Ha Long Bay

Right, well. Ha Long Bay. I'd put off going for years, mostly because every photo of the place looks like a screensaver and I assumed the reality would be a let down. Janine kept saying "Mike we should just go" and finally in April 2023 we did, on the back of a fortnight in northern Vietnam, and I have to admit — it isn't a let down. Its actually one of the few places I've been where the photographs undersell it.

We took a two-night cruise out of Hai Phong with a small junk-style operator who took twelve passengers. Total cost was about 280 USD a head all-in, including transfers from Hanoi, all meals, kayak hire and a guide. There are cruises at every price point from 80 USD up to a thousand a night and to be honest the middle bracket is where it lives. Below 150 you're on a noisy boat with too many other people and not much choice on food; above 400 you're paying for a bigger cabin and a wine list neither of us needed.

[IMAGE: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1573270689103-d7a4e42b609a?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop | Junk-style cruise boats anchored at sunset between the karst limestone islands of Ha Long Bay, with the lights of the cabin lanterns reflected in the calm water]

What it is, briefly

Ha Long Bay is about 1,500 square kilometres of the Gulf of Tonkin in northern Vietnam, dotted with roughly 1,600 islands and islets, all of them sheer-sided limestone karst — the same geology you see in southern Thailand and Guilin in China but on a vastly bigger scale. Most of the islands are uninhabited (theyre too steep). UNESCO listed the bay in 1994 and bumped it to a "natural and cultural" listing in 2000.

The bay sits at the head of a much larger karst landscape that extends inland into Bai Tu Long Bay (technically a separate bay, less crowded, increasingly the recommended alternative) and the Lan Ha Bay around Cat Ba island. If you want the Ha Long experience without the Ha Long crowds, ask your operator about a Lan Ha or Bai Tu Long itinerary instead — they're cheaper, quieter, the karst is identical and you'll be on the only boat in some of the anchorages.

How to get there

Hanoi is the launching pad. From Hanoi to Ha Long City is about 165 km and the new motorway makes it a two-and-a-half hour drive. Almost every cruise operator includes a transfer in their package, so you don't really need to book separate transport — the bus picks you up at your Hanoi hotel around 8am and drops you at the wharf about 11.

If you're going independent, the bus from Hanoi's My Dinh station to Ha Long is about 200,000 dong (8 USD) and takes three hours. The Ha Long–Hai Phong train doesn't run anymore, which is a shame because Janine and I would have preferred it — the bus drivers in Vietnam reckon they're racing.

What you actually do on a cruise

A standard two-night three-day cruise itinerary looks like:

Day one: Arrive at the wharf, lunch on the boat as it sails out into the bay (proper Vietnamese banquet — twelve dishes, expect to eat too much), afternoon swim or kayak in a sheltered cove, sunset on the upper deck with a beer, dinner, optional squid fishing off the back of the boat at 10pm (we caught nothing, but the lanterns drawing the squid up out of the dark water is its own thing).

Day two: Tai chi on the deck at 6:30am if youre that sort of person (Janine is, I'm not, but I went up anyway because the light is the best of the trip), breakfast, transfer to a smaller day boat to visit a cave (Sung Sot or Thien Cung — both are touristy but genuinely impressive), kayak through a hidden lagoon (Luon cave is the famous one; you paddle through a low limestone arch into a hidden inner lagoon ringed with karst walls), lunch, free afternoon, dinner with a cooking demonstration of spring rolls.

Day three: Early breakfast, last sail through the bay, lunch on the boat as it returns to the wharf, transfer back to Hanoi, arrive about 4pm.

The two-night cruise gets you both a sunset and a dawn over the bay and that's worth the extra night. The one-night cruise feels rushed.

What to look for in a cruise operator

A few things its worth knowing:

• The bay has been over-developed in places and the Vietnamese government has been quietly tightening operator licenses. Boats that don't meet the new safety/environmental standards are being pushed out, and that's a good thing. Check that your operator has a current license — the reputable ones display it on their website.
• "Boutique" or "small junk" operators (under 20 passengers) are far better than the big floating hotels. The big boats can't enter the more interesting smaller anchorages.
• Almost all overnight cruises spend night one in the same general anchorage near Ti Top island. Don't worry about it — you'll find a quieter spot for night two.
• Single-use plastic is being phased out. Bring a refillable bottle.
• October to April is the dry/cool season. May to September can be lovely but is also the typhoon window — operators sometimes cancel sailings at 24 hours notice if the forecast turns. Build slack into the itinerary.

When to visit

October-November is the goldilocks. Cool, dry, calm seas, the bay tends to its full screensaver self with the morning mist hanging between the islands. December-January can be cool to the point of needing a jumper on deck — fine for me, less fun for swimming. February-April is also good; the spring greenery softens the karst. May-September is the wet season, which doesn't mean its always raining (its often hot and sunny in the morning with afternoon storms) but its when typhoons happen.

We went in April and it was perfect — calm bay, swimmable water at 22 degrees, blue skies most days, one short shower late afternoon on day two.

Beyond Ha Long — and what to combine it with

If you've come this far you should pair the bay with at least a few days in Hanoi and a few more in central or southern Vietnam. The country runs a long coast and condenses several different countries into one. We did Hanoi for three days, Ha Long for the cruise, then flew down to Old City Hoi An for a week. That was a good 14-day trip. The Vietnam country guide has the full overland north-to-south playbook if you've got more time.

For Ha Long–anchored options without the planning hassle, tours in Vietnam lists a range of multi-day cruise + Hanoi packages.

A few practical bits

Bring: swimmers (you'll swim from the boat), a light fleece for evenings on deck, sea-sick tablets if you're prone (Janine took one, she was fine; I didnt and was also fine; the bay is pretty calm but the Gulf can have a swell), a torch for night moves around the boat, a small dry-bag for the kayak.

Don't bring: high heels (the boats have polished wooden decks and you will end up in the bay), big rolling suitcases (the cabins are small — soft duffel only).

Official sources worth a look

Vietnam Tourism's Ha Long Bay page covers the official cruise-operator licensing list and the new visitor caps. UNESCO's World Heritage page for Ha Long Bay has the geological background and the conservation history if you want the long version.

On the question of whether its "ruined"

I'll address this because I get asked it: is Ha Long Bay too touristed to be worth going? You read articles every year about how its been over-developed and the answer is: yes and no. The main central anchorages are busy. There can be 60 boats moored within sight of each other on a high-season night. The big shore-side resort developments around Ha Long City itself are honestly grim and a cautionary tale about coastal planning.

But the bay itself is enormous — 1,500 square kilometres, remember — and a half-decent operator can still take you to anchorages where you wake up and there are two other boats in sight, not 60. The neighbouring Lan Ha and Bai Tu Long bays are even quieter. You can still find the silence. You just can't find it on the cheapest boat.

If you came expecting an empty pristine wilderness you'll be disappointed. If you came expecting one of the most extraordinary geological landscapes on Earth, currently working out how to balance protection and tourism, you'll have a wonderful time. The same can be said of half the worlds great natural wonders.

A word on the Vietnamese cooking

The food on the boat will probably be the best Vietnamese cooking you eat on the trip. The boats have galleys staffed by serious cooks, and the regional Halong-style seafood — clams steamed with lemongrass, prawns grilled over coals on the back deck, chao tom (sugarcane-prawn skewers), squid stir-fried with green pepper — was honestly a highlight in itself. Theres usually a vegetarian alternative, ask in advance.

If your boat does the cooking demonstration on day two and they offer to teach you the green-papaya salad, do it. Janine and I make it at home now. The trick is the dressing — equal parts fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar, with a chopped birds-eye chilli and a single garlic clove pounded in — and you can put it on almost anything.

Last word

Ive been writing on BugBitten for a long time now — going back to the Mekong slow-boat entries in 2019 and the Mongolia ger camps not long after — and Ha Long Bay is one of the trips that genuinely matched the reputation. Janine cried when we sailed out of the wharf on the last morning, which she will deny if you ever meet her. The bay's worth two nights minimum. Spend a bit more for a smaller boat. Pick the cool season if you can. And take the camera up to the deck at first light on day two. Fair dinkum, that's the photograph you'll keep.