Top 7 Things to do in Halong Bay Vietnam

Many travellers to majestic Halong Bay spend a day cruising the emerald waters admiring the mysterious limestone rocks that rise up majestically. But there is so much more to do in Halong Bay such as kayaking, exploring the caves and hiking on the islands.

Over 3,000 amazing islands rise up from the Gulf of Tonkin, some with their own caves, beaches and inlets. It’s this stunning and mystic landscape that earns Halong Bay its place on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.  Many visitors spend a day or two on a traditional junk, bobbing along on the serene waters, watching everyday Vietnamese life going by. North Vietnam tours

Spot the Wildlife and Birdlife on Cat Ba Island

There are many larger islands within Halong Bay, including Cat Ba Island, which is the largest and home to a lush national park, teeming with over 30 different mammal species and 70 bird species. The Cat Ba National Park offers fantastic opportunities for hiking and maybe spotting the rare golden-headed ‘Cat Ba Langur’ monkey. The primate is thought to number less than 100 and is officially the most engendered monkey in the world, despite local conservation efforts. The park covers both land and water and keen walkers can spot giant oriental squirrels, wild boar, the civet cat and deer. Bird species include cuckoos, hornbills and hawks. Try climbing the peak viewing tower which is a two hour round trip, cool off at one of the many pristine beaches and take a boat trip over to Monkey Island. Pelican Cruise

Chill out on Lan Ha Bay’s beautiful beaches

Whilst Halong Bay has many inlets and caves, it doesn’t have many real beaches, except at Lan Ha Bay, which has around 100 deliciously sandy stretches of beach. Pitch up for a few days to take in the stunning views, explore the floating villages and enjoy rock climbing, scuba diving, swimming and kayaking. Or simply chill out on one of the beaches and watch daily life go by.

• MANGO CRUISE

Walk through the Cave of Wonders

Don your most comfortable walking shoes and climb through the Dau Go Caves, aka the Cave of Wonders. Lit up in various colours, the caves systems offer an insight into the intriguing natural rock formations. The caves offer respite from the fierce hit with their eerie atmosphere, where natural daylight rarely pokes through the rocks.

Top 7 Things to do in Halong Bay Vietnam

Spend a day kayaking in Halong Bay

Slow the pace down somewhat with a kayaking trip, which allows you to meander through the giant limestone rocks. It’s a great opportunity to get away from the crowds, explore some of the quieter caves, inlets and beaches. Paddle to Ti Top Island, admire the views and hone your kayaking skills in a unique location. Find out for yourself why Halong Bay is one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature!

Traverse the Sung Sot Grottoes

In the heart of Halong Bay are the Sung Sot Caves, which are also known as the ‘Surprise Grottoes’. Located on Bo Hon Island, these are widely touted as both the widest and best cave systems in Halong Bay. You’ll take a short hike up to the grottoes through forest and the caves themselves are separated into two natural sections. Admire the forms of the stalactites and the rock formations.

Try hiking on Ban Sen Island

To really get off the beaten tourist trail, try a hiking adventure on Ban Sen Island. The island is thickly forested and just about uninhabited which makes for a peaceful getaway! Take a ferry to Quan Lan from Cai Rong to enjoy your own little piece of paradise. Hire a local guide for the day who will regale you with stories of local folklore including mysterious monster sightings!

Take a Halong Bay Cruise

The ubiquitous cruise on Halong Bay is an absolute must-do! Opt for a traditional junk for that really authentic experience. And to really get into the local spirit, opt to stay for several days, sleeping overnight on the calm emerald waters. You’ll pass floating villages where families, livestock and pets live and trade as part of their daily life. You can also stop off at swimming and snorkelling spots.

Top 5 things to do in Halong bay

Top 5 things to do in Halong bay Parasailing in Halong Bay
Parasailing is an adventurous activity that recently has provided on Tuan Chau Island, Halong Bay as well as many beaches of Vietnam(like Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Vung Tau). With parasailing, tourists will have chance to enjoy beautiful seascape and especially experience an excited feeling in the middle of open airspace. It’s really worthy to try once in your life. The time for parasailing is upon your request. Travel Halong bay

Halong Bay Mountain Climbing
Mountain climbing is most favored by tourists who like energetic activities. Seaside lime-stone mountains are interesting challenges for tourists to reach the top. All professional climbers coming to Halong agree that Halong Bay is the paradise of adventurous mountain climbing as it has thousands of islands with high lime-stone mountains. This activity is usually combined with kayaking to explore natural environment of Halong Bay. AMALOTUS CRUISE

