The majority of food, accommodation and other life-support systems for Halong Bay are to be found in the dismal town of Halong City, the capital of Quang Ninh Province. In recent years this once peaceful outpost has been developed into a pleasure den for package tourists (both domestic and foreign, with a large following of border hopping Chinese). All in all Halong City is, aside from some impressive views of the bay, well, yuck!
Unless you plan to partake in the sleazy joys of this cheesy attempt at replicating Thailand’s Pattaya, there is no good reason to visit Halong City other than as a launch pad for boats.
The city is bisected by a bay, and for travelers the most important district (on the western side) is called Bai Chay. Accommodation can be found on both sides of the bay, but Bai Chay is more scenic, closer to Hanoi and much better endowed with hotels and restaurants. Bai Chay is also where the majority of tourist boats are moored.
District names are important - most long-distance buses will be marked Bay Chay or `Hon Gai rather than Halong City.
Magnificent Halong Bay, with its 3000-plus islands rising from the clear, emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and covering an area of 1500 sq. km, is one of the natural marvels of Vietnam. In 1994, Halong Bay was designated as Vietnam’s second UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors have compared the area’s magical landscape of limestone islets to Guilin in China and Krabi in southern Thailand. These tiny islands are dotted with innumerable beaches and grottoes created by wind and waves.
Beaches
The beach around Halong City is basically mud and rock-a problem the authorities are trying to correct. A Taiwanese company has a contract to build a beach in Bai Chay with imported sand, It should be interesting to see what this amounts to. Officially there are now two beaches, creatively named Beach No 1 (Bai Tam 1) and Beach No 2 (Bai Tam 2).
The current beaches are not at all attractive for swimming. However, it’s common practice to take a swim during a boat trip - the boats can take you to remote coves with clear water, but only minimal sand. If you do go swimming, it would be wise to have someone (hopefully trustworthy) watch your valuables while you are cavorting in the water.
The promenade has gone through a major facelift and it’s attractive enough, but as one traveler noted: Halong City is dreadful. Full of new hotels and restaurants with depressingly repetitive food. The promenade is a bad imitation of the French Riviera and the boat trips are a rip-off.
Grottoes
Ha Long Bay is split in two by a wide channel running north south: the larger, western portion contains the most dramatic scenery and best caves, while to the east lies an attractive area of smaller islands known as Bai Tu Long or "children of the dragon", though with fewer specific sights. The most famous cave is also the closest to Bai Chay: Hang Dau Go ("Grotto of the Wooden Stakes") is where General Tran Hung Dao amassed hundreds of stakes deep inside the caves third and largest chamber prior to the Bach Dang River battle of 1288. Like many of the older caves, Dau Go is marred by rubbish and graffiti but is worth a stop because the same island boasts one of the most beautiful caves. A steep climb up 50m to the entrance of Hang Thien Cung ("Grotto of the Heavenly Palace") is rewarded by a rectangular chamber 250m long and 2020 high with a text-book display of sparkling stalactites and stalagmites, supposedly petrified characters of the Taoist Heavenly Court.
Continuing south, past hidden bays, needle-sharp ridges and cliffs of rived limestone, you sail into an area particularly rich in caves. First choice should be one of the recent finds: Hang Kim Quy (Golden Turtle Grotto), Ho Dong Tien (Grotto of the Fairy Lake) and the enchanting Dong Me Cung (Grotto of the Labyrinth).
The yawning mouth of the Hang Bo Nau, ringed with a flotilla of sampans hawking coral and soft drinks, is of fleeting interest as you move on to Hang Song Sot, with good views from the steps and a scramble up to a high second chamber. Next comes the most remarkable in this group, Hang Luon, a hollow island accessed via a half-submerged tunnel-cave 30m long. You can take one of the waiting coracles - $1 per person for the return trip, though a group might be able to bargain. Or, if it’s warm enough, take the plunge and swim through. You emerge into a crater-like lagoon encircled by towering cliffs, which echo to the cries of exotic birds in a fair imitation of a lost world. Other caves close by, such as Hang Trong (Drum Grotto) and Hang Trinh Nu (Virgins Grotto) are of no particular merit and awash with litter; from here it’s about ninety minutes sail back to Bai Chay.
Of the far-flung sights. Hang Hanh is one of the more adventurous day-trips from Bai Chay: the tide must be exactly right (at half-tide) to allow a coracle access to the two kilometer long tunnel-cave. Note that the hire of a coracle costs an additional $10 and that powerful torches or caving lamps are also useful here. Finally, Dau Bo Island, on the southeastern edge of Ha Long Bay, encloses. Ho Ba Ham (Three Tunnel Lake),a shallow lagoon wrapped round with limestone walls and connected to the sea by three low-ceilinged tunnels that are only navigable by sampan at low tide. This cave is sometimes included in two-day excursions out of Bai Chay but is easiest to arrange from Cat Ba.
Since 1994 fishermen have discovered several new caves, prompted by a local initiative granting them the right to charge entry (generally less than $1) for a specified time (usually 3-6 months) on condition that they install light, stairways and so forth. For up-to-date information and recommendations, the best people to ask are the boatmen themselves - several of whom speak good English or at the local tourist offices. A few casernes are still unlit, so take a torch. And if you intend to explore beyond the cave mouths, which usually means scrambling over muddy rocks and through narrow passages, wear shoes with a good grip.
Due to the rock type of Halong Bay, islands, the area is dotted with thousands of caves of all sizes and shapes.
Hang Dau Go (Grotto of Wooden Stakes),known to the French as the Grotte des Merveilles (Cave of Marvels), is a huge cave consisting of three chambers which you reach via 90 steps. Among the stalactites of the first hall, scores of gnomes appear to be holding a meeting. The walls of the second chamber sparkle if bright light is shined on them. The cave derives its Vietnamese name from the third chamber, which is said to have been used during the 13th century to store the sharp bamboo stakes which Tran Hung Dao planted in the bed of Bach Dang River to impale Kublai Khan invasion fleet.
Drum Grotto is so named because when the wind blows through its many stalactites and stalagmites, visitors think they hear the sound of distant drumbeats. Other well-known caves in Halong Bay include the Grotto of Bo Nau and 2km long Hang Hanh Cave.
Islands
Some tourist stop at Deu (Reu) Island, which supports an unusual species of monkey distinguished by their red buttocks. A few travelers also visit Ngoc Vung Island, which has a red brick lighthouse.
Tuan Chau Island (5km west of Bai Chay) is one of the few islands in Halong Bay which has seen any development. Ho Chi Minh former summer residence is here. Currently there are three villas and a restaurant. In 1997 the government revealed plans to build a US$100 million resort complex here, complete with hotels, villas and a golf course.
Park and Museum
Hoang Gia Park Garden: This runs for 2km along the seafront in Bai Chay from the tourist wharf to the road to the Heritage hotel with European, Chinese, Vietnamese and seafood restaurants. There are a number of bars outside the fence. No entrance charge.
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