Halong Bay Vietnam

HaLong ! A marvel of the earth erected towards the high skies.  HaLong means ''Where the Dragon Descends   into the Sea"
 Once upon a time..

During the old time when the Land was newly formed, Vietnamese had to fight against very fierce invaders coming from the North ,they wanted to occupy the country named Vietnam. Luckily, Jade Emperor felt sorry for humankind here ,he sent Dragon Mother with her children to this land for helping people to sweep away the invaders. Dragon Mother and her children blow gems and pearls which became into thousand of islands. Some of islands linked as a ramparts but many other looked like battles to prevent the invaders.  After destroying the enemy, they had not flied to the heaven but descended in this area. The place where Dragon Mother descended down called Ha Long Bay vietnam; the place where her children descended down called Bai Tu Long (a part of HaLong Bay, the place where Dragon's tail whisked called Bach Long Vi island.The beauty of Halong Bay consists in its mountains, water, clouds and caves and grottoes. Many, however, do not realise that Halong was also the cradle of an ancient people helping create the present Halong culture. It is also a place closely linked to Vietnam's history with such famus geographical names as : Van Don (site of an ancient commercial port); Poem Mountain (with engrav-ings of many poems by emperors and other famous people of the past) and Bach Dang River (the location of three fierce naval battles of Tran Dynasty fighting against Mongols foreign aggressors).

 In the two wars against the French and American, together with the people in the whole country, Halong Bay Vietnam had achieved many glorious feat of arms, particularly a general strike of over 30,000 miners participated in the period  from 1930-1945 which made the French domination system in the coal area to be loosed. Now the 12th day of the November every year becomes the traditional festive day of the miners.

 Halong is a small bay at the western coast section of Bac Bo Gulf, in the northeastern sea region of Viet Nam. It includes the sea areas and islands of Halong city, Cam Pha town and a part of Van Don island district. Its name have changed over historical periods. The present name of Halong Bay ( Landing Dragon Bay ) appeared in bibliographies and in some French maritime maps only from the late 19th century. Bai Tu Long Bay lies adjacent to the northest part of Halong Bay. Cat Ba islands are next to the southwest part of Halong Bay Vietnam

 The area of Halong Bay is about 1,500 km2 , including about 2,000 small and large islands, most of which are made of limestone. The core area of the bay covers 334 km2 where 775 islands are clustered. The tectonic movement in the bay, in which limestone was formed, occurred about 500 million years ago under different geographical circumstances. The full tectonic evolution of the karst terrain of Halong Bay took over 20 million years. In this evolution thick limestone was decomposed under hot and humid climate and the terrain was slowly raised. Halong Bay is the center of a larger area with similar elements of geology, geomorphology, landscape, climate and culture.

 At the present people live on about 40 of the nearly 2,000 islands of Halong Bay tours. These islands have areas from tens to thousands of hectares and they are mainly located in the east and southeast of Halong Bay. In recent decades, many floating fishing villages have started to settle on the virgin islands and turned them into fertile islands, for example Sa To island (Halong city) and Victory island (Van Dong island district).The heritage area (core area) of Halong Bay, which was officially recognized by the world community, has an area of 434 km2. It is similar to a triangle with the three vertices of Dau Go island in the west, Ba Ham lake in the south, and Cong Tay island in the east. The heritage area includes 775 islands with a great number of caves and beaches. The adjacent area (buffer area) is a national heritage recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Viet Nam.
Source: http://halongtourviettnam,org

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halong tour vietnam

Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, 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. halong tours vietnam The site's outstanding scenic beauty is complemented by its great biological interest.

Ha Long Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin, within Quang Ninh Province, in the northeast of Vietnam, is165 km from the capital of Ha Noi. Covering an area of 43,400 ha and including over 1600 islands and islets, most of which are uninhabitated and unaffected by humans, it forms a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars and is an ideal model of a mature Karst landscape developed during a warm and wet tropical climate. The property’s exceptional 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.

Criterion (vii): Comprised of a multitude of limestone islands and islets rising from the sea, in a variety of sizes and shapes and presenting picturesque, unspoiled nature, Ha Long Bay tours is a spectacular seascape sculpted by nature. The property retains a high level of naturalness, and despite its long history of human use,  is not seriously degraded. Outstanding features of the property include the magnificent towering limestone pillars and associated notches, arches and caves, which are exceptionally well-developed and among the best presented of their type in the world.

