One of the first questions I had before I even set off for Vietnam was, is Halong Bay worth visiting? After loads of research, I decided that seeing as I was so close in Hanoi, and I had time to spare, that as a travel writer I really SHOULD check it out. The verdict? I’m still of two minds. In this article I will explain why.
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Firstly, let me just say that I was not paid to be on this tour, or even in the country. I wasn’t working for Lonely Planet, or anyone except for myself. My partner and I were (and at time of writing, still are) on a bucket list trip to the beautiful country of Vietnam. Hanoi was our first port of call, and it was there that we decided to tackle the question is Halong Bay worth visiting?
Where is Halong Bay?
Halong Bay is located in North Eastern Vietnam, near the city of Ha long. It is approximately 135 kilometers as the crow flies from the Vietnamese Capital of Hanoi, with the main harbour for cruises to Halong Bay located about 152 Kilometers by road from Hanoi.
If you are heading to Halong Bay from Hanoi, it will take around 2.5 hours, or slightly longer with a break.
About Halong Bay
Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage listed bay that everyone on Earth will have seen photos of, whether they were aware of it or not. Anyone with an Instagram account will have seen it hundreds of times, and nearly anyone on the planet with any interest in traveling will have it earmarked as a bucket list destination.
Famous for its beautiful green waters, and instantly recognisable for the thousands of limestone karst islands and cliffs, Halong Bay is swarmed with boatloads of tourists 365 days a year.
In 2011 Halong bay shot to fame when it was recognised as one of the new 7 Natural Wonders of the World. Since then, mass tourism has had its effect, and Halong bay is beginning to see the struggles that other parts of the world have had when tourism takes a hold.
The easiest way to see Halong Bay
Although there are many ways to see Halong Bay, including making your own way from Hanoi to Halong Bay by road, the easiest way by far is to do a day tour from Hanoi.
These tours are so easy that nearly everyone runs them. You can’t walk down a street in Hanoi without seeing a dozen signs advertising Halong Bay daytrips. They are simply everywhere.
To make it even easier, large tour operators such as GetYourGuide and Klook make it as simple as picking up your phone to book a tour.
After spending days researching for myself about Halong Bay, and whether Halong Bay was worth visiting, I finally relented for myself and went straight to my go-to app and booked one for myself and my partner. We were excited to say the least. Halong Bay had been on our bucket lists for a long time, and even though we expected it to be busy, the day couldn’t come fast enough for us.
How a Halong bay tour works
First of all, let me say that it is very EASY to get a tour to Halong Bay. They make it easy to book, pay, and get you there. They will basically do everything for you, and all that is left for you is to actually climb onto the bus, boat, and from there follow directions. There is NOTHING that you have to worry about.
The Pick Up
Most of the easiest tours will pick you up in Hanoi from your hotel. That is IF you are staying in the Old Quarter, which is where the majority of people will be staying anyway. The bus arrives somewhere between 8am and 9am, depending upon where your hotel is located. Our driver made it easy by advising us of an approximate time for pick up the night before. On the day, he called us 5 minutes before he arrived out front.
The trip to Halong Bay takes a few hours. Along the way the guide will tell you about the Bay, giving some facts and details that are a good overview. During the drive he will point a few things out, and then leave you to have a sleep/rest until the first stop. This will be at a Pearl Farm where you will learn about how the pearling industry works in Halong Bay. I personally found it to be a totally commercialized stop off that would give the tour kick backs. As expected there were about 500 other buses there as well.
The Boat
Arriving at the Marina, we were rushed onto the boat. No time to really look around, buy souvenirs or even go to the toilet. We practically ran along the wharf where we were ushered onto the waiting cruise boat.
Where we sat and waited.
There are 3 groups/busloads of tourists that will use the one cruise boat, and once on board, we had to wait for all the others to arrive before we were able to do anything. In this case – eat.
The Buffet was laid out before us, and we literally sat and were forced to just stare at it for around 20 minutes while we waited for the other groups to arrive. As it turned out, one of the other buses had run into some mechanical issues, so we were set free onto the food.
