Halong Bay is one of the highlights of tourism in Vietnam. It is located in the Gulf of Tonkin and forms an amazing seascape of limestone pillars along with more than 3,000 islands and islets.

Ha Long Hotels

Halong Bay is one of the most visited and recognized of Vietnam's tourist attractions. It houses a great diversity of ecosystems including coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes and sandy beaches. The islands feature beautiful grottos and caves with interesting stone formations and hidden ponds. Halong Bay has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Many of the caves are worth a visit, among these are: Hang Dau Go (Flowers on Stone) - a massive cave with three chambers, and Hang Bo Nau (Pelican Cave). One of the most prominent caves is Hang Trinh Nu (Virgin Cave), the tunnels in this cave crisscross the island for around 2 kilometers with many chambers along the tunnel. On the same island is the Hang Sung Sot cave. There are two chambers in the cave with a ceiling about 30 meters high, the light reflected from the water outside seems to bring the formations in the cave to life.

The main activities at Halong Bay is taking a tour of the bay either by fast boat or the more romantic old fashioned junk boats, there are several agents offering boat tours in and around Halong Bay. Besides this visitors can go kayaking, swimming, and snorkeling at the numberless beaches, or hiking in the mountains in the islands.

Halong City is split in two by the bay - Bai Chay (west) is more scenic and offers more hotels, Hon Gai lies to the east. There are also many hotels located on the islands of Halong Bay.

Halong Bay can be reached from Hanoi by road, the distance is 165 kilometers (103 mi) and can be covered in around three hours.