How to get from Hanoi to Halong Bay, Vietnam

In this article you’ll read how to get from Hanoi to Halong Bay and whether it’s better to visit it independently or with a tour. 

“So, what’s your favourite place in Vietnam?” we asked many locals that we met while travelling in Vietnam.
“Halong Bay! You must visit Halong Bay!” the majority replied.
“Why so?”
“Because you won’t see anything like it anywhere in the world,” they answered, defending their choice.

To be honest, we weren’t crazy about the idea of traveling to Halong Bay. We imagined that the place would be full of cruise boats, party animals and overrated sights that are way different in real-life than they seem in glamorous online pictures.

How to get from Hanoi to Halong Bay, Vietnam

Well, like in a few other cases, we had learned that reality is a very subjective matter when it comes to travel impressions, (read why Philippines are not only about Boracay, and not all Thai hill tribes are the same) we decided to give it a go and visit Halong Bay for one reason: the stunning natural sights.

Planning on combining your trip to Vietnam with Thailand? Then check out our comprehensive travel guide THAILAND INDEPENDENTLY.

Why travel to Halong Bay?

The landscape is just extraordinary. No matter the weather, the limestone karsts will create a baffling realm of natural beauty. Talking about mystery, there are a couple of legends about how Halong Bay was created; the most common one says that dragons were sent there by gods to protect Vietnam from invaders.

While defending the country, the dragons started to spit jades and jewels to the sea and they turned into the islets and islands afterwards. This way they created a protecting wall against the enemies who eventually hit the rocks and never conquered the land. Hence the name of the bay comes from: in Vietnamese Ha Long means “descending dragon.”

how to get from Hanoi to Halong Bay
Image by cat7397 from Pixabay

The more pragmatic explanation says the term “Halong Bay,” appeared after French sailors encountered sea snakes in the area and reported it as Asian dragons to the media in France in 1898.

However that may be, the truth is the limestone formations of Halong Bay are gorgeous and will definitely evoke many curious questions about their origin.

The impact of tourism in Halong Bay

The impact of numerous ships on the environment of Halong Bay has recently been discussed quite often. The waters of this UNESCO World Heritage Site are not as clean as they used to be due to increasing amounts of tourism there.

Good news is that the Vietnamese government has already set stricter waste regulations for cruise companies, and many volunteers from national NGOs have done a great job cleaning the beaches and islets from plastic.

If you’re sceptical about the place as we were, don’t be. Despite the fact that it’s a top attraction in Vietnam with lots of visitors, there is a way to visit Halong Bay without being frustrated about the things we’ve mentioned above.

Visit Halong Bay without being frustrated

1. Visit Halong Bay in the low season
Travel there from June to September. You might get some storms during that time period, so check the weather forecast for your trip in advance so you don’t spend all day in a cabin watching the misty bay from behind the window.

To see Halong Bay in it’s full grace and beauty on sunny days, visit it from March to June (avoid April 30th and May 1st since they are public holidays when it’ll be full of local tourists.)

2. Stay overnight
Instead of taking a half-day cruise, pick at least two days/one night trip to Halong Bay, which will allow you to explore more places of the area.

how to visit Halong Bay
Photo by Kévin JINER on Unsplash

Check more activities and tours to do in Halong Bay.

3. Filter
If you expect to venture through Halong Bay on your own, then you should have planned your trip here 30 years ago. Everybody who travels to Vietnam wants to see its unique natural miracles, but you’ll need to get ready to share your excitement with others. I suggest focusing more on the nature around you, rather than counting the cruise ships that you’ll pass during the trip. Just filter what you see, especially upon your arrival to Halong Bay town.

How to get to Halong Bay from Hanoi

The easiest, most convenient and probably the cheapest way to visit Halong Bay from Hanoi is by joining an official tour. Well, we aren’t big fans of group tours ourselves, but if you’re thinking to do it independently, think twice because in this case: a.) you won’t save any big chunk of money if at all, b.) you’ll end up on a cruise full of tourists that have booked their trip with a tour agency anyway, and c.) you’ll waste your time by looking for the best tour in Halong Bay town, waiting for a ferry, a bus, a taxi which would be frustrating, especially if you have only a day for this trip.

Moreover, half-day tours organised by travel agents in Halong Bay town are often overpriced, the fee doesn’t include entrance to the National Park, food, and most probably your guide won’t be able to communicate in English. That’s why it’s better to arrange your trip already in Hanoi so you won’t leave Halong Bay disappointed and… ripped off.

When in Hanoi, you’ll find hundreds of tour operators selling trips to the famous bay. Do your research, ask what is in the package and what’s not.

Visit Halong Bay with Go Asia Travel

We opted for a 2D/1N trip with Go Asia Travel based in Hanoi because of their trustworthy reputation, and the fact that they do their best to run more sustainable tours while supporting local communities. The price for the package including transfer from and to Hanoi was $155 USD.

Your arrival to the Halong Bay town and main pier where you’ll need to embark your cruise ship might be slightly intimidating. No matter if you decide to take a day trip or an overnight one, you’ll still wait with hundreds of people on the shore.

Fear not, if you visit Halong Bay in the low season and will stay in the bay overnight, you’ll be able to relax once all boats of half-day cruises will get back to the harbour.

