Halong Bay Travel Tips & Experiences

Choose Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay

Many people hear it before they even arrive in the country: Halong Bay is overcrowded. Whether this statement is true or not depends on your own view on the term ‘overcrowded', but it is true that there are many more tourist boats there than were in recent years gone by. With this in mind, travellers are starting to turn their attention towards a question that is beginning to take form in Hanoi: Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay? If you’ve not heard of either of these Halong Bay alternatives, you now have two more reasons to visit the Gulf of Tonkin in the northwest corner of Vietnam.Overview of Bai Tu Long BayThe most northwesterly corner of this northwest corner is occupied by Bai Tu Long Bay, claimed to be the place where the mother dragon’s many children rested after they helped her defeat the foreign invaders in Halong Bay. Lan Ha Bay, by comparison, is relatively new in terms of tourism and has yet to develop a mystical backstory to aid the influx of wide-eyed visitors. Both areas contain hundreds of the exact same rugged limestone mountains that Halong Bay sports, with caves, beaches and fishing villages to boot. If Halong Bay is truly off the table for you, then let Incredible Asia Journeys guide you through the battle of the alternatives: Bai Tu Long Bay, or Lan Ha Bay?BeachesBai Tu Long BayBan ChanNgoc VungQuan LanMinh ChauTra GioiLan Ha BayBa Tra DaoCat Co BeachesTung ThuVan BoiOne of the biggest draws to Halong Bay is the perception of castaway beaches with uncombed white sand and rugged casuarina pines poking out of the bases of cliffs. This, unfortunately, is not an accurate portrayal of beach life in Halong Bay, but both Bai Tu Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay contain stretches of sand with much more of a resemblance to that idyllic scene.The scene in question can be found best at Ban Chan Beach, Bai Tu Long’s most stunning beach and the absolute paragon of a castaway spit of sand. While, like most of Bai Tu Long Bay’s beaches, Ban Chan is lacking a bit in the size department, the small stretch of golden sand is flanked on three sides by perfect tree-topped mountains, with one eye open onto the shimmering sea stretching to the horizon. If it’s a longer beach you’re after, head to Quan Lan, which doesn’t usually feature on Bai Tu Long Bay tours, but can be reached independently. This accounts for the fact that it is so ridiculously quiet, and remote homestays on the island can keep you in utter paradise for days at a time.Ban Chan BeachYou could not find a more opposite scene at the Cat Co Beaches on the major island of Cat Ba in Lan Ha Bay. These beaches are close to the main town and receive droves of tourists and locals, who sometimes completely eclipse the sand when viewed from atop the neighbouring cliff. Avoid these, but don’t be disparaged. Ba Trai Dao (Three Peach Island) is a beautiful sandy offering in Lan Ha Bay, set amongst three plump limestone rocks (or “peaches”). Kayaking is highly popular in this area, as is lying in the shade of the peaches on the secluded beach. There’s not a lot of space for other tourists, but being the complete antithesis of the Cat Co Beaches, it is hard to feel overcrowded here. Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay?• Bai Tu Long Bay has to be the winner here for overall serenity and wealth of choice.Cruises that go to Bai Tu Long Bay: Signature Cruise, Signature Royal Cruise, Huong Hai Sealife Cruise, Starlight Cruise, Dragon Legend Cruise, Emperor Cruise, and Calypso Cruise.CavesBai Tu Long BayThien Canh SonLan Ha BayDark and Bright CavesHospitalTrung TrangThien LongIf Bai Tu Long Bay is looking a bit outnumbered in this round, that’s because it is. There is only one cave available for visiting here, whereas Lan Ha Bay’s prolific Cat Ba Island houses three of its interesting systems, with one out in the water. Neither Bai Tu Long Bay nor Lan Ha Bay enjoys the same depth of cave options as Halong Bay, but you’re certain to find more freedom from tourists here.It’s not hard to know where to start in Bai Tu Long Bay. There isn’t a single standard itinerary of the region that doesn’t go to Thien Canh Son Cave, translating to the impressive-sounding ‘Mountainous Landscape in Heaven’ for the stone staircase that leads from inside the cavern to a viewing