Halong City
If Halong Bay is heaven, Halong City can be hell. Overdeveloped but underloved, the hideous high-rise hotels come in every shade of pastel and the beaches are definitely not the best in the region. However, the majority of food, accommodation and other life-support systems for Halong Bay are found in Halong City. The capital of Quang Ninh province, it is sin city, with ‘massage’ heavily promoted at every hotel. The town draws large numbers of domestic tourists and, until recently, was a major magnet for Chinese tourists. Suddenly they stopped coming, giving birth to a million conspiracy theories about bankrupting hotels to buy them out.
Getting there & awayContents
Land
Bus
Buses from
Halong City to Hanoi (40, 000d, 3½ hours) leave from Mien Tay bus station (Ð Ca Lan) in
Bai Chay every 15 minutes. Buses to
Haiphong (25, 000d, 1½ hours) depart every 20 minutes from here.
Most buses to northeastern destinations start from Mien Tay bus station before passing through Hon Gai bus station (Ð Le Loi). Buses for Mong Cai (42, 000d, five hours) and Cai Rong (20, 000d, 1½ hours) for Van Don Island (Dao Cai Bau) depart frequently during daylight hours. There is also one bus a day to Lang Son (45, 000d, five hours) at 12.30pm, handy for anyone heading to Nanning.
Car & motorbike
Halong City is 160km from Hanoi and 55km from Haiphong. The one-way trip from Hanoi to Halong City takes about three hours by private vehicle.
Boat
With a marked improvement in roads around the region, boat transport is not as popular as it once was, but the hydrofoil to Mong Cai remains a good option for anyone overlanding to China.
There are daily slow boats connecting Hon Gai with Haiphong (35, 000d, three hours). Boats depart Hon Gai at 6.30am, 11am and 4pm. It could be considered a cheap way to do a Halong Bay tour. There are no longer hydrofoils linking Halong and Haiphong, as travel by road is cheaper and just as fast.
From Bai Chay, Mui Ngoc (847 888; Ð Halong) operates hydrofoils to Mong Cai (US$15, three hours) leaving at 8am and 1pm; the ticket office is almost next door to the Mien Tay bus station. The trip is definitely preferable to the long road journey. Book ahead, as demand often outstrips supply.
The best way to get to Cat Ba Island is to hop onto the regular tourist boats from Bai Chay tourist-boat dock. It costs 100, 000d one way, including a leisurely cruise through the most beautiful parts of the bay. An extra 30, 000d brings entry to the most important caves and grottoes in the bay. The whole trip takes about five or six hours, but there are no precise departure times, as it depends on numbers.
As always, be prepared for changes to these schedules.
See more Viet Nam
About Hanoi Vietnam | Around Ho Chi Minh City | About Halong Bay Vietnam | Ba Be National Park | Ba Vi National Park | Bac Lieu | Bai Tu Long Bay | Bo Nau Cave (Pelican cave) | Beaches North of Nha Trang | Ben Tre | Buon Ma Thuot | Ca Mau | Dien Bien Phu | Dong Hoi | Ha Giang | Haiphong | Halong City | Ho Coc Beach | Dong Hoi | Kon Tum | Kim Quy Grotto | Lang Son | Lao Cai | Long Hai | Luon Grotto | Long Xuyen | Mai Chau | Mekong Delta | Mui Ne Beach | My Tho | Phan Rang & Thap Cham | Phan Thiet | Phat Diem | Phong Nha Cave | Phu Quoc Island | Pleiku | Quang Ngai | Rach Gia | Soc Trang | Song Cau | Tam Coc | Tam Dao | Tay Ninh | Thay & Tay Phuong Pagodas | Tra Co Beach | Tra Vinh | Tuy Hoa | Van Don Island | Vinh Long | Vung Tau |
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