Overview
In the Gulf of Tonkin east of Hanoi, Ha Long Bay scatters nearly two thousand jungle-topped limestone pillars and islets across a wide, sheltered sea, one of the world’s great karst landscapes. Most visitors experience it on an overnight cruise aboard a traditional-style junk, drifting between the towers, into caves and quiet lagoons. Often hazy and atmospheric, it is a place of scenery above all, reached by road from Hanoi and paired with the quieter neighbouring bays.
Highlights
Cruise boats thread between the limestone islands to sea caves, floating villages and hidden lagoons reached by kayak or bamboo boat. The bay’s caverns, among them the vast Sung Sot cave, and viewpoints climbed from the water are the highlights of a night aboard. The quieter Lan Ha and Bai Tu Long bays nearby offer the same scenery with fewer boats.