platform outside. The stalagmite and stalactite formations within the cave are impressive, and some do indeed bare small resemblances to the animals they purport to, but the general size of the cave is a little small and tours that try to spend half an hour here are really stretching the limits of imagination by the end.Thien Canh Son CaveIn stark contrast, you could easily fit a swimming pool and a cinema in the cavernous Hospital Cave in Lan Ha Bay. The Viet Cong who operated this cave from 1963 thought much the same thing, as this is exactly what they did. The cinema room and swimming pool were abandoned after the war in 1975, as were all of the other medical rooms in this hidden hospital, which went completely undiscovered by the Americans for the duration of the war. While Hospital Cave covers the history of the region, the Dark and Bright Caves cover the beauty. These two caves of contrasting light levels are beautiful wet caves, traversable by kayak or local sampan boat, which emerges onto in enclosed lake shimmering with light and protected by high-rising streaked mountains on all sides.Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay?• By virtue of having more than one cave, Lan Ha Bay wins this one.Cruises that go to Lan Ha Bay: Perla Dawn Sails, V'Spirit Premier Cruise, Maya Cruise, Era Cruise, and Mon Cheri Cruise.Fishing VillagesBai Tu Long BayVung ViengLan Ha BayCai BeoA bit sparse on both sides here, and a foreboding sign considering that if this article was written just 20 years ago, we wouldn’t have had space to list even half of the floating villages around both bays. Fishing communities around the Gulf of Tonkin have declined to the point where the only ones permitted to visit are showcase villages, where a few locals remain to display to tourists the ancient way of life that used to prevail in these seas.Vung Vieng Fishing VillageThat offering in Bai Tu Long Bay is Vung Vieng Fishing Village, a small, colourful commune of houses, schools and shops floating in the placid waters on huge buoyant drums. Locals make their money by showing tourists around the various waterways, pointing out a rural way of life that still exists around the country, just not authentically in Bai Tu Long Bay anymore. Still, it is a very interesting place to learn of this completely different way of life, and a very beautiful one too.Cai Beo in Lan Ha Bay is perhaps one a bit more representative of the other fishing villages in the region. From the top of Cat Ba Island, you can see many fishing villages still resolutely plying the waters in search of food and a livelihood, with many utilising the same techniques that their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. Cai Beo is the only one that’s viable to visit and archaeologists believe it to be the oldest fishing villages in the country.Cai Beo Floating VillageBai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay?• For proximity to Cat Ba Island’s harbour, as well as a more genuine feel, Cai Beo and Lan Ha Bay take this round again.KayakingBai Tu Long BayCap La and Tra SanCong DoCong DamLan Ha BayBa Trai DaoTra BauViet Hai VillageAll that water in the Gulf of Tonkin is just begging to be explored by kayak. Both bays feature many wide-open spaces, a few of which are accessible to tourists who want to explore the placid waters and forested mountains at a touchable distance. Kayaking in Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay is one of the most tranquil activities that you can do in the Gulf of Tonkin.Kayaking in Bai Tu Long BayOf course, a lot of this tranquillity owes itself to the area in which it is found. For Bai Tu Long Bay, it is probably found best in the areas of Cap La and Tra San, twinned bodies of water with wide expanses and the constant backdrop of an undulating mountain seascape. There is much to explore here and tour companies will often allow you the leisure of half a day to fully get acquainted with its wonders. Nearby Cong Do is a beached area with serenity at its heart. Many an hour can be spent relaxing in the calming waters here, and you’ll probably find yourself drifting, enraptured by the scenery, more than you will actually paddling.There’s not much difference in the area of Tra Bau in Lan Ha Bay. This is another wonderful example of the Gulf of Tonkin at its best and goes some way to helping Lan Ha Bay get the UNESCO World Heritage recognition for which it is currently applying. Ba Trai Dao is a nice place to kayak, but lack of things to look at makes this a maximum 30-minute activity. There is also some kayaking to be done around the village of Viet Hai on Cat Ba Island, but waters aren’t far from the ferry port, meaning scenes can be a little busier than a relaxing kayaking journey should be. Ba Trai Dao is a nice place to kayakBai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay?