Ha Long Bay Cruise

HaLong Bay Vietnam is one of the world’s natural wonders and is the most beautiful tourist destination of Vietnam. HaLong Bay features more than one thousand awesome limestone karsts and islands of various sizes and shapes along the 120-km coastline of Bai Chay Beach.

Its waters are host to a great ersity of ecosystems including offshore coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes, and sandy beaches. The folk tale has it that the dragons descended from heaven to help locals by spitting jewels and jade to the sea, forming a natural fortress against invaders; these precious stones are represented by the lush green outcrops. Several islands boast beautiful grottos and caves with contiguous chambers and peculiar stone formations.

Location: Ha Long Bay is located in the Northeast of Vietnam, about 170 kilometers northeast of Hanoi and 3,5 hours by road, belonging to Quang Ninh Province. It is in the coastal area stretching from 1060 56’ to 1070 37’ east longitude and 200 43’ to 210 09’ north latitude. To the west and northwest, Ha Long Bay stretches from Yen Hung District, and includes the large urban areas of Ha Long City and Cam Pha Town, as well as Van Don Island District. To the south and southeast, it is adjacent to the western Tonkin Gulf and to the west and southwest lies Cat Ba Island in the province of Hai Phong. On the world map, Ha Long Bay borders to China in the north and in the east it is adjacent to the East Sea.

Weather: As the number-one tourist attraction in the northeast, Ha Long Bay draws a steady stream of visitors year-round. From February to April the weather in this region is often cool and drizzly. The ensuing fog can make visibility low, but this adds an ethereal air to the place and the temperature rarely falls below 10°C. During the summer months, tropical storms are frequent, and tourist boats may have to alter their itineraries, depending on the weather.

The islands: Mainly limestone and schist islands, most lying in the two main areas: the southeastern part of Bái Tá»­ Long Bay and southwestern part of Hạ Long Bay. These islands represent the most ancient images of a geographical site having a tectonic age of from 250 million to 280 million years. They are the result of many times of rising and lowering processes of the continent to form a karst. The process of nearly full erosion and weathering of the karst created the unique Hạ Long Bay in the world. In a not very large area, thousands of islands with different forms look like glittering emeralds attached to the blue scarf of a virgin. The area where many stone islands concentrate has spectacular scenes and world-famous caves and is the center of Ha Long Bay Natural Heritage, including Ha Long Bay and a part of Bái Tu Long Bay.