From hanoi to halong city by bus. Halong Bay near Hanoi: the mesmerizing beauty of the caves and giant snakes. Excursion from Nha Trang to Ha Long

If you don't mind, more for CatBa. Purely own experience but it might be useful for someone.
In the autobud, I was really the only Russian. But already on a cruise around the bay, I met a Russian-speaking family who wanted to go the same way, but mixed up the bus station and therefore traveled for 300k dong from a travel agency. And there are not a lot of Israelis either - I saw 1 family who arrived on the same flight as me, but in a different bus. The rest are Europeans, mostly young. In Cat Ba, they took me to the office of the hoang long office. Comfortable. From there and back at 9.15 in the morning and at 13.15. I immediately ran into a peasant from the hotel in a neighboring house. If the name is interesting, then I will attach a business card. Double room (I live, however, I'm alone) $ 7 a night. I don't get it, is it their low season? The room is clean, the linen is fresh, there is hot water in the shower. Bay view. True, on the 4th floor there is no elevator, no air conditioning, only a fan, WiFi is free (as in all hotels and restaurants in Vietnam, no? I don’t go to any eatery in Cat Ba, WiFi is free everywhere and without a password (don’t bother?) Vietnamese standard (?): in the shower, in addition to soap-shampoo-towels, there are also flip-flops and a disposable toothbrush with paste “for 1 tooth”. A trifle, but nice. then 5 1.5 liter bottles of mineral water appeared in the room. I ask the employee, like for free? - no, he says, 10k dong a bottle. Well, really, here this is the standard price in all small stores. I did not see 7/11 here, in Hanoi has its local counterpart, I don’t remember
name, there the water was cheaper, however, not significantly - 7.5 or 8.5k dong.

1. Ilya

   Yes, even a small wiring on CatBa.
   For those who do not know how or are afraid to drive a motorbike (I'm still afraid, because in Israel I only drive a car, I have never sat on a moped in my life). There is a lot of "carried" motobikes such as mototaxi. He gave me one like this. I want to go to the national park and to Fort Kenon. He says it's 100k dong back and forth. I'm guessing less than $5. Time almost 16.00. Motorbike rental for $5 per day with a full gas tank. And I just need these 2 places. Okay, I say. I wrote 2 locations on a piece of paper, pointed with arrows back and forth, forced the peasant to sign. Go. National the park was closed, they were not allowed. I say let's go to Fort Kenon. He drives up to some girl, it seems at a gas station, starts to say something to her. She translates to me in English, they say you have to pay him extra for Fort Kenon. I say, agreed and succeeded both there and with a return, showing her a piece of paper - I say, he agreed and signed. She says, yes, indeed, there is no bazaar, and he signed the type means take him. To be honest, I was afraid that he would call his crowd. No, nothing, take it. It takes you to the fort, it is still open there (the fort is open until 18.00, the ticket is 40k dong). I buy a ticket, he says something to the cashier. She translates: they say, how long would you be there? I say, about 40 minutes. It’s up from the entrance for another 1 km to go for 10-15 minutes at least + 10 minutes for the descent + there at least 15 minutes (if you run to see only the views, I really was there for more than 1 hour, there are plenty of interesting things besides the views) . She s-rit, he can't wait, pay him 100k dong. I say, agreed to go there and back. Hai is waiting. Either it takes me to the top - I’ll get there faster, so we’ll go back. It can’t be that he just drove me to the place and immediately back. I didn’t go to the fort to kiss the gate, but to see the views. I say if he loses time, let him leave and come back for me at 18.00. I will pay him everything I owe when his work is done. Again I show the paper. I say he hasn't finished his job yet. She again talked to the carrier and told me: pay him 60k dong now and he will leave. Well, it suited me. From the entrance to the fort to the hotel, 1 km down, nonsense. Of course, you paid, you can be impudent up to a certain limit. It's not that I feel sorry for the money, it's not expensive. But on the Internet there were recommendations to sign the driver if some kind of dumping was expected. Wanted to check if it works. It turned out it works quite well. Again, it's not really that cheap a service. 100k dong=4.5$=18 shekels. In Israel, this is how much the bus fare from Haifa to Nahariya costs. It is 33 km. From the CatBa embankment to the national park and back through Kenon Fort, hardly more. At the same time, Israel is an expensive country. there are no buses? - still very bad, but it's not my problem. In an otherwise cheap country, there should be cheap travel to attractions. There seems to be a demand.

Ha Long is very close, by our standards, from Hanoi. Getting to Vietnamese is a whole epic! My husband and I flew to Hanoi in the morning and did not want to stay overnight in the capital, I can see the noisy dusty city at home, but we arrived overseas! Now I'm talking about all the difficulties that we encountered on the way to Halong.

By bus

I'm talking about epic. Halong is not even 200 km away, but given that hellish hell is going on in Hanoi on the roads, cars drive much faster outside the city, right up to 50 km / h, the trip will take at least 4 hours if you drive without unnecessary stops.

Visitors, as a rule, try to use tourist buses. These are flights of travel agencies, which, in addition to one-day and multi-day tours provide passenger transportation services. Usually their signs are full of tourist areas, here, for example, The Sinhtourist even has a website with a schedule. Departure once a day, at 7:45. Here we have arrived! Once a day, early in the morning, and so on for everyone! You can't do without spending the night in Hanoi!

Buses leave from the representative office, in Hanoi it is at 64 Tran Nhat Duat St., they arrive at Bãi Cháy.

Here the question creeps in: how do the locals drive? Of course, on regular regular buses that depart from the bus station. But here it is not known what is even better: to leave on the same day by regular bus or still spend the night in Hanoi, because:

• Shuttle Buses travel often, but for a very long time. If the travel agency bus trudges for 4 hours, then this one, with a stop where possible along the way, all five or six!
• there are a lot of people, there is nothing to breathe in the bus;
• salons in buses of travel agencies are much cleaner;
• the only plus: cheap.

You can find the bus station in Hanoi here:

Flights to Halong arrive here:

Buying tickets

You can buy tickets for the tourist bus online at The Sinhtourist website or come to the company's office. On scheduled buses, they are sold before departure at the bus station.

Price

Directions to tourist bus it will cost 200,000 dong (7 euros), on a regular one - 90,000 dong (3 euros).

By train

Unfortunately, trains do not run to Halong, although in vain. At one time, they launched a line-up in this direction, but, probably, it was not in demand, since it was canceled.

By plane

I am sure that you can get to Halong by helicopter, only this method of transportation is more related not to transport, but to entertainment. Planes don't fly here.

By car

It is impossible to fly in, rent a car and drive in Vietnam. First you need to arrange temporary driver license and it will take a week. I am sure that without this red tape, 90% of drivers would return the car half an hour after the trip. The traffic is terrible, the complete absence road rules, only instinctive driving. In the same travel agencies you can take a car with a driver, well, no one forbade a taxi. A taxi in Vietnam deserves a separate article, scammers are everywhere, but they will ask for 50-60 euros for travel from Hanoi, no less.

Conclusion

It would seem that, popular place, and there are not so many options for travel. We had to spend the night in Hanoi and drive to Halong in the morning.

But most often this name is mentioned in relation to the bay, which is located next to it, in the Gulf of Tonkin South China Sea. Halong Bay was declared by UNESCO in 1994 world heritage humanity for its amazing landscapes. There are several thousand islets and rock formations with caves. Its area is about 1500 sq. km. The name translates roughly as "The bay into which dragons descend."

The city is of no interest to tourists, but the bay is the largest natural attraction in Vietnam.

The islands of Halong Bay are rocky - they are covered with vegetation on top, and inside there are hundreds of caves filled with stalactites and stalagmites, with small waterfalls. The main caves are somewhat "ennobled" by illumination, as a result of which its insides bloom with new colors.

Usually Halong is visited with a tour from Hanoi for 1-3 days, but you can go on your own. We do not recommend the latter option, since it will be unprofitable in terms of money and time.

Some, looking at the magnificent landscapes in the photographs, want to stay in the bay for the duration of their vacation. But we have to disappoint you - such magnificence of the rocks growing out of the water can only be seen while riding a boat. If you settle in the city of Ha Long or on Cat Ba Island, then they will not be available to your eyes. Moreover, there are almost no houses right on the coast. There are only urban-type hotels (multi-apartment buildings), next to which the road passes. So not about any privacy and paradise vacation and there can be no talk. And besides the sea, there is nothing interesting there - no entertainment, no sights. The only thing on Cat Ba Island you can visit national park.

In general, it is not surprising that everyone goes only on a tour of the bay.

Halong Bay on the map of Vietnam

How to get to Halong on your own

As we have already said, this option is not very good, as you will have to take care of everything yourself, unlike an all-inclusive excursion. However, we will describe how to get to Halong Bay on your own and buy a ship ticket.

One day tour

Perhaps the most popular one day excursion to Halong Bay. You are picked up at 8 am from the hotel, at noon you enter the board of a small ship, which immediately sets off on a trip around the bay. An obligatory stop is at Thien Cung cave, which has a grotto and is rich in stalactites and stalagmites. Then you can ride a kayak boat and swim in the bay. And finally, the last point of the program will be a visit to the floating village, where you will be offered $ 5 to go to the Ba Hang Cave. At 16:30 - return to the mainland, at 20:30 - to your hotel.

The price for a one-day tour to Ha Long is on average 25-30 dollars. The author of the article saw for $ 23 (see photo), in one travel agency on the northern shore of the Lake of the Returned Sword. True, it was at the end of May, which in Vietnam is already considered low season and the cost also goes down. The price of the tour includes lunch, transport and an English-speaking guide. Not included - drinks, insurance, trip to the cave from floating village. Children under 4 years old - free of charge, from 5 to 9 years old - for 75% of the cost.

The boats on which the excursion takes place can be seen in the photo. They are modern, but sometimes decorated with decorative sails of the past.

2 day tour

There are two types - with an overnight stay on a ship or on Cat Ba Island in a hotel. The first day is the same as described above. Only instead of returning to Hanoi, at 16:30 you go either to the island or to the ship. In the latter version, after dinner, a small entertainment- cinema, karaoke, fishing is possible.

On the second day, after breakfast at 7:30, the tour of Halong Bay continues. At 11:30 it ends and you return to the mainland where you will have lunch. At 13:30 the bus leaves for Hanoi and arrives there in 3.5 hours.

The cost of the tour is from 50 dollars.

3 day tour

Excursion for three days also has two options: the first day you spend the night on the ship in both versions, and the second day - either in a hotel room on the island of Cat Ba, or in a bungalow.

The first day is the same as above. On the second - you are offered breakfast at 7:30 and are taken to the National Park on Cat Ba Island. Return to the hotel or bungalow at 12 noon. After either relaxing on the beach and having free time until the end of the day, or pay extra $ 8 and go on a small boat trip around the island, with a visit to Monkey Island.

Dinner at 7 pm, after which you are free to do as you please. Bungalows include a free sauna and one free cocktail at the bar.

The third day of the excursion is the same as the second day of the two-day tour - sailing around the bay, lunch and return to Hanoi at 17h.

The cost of the tour is from 85 dollars.

Climate

Since many seek to visit Halong Bay to make beautiful solar photos, then the weather has a very great importance. If you make a mistake with the time, then drizzling rain awaits you, and even a strong wind. Bad climate - in winter and early spring. At this time, the sky is constantly covered with clouds and the sun rarely peeks out. Even worse in summer strong winds, storms, typhoons, showers.

Most best time to visit Halong Bay is autumn. If you come in October, you will almost certainly find a good sunny weather. At the end of April and in May it is also clear, but once in a while it doesn’t happen, sometimes there can be clouds for several days. In general - how lucky.