• The persistent beauty of Bai Tu Long Bay just about nips Lan Ha Bay in this round.Tourists numberRecent overcrowding in Ha Long Bay led tour companies to open cruises in Bai Tu Long Bay. As Bai Tu Long Bay begins to fill up in the same manner, companies have begun to fix Lan Ha Bay in their sights. It’s not hard to see an ominous pattern forming here.Despite the beautifully secluded image of Bai Tu Long Bay that the Quang Ninh Tourism Board like to promote, the reality is that tourist levels between here and Halong Bay have almost reached an equilibrium. That isn’t to say that Bai Tu Long Bay is a write-off; far from it. Moments of quiet contemplation are not hard to come by in the bay, as there are fewer day trips here than in Halong Bay. Overnight stays in Bai Tu Long Bay still yield an engrossing silence during the night, and a visit during one of the many months of the off-season mean clearer waterways for a lower price.Tourists in Lan Ha BayHowever, it’s impossible to refute that Lan Ha Bay sees much fewer tourists than Bai Tu Long Bay. At this time, it is Lan Ha Bay’s biggest asset and the reason why the question of Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay has cropped up so many times in recent years. The waters are much less congested and beaches and caves away from Cat Ba Island contain a very pure serenity, not one as easily found in the bays of Quang Ninh. Hai Phong Province realises the potential of Lan Ha Bay and full-scale construction efforts are currently in place to build a harbour that can accommodate the ships of the many tour companies that will be operating here soon. If there’s any time to visit Lan Ha Bay, it’s now, while its tranquillity is still fully intact.Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay?• Peace can certainly be found in both bays, but it will come much easier in Lan Ha Bay.3 to 2 in favour of Lan Ha Bay overall, but of course, experiences are subjective. If you’re not particularly looking for tranquillity, but more of an itinerary full of activities like cave visits, beach visits and kayaking, then Bai Tu Long Bay might be the bay for you. Potential passengers looking for a relaxing time will probably find it in Lan Ha Bay, but don’t delay for a few years, because the outcome of this little contest could be very different by then.

Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay

A budding rivalry is growing in the land of ancient dragons. Vietnam’s northwest region is giving rise to a new legend, one that looks and feels exactly like internationally acclaimed Halong Bay, but without the big tourist numbers that have marred experiences of its beautiful limestone scenery. What divides the two regions of Halong and Lan Ha bays is an invisible line through an innocuous stretch of calm water between rugged cliffs, where a large group of boats on one side and a small group on the other is the only indicator of the line’s existence. As knowledge of the unknown bay grows, the question of Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay begins to enter to the minds of tourists coming to Vietnam in search of the most tranquil experience in the UNESCO-recognised region. We look at different aspects of both bays to answer this emerging question. Lan Ha Bay Luxury Day Cruise Beaches Halong Bay Titop Bai Chay Tuan Chau Soi Sim Lan Ha Bay Ba Trai Dao Cat Co Tung Thu Van Boi Allegedly, there are 139 official beaches in Lan Ha Bay. How many any of these constitute about 100 grains of sand wedged between pebbles is anyone’s guess, but there’s no denying that, for quantity at least, Lan Ha matches Halong Bay on one of its top attractions and an unmissable feature of every itinerary in the gulf. The quality, however, varies substantially and people choosing Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay often focus on the beaches first. Though Halong Bay has the projected picture of untouched beaches hemming the sides of rocky outcrops, this image has sadly been