The buffet was good. The food was nothing to rave about, but it was tasty and had plenty of options, from fried rice and schnitzels, to fresh fruits and bread.
The boat itself was large enough, with 3 decks, the very top of which was adorned with a few tables, covered area and pool lounge chairs to relax on. There were plenty of areas to stand and take in the views, or snap some really wonderful photos along the way.
The Stops
Once sailing through the beautiful islands for an hour or so, we made our first stop at a large, incredible cave called Sung Sot Cave. This would be considered an absolutely incredible spot and a once in a lifetime sight for most tourists. It’s just a pity that there were HUNDREDS of other tour groups there, and just navigating our way up the stairs to get into the cave was a chore in itself.
The second stop was Ti Top Island, where we had the chance to swim on the really nice white sand beach – along with the other 500 people trying to do the same things. As the day wasn’t that nice (foggy and overcast) we instead decided to do the “hike” to the top of the hill and take in the views. The “hike” was really just a long set of stairs that hundreds of others were trying to do at the same time. Needless to say the small viewpoint at the top was packed, and getting a photo was a miracle, and only possible because I’m tall enough to hold my phone up high enough to see over the Instagrammers taking 1500 photos of themselves.
The third and last stop was at Luon Cave. This is a cave with a difference, and probably the best stop of the three. You will have the choice here to kayak yourself, or take a boat with a guide and about a dozen others from your group. You will be paddled through a small cave, and out the other side into a lake in the middle of an island. It’s quite interesting, peaceful, and if you have a good “captain” he will rock the boat a bit and make it fun.
On the way back to the port, you will get to see the sunset (maybe) depending upon the weather, and be shouted a couple of mouthfuls of the almost non alcoholic wine that they advertised would be included.
I’m not sure if you are seeing any patterns here, or picking up on the sarcastic tones, but it should be obvious by now that I wasn’t overly impressed with the tour. Halong Bay is incredible, but there are several things that make Halong Bay worth visiting, and others that would convince me now to skip it.
Let’s take a look.
The Good
Ok. So let’s start with the good things that makes Halong Bay worth visiting on a tour.
- It’s a unique, UNESCO World Heritage Listed location that is worth seeing at least once in your lifetime if you are an avid traveler.
- The islands, panoramas and landscapes are breathtaking.
- The tour will take you to all the best locations, without you needing to be concerned about anything other than paying for it.
- Your meal is decent, and means you can spend the day without worrying about bringing food from Hanoi.
- Pickup and Drop off at your hotel is a wonderful inclusion, and works well.
The Bad
Now, the bad. Because there is always a bad side, and when figuring out, is Halong Bay is worth visiting or not, the bad comes well and truly into account.
- Overtourism – This cannot be overstated. There are thousands of tourists in Halong Bay on any given day, deposited there by dozens of tour boats and companies. Getting any sort of authentic experience on a day tour borders on impossible.
- The rush – On a day tour you are rushed to the point of tripping over yourself to get from A to B in time. When you are dropped at an island, you are given 45 minutes (for example) to be finished and back on the boat.
- Other tourists – If you are stuck on a tour or boat with obnoxious tourists, you ARE stuck with them. All day. And they will drag the tour down and have you running behind schedule, as well as most likely upsetting the tour guide which then reflects on you, whether you are being a model guest or not.
- Pollution – This is a big issue in Halong Bay, and comes from the overtourism. Watching people dropping trash while they are complaining about the actual pollution in the bay still blows my mind. Halong Bay will most likely be sealed off to tourism one day, unless the ourtourism can be tackled before that extreme comes about.
Is Halong Bay Worth Visiting on a tour?
In my honest opinion. No. Halong Bay is not worth visiting on a day trip tour. As a location, yes it is, but do it the right way.
But then, what are the alternatives? If you manage to get yourself to Halong Bay from Hanoi under your own steam, then you will probably end up just joining a tour boat anyway. Unless you have the money to organise your own charter somehow, in which case why not just do that from Hanoi?