This time I want to leave a review about the trip to Halong. Here I will not give information about the bay itself and how to get there on your own, all this is described in detail.

Like most tourists, I went on an excursion from. I took a one-day tour, which I later regretted. Perhaps next time I will go for a two-day trip, because. I really want to see Cat Ba Island. Or maybe I drive there on my own without the help of travel agencies.

I went in mid-April and immediately apologize for the cloudy pictures. What to do - the thunderer in heaven covered the sun. Good thing it didn't rain.

The second half of April in Hanoi is very comfortable weather in terms of temperatures. During the day +22…+26, at night +18. If it's a sunny day, there's no better time to travel. It won't be too hot and at the same time you don't need to take warm clothes, as it happens in winter, when the temperature drops to +15 and below during the day.

Where to buy an excursion to Halong

In Hanoi, this will definitely not be a problem. In the historic part of the city - north of the Lake of the Returned Sword - there are just a huge number of travel agencies that offer one-day, two-day and three-day excursions to Halong Bay. I do not recommend taking at the hotel, tk. there will always be more expensive by 5-7 dollars. Unless your hotel is located away from the tourist quarter and there will be no other options.

Prices for an excursion to Halong

In street travel agencies, prices vary slightly. On average, one-day options cost $25. Most cheap tour i saw for 21 dollars at a travel agency that is next to northwest coast Lakes of the Returned Sword, next to a major road junction and in the neighborhood where they sell tickets for Vietnam Airlines (not to be confused with their main office, which is located south). It is possible that meals (lunch) are not included for $ 21, but most likely this is the same tour as for $ 25, it’s just that the travel agency decided to make a discount due to a large number competitors nearby.

I bought it for $25 near my hotel. there was no time to look for cheaper options. For $ 21, I saw a day later, when I returned from a trip.

What does a day trip to Halong include?

In my case, it included a free transfer from the hotel and back (although they didn’t return us to the hotels, but dropped everyone off in the north of the Lake of the Returned Sword, from where I had a 10-minute walk to the hotel), a ship, a modest lunch and an English-speaking guide.

Behind additional fee: rent a canoe for $5 or a boat with a "driver" for $7 (optional) to swim close to the islands; drinks are also paid (including water, so I took it with me).

In the port building, our guide asked us to sign the "statement" and issued tickets. They must be kept until the end of the trip, because. they serve as a pass to board the ship and the entrance to the cave.

At the port, there was time to get acquainted with the price list for tickets for those who came to Halong on their own, and not with a tour. The price depends on the route - there is for 100,000 dong (about $ 5), for 150,000 and 300,000. The cheapest on the Boat charter cost 300,000 dong (about $ 15), second class - 400,000, 1st class - 500,000.

"Hanging out" in the port building for about 15 minutes, our group of 30-40 people (people from other buses were added to it) went to the ship.

In the port stood in a row more than a dozen the same type of boats on which tourists were planted. All of them had a closed lower deck with tables "for a banquet" and an upper one - blown by all the winds.

Inside the ship there were about a dozen tables designed for 6 people. He seated everyone at these tables and at 13:30 the ship set off. The tour has begun!

Tour of Halong bay

As soon as the mooring lines were given, they began to eat. Each table was served with a large plate of rice (for everyone), with soup, one fish for everyone, fried peanuts and cutlets baked in dough. In a word, not thick, but quite tolerable.

The beauty outside the window began as soon as they left the port area. A huge number of green rocks growing out of the water. The landscape is really beautiful and unusual even on a cloudy day. And in sunny - generally class.

After about half an hour, the ship moored at the "checkpoint", from where you can go by canoe to the rocks to see them, so to speak, as close as possible.

They offered two options - $ 5 for a double canoe (row yourself) or $ 7 for a 6-seater boat with a carrier. I chose the second option, because. I thought that my hands would be free and I could take a bunch of photos and videos in motion. Plus, the boats looked more stable than canoes, but I didn’t want to roll over with the equipment.