lost amidst the tourists. Well, actually, they still remain but are far removed from the strict itineraries that visit one of the small selection of beaches that the government makes accessible to tourists. Titop Island features one such beach, and as a result, can get some serious traffic during the peak season. The panoramic view it offers from the top echoes the one found at Soi Sim Beach, but, while still developed, Soi Sim retains an aura of the unknown, probably owing mostly to its very recent establishment and the appearance of the charming thatched-roof umbrellas that provide a lot of shade. Titop Beach Likewise, of the ‘139’ beaches dotted throughout Lan Ha Bay, very few allow guests from cruises, but the sanctity that you can find on the shores of even its most populated beaches is still one that may not be found in Halong Bay. That is if you ignore the trio of Cat Co beaches 1, 2 and 3 on Cat Ba Island; these see a ridiculous amount of Vietnamese tourists on their tiny spits of sand and should really be avoided. Ba Trai Dao is one of the most charming beaches in Lan Ha Bay, even coming with an interesting local legend to explain the appearance of the three plump rocks that give the island its name (Ba Trai Dao = Three Peach Island). The island enjoys relatively low tourist numbers and some of the most untainted sands and waters you’re likely to find on the accessible beaches. Tung Thu is another quiet offering on the south coast of Cat Ba Island, while Van Boi presents the opportunity for snorkelling and taking in the views of colourful coral reefs below the emerald surface. Tung Thu Beach Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay? • Lan Ha Bay takes this one for its more tranquil beaches with the greater variety of activities. Cruises that go to Lan Ha Bay: Click Here Perla Dawn Sails , V'Spirit Premier Cruise , Era Cruise , Mon Cheri Cruise , and Maya Cruise . V'Spirit Premier Cruise Caves Halong Bay Sung Sot Thien Cung Trong Trinh Nu Dau Go Luon Lan Ha Bay Dark and Bright Caves Hospital Trung Trang Thien Long Halong Bay’s caves are famed throughout the country for the elaborate legends attached to some of the more interestingly shaped rocks inside. While they outnumber Lan Ha Bay considerably (we could have mentioned more above but we don't have space), we have to assess other factors like uniqueness, history and beauty when deciding between Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay. Fortunately for Halong Bay, it has all of these in abundance. Sung Sot is the paragon of uniqueness and beauty for its huge cavernous areas dotted with stalactites and stalagmites lit up in colourful lighting. Thien Cung and Trinh Nu are also known for their beauty, while Luon is Halong Bay’s most stunning wet cave, through which tourists row to find a secluded lake. For history, it’s hard to find one as rich as Dau Go (Cave of the Wooden Stakes), which served as a pivotal place to stockpile the wood that would be sharpened and placed in huge spiked stakes that would end up preventing the Mongol invasion in the 13th century Thien Cung Cave Lan Ha Bay’s caves lie almost exclusively on Cat Ba Island, except for its most naturally interesting, the Dark and Bright Caves . The two opposing caves differ, as their names suggest, in the amount of light entering from outside; the dark cave is long and therefore requires torches for exploration, while the bright cave is really just a short corridor that opens up onto a wonderful lake enclosed by stretching limestone cliffs. The Hospital Cave is Lan Ha Bay’s most interesting cave historically, as its large caverns made it the perfect place to take care of the injured Viet Cong soldiers during the American War. The cave was very difficult to find from the ground and from the air, making it the perfect place to rest up troops, plan attacks and relax in the rather lavish swimming pool and gigantic cinema. Dark Cave in Lan Ha Bay Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay? • A decent fight, but Halong Bay takes this one. Fishing Village Halong Bay Cua Van Ba Hang Tung Sau Lan Ha Bay Cai Beo Cua Van Fishing Village While plenty of tiny communes accompany the coastline of Cat Ba Island ,  Cannon Fort, but many of these are inaccessible and locals are rightfully left in peace. Hardly any cruises stop at Cai Beo, so visits will be from Cat Ba Town, from which you can get a taxi and ferry towards Monkey