Halong Travel Guide

COUPLE OF WORDS ABOUT Halong

Ha Long Bay, in northeast Vietnam, is known for its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands. Recognized as a UNESCO Heritage Site and listed as one of the greatest 7 Wonders in the World. As an awe-inspiring limestone bay, Ha Long hosts over 1,600 islands and islets. What set the bay apart from others are its limestone pillars, a symbol of natural beauty. Also, Ha Long bay with its group of offshore islands are diverse in forms and extents. Junk boat tour and kayaking are good way to explore all close up. The Halong Travel Guide gives some ideas on how to travel to Halong Bay and spend your Halong holiday in perfect way.

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT Halong

Halong Location	North Eastern Vietnam
Phone Code	033
Police Emergency	Phone No:113
Fire Emergency	Phone No: 114
Ambulance	Phone No: 115
Hanoi - Halong Travel	3.5 - 4 hour drive

Halong OVERVIEW

Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cam Pha town, and is a part of Van Don District. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bai Tu Long Bay to the northeast, and Cat Ba Island to the southwest. These larger zones share a similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate and cultural characters. Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species. Ha Long Bay has experienced at least 500 million years in various geological states of orogeny, marine transgression and marine regression. During the Ordovician and Silurian periods (500-410 million years ago), Ha Long Bay was deep sea. During the Carboniferous and Permian periods (340-250 million years ago), Ha Long Bay was at shallow sea level. The dominated uplift movement of neotectonic and recent tectonic influenced deeply on topography of this area, and the present landscape of sea-islands was formed around 7 or 8 thousand years ago by the sea invasion during Holocene transgression begun at about 17-18 thousand years ago. Particularly from the Holocene time, from about 11,000 years ago Cat Ba - Ha Long area has much archaeological evidence connecting variations in sea levels with the development of ancient cultures such as the Soi Nhu and Ha Long cultures. Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhu1ee5 culture around 18,000–7000 BC, the Cai Beo culture 7000–5000 BC and the Ha Long culture 5,000–3,500 years ago. Ha Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bai Tho Mount, Dau Go Cave, and Bai Chay.

THINGS NOT TO MISS IN Halong

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Halong TRAVEL MAP

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WHEN TO GO TO Halong

The best time of year to visit Halong Bay is during the spring or fall, especially from March to May with the chance of sunshine (It is more often than not very misty). 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.

HOW TO GET TO Halong

How is to plan a organize the transport from Hanoi to Halong Bay? It is the first question you have in mind when planning an individual trip to Halong Bay. You need to make the right choice of transport suitable to your budget and frame time. There are several options for you to choose from as we listed at below: Local bus is one of the cheapest options. You can take a local bus leaving from some main bus stations of Hanoi to Bai Chay, a base for your boat excursion to explore Halong Bay. The bus transfer is inexpensive but it usually takes more than 5 hours from Hanoi to Halong Bay, with many stops to pick up passengers. Shuttle bus is an alternative way to travel from Hanoi to Halong Bay a low cost. This type of transfer is available for departing from Hanoi center only. The shuttle bus can be understood as “tourist bus”, leaving Hanoi around 08:00 and return at 12:00 from Halong Bay every day. If your hotel is located in Hanoi Old Quarter, you will be picked up from the hotel. Otherwise, you have to take a taxi to the meeting point. Private transport is a perfect way for you to travel to and from Halong Bay although it is more expensive than others. Once arranged a private transport, you can be picked and dropped at the place you want. This also gives you some opportunities to make stops as much as you want, to stretch your legs and take some photos. Depending on how many stop you have en route, the journey takes from 3h30’ up to 5h . But it will make your trip to Halong Bay with hassle free. Seaplane is available for anyone who don’t mind the cost. This is the fastest and best way to transfer between Hanoi and Halong bay. The seaplane takes off from Noi Bai international airport and lands off at Tuan Chau Marina with only 45 minutes. You also have 15 minutes for sightseeing over Halong bay. Hai Au Aviation is the unique seaplane service in Vietnam until now. Train travel to Ha Long is also a great choice for those who go on holiday with kids because it has larger and safer space for kids to move around. You can choose to travel from Hanoi to Halong bay by Ha Long Express high quality train. This is a new train with the imported facilities from Korea and you will totally feel comfortable when traveling on Ha Long express train with its mattress seats, good air-conditioner system and windows reducing noise. Apart from modern facility, there is a food court inside the train.

WHAT TO DO Halong

Halong bay is the most famous place in Vietnam for you to be. You an visit all the beautiful cave like thien long, sung sot,.... Then, you can take your kid to Sun World Halong Complex - one of our finest water park with many game, activity for whole family. Finally, you can take a swim or just relaxing at the beach. Halong have everything for anyone.