Criterion (viii): As the most extensive and best known example of marine-invaded tower karst in the world Ha Long Bay tours vietnam is one of the world’s most important areas of Fengcong (clusters of conical peaks) and Fenglin (isolated tower features) karst. Abundant lakes, occupying drowned dolines, are one of the distinctive features of the Fencong karst, with some appearing to be tidal. Possessing a tremendous diversity of caves and other landforms derived from the unusual geomorphological process of marine invaded tower karst the caves are of three main types: remnants of phreatic caves; old karstic foot caves and marine notch caves. The property also displays the full range of karst formation processes on a very large scale and over a very long period of geological time, possessing the most complete and extensive exzample of its type in the world and providing a unique and extensive reservoir of data for the future understanding of geoclimatic history and the nature of karst processes in a complex environment.

Van Don Island -Halong tour vietnam

Van don island halong tours

Van Don archipelago is located to the east and northeast of Quang Ninh province. It rounds off the east and southeast of Bai Tu Long Gulf and has about 600 large and small islands. Cai Bau, the largest island, occupies nearly half the area of the district.

 The capital of the district is Cai Rong town - 50 kilometers from Ha Long city and seven kilometers from Cua Ong town. To the southeast of Van Don is the Van Hai chain of islands, including the large islands of Tra Ban, Cao Lo, Quan Lan, Dong Chen, The Vang, Ngoc Vung and Canh Tuoc and other small islands. All these islands form a ''curtain'' sheltering Bai Tu Long Gulf.

 Van Don is adjacent to the sea of Tien Yen district on northwest side; to the sea of Cam Pha town on the west side; to the sea of Co To district on the east side; to Halong Bay on the southwest side; to the sea of Bac Bo Gulf on the south side.

                               Van Don island district.

 The area of Van Don district is 551.3 km2. Twenty of the 600 islands of Van Don Island district are populated. The largest, Cai Bau Island ( 17,212 hectares), is located near Cam Pha town. All the islands rest on limestone terrain, often at 200-300 meters above sea level with lots of karts caves and grottos. The islands of Van Don, like all other islands in Bac Bo Gulf, formerly were mountainous peaks lifted from the continental shelf of the northwest region of Ba Bo Gulf. The peaks of Van Don are an expanded part of the Dong Trieu Mountain Range. These peak were left behind after a period of marine transgression when Bac Bo Gulf was formed and since then hae been floating on the sea, becoming isolated islands of the Bai Tu Long and Ha Long bays of the greater Bac Bo Gulf. The islands of Van Don are just part of the archipelago located in the northwest of Ba Bo Gulf. The most prominent mountain peaks on Van Don are Nang Tien at 450 meters in height ( on Tra Ban Island in the territory of Ban Sen commune) and Van Hoa at 397 meters in height ( on Cai Bau Island).

                              Cai Bau Islands

 Most of the islands of Van Don are small. The essential substance of islands is limestone, so land makes just a small proportion of the total area of Van Don. The main area is the sea. Forest areas account for 68% of the natural land area. There are no large rivers on the islands and on the largest islands there are only streams. The local people call the straits between the islands and inland and between the islands themselves ''the revers''. For example, the Voi Lon River is a strait between Cai Bau Island and the mainland. There are two small lakes in Van Don, which are Vong Tre and Mat Rong Lakes. There is the Mang River on Quan Lan Island. 

 The average rainfall per year of Van Don is over 2000 millimeters. Population: 45,000 people, of which the Kinh ( Viet) people are about 86%; San Diu people 10%; Hoa people 1.5%; Dao people 1.3%. The San Chi and Tay minorities also live here. 

 The principal means of transport are the waterways between islands. Van Hoa port in Van Yen commune and Cai Rong port in Cai Rong town are the key transport hubs of the islands. Barges, large boats and ships, weighing hundreds of tons, may easily go in and out of these ports. the longest land road is Road No. 31, of 40 kilometers in length. It runs across Cai Bau Island and links this island to the mainland through Cua Ong town.

                                 Van Yen commune

 People have lived on the islands of Van Don Island district from the earliest time. Archaeological sites are numerous here. The Soi Nhu cave is a Middle Neolithic arhaeological site having existed earlier than Ha Long Civilization. Ancient graves in Da Bac hamlet of Minh Chau commune were built during the Han dynasty. The name Van Don originated from the name Van Mountain ( Cloudy Mountain ) in Van village of Quan Lan Commune today. Van village belongs to the Van Hai chain of islands. In the Tran dynasty Van Don became a prosperous center of sea transport and commerce, as evidenced by archaeological excavations.  

                    

 The key branches of the economy of Van Don are sea exploitation and mine-ore exploitation, including raising sea products, fishing, the plantation and and exploitation of forests, sea tourist services, limestone and coal mining, the exploitaion of white sand, iron and thin gold. Farming is not significant. Forestry gets diminished as forest resources become exhausted. 

 Various valuable sea creatures such as prawn, squid, and pearl live in the sea of Van Don. Exploitation of sea creatures started a long time ago but was mainly limited to the occupation of inshore fishing and raising fish in cages. Offshore fishing has been developed only since 1995. Since 1990 aquaculture has much developed. The industry of mine ore exploitation (including coal exploitation) began during the time of French domination in the Ke Bao coal mine. The current reserve of coal here is about 107,000,000 tons. The reserve of Cai Bau iron ore is about 154,000 tons. The white sand ore has a reserve of over 13,000,000 tons. Now sand is exploited at the rate of 20,000 tons per year. Thin sediment gold and gold mixed with iron are found on Cai Bau Island. 

                        Van Don - Quang Ninh  

 Van Don is related to the World Natural Heritage of Halong Bay. So in Van Don are a variety of limestone islands and beautiful caves, In the communes of the Van Hai external island chain there are many nice beaches, tasty sea products, clean climate and valuable historical and cultural vestiges. Van Don has great potential for developing tourist services. The forests on the islands of Van Don formerly included plenty of kinds of precious wood such as ironwood, ebony,vatica tonkinensis wood and brretiodendron hsienmu wood. ''Man Lai'' wood is and endemic wood of Van Don. The Qun Lan communal house is entirely made of this Man Lai wood. The forests have many valuable birds and animals, for example yellow monkey, white head parrot, earth eagle, peacock, pheasant and spotted deer. Some of them now have only a small quantiy and are listed in the world Red Book.

 In 2007 the government approved the establishment of the Van Don economic zone. Now infrastructural facilities are under construction. As planned, there will be a center for high-class ecological tourism of the sea and islands, an airline center and a center for high - class services. Van Don is also an international transport hub for promotin the economy of Van Don in general of Quang Ninh province in particula.

Source: http://halongtourvietnam.org/attractions/van-don-island-district-35.html

Learn about Van Don Tours as below - detailed itinerary 

Day 1: Hanoi – Van Don (Quang Ninh)  - 06.00 am: Depart from Hanoi to Van Don – Quang Ninh.  - Arrive at Van Don and check in hotel  - 11.30 am: Have lunch  - In the afternoon: Join in activities organized by the tour guide. Then you are free to explore and take a sunbath on the beach at Bai Dai (Long beach).  - 06.30 pm: Have dinner and enjoy local specialties  - In the evening: Stroll and walk on small paths in casuarina forest for relaxation and exploration Day 2: Van Don _Bai Tu Long  - After having breakfast, prepare food and necessary things for a cruise  - 08.00 am: Get on a boat of fisherman and depart for catching fishes. You will observe and directly join in the fish catching process. This trip will bring about a special feeling which can only be found in such place.  - Have lunch on boat. The meal is prepared from what’s you have got during the short cruise trip  - In the afternoon: Come back to hotel and free to relax  - 06.30 pm: Have dinner at hotel  - In the evening, gather around the cozy camp-fire and enjoy local dishes like roasted sweet potatoes, corn and enjoy the performances presented by members in the group.   Day 3: Van Don – Hanoi  - After having breakfast, you are free to go for sightseeing or sunbathing.  - 11.00 am: Have lunch at hotel  - 12.00 am: Check out and depart for Hanoi.  - On the way back, car will stop at Hai Duong city for you to buy some specialties. Inclusions  + Hotel room 2 pax/room  + 5 meals  + Air-con bus  + Ticket fees within the itinerary  + Tour guide  + Travel insurance  + Service fees and VAT Exclusions  + Drinks and other personal expenses Activity suggestion Preparations ** Suitable clothes for sunbathing  + Camera  + Sun cream and hat  + Sunglasses Most suitable for  + People of all ages, all occupations

The best prices for halong bay tours

5 Best Cruises in Halong Bay

With so many choices available, it is rather hard to answer which one is "The Best Cruise" of Halong Bay. It really depends on what category of cruise you are looking at and what expectation you have for a cruise.

Day Cruise: Emeraude tops the list

Emeraude Cruise is the unique when it comes to day cruise. While most other cruise such as Image Day Cruise, Alova Day Cruise or Phoenix Day Cruise uses a different vessel (which is option smaller in scale and not as beautifully decorated), Emeraude uses the same vessel for both day cruise and overnight cruise. The food standard as well as the cruise program is the same, which makes Emeraude truly stand out from the rest.

** Note: the only disadvantage is that you will need to take a private car since there is no shuttle bus service available for Emeraude day cruise, which may make the cruise trip a bit pricey.

Best Value Cruise: Glory Cruise is unbeatable

At approximately $110 per person for 2 day 1 night trip with food and boarding included, Glory Cruise tops the list when it comes to value cruise. The amenities on board can match that of any other cruise in the deluxe range but the price is only a fraction. Glory Cruise offers both 2 day 1 night and 3 day 2 nigh trip and is planning to move its operation to Bai Tu Long Bay as well.

Best Activities: Dragon Pearl has it all

It is no wonder Dragon Pearl often ranks so high on Trip Advisor and other popular tourist forums. The cruise surpasses all others in terms of activities it offers. Not only does the cruise operate exclusively in the most beautiful part of Halong Bay but it also organizes it program in a perfect way. For example, dinner can be enjoyed in a cave or on the sundeck so that travelers can enjoy the scenic landscape while sampling the best local cuisines. The price for a 2 day 1 night trip on Dragon Pearl starts from $150/person.

Best Luxury Cruise: Paradise Peak Cruise

If you are used to world class service and would expect the same service type in Halong Bay, then definitely go for the Peak. Paradise is a team of vessel with all the 5 star quality and the Peak definitely ranks on top of all other else. The cruise is artistically designed with a cozy touch. With only 8 cabins on board, you are sure to be served to the fullest details. Each cabin or guest group will have a personal butler who will take care and help you with a perfect cruise trip.

Best new launch: Pelican Cruise

Although most cruises in Halong Bay tours are considered young compared with the Western one, some are relatively newer than the other. Pelican cruise was launched in 2012 and boasts the latest amenities available on board. For example, safety equipments are upgraded and full spa service are offered on board. It does not stop at the spacious new room feel: Pelican also beats other cruise launching at the same period by the friendly service it is able to deliver to guests. The good work of Pelican can easily be found in the raves available online and from the past cruise passengers.

Halong Tour Vietnam

eave the noise of the city behind as you board a seaplane and take in the impressive aerial views over Hanoi as you fly 45 minutes to Halong Bay before taking a 15 minute scenic flight over Halong. Called “Bay of Descending Dragons” in Vietnamese, the archipelago of Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site composed of almost 2,000 islands and jungle-clad limestone pillars.

From up high in the sky you will have amazing views over this magnificent landscape of limestone pillars pushing up out of the green waters. See the islands of Cong Do, Ba Ham with their pretty lagoons and fly out to Dau Be on the edge of the Gulf of Tonkin. Then hop aboard a small tender to arrive at L’Azalee, a beautifully restored traditional wooden junk and admire the sublime beauty of the limestone karts jutting out of the jewel like water. Explore the bay by kayak, discovering sea caves and secluded bays. Visit a local fish farm and dine on fresh seafood before retiring to your cabin for the night.

 

You can pick any cruises and transfer to Halong bay with seaplane or enjoy Halong bay from the top. We are travel experts in tailor-made holiday. We can customise this tour according to your preferred travel period, specific touring needs and budget. Simply click the button below to fill in the form and our expert will contact you within 24-48 hours with a tailor-made itinerary and price.

Leave the noise of the city behind as you board a seaplane and take in the impressive aerial views over Hanoi as you fly 45 minutes to Halong Bay before taking a 15 minute scenic flight over Halong. Called “Bay of Descending Dragons” in Vietnamese, the archipelago of Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site composed of almost 2,000 islands and jungle-clad limestone pillars.

Halong Tours Vietnam

From up high in the sky you will have amazing views over this magnificent landscape of limestone pillars pushing up out of the green waters. See the islands of Cong Do, Ba Ham with their pretty lagoons and fly out to Dau Be on the edge of the Gulf of Tonkin. Then hop aboard a small tender to arrive at L’Azalee, a beautifully restored traditional wooden junk and admire the sublime beauty of the limestone karts jutting out of the jewel like water. Explore the bay by kayak, discovering sea caves and secluded bays. Visit a local fish farm and dine on fresh seafood before retiring to your cabin for the night.

 

You can pick any cruises and transfer to Halong bay with seaplane or enjoy Halong bay from the top. We are travel experts in tailor-made holiday. We can customise this tour according to your preferred travel period, specific touring needs and budget. Simply click the button below to fill in the form and our expert will contact you within 24-48 hours with a tailor-made itinerary and price.

Legend of HaLong Bay

 The Natural Wonder of the World

HaLong ! A marvel of the earth erected towards the high skies.  HaLong means ''Where the Dragon Descends   into the Sea"
 Once upon a time..

During the old time when the Land was newly formed, Vietnamese had to fight against very fierce invaders coming from the North ,they wanted to occupy the country named Vietnam. Luckily, Jade Emperor felt sorry for humankind here ,he sent Dragon Mother with her children to this land for helping people to sweep away the invaders. Dragon Mother and her children blow gems and pearls which became into thousand of islands. Some of islands linked as a ramparts but many other looked like battles to prevent the invaders.  After destroying the enemy, they had not flied to the heaven but descended in this area. The place where Dragon Mother descended down called Ha Long Bay; the place where her children descended down called Bai Tu Long (a part of HaLong Bay, the place where Dragon's tail whisked called Bach Long Vi island.The beauty of Halong Bay consists in its mountains, water, clouds and caves and grottoes. Many, however, do not realise that Halong was also the cradle of an ancient people helping create the present Halong culture. It is also a place closely linked to Vietnam's history with such famus geographical names as : Van Don (site of an ancient commercial port); Poem Mountain (with engrav-ings of many poems by emperors and other famous people of the past) and Bach Dang River (the location of three fierce naval battles of Tran Dynasty fighting against Mongols foreign aggressors).

 In the two wars against the French and American, together with the people in the whole country, Halong Bay had achieved many glorious feat of arms, particularly a general strike of over 30,000 miners participated in the period  from 1930-1945 which made the French domination system in the coal area to be loosed. Now the 12th day of the November every year becomes the traditional festive day of the miners.

 Halong is a small bay at the western coast section of Bac Bo Gulf, in the northeastern sea region of Viet Nam. It includes the sea areas and islands of Halong city, Cam Pha town and a part of Van Don island district. Its name have changed over historical periods. The present name of Halong Bay ( Landing Dragon Bay ) appeared in bibliographies and in some French maritime maps only from the late 19th century. Bai Tu Long Bay lies adjacent to the northest part of Halong Bay. Cat Ba islands are next to the southwest part of Halong Bay.

 The area of Halong Bay is about 1,500 km2 , including about 2,000 small and large islands, most of which are made of limestone. The core area of the bay covers 334 km2 where 775 islands are clustered. The tectonic movement in the bay, in which limestone was formed, occurred about 500 million years ago under different geographical circumstances. The full tectonic evolution of the karst terrain of Halong Bay took over 20 million years. In this evolution thick limestone was decomposed under hot and humid climate and the terrain was slowly raised. Halong Bay is the center of a larger area with similar elements of geology, geomorphology, landscape, climate and culture.

 At the present people live on about 40 of the nearly 2,000 islands of Halong Bay. These islands have areas from tens to thousands of hectares and they are mainly located in the east and southeast of Halong Bay. In recent decades, many floating fishing villages have started to settle on the virgin islands and turned them into fertile islands, for example Sa To island (Halong city) and Victory island (Van Dong island district).The heritage area (core area) of Halong Bay, which was officially recognized by the world community, has an area of 434 km2. It is similar to a triangle with the three vertices of Dau Go island in the west, Ba Ham lake in the south, and Cong Tay island in the east. The heritage area includes 775 islands with a great number of caves and beaches. The adjacent area (buffer area) is a national heritage recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Viet Nam.

 The terrain of Ha Long is composed of mountains with abrupt cliffs and islands alternating between ocean basins. The soil is saline and has mangrove forest. Rock, water and the sky are the lively elements making up the beauty of Ha Long. Islands in Halong Bay have their own shapes absolutely different from that of other coastal areas of Viet Nam. But they are also not similar to each other. There are places where islands are so much clustered that they seem to be piled up if looked at from a far distance. But there are also places where many islands stand in horizontal or vertical rows like ramparts. These island rows are as long as tens of kilometers and cross each other. It seems that all islands make a mythical realm of rocks. One island is like a human face turning towards the mainland ( Man Head Island), while another resembles a dragon flying above water (Dragon Island) . La Vong island looks like and old fisherman and at a distance from him is Sails Island with two parts like two sails. Mam Xoi Island is a small island similar to a tray of steamed glutinous rice.

Rooster and Hen Island reminds one of a cock and a hen lovingly playing on the waves. Lu Huong island ( Incense Burner Island) stands on a vast sea like a giant incense burner. Ong Su Island (Monk Island) is like a monk standing in the middle of the immense bay, who clasps hands to worship the Buddha. Chopstick Island is a round island of 40 meters in height and looks like a great chopstick. But viewed from another direction, it is like a royal mandarin with a blue costume and a "dragonfly" hat, so fishermen called this island Royal Mandarin Island, and so forth.