compartment 2 by a small path, and you will see a stream of bright light poured in, opening a completely different scene. It is a vast cave that can accommodate thousands of people. Going inside, there are many stalactites of strange shapes such as ancient banyan trees with luxuriant foliage, seals, dinosaurs... At the top of the cave, suddenly appears a royal garden in front of our eyes, with a clear lake, and charming scenery.
The beauty of Sung Sot Cave (Surprising Cave) in Halong Bay
Thien Cung cave (Heaven palace cave)
Thien Cung caveis located on Dau Go Island (southwest of Ha Long Bay) at an altitude of about 25m above sea level, about 4km from the pier. The cave is nearly 10,000m2 wide with a complex structure, surrounded by very high cliffs and stalactites and stalagmites with many strange shapes.
According to legend, Thien Cung cave is the place where the wedding lasted for 7 days and 7 nights of the Dragon King and a beautiful girl named May. To congratulate the couple, dragons flew, elephants danced, and Nam Tao Bac Dau gods, all came to the party, making the whole Thien Cung cave lively.
Today, when visiting Thien Cung cave, visitors still can imagine this bustling wedding scene thanks to the magic shapes of stalactites.
The colorful lights in Thien Cung ( Heaven Palace cave) with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites
Dau Go Cave (Driftwood Cave)
Dau Go caveis next to Thien Cung cave. It has an area of about 5,000m2 with the entrance of the cave 17m wide and 12m high. Scientists believe that the cave was formed about 2 million years ago. The cave has an ancient and unspoiled beauty with many strange stalagmites.
According to the legend rumored by fishermen on Ha Long Bay, Dau Go cave was originally named Giau Go meaning hide the wood, because during the resistance war against the Mongol invaders in the 13th century, Dau Go Cave was the place Tran Dynasty soldiers hid their boats, wooden stakes before bringing them down to the Bach Dang river. Fishermen called it Giau Go Cave, and gradually mispronounced it Dau Go (Driftwood Cave).
The ancient Dau Go or Driftwood Cave - Halong Bay attraction
Bo Nong cave(Pelican cave)
With a total area of about 200m2, Bo Nong Cave has a wide and flat bottom, but not deep. The cave wall has many stalactites. There is a crack in the ceiling of the cave so light can pass through it. The light is dim so in the past, many pelicans came to live in this cave.
Bo Nong Cave ( Pelican Cave) - Halong Bay attraction
Trinh Nu cave(Virgin cave)
Right in the middle of the cave entrance is a stalagmite shaped like a girl lying with her long flowing hair. It's like the image of a girl looking out into the distance and waiting for love. Therefore, this place becomes a symbol of eternal love.
According to the legend, on Ha Long Bay, there was a very beautiful fishing girl. Her family was very poor so has to work for the landlord in the area. Admiring her beauty, the landlord asked her family to marry her as his concubine. The girl refused because she had a lover, a poor fisherman. That young man was going offshore to prepare for their wedding day. Being refused, the landlord exiled her to a wild island. The girl was starving and exhausted. In a terribly windy and rainy night, she turned into stone. The place where the girl is petrified is Trinh Nu Cave.
The stalactites in Trinh Nu (Virgin Cave) - a Halong Bay attraction
3/ Overnight cruise in Halong Bay
Overnight on Halong Bay is a "must-have" experience for all foreign tourists visiting Vietnam in general and visiting Ha Long in particular. There are many overnight cruises in Ha Long Bay from 3-star to 5-star quality. Visitors can choose the program of 2 days 1 night or 3 days 2 nights.
Overnight on a cruise in Halong Bay is the must thing to do for a great experience
Overnight cruise meals are included in the tour package. On the cruise, tourists will enjoy the scenery of Ha Long Bay, where the ship will sail according to predetermined routes. Tourists will participate in scheduled activities such as kayaking to visit the bay, taking a bamboo boat, joining a cooking class in the afternoon, and squid fishing in the evening. Not to mention the visits to the beautiful caves on the bay or the fishing villages.