Everyone was given a life jacket, and the horsemen were also given an oar. The trip took about 20 minutes. natural arches with bizarre vaults. The views are not bad, but all this can be seen from the ship. However, this is not forced and you can always refuse to travel by boat and canoe.

After the people returned to the ship, the captain counted everyone on a digital system and the tour of Halong continued. For about 20 minutes they sailed around the bay, and then moored to one island. Here was the Dong Thien Cung cave, which we began to explore. Inside is beautiful - full of highlights of blue, yellow, green, red. Fancy patterns made by nature, transfer to some fantasy world. I liked it, because not spoiled by the view of the caves.

It was already 4 pm on the clock and as it turned out, Dong Thien Cung cave was the last stop on the tour. Then we sailed for half an hour to the port, and not back, but by a different route.

The sea environment was quiet, calm and pacifying, the steamboat rolled smoothly over the waves, revealing to us more and more "sea hills", similar and unlike each other. I did not want to return to the gassed and crowded Hanoi. I had to take a two day tour.

In the port, everyone was scattered on buses - some returned to Ha Long City, a couple of people went straight to the airport, but most of- in Hanoi. On the way back we made another stop for a snack and a possible souvenir purchase.

We returned to Hanoi after 21:00. The driver did not take them to hotels, but dropped everyone off in the north of the Lake of the Returned Sword. I walked to the hotel in about 10 minutes. It was unpleasant to find myself after a natural and calm idyll among the noise of millions of motorbikes.

Finally, look short video about Halong. Since I was on a cloudy day, my shots are gloomy. Therefore, I post not my own, but a more colorful video.

Results

The trip took all day - left the hotel room at about 8 am, and returned at about 21:30. Of these, more than 8 hours spent on the bus. The Ha Long tour itself lasted about 4 hours. I think it's better to buy a two-day tour to see more and spend the night on Cat Ba Island.

Many are interested in an excursion to Halong from Nha Trang, is it worth it to go. I don’t know, but you need to understand that between these points, probably 1000 km and the journey by bus will take almost a day. Alternatively, you can fly by plane, but then total price trip will be big. Look at the photos and decide for yourself whether you want to see it with your own eyes or not.

Well, then, allow me to take my leave! I hope you were interested.

Your Alexey Vikhrov.

Halong Bay (Vịnh Ha Long) translated from Vietnamese means "where the dragon descended into the sea." According to legend, earlier in these places, in the mountains, there lived a dragon who once decided to descend. Descending, he beat the ground with his tail. Then the dragon plunged into sea ​​water and the water flooded the ground where the dragon walked. Thus, many islands of various shapes appeared.

Arriving in Halong Bay, you really begin to believe in the legend, as the place really resembles a fairy tale. In 1994, according to UNESCO, Halong Bay deserved a place on the list of World Heritage Sites.

The bay boasts an abundance of diverse flora and fauna on all the islands of the Bay (there are more than 3 thousand islands), rocks, cliffs and caves.

For tourists, this place is attractive first of all. excursion programs one of the most picturesque places on the planet. Usually tourists do not stay here for more than 2-3 days.

Halog Bay Video

How to get to Halong Bay

Plan to get to Halong Bay in the morning, as almost all excursion boats around the bay leave before lunch (until 13:00).

Halong bay how to get from Hanoi

How to get from Hanoi to Halong on the tourist bus. Tickets for such buses can be purchased at any travel agency. Many companies offering tourist buses are located near, in the tourist area.

Price: about 220.000 VND
Travel time: 3-4 h

Also go to Halong Bay Shuttle Buses from Hanoi. They depart from Long Bien, Gia Lam Station (Bến xe Gia Lâm), My Dinh Station or Luong Yen (Bến xe Lương Yên‎) bus stations to Ha Long City. The location of the bus stations are shown on the map below. Usually the final bus is Ha Long Pier, bus station Bai Chay Bus Station.

