The bay is remarkable. Which part you sail matters.
Nearly two thousand limestone islands two and a half hours from Hanoi. The difference between a good trip and a disappointing one is almost entirely which bay you sail and which month you come.
At a glance
| Region | Gulf of Tonkin, two and a half hours east of Hanoi |
| Nights worth staying | 1 aboard; 2 if you want the quieter far bays |
| Nearest airports | Hanoi HAN 2.5 h by road, Hai Phong HPH 45 min |
| Best months | September to November, then March to May |
| Hard stop | Tropical storms close the bay, June to September |
| Sailing bays | Ha Long, Bai Tu Long, Lan Ha |
Three bays, and why it matters which
People say Ha Long Bay and mean one of three adjoining areas of the same drowned karst landscape. The scenery is broadly the same across all three. The number of boats is not, and that single variable decides whether you remember the trip as extraordinary or as a queue.
| Bay | Departs from | Boat traffic | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ha Long | Ha Long City | Heaviest, several hundred boats | The famous formations; also the busiest routes and caves |
| Bai Tu Long | Ha Long City | Moderate | North-east of Ha Long, quieter, fewer big operators |
| Lan Ha | Hai Phong / Cat Ba | Lightest | