HaLong Bay was visually one of the highlights of my Vietnam trip. This treasure is a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring  1500-2000 islands and islets in various shapes and sizes. It forms a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Take me back!

Limestone islands in Halong Bay Vietnam

I’ll give you some background, and then start the photo tour.

Also written as Halong Bay or Hạ Long Bay is in northeastern Vietnam . More specifically, Ha Long Bay is located in the Gulf of Tonkin, in Quáng Ninh province.

We went kayaking while surrounded by breathtaking views

Scale and size of Halong Bay Vietnam

The limestone islands were huge! For example, this below photo shows the impressive scale.

Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. However, others support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish.

Halong Bay is a Unesco World Heritage Site

It’s often compared favorably to Guilin in China (photos coming soon!) and Krabi in Thailand. Lonely Planet called Ha Long Bay in Vietnam even more spectacular. While Halong Bay can be a bit of a “tourist trap,” it’s so beautiful that it’s worth the tradeoff.

Where is Halong Bay Vietnam?

Halong Bay is in Vietnam, about 105 miles east of Hanoi, Vietnam’s largest city. Take a 3 hour bus ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay.

This is a floating school in their floating village, Vietnam

Getting to Halong Bay Vietnam:

Fly to Hanoi, Vietnam, and book a tour. This will be easily the best way to do it and comparatively it’ll be hassle free.  There’s a huge range in pricing and service – agents will promise the world and offer terrible service. Choosing a tour company.

Flying to Hanoi:

The closest airport is Noi Bai International Airport, 25 miles (40km) north of Hanoi. If you can’t get a direct flight, head to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, and then catch a connecting flight.

This photo gives you a sense of the scale of the limestone pillars – by Ms Saigon

Map of Vietnam –

Where to get more Halong Bay Vietnam info:

If you’re going to Vietnam, both wiki-travel and Lonely Planet have a wealth of info.

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