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Halong Bay

One of the most beautiful places on the planet is Halong- a marvel of the earth erected towards the high skies. It is recognized as the world natural heritage two times by UNESCO and could take several months to discover all the beauty of Halong. Here are a few scenic highlights of the region that you should not miss when visit:

1/ First of all, it is Halong Bay. Taking a cruise trip around Halong is one of the best ways to experience the beauty of the Bay. While exploring the bay, you will feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands which shapes change depending on the angle and the light: Human Head Islet, Cock and Hen Islet, Sail Islet, Dragon Islet, Frog Islet, Incense Burner Islet…and lots of the strange-shaped rocks challenge your imagination.

Cave system is extremely excellent in the Gulf: Thien Cung (Heavenly Palace Grotto), Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto) and Sung Sot (Surprise Grotto) are famous grottoes attracting tourists. Put your feet into the grotto, a cool feeling hugs you, takes away the intense heat of summer, bring pleasant and refreshing feeling. The stalactites in the cave are masterpiece of nature with many amazing and different shapes.

Quang Ninh province owns a range of over 250 kilometers of coastline and it is granted in favor of many beautiful beaches. Soi Sim beach is beautiful and less tourists. This is a small island located on the west of Halong Bay, 12 km from Bai Chay harbor (Halong City). The island has a primeval forest with rich variety of plants, including many endemic and valuable species; they are ecological characteristic of Ha Long Bay. Soi Sim attracts tourist by the pristine beauty, quiet, clear blue water. But if you want to have an overview of Ha Long Bay, Ti Top Island is the best choice. Besides swimming, you can climb up the mountain to admire the picturesque beauty of the bay

Most of itinerary for two days or more have a visit the fishing village - a very special feature of fisherman. You can take a kayak to reach the fish cages. Lots of fishes are reared in the cage, this is place providing seafood for restaurant of Halong.

2/ If you are interested in exploring new things, go to Van Don Island district and Co To island district. From Halong city to Van Don, you can take a bus number 01 or coach to Cai Rong port. From Hanoi, there are a lot of coaches to Cam Pha, Cua Ong at My Dinh and Luong Yen coach station. Some good companies you should choose as Hoang Long or Kumho Viet Thanh. It normally takes 4,5 hours to reach Cua Ong from Hanoi. If you go by bus, let ask driver in Vietnamese “Vui lòng cho tôi xuống ngã ba Vân Đồn”(please drop me off at Van Don fork ). Then you catch the local bus with label "Cai Rong" and ask to drop off at Van Don Post Office. From here, it is about 1.5km to get to Cai Rong port, so you should go taxi to get there. At Cai Rong port, you can choose the boat to go Van Don or Co To as your option

a. Van Don Island district: Recommend choosing Ngoc Vinh boat of Phuc Thinh Ltd,. to Quan Lan island, it takes more than 45 minutes to get there. Means of transport in Quan Lan is quite rudimentary, Tuc-tuc is the most common means here. In addition, you can rent a motorbike or bicycle to visit the island. Not only the poetic beauty and charm of Bai Tu Long Bay and Bai Tu Long National Park, but also Van Don owns a lot of beautiful beaches such as: Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung. It is worth mentioning, the beaches still remain unspoiled natural beauty with clear blue water and white sand stretching several kilometers. Moreover, the landscape here is so fresh, quiet and suitable for long-term convalescence.

b. Co To Island district: Bien Dong boat should be chosen because it is large, clean and high safety. The boat often departs at 6.30am and 1pm at Cai Rong port-Van Don to Co To; Leave Co To to come back Cai Rong port at the same time. If you reach Cai Rong in the evening, you can stay overnight at hotels or motels near the port. There are plenty of hotels to choose from. Come to Co To, you will find the quite untouched beaches. Hong Van beach is the most beautiful one with a length of 2km, almost no boat anchoring, gentle sands, wide and clear blue. At the end of this beach have quite beautiful rocks. This beach owns coral reefs stretching 2.8 km long, suitable for diving activities to explore the seabed. Each class of fish is swimming up with a variety of colors, although it does not have beauty as Nha Trang or Phu Quoc, but it is still a great gift with climatic conditions of north. Van Chay beach is nice and far away from the center but you must be dangerous if swimming near rocks because of whirlpool

3/ One more destination I would like to mention is handicraft villages in Ha Long - coal carving village. Quang Ninh province is a huge coal mine in Vietnam, coal is not only provide for industry but also make many amazing works contributing to the art - coal fine art, such  as vases, statues of human or animals and decorative articles... It is sophisticated so that makes me think it is made from wood, not coal from the first time I saw. There are 2 main types of products one is coarse and one has been polished. They all seem to be exuding elegance and ingenuity of artisans. Today there are few stores selling this product, but if you are interested in, you can still find it at Le Thanh Tong street or Halong night market.

Halong is really wonderful place to visit. If you have a chance, don’t miss it. Come and feel by yourself, I am definitely sure it will not make you disappointed!  

Please access www.surprisinghalong.com or www.ecoseatravel for further infomation. Thank you all!