Top 5 things to do in Halong bay

Halong Bay Scuba Diving
For tourists who love discovery, scuba-diving will be a favorite activity on Halong Bay. By scuba-diving, tourists will have chance to see the wonderful underwater world of Halong by their all eyes. It must be an amazing experience when you can explore various kinds of fish as well as pristine coral reefs at the bottom of Halong Bay; and even touch them. All facilities are regularly checked and match safety standard. Therefore, it’s unnecessary to worry about your safety. Ninh Binh – Halong 3 days

Halong Bay Squid Fishing
Squid fishing on Halong Bay at night is an interesting activity at which tourists can experience the feeling of being a fisherman. Tourists will have the instruction from local fishermen about how to fish a squid in the sea. The squids caught will be used to make dishes for tourists. This is also an ideal time to gaze Halong Bay by night. The sea water surface is sparkling with reflected light from cruises anchored on the bay.

Halong Bay Squid Fishing

Swimming in Halong Bay

Swimming in Halong Bay

Halong, the World Natural Heritage Site, was blessed with calm and clear sea water. Therefore, there is no better way to experience wild nature of Halong Bay than swimming. Dipping in cool jade-green water of Halong Bay, tourists will feel free and relaxing. This is also a good chance to enjoy the charming beauty of beaches on Halong Bay. Some suggested beaches for swimming are Ti Top Beach, Tuan Chau Beach, Bai Chay Beach, Quan Lan Beach, and Ngoc Vung Beach.

Top 5 Things to do in Da Nang Vietnam

Da Nang is comfortably nestled between Hoi An and Hue on Vietnam’s east coast, but unlike the neighbouring towns travellers only stay here for 2 days on average, which is a real shame as there is so much so see and do in Danang! This is the fourth largest city in Vietnam so benefits from fantastic restaurants, shops and tree lined boulevards. There are also beautiful beaches, fascinating culture and archaeological wonders; after all this is the capital of the Champa Kingdom! Danang – Hoi an 3 days

Explore the Museum of Cham Sculpture

Located: 1 D Trung Nuvuon Street
Admission: 30,000 Vietnamese Dong (Less than 2 US dollars)
The Cham Museum showcases the sculptures from the Champa or Cham people who inhabited and ruled Central Vietnam from 192 AD to 1835. The museum was built by the French with heavy Cham influence showcased in the architectural design. Sculptures and adornment were brought in from temples and towers from all over the region. Sculptures rage in age from the 6th to 17th century. These artifacts and works of art and deal with Buddhist and Hindu influenced materials. Gods, sacred animals, and legends were carved as altars, statues and other temple adornments. Almost 300 different works are on display inside and outside of the main building. LA MARGUERITE

Archaeologists have recently unearthed an ancient Cham tower in Phong Le Village in Danang which is thought to be 1,000 years old. The tower has four gates and four towers and measures 16m by 16m. The site is rich in artefacts as many have been unearthed so far, providing further insight into the ancient Champa kingdom.

Tackle the mighty Marble Mountains

Located: South of Danang
Admission: Only one of the mountains is open to be scaled by visitors
The five limestone mountains located southwest of Danang are named after the five elements by an emperor of Vietnam’s past. These mountains once held temples and even pagodas carved deep into the mountains. The French, Viet Cong, and Americans all left their mark on the mountains as lookouts and hiding places. Exploring caves, temples, tunnels and even climbing up the only open mountain offer something different and beautiful to view.

For other things you didn’t know about Vietnam, check out our 10 things you didn’t know about Vietnam. For example did you know that Vietnam is the fastest growing tourist destination? Jasmine Cruise – Halong Bay

Top 5 Things to do in Da Nang Vietnam

Relax on the beautiful beaches of Da Nang

One of the more famous beaches is My Khe, or China Beach. This beach was once an R&R location for American troops during the Vietnam War. Today it is still used for relaxing, and enjoying the sun and sand. Beautiful accommodations are available for visitors today, along with clean beaches and a reduced amount of beggars compared to other beaches.

Clear water, white sand and green forests surround the Non Nuoc beach. In 2005 this beach was hailed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world by Forbes magazine. Visitors enjoy surfing on its gentle waves and its proximity to other destinations such as the Marble Mountains.
Discover Danang Cathedral aka Rooster Church

Located: Tran Phu, City Centre
This candycane pink church was built in 1923 for the French Catholics who inhabited Vietnam at the time. Locals have long called the church Con Ga, or the Rooster Church, because of its copper rooster weathervane. Today Danang Cathedral serves 4,000 parishioners and offers services in different languages. If you wish to attend services, observe the Vietnamese etiquette and come early to avoid having to stand in the back or even in the street with cyclists for services led by the local priest. Papers are printed out to help parishioners follow along with the service.

