Halong Bay is one of the famous sightseeing in Quang Ninh Province, which is the ubiquitous destination among local and international travellers. Ha Long Bay is so attractive and incredibly beautiful that many people feel being breathless when they come here for the vacation.
Not only possessing diverse ecosystems with beautiful scenery, sea, white sand, Ha Long Bay also owns a multitude of cultural and artistic values together with numerous interesting legends and historical mysteries. That’s why traveling from Hanoi to Halong Bay by motorbike is a must-do trip for any backpacker to enjoy the beauty in the paradise of Northern Vietnam.
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When it is the suitable time for visiting Ha Long Bay?
It is common to ask the question when we should go to Halong Bay to enjoy our time. Quang Ninh is a northern province with four seasons including spring, summer, autumn and winter. Thanks to this gift, people can go there anytime.
However, the ideal time to spend time in this beautiful place is from March to May and from August to October because the weather will be much better and the number of visitors coming here is less than those in the other months. The period from November to February, there are a lot of international travellers, causing unwanted issues. Additionally, the weather at this moment is very cold, cloudy and drizzly.
Travel from to Halong Bay by motorbike:
* If you want to travel from Hanoi to Halong Bay by motorbike, hereunder is the route for your reference:
From Ha Noi, you go through Vinh Tuy or Chuong Duong bridge to Highway number 5 to Sai Dong crossroads. Then, keep going on Sai Dong road leads you to Highway number 1 towards Bac Ninh Province.
After that, from Bac Ninh, you follow Road number 18 to Pha Lai, Chi Linh (Hai Duong Province), Dong Trieu, Uong Bi (Quang Ninh) then you will come to Ha Long City.
* There is another way to travel from Hanoi to Halong Bay on two wheels: Ha Noi – Hai Duong – Ha Long (The total distance is about 170 km)
From Ha Noi, you go through Hai Duong City to Quan Toan (Hai Phong City), then turn along Highway number 10 joining Highway number 18A at Uong Bi Town. Ha Long Bay is right in front of you. It takes you about 3 to 4 hours to travel.
Transportations in Halong Bay:
There are many vehicles for you to consider if you make decision to choose Ha Long Bay as a place for your vacation:
* Cruise: This is regarded as one of the best way to fully enjoy Halong Bay’s beauty.
Here is a list of some contacts for renting cruise:
– Bai Chay Cruise port – Phone number: 033 384 6592.
– Ha Long Pier – Phone number: 033 384 7481.
– Duong Hai Company – Phone number: 033 384 5042.
– Halong Bay Service Center – Phone number: 033 384 4631.
– Hai Au Company – Phone number: 033 382 4779.
And here is the quotation for using cruises to visit the bay that you should refer to:
- Fully rent the cruise: Standard cruises charge you from 400.000 VND/h – 500.000 VND/h (with the guest quantity from 28 to 48) and you can rent minimum 4 hours.
I will share with you a tip to minimize the costs: If your team has more than 20 people, you should hire a private cruise, which is more convenient and cheaper.
In case you have plans to visit many other places, you can rent a cruise for 8 hours or 12 hours and decide the destination you want to come.
– Shared cruises: Shared cruises only apply for at least 10 people. You can buy tickets at the dock; then wait until the required number of people has been achieved. Here I mentioned the detail price for you:
- 4 – hour schedule: Adults must pay about 000 VND/person for a ticket. For a kid who is under 10 years old, one ticket is for 2 kids.
- 6 – hour schedule: Adults must pay 150.000 VND/person for a ticket. For a kid who is under 10 years old, one ticket is for 2 kids.
Where should we stay when we are in Halong Bay?
There is a list of hotels that you can take into consideration:
* At Bai Chay:
+ Along a road named “Vuon Dao”, you will see that there are numerous hotels with a very reasonable price. There is a slope along this road. The higher you go up to the slope, the cheaper price for the hotels.
+ Lists of the cheap and common hotels:
- “Bien Dong” hotel: Ha Long Street, Bai Chay . Ha Long City. Phone: 033 384 6677 / 384 7116
- Vuon Dao hotel: Ha Long Street, Bai Chay . Ha Long City. Phone: 3846 427
+ List of the luxurious and well-known hotels:
- Ha Long Plaza hotel: No. 8, Ha Long, Bai Chay, Ha Long City. Phone: 033 384 5810
- Bach Dang hotel: No. 2, Ha Long, Bai Chay, Ha Long City. Phone: 033 384 7837 / 384 6330.
- Ha Long Post Office hotel: Ha Long, Bai Chay, Ha Long City. Phone: 033 384 4890
* At Hon Gai:
Hotels are mainly located in Le Thanh Tong Street and “Doan” Dock. Honestly, staying here cannot have the same tourist environment experience as in “Bai Chay” , however, you must not pay too much expenditure.
- “ Phuong Nam” Hotel: Phone: 033 384 6159 – 098 918 8538
* At Ha Long:
- “Phuong Loan” Restaurant: Lot 5, Lan Be, Bach Dang Ward, City. Ha Long, Quang Ninh Province. Phone: 033 382 4903
- “Quan Hai Lau” – Chinese Restaurant : is located next to the port in Bai Chay, Ha Long. Phone: 033 384 7037.
- “ Lan Huong” Restaurant: Kiosks Vuon Dao, Bai Chay. Phone: 033 384 7815
Sightseeing in Ha Long:
You can choose two options as I named here:
- 4 hour – schedule trip: Visit “Thien Cung” cave, “Dau Go” cave; or go along through some interesting places such as: “Ba Hang” fishing village, “Hoa Cuong” fishing village, “Trong Mai” island , Dinh Huong island.
- 6 hour – schedule trip: Visit Sung Sot cave, fishing village; or go along through the Me Cung cave – Dong Tien lake (or Male cave, Trinh Nu cave, Bo Nau cave, Luon cave); bathing at Ti Top beach or Soi Sim.
The best time to see Halong Bay is early morning.
At 15h00: Take the car back to Hanoi. It is the end of the journey to visit Ha Long for 2 days and 1 night.
Food in Ha Long – Quang Ninh:
One spending time in any tourist attraction, you couldn’t help but enjoy well – known local dishes such as:
- Ha Long fried squid
- Quang Yen Sam “Tachypleus tridentatus”
- Fried squid spring roll
- Mantis shrimps, or stomatopods noodles
- Fried noodles
A few things to bear in mind when traveling from Hanoi to Halong Bay by motorbike:
- Prepare a range of personal items such as sunscreen (with an SPF of 30 or more), shower gel, shampoo, eye drops, sunglasses, towels, swimming goggles, swimsuits, shorts, skirts with short sleeves made of cool material, wide-brimmed hats, and beach sandals. Because you travel a long road and Ha Long Bay has so many beaches so that those items are completely indispensable.
- Remember that you cannot swim in the fall or winter because the weather is quite cold at that moment.
- Be cautious and alerted before you make a decision to buy something because the price for items in the tourist attraction is not cheap. Especially, remember to check the weight (by preparing to bring a 500ml bottle of water, before weighing and after weighing, put the bottle on the scale, if the correct weight is: 500g then weigh the right).
- Do not litter indiscriminately (out the rubbishes in designated places).
With some useful tips about How to have an amazing trip from Hanoi to Halong Bay by motorbike, I believe that the precious time you spend in Halong will not let you down. All you need to do now is to keep fit, purchase beautiful clothes with the aim of taking a lot of nice photos to keep them as an unforgettable memories.
BM Travel Adventure – Vietnam motorbike tours club
