Ha Long Bay
Sixteen hundred limestone pillars rising from green water, over six hundred square miles.
Duration
10 hrs – 24 hrs
Best time
October to April
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The bay holds around one thousand six hundred limestone islets over fifteen hundred square kilometres. The relief is a drowned karst: a limestone plateau eroded over millions of years, then flooded by the sea at the end of the last glaciation, leaving the summits above water.
The name means 'descending dragon': legend has it a dragon carved the valleys with its tail as it rushed to the sea. The neighbouring Lan Ha bay to the south offers the same landscape with far fewer boats, and cruises increasingly leave from Cat Ba for that reason.
Getting there
Two and a half hours by road from Hanoi on the motorway. Departures from Tuan Chau and Hon Gai ports; Lan Ha leaves from Cat Ba.
What the price covers
a paid bay entry fee, usually folded into the cruise price; rates vary by package
Rules on site
Trips are cancelled without notice on storm warnings, frequent from June to September, and cancellation does not always mean a full refund. Mist is heavy from February to April and can wipe the stacks out.