But, and this is the big but here – If you are a normal, average tourist, then taking a tour from Hanoi to Halong Bay IS the best way to actually see Halong Bay. So it’s a bit of a catch 22 situation.
It is the exact reason that I found myself on a Halong Bay Tour myself, and why these tours are so popular, and are destroying the experience for everyone. They are too easy, and too covenient.
The Solution?
If you want a better experience, and want to reduce your footprint a little when it comes to the mass tourism issue, then consider a multi day tour. This may seem like it’s counter productive, but stay with me for a minute.
Multi Day tours spend, obviously, several days in the bay. You will go to other islands away from the main tourist attraction islands. You will not be contributing to the mass tourism that swarms these islands at certain times of the day, and have a lot better experience when you do go, minus the crowd.
On these tours you will, possibly, be stuck with others you may not like for a couple of days, but the groups are smaller, and you have a lot more options.
The other solution, and one that you can explore more on multi day tours, is to stay away from the most popular islands. Consider Cat Ba Bay and Lan Ha Bay. They are not UNESCO Heritage Listed like Halong Bay, but in a weird twist of fate, they haven’t had to suffer from over exposure that the listing has subjected Halong Bay to.
Recommended Halong Bay Tours
If you are dead set on visiting Halong Bay, then here are a few tours that are recommended you take from Hanoi. There are many dodgy tours out there, and tours that either don’t care about the environment, or will take you to “Halong Bay” but not to the parts that are actually World Heritage Listed. If you are paying for a tour, then you really want to get the proper experience.
As a guide, check out Route 2, as all the good tours will tell you what “route” the tour will take. Route 2 takes you to the UNESCO World Heritage Listed areas, while Route 1 is only the islands closest to the harbour, and routes 3 and 4 are further afield.
- Hanoi to Halong Bay 1 Day trip to all the best and most popular destinations at THIS LINK.
- Very popular and recommended 2 DAY cruise to Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay at THIS LINK.
- From Hanoi 2 DAY cruise with private bathtub and balcony at THIS LINK.
- 2 DAY Royal Palace Cruise to Halong Bay from Hanoi at THIS LINK.
If you want to see a wide selection of cruises you can do in Halong Bay, then check out THIS amazing link from Klook. They have all the best cruises neatly packaged on one page for you to view all at once!
Alternative destinations from Hanoi
If you are in Hanoi and want to get away, then Halong Bay isn’t your only option. Places like Sapa and Ninh Binh are becoming more and more attractive and popular to the day tripper, and even more so for those that are searching for an overnight getaway.
While Sapa is a good 5 or 6 hour drive away, the mountain hideaway is famous as the only place in Vietnam that sees snow on the coldest days of the year. Located right next to the Chinese border, it offers a very unique Vietnamese experience.
Ninh Binh is a lot closer to Hanoi, and better for the day trippers. It’s surreal landscapes are amazing for nature lovers, while adventure seekers are sure to have their hands full with options as well. And the real bonus of going to Ninh Binh? It’s EXACTLY like Halong Bay, except on land. You will see the same rock formations, and can take a beautiful boat ride down the river past the towering rocks, enjoying them with a lot less crowd than at Halong Bay. It DOES get crowded, but nowhere near the same level.
Here are a few options for alternatives to Halong Bay for those looking to get away from Hanoi.
- A 3 Day combo with Ninh Binh AND Halong Bay cruise in the one deal. Check it out HERE.
- From Hanoi trip to Ninh Binh and the incredible Mua Cave. Check it out HERE.
- From Hanoi 2 Day trip to Sapa with a visit to the incredible heights of Fansipan Peak. Find details at THIS LINK.
If you are heading to Ninh Binh and want to spend a couple of days there, then I really recommend staying at the Ninh Binh Mountainside Homestay and Café. We loved it so much we extended our 3 day stay into 6 recently! Check them out at THIS link.
Summary
Is Halong Bay worth visiting? It is, but organised tours can get very crowded, and the day trip experience really takes away from the enjoyment of such a wonderful destination. If possible, take a multi day trip, or private charter if that is an option for you.
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