>> See more: The list for overnight in Halong Bay cruise
4/ A day cruise in Halong Bay
For those who do not have enough time for an overnight cruise. They have another option is to take a cruise to visit the bay on a 4 or 6-hour trip. In the morning, travelers can depart from Hanoi to Ha Long, and then go back in the afternoon to spend the night in Hanoi.
For a really different experience, tourists could combine a seaplane flight from Hanoi to Halong Bay. Enjoy a day trip then fly back to Hanoi
5/ Enjoy Halong Seafoods
Traveling to Halong Bay, in addition to enjoying the beautiful natural scenery, visitors also have the opportunity to enjoy fresh seafood dishes. So where can tourists enjoy seafood?
Many options for seafood in Halong Bay
Seafood on Halong Bay overnight cruises
This is the most traditional way for tourists to know about seafood on Ha Long Bay. The more luxurious the cruises, the more seafood meals will be. Meals are also beautifully decorated to surprise visitors, leaving a memorable mark on a visit to Ha Long Bay.
Delicious seafood at the restaurant in Vuon Dao or Peach Garden area
This is an inland area where many hotels and restaurants are located. Visitors have many options for a hearty seafood meal in the area of Vuon Dao - Ha Long Bay. However, because this is the tourist center of Ha Long, the price is a bit higher. In return, you are free to choose many different types of seafood.
Halong Bay has a large beach along with many small islands with pristine beaches, so enjoying a seafood BBQ party on the beach is extremely wonderful. There are many options for visitors from seafood restaurants along the beaches to cruises on Halong Bay. You may have to order in advance to set up a seafood BBQ on the beach of an island. If you go with your group, BBQ is really fun, then if you go with a couple, it's really romantic with a private space along with the sound of waves and the wind of the sea.
Romantic beach for BBC seafood in Halong Bay
6/ Enjoy the Sunworld Halong Park
Spreading over an area of 214ha, Sun World Halong Complex is a world-class amusement park complex consisting of two main areas: a coastal entertainment complex and an amusement park atop Ba Deo - which is connected by a unique cable car system.
Very suitable for family vacations with children. There will be endless fun entertainment at Dragon Park, Typhoon Waterpark, Sun Wheel, and Zen Garden. For more thrilling, tourists could join in roller coaster rides and water slides. Sun World Park is a perfect destination for summer vacation.
Sunworld Halong Park at night on the bank of Halong Bay
7/ Halong Bay aerial views from Seaplane
Visitors have the option for a tour of Ha Long Bay by seaplane. Flights depart from Hanoi and then fly to Halong Bay or you can also enjoy the flight at Halong Bay. There are no words that can describe the feeling of flying on a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
You will have a panoramic view of Ha Long Bay from the seaplane. Such a majestic beauty on the quiet green bay. This service is provided exclusively by Hai Au Aviation and costs about 100 USD for a 25-minute flight around the bay. Or about 400 USD for a round-trip flight from Hanoi.
Hai Au seaplane for an unforgettable experience when visiting Halong Bay
>> See more: Explore Halong Bay by Sharing Seaplane
Above are the top things to do in Halong Bay. Visitors can choose for themselves the most suitable activities for their trip to Ha Long Bay. If tourists have a good budget and enough time, you can enjoy all the recommended top things to do in Halong Bay as IZITOUR suggested above.
See more about Halong:
>> How to Plan for Your First Halong Bay 2 Night Cruise?
>> List of 14 Options for the Best Lan Ha Bay Cruise
>> Choose Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay or Bai Tu Long Bay for a Cruise in Vietnam?
02 Comments
France
Après avoir fait la baie de Cat Ba en petit bateau trop super sympa, je retourne sur la baie mais cette fois-ci Ha Long (avec ma meilleure amie) et j'aimerais pouvoir trouver une excursion à la journée.
Vietnam
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