What to expect from an overnight trip to Halong Bay?

* A cruise to Halong Bay where you’ll spend a night. We were fortunate to visit more remote Lan Ha bay last April. Sadly, this route is no more available.

how to get from Hanoi to halong Bay
Image by MICHOFF from Pixabay

* A visit to a local fisherman community where you’ll learn about their way of living.
There are around 1,600 locals living in so-called fishing villages, which are basically groups of floating houses and crab farms built on the water. Some of fishermen were born here and have never touched land; you can hear more of their curious stories and taste some of their hand made rice wine in their floating “living rooms.”

* Kayaking among limestone karsts
We got some pretty overcast weather on our trip in Halong Bay, but the scenery was nevertheless spectacular, except for counting a few plastic bottles when we approached the area where more boats arrive.

* A visit of Hang Quân Y aka Hospital Cave on the Cat Ba Island
Thanks to its location, Halong Bay and the numerous caves surrounding it served as a refuge and a hospital for soldiers during the Vietnam War. Hospital Cave on the Cat Ba island is a bit quirky, yet a very impressive place. You’ll be guided by a professional tour guide through various caves, and tunnels, and learn about a bomb-proof hospital and a secret safe-house for top leaders, who apart from hiding from their enemies, also entertained themselves in an underground cinema and a small swimming pool.

Check more activities and tours to do in Halong Bay.

* A short cooking class on-board

* Your private cabin with a hot shower and toilette
Depending on your budget, you can pick different types of rooms and enjoy the trip to Halong Bay in a cosy cabin designed with typical Vietnamese ornaments and materials.

* Local cuisine on board
All dishes provided on-board are freshly cooked, using local ingredients and recipes. One (soft) drink per meal is included in the price. All extra drinks, beers and fruit shakes you pay additionally.

* English speaking guide

The landscape of Halong Bay has been forming for about 500 million years. The area is huuuuge, and covers more than 1.500 square kilometres with approximately 2,000 islets. That said, on your one or two day trip to the bay you’ll explore only tiny scratch of it.

And yet, a cruise can give you that very exclusive feeling of experiencing a realm of existence where legends were born, and letting you witness the power of Mother Nature. She knows indeed how to impress us tiny human beings.

Disclosure: Our trip to Halong Bay was organised with the big help of Go Asia Travel Company (in particular Martin Nguyen). All opinions, misty views and impressions are our own.

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12 thoughts on “How to get from Hanoi to Halong Bay, Vietnam”

  1. In order to avoid crowds I do reccomend to visit the Bay starting from cat Ba, the main island in the bay.
    So take a bus+ferry from Hanoi to Cat Ba. Enjoy Cat Ba for a day and then get on a day tour to visit Halong Bay. I took a boat with ca. 15 people. We visited the southest part of the bay, which is much less crowded than the northern part (which is not supposed to be more beatiful. it is just closer to the pier where all buses from Hanoi stops). During the whole day we probably met only two more boats.
    No cooking-class, but kayaking was included.
    We paid ca. 15 Euros each.
    The island itself it’s also beautiful and enjoyable (I do reccomend touring around on a motorbike)

    1. Ivana Greslikova

      Hi Io,

      Thanks a lot for the tips. I can imagine starting from the Cat Ba island can be much easier and relaxing than setting off from the Halong town. I understood you didn’t stay overnight in Halong Bay, right? Which is also an option, if you go to the southern part where are less tourists as you mentioned so you can enjoy it even without sleeping at the bay. Thanks again and all the best!

  2. Samuel Mozilo

    I like the all added photo! May i know you use which camera and point of convergence to catch such photographs.

  3. Fabio Nodari

    I honestly didn’t like Ha Noi and the way the city is developing all around that area it’s really gross… IMHO…

    1. Ivana Greslikova

      Hi Fabio,

      Not sure which part of the city you mean? We loved Hanoi. Stayed there for three weeks which gave us a bit of time to explore the city beyond popular touristy places. Hopefully we get the article about Hanoi published on the blog soon as this post is about Halong Bay actually. Cheers!

      1. Fabio Nodari

        Sorry I meant Halong Bay.. My fault.. Ha Noi it’s not too bad actually…

  4. michelle gates

    We went to Halong Bay via Cat Ba Island and Hai Phong over 15 years ago. It was very remote then and there were boat tours but nothing along the lines are what you are describing. It’s an amazing place. We were overwhelmed when we were left by our driver in Hai Phong with no English speaking guide and had to figure out how to catch the “slow boat” over to Cat Ba. Fun times! I would love to see the changes now.

  5. We love Halong Bay! It’s always nice to hear people’s stories of their time on the bay.

  6. Halong Bay is in my bucket list. The place looks magical especially when misty.

  7. Christine Nguyen

    Hi Ivana! I’m planning a trip to Halong Bay for February. You mentioned kayaking, were you able to go through caves? What was the kayaking route like? I’ve looked at several tours and none have mentioned riding through caves which is a MUST for me. Thank you!

    1. Hi Christine,

      We did kayaking, but not through the caves, only an hour or so from the main hub where the boats were staying overnight. We took quite a different route than the tour company usually do, so no caves in this trip, unfortunately. Hope you’ll find a company who offers what you’re looking for 🙂 Have a great trip!

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