Things To Do In Ha Long – Budget Travel In Vietnam

Visit Ha Long Bay in Vietnam and experience its thousands of limestone karsts that rise from its turquoise waters. Its ethereal beauty has made it Vietnam’s number one tourist destination.

In Hanoi, it seems that every other shop is a tourist company selling package deals for a Ha Long Bay cruise (or is that Halong Bay cruise?)

After five days in the crazy and chaotic capital city, we were ready to relax and a Halong Bay cruise sounded perfect.

Halong Bay Cruise Package Deals

As usual, we were put off by the package deals. We had heard mixed reports of the services and state of the boats on some of the Ha Long Bay cruises and it seemed pot luck whether you ended on a nice, relaxing cruise, or one that hosts all night parties. We decided that we would head to Ha Long Bay for a night, then on to Cat Ba Island and organise our own cruise once there.

Choose Your Halong Bay Tour Operator Wisely

If you do decide to visit Ha Long Bay via one of these package deals, make sure you research your tour operator before buying. Check the address online too as some tour operators, that have spent years building good reputations, often have others using their name. It is not illegal in Vietnam to do so.

How To Get To Ha Long Bay From Hanoi By Bus

As we decided to organise our own visit, we had to find out how to get there by bus. This was actually quite straight forward. Buses leave regularly from ‘My Dinh bus station’ (map). To get to My Dinh, you can use Google Maps directions from your location in the city. The bus timetables and locations of stops are accurate.

We arrived at My Dinh and within minutes found a counter that had Ha Long Bay wrote on its sign. In fact, the woman at the counter guessed that’s where we would be heading and waved us over. When we told her we wanted the next bus, she told us how much (200,000 Dong) and to follow a man who was waiting to leave.

The man took us out of the station and down the side street. We were beginning to think we might end up in some grotty, old van. We couldn’t have been more wrong.

Travelling In Style

We finally reached a parked van with the side door open. We couldn’t quite believe it when the man told us to get inside. It was a 9-berth Limo with reclining, leather, massage seats! We would have paid more than £6 to spend an hour in one of these chairs, never mind travel to our next destination!

Arriving in Ha Long Bay

The journey took just 2 hours, much less than the package tours had suggested. The van dropped us right in the centre of Ha Long Bay. From here, it was a 10 minute uphill walk to our accommodation.

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Food And Drink In Ha Long Bay

As we were only in Ha Long Bay for one night, we did not sample much of the nightlife or local cuisine. We had lunch in Bai Chay Market (map) which was a good way of mixing with the locals and then we had an evening meal in one of the many places that line the main road. We had some drinks in the Backpackers’ Bar which had a good happy hour offer.

Things To Do In Ha Long Bay

We were very surprised to arrive in Ha Long Bay and discover a ghost town. We knew it was out of season but we weren’t quite prepared for how quiet it would be. A lot of attractions were closed and the beaches were all dug up and being improved for the new season.

We walked around the beaches anyway. There’s something quite eerie about a holiday park when it is closed for the season. The water park that is next to the beach was also closed.

Sunworld Ha Long Bay Dragon World

After deciding we’d had enough of walking around the ghostly streets, we decided to visit ‘Dragon World’ (map), a theme park which is part of the overall ‘Sunworld’ complex.

On buying a ticket, we were informed that 7 of the bigger 8 rides were closed. No discount, though! The park only cost 50,000 Dong to enter to we went ahead anyway.

The park would actually be great value when everything is open. There are a number of rides for all ages. As all the big rides were closed bar one, we ended up on the slower ones. It was good fun. As I keep saying, you never know what to expect when travelling. You just don’t know what you will end up doing in the next town.

Sunworld Ha Long Bay Dragon World Opening Times: 7 am – 6 pm, every day.
Sunworld Ha Long Bay Dragon World Entrance Fee: 50,000 Dong

Near the entrance to the theme park, there is also a cable car that takes you to Sun World Halong Complex (map) with a big wheel overlooking the town, a water puppet theatre and other attractions. This was more expensive and we’d run out of time so we had to give it a miss.

Is Ha Long Bay Worth Visiting?

We only stayed in Ha Long Bay for one night before heading over to Cat Ba Island. It seemed like it would be a fun place with a few more people as it was a pretty place with some very nice buildings. There seemed to be a lot of development going on. I imagine it will be an even bigger tourist destination in the years to come.