Price: about 90-100.000 VND
Travel time: 5-6 h

Bus stations from Hanoi to Ha Long on the map

How to get to Halong Bay from Hanoi by train through the city of Haiphong. ATTENTION! Buy tickets only at the railway station, and not from resellers and local agencies, as there is a risk of being left without a ticket and without money. Departure stations trains are shown on the map above.

Price: train ticket + about 150.000 VND transport (boat, ferry, bus) from Hai Phong to Cat Ba island.
Travel time: 2 hours by train to Hai Phong

How to get to Halong Bay from Nha Trang

Getting from Nha Trang to Ha Long is problematic, primarily because of the long distance between cities. Best to get to by plane from Nha Trang to Hanoi, and from the capital already by bus to the Bay.
Tourists also go to the Bay from Nha Trang. buses, Nha Trang tickets can be purchased from travel agencies, mostly firms are located along the coast.

Travel time: about 20-22 h by bus; 1.45 by plane, 5.5 h with transfer.

Buy a plane ticket from Nha Trang to Hanoi

Excursions to Halong Bay

Excursions in Halong Bay

It is easiest to visit and explore Halong Bay as part of a guided tour. If you got to the Bay on your own and want to buy an excursion, then do it better at the box office on the pier or at a serious travel agency. You should not buy tours from resellers who will start pestering you as soon as your foot steps into their field of vision. As a rule, tours from resellers are 3-4 times more expensive, and the quality is no better than at the box office, and sometimes even worse.

Standard tour includes:

Transfer from the travel agency to the pier and back, Boating, Kayaking, Snorkeling (with masks and fins).

Cost of excursions to Halong Bay

4-5 hour tour

Dinner; visiting Monkey Island (with individual tours can be changed to caves). For those who want to see Halong Bay properly, such an excursion is not suitable, since the main excursion area near about. catba Price: about $15 per person (in a group of up to 30 people); $45 per person (group 1-3 people). Tour time: 8:00 to 12:00 or 13:00

9 hour tour

Plus to standard tour: dinner, drinking water, visiting Monkey Island and floating fishing village, 1 cave. Price:$19 per person (group up to 20 people) + extra. cave $5; $26-29 per person (up to 5 people); $30 per person (up to 15 people); $80 per person (1-3 people) Tour time: from 8:00 to 17:00

2 days / 1 night on the ship

Plus to the standard tour: lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch the next day, overnight in a cabin, visiting Monkey Island and a floating fishing village, one cave, fishing and rock climbing. If you want to visit more caves, then + $5-7 for each. Price:$50-70 per person (group of 5-8 people); $128 per person (1-4 people); Own ship $260 for 2 people. $35 for each additional passenger. Tour time: from 8:00 to 17:00 the next day.

Excursions to Halong Bay from Hanoi

It will not be difficult to buy an excursion to Halong Bay from Halong, tours to the bay are sold by almost any travel company cities, most of them are located near the lake, in the tourist area. They offer tours lasting from 1 day to 3-4. Approximate cost of excursions from Hanoi: One day tour– from $25; Two-day tour - from $50; Three-day tour (two nights) - from $85.

Excursions to Halong Bay from Nha Trang

Due to the long distance from Nha Trang to Halong Bay, the minimum tour duration is 1.5 days (2 days, 1 night). The cost of the tour also depends on the type of transport that you choose to get by plane or bus (about 20 hours). Average tour starting price is from $250.

Halong Bay hotels - where to stay

If you intend to be long time in Halong Bay, it is better to choose a hotel on Cat Ba Island, since the island itself is beautiful place and has several beaches, a nature reserve. But if you stay in the bay for no more than 1-2 days, then you can choose a hotel in the city of Ha Long, the city is quite boring and there is nowhere to go, but it is close to the port, from which excursions around the bay begin.

Weather in Halong

The most favorable time for tourists is considered September, October, along with the spring months.
December to February the weather in the Bay is quite cool, during this period the bay is the most low temperatures and a cold wind blows. There is practically no precipitation at this time of the year. During the summer months, Halong suffers from high rainfall, especially in August.