Marvel at the decorative Buddhist Pagodas

Some of the most striking architecture, culture and history present in Danang is located in its many buildings, especially its pagodas. Pagodas in Vietnam are traditional tiered places of Buddhist worship that hold special sacred articles. Worshippers come to pray and meditate within the confines of the pagoda and its surrounding areas.

Một số bài thuốc từ nghệ rất đơn giản

 Một số phương thuốc từ tinh bột nghệ đen nguyên chất rất đơn giản mà hiệu quả
- Chữa giun đũa, giun kim: Lấy 1 thìa cafe dịch ép từ nghệ tươi thêm vào đó một nhúm muối, trộn đều và cho trẻ uống vào sáng sớm lúc bụng đói.

- Chữa chứng thiếu máu: Mỗi ngày uống 1 muỗng dịch ép từ củ nghệ đen tươi pha với mật ong trong nhiều ngày.
- Chữa hen suyễn:  Một thìa cafe Tinh bột nghệ hòa với một ly sữa, uống 2-3 lần trong ngày, nên uống lúc bụng đói.

- Chữa cảm lạnh, ho: Nửa muỗng bột nghệ hòa trong 30 ml sữa ấm, uống mỗi ngày để chữa ho. Khi bị cảm lạnh thì đun nhẹ hỗn hợp này trên bếp, ngửi và hít hơi.

Một số bài thuốc từ nghệ rất đơn giản

- Chữa bong gân sưng đau nhức: Tinh Bột nghệ trộn với chanh và muối thành bột nhão rồi bó vào chỗ bong gân, làm trong vài lần.

- Chữa thủy đậu trong trường hợp mụt nước mới mọc: Củ nghệ nướng thành tro, lấy tro hòa trong 1 tách nước lọc, bôi vào các chỗ thủy đậu. Nên sắc nước bột nghệ và uống thêm sẽ giúp mau lành bệnh.
- Giúp sởi mau phát và chóng khỏi bệnh: Củ nghệ khô nghiền thành bột, lấy 1 muỗng bột nghệ hòa vài giọt mật ong, trộn chung với 1 muỗng dịch ép lá bầu hoặc bí, uống 2-3 lần trong ngày.

Da Nang Travel Guides

Danang (Đà Nẵng) is the biggest city in the middle of central Vietnam. It is also the center of the three world cultural heritage as Hue, Hoi An Ancient Town and My Son Sanctuary. Now, Danang  Vietnam is becoming hot travel destination of domestic tourists and foreigners by the clean, peaceful, safety and great beach resort. Centre Vietnam tours

Geography
Danang is located in middle of central Vietnam and is the third largest city of Vietnam. Danang City consists of 6 districts (Hai Chau, Thanh Khe, Son Tra, Ngu Hanh Son, Lien Chieu, Cam Le), 1 suburban district (Hoa Vang) and 1 district islands (Hoang Sa Islands). It is embraced by the East Sea with 150km of seacoast. Danang terrain is quite diverse. One side is the Hai Van Pass to the high mountains, one side is the Son Tra peninsula with untouched beautiful beaches. Offshore is Hoang Sa with a large fishing. Victory Star Cruise – Halong Travel
Climate
Danang  Vietnam is located in the zone of typical tropical monsoon, temperate and equable climate. The annual average temperature is about 26 degrees C, the highest is 28-30 degrees C in June, July, August, the lowest is 18-23 degrees C in December, January, February. In Ba Na Mountain, at an altitude of nearly 1,500 meters, the average temperature is about 20 degrees C. Average rainfall is 2,505mm per year that concentrates during October and November. DAY TRIP CRUISE

Da Nang Travel Guides

Get in
It is very convenient for tourists to travel to Danang.
- Road: Danang is 108km from Hue, 130km from Quang Ngai, 763km from Hanoi, and 947km from Ho Chi Minh City.
- Air: The Danang Vietnam International Airport is 2.5km south-west of the city center. It has a capacity of 6 million passengers per year and currently flies direct international.
- Train: Thong Nhat Express train, which connects Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, stop in Danang.
- Water: Cat Tien Sa port where deep water regularly receive luxury yachts, bringing tourists to Danang.
danang travel guide (danang international airport)
Danang Travel Guide
Danang is a coastal city with more than 60 km long beach. With beautiful beaches, gentle stretches and endless white sand, Danang is the U.S. Forbes magazine voted the 1 in 6 attractive beaches on the planet. You should travel to Bac My An, Nam O, Thanh Binh, Non Nuoc, Xuan Thieu Beach.Danang travel guide (beach)

Besides, Ba Na – Nui Chua resort, Son Tra peninsula, Ngu Hanh mountains (Ngũ Hành Sơn), Non Nuoc stone carving village, Han river Bridge... are also attractive tourist destination not to be missed.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Kon Tum had been our favourite town so far and we could easily have spent another couple of days just hanging around. Instead we proceeded with the final day of our tour departing at 7am en route to Hoi An.

Our first stop was at Dak To which had seen intense fighting shortly before the US withdrawal from Vietnam. We visited a war memorial which receives visits from American war veterans. A little further on we stopped at what was a major runway for US planes during the war which is today used as a stretch of land for drying sweet potato and coffee beans. In the distance Phu pointed out Charlie Hill where the South Vietnamese had held strong for six weeks during the war before the VC finally destroyed them on their march towards Saigon. Centre Vietnam travel

As we drove through a section of motorway construction it was strange to see workers carrying metal detectors which are still necessary in the likely event that they come across any of the 15 million tonnes of bombs that were dropped on Vietnam during the war.

The scenery soon became quite stunning with lush, green vegetation and mountains rising in the distance. We joined the Ho Chi Minh Trail which had served as a supply route during the war which the VC used to send soldiers and arms to the south. Princess Junk – Halong Travel

Ho Chi Minh Trail

At Phuoc Son we stopped for our final lunch of the tour again enjoying some excellent Vietnamese dishes. The scenery became even more spectacular after lunch as waterfalls appeared and the rural landscape provided new driving hazards as buffalo, cows and chickens treated the roads as their own. 2 days Mekong with transfer to Phu Quoc Island

Around 3.30pm we arrived in Hoi An where the number of western faces walking the streets was quite alarming. Our adventure through the Central Highlands of Vietnam had come to and end and we were now back on the well trodden coastal route where tourism has inevitably corrupted the innocence of the locals as they seek to earn the tourist dollars.

Dien Bien Phu Travel Guide

Extremely mountainous, Dien Bien is one of the newest provinces in Vietnam, having been split off from Lai Chau further to the north. The province features some of the most exhilarating mountainous terrain in all of Vietnam. Winding along the rugged road that is Highway 6, one deep valley is followed by another, often with rice paddies dug in steps along the sides of the hills, reaching up to incredible, and seemingly inaccessible heights. But look close, and you may spy a lone figure climbing up a 70-degree slop with a full load of firewood on their back. It's easy to see why the Montagnards were such a critical asset in transporting supplies and equipment during both Indochinese wars — they'd been training for it since birth. North Vietnam packages

Much of the province remains undeveloped and seldom-visited, perhaps because so much of it shares a border with Laos, and decent through-roads linking the two countries have been a long time in coming. The border crossing at Tay Trung (Sop Hun on the Laos side) is open for business and foreigners can pass through here.

• A quick look on Halong Bay map

The provincial capital, Dien Bien Phu, is mostly a mix of ethnic Viet Kinh (the majority ethnic group of the country) and White Thai, with other minorities inhabiting the outlying areas, but is best know for the battle of the same name which pretty much marked the beginning of the end — or more like the end of the beginning of the end — for the French involvement in Vietnam.

Dien Bien Phu Travel Guide

The long, wide valley that encloses the town was the scene of a fierce, 57-day siege on French positions that decisively ended French rule in Indochina, and, in doing so, inspired anti-colonialist, revolutionary movements around the world and set the stage for some of the most pivotal events of the second half of the 20th century.  MEKONG EYES

Now little remains of the battlefield itself — the trenches, barbed wire, encampments, and battlelines that once criss-crossed the terrain have long since been erased to make room for development and agriculture. But a handful of war vestiges have been carefully preserved, constituting a series of exhibits that tourists can view and learn from, with or without a guide, in the course of a day.

This is, by far, the chief reason any tourist ever visits Dien Bien Phu at all, and for French travellers looking to get in touch with that important, decidedly chequered, chapter of their history, a stop here is de rigeur. But for most other travellers, a trip to A1 Hill and the museum will offer all the coverage of the event that they need.

Aside from the history on display, Dien Bien Phu presents little more that a sprawling, dusty, nondescript border town
The Tay Trung Border
You may also need to pass through Dien Bien Phu if you are coming or going through Tay Trung/Sop Hun, the border crossing with Laos, 34 km to the southwest. This provides and interesting new route for travelling from northern Laos directly to Hanoi without having to dip down to Luang Prabang or Vientiane

It's still sparsely-used by foreigners, but you can get a Laotian visa-on-arrival when crossing into Laos, and, as ever, most nationalities must already have obtained a valid Vietnamese visa when crossing the other way.

The best option for crossing into Laos is to take the bus direct from Dien Bien Phu to Muang Khua in Phongsali province. The bus leaves at 05:30 and costs 88,000 VND. There's little reason to just arrange travel to the border but if you want to your best bet is to take a xe om which will cost around 130,000.