Island. View from Cannon Fort Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay? • History and diversity put Halong Bay on top again. Cruises that go to Halong Bay: Click Here Paradise Luxury Cruise , Indochina Sails , V’Spirit Cruise , Aphrodite Cruise , Hera Cruise , Violet Cruise , Alisa Cruise and Jasmine Cruise . Kayaking Halong Bay Cua Van and Tung Sau Luon Cave Hang Ho Dong Tien Lan Ha Bay Ba Trai Dao Tra Bau Viet Hai Village The landscapes of both bays make them ideal for water sports, of which relaxed kayaking is the most popular. Almost every tour itinerary in Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay has a kayaking option, including day trips, who realise the importance of getting close to nature from a plastic canoe.  For Halong Bay, there are plenty of areas to go kayaking, so none get particularly crowded even when the bay is awash with tourist boats. Places mentioned before such as Cua Van Fishing Village,  Tung Sau Pearl Farm and   are some of the best spots to go kayaking as they provide some of Halong Bay’s most unique and beautiful views. Places like Ho Dong Tien offer the serenity that some tourists perceive to have been lost entirely from Halong Bay, but a 30-minute kayaking session around this magical area, called ‘Fairy Lake Cave’ in English, will be enough to convince them otherwise. Kayaking in Halong Bay Paddling around the peaches at Ba Trai Dao (Three Peach Island) will certainly be an awe-inspiring activity. As will paddling around  Tra Bau, a very quiet area where large kite birds fly solitarily above and mountains slope high out of the waters in diligent silence. On a 3 day, 2-night tour of Lan Ha Bay, the second day will be spent at  Viet Hai Village on Cat Ba Island, an antique community living close to waters that provide excellent kayaking opportunities and the chance to get right up to the limestone walls around. Kayaking in Lan Ha Bay Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay? • Both bays provide relaxed conditions for kayaking in, essentially, identical scenery, so we’ll call this one a tie. Tourist Numbers The unremitting flow of tourists into Halong Bay is well-known, and potential visitors often face the dilemma of Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay in order to find the most peace on a cruise. It’s hard to see any victory for Halong Bay here. Tourists regularly like to complain about the vast numbers of people just like them who come to Halong Bay to do the same thing as them at the same time. It’s true that Halong Bay can get crowded, especially at the hotspots like Titop Island and Sung Sot Cave, but the bay is enormous and there is much tranquillity to find. Day trips to Halong Bay from Hanoi can sometimes crowd the scene a bit around the bay’s heart, but the real serenity sets in after the sun goes down and the day-trippers head back to the capital. To maximise the calm atmosphere, as well as take advantage of great discounts, research Halong Bay’s weather and head during the off-season, where rains may feature but usually for short periods of time in between hours of bright sunshine. Tourists in Sung Sot Cave Lan Ha Bay’s biggest selling point is that it looks exactly like Halong Bay but without the tourists. Currently, this is true, but many tour companies are entering the market after Quang Ninh province stopped new companies from starting cruises in Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay, leaving Lan Ha Bay as the only attraction in the Gulf of Tonkin left to develop. Work is continuing on a much larger harbour as Hai Phong province prepares for the armada of cruise ships that will soon arrive. Now is the best time to see Lan Ha Bay, where waterways are presently much, much quieter than its neighbour to the north. Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay? • Definitely Lan Ha Bay, but how long the isolation will last is anyone’s guess. Two for Halong Bay, two for Lan Ha Bay and a tie at the end; seems pretty even overall. When deciding between Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay, it’s important to prioritise what it is you want out of your visit. If you would like a wealth of activities with many places to visit, then Halong Bay has more for you, but anyone seeking a quiet and contemplative time in the Gulf of Tonkin should choose Lan Ha Bay, with its quiet waterways and more secluded and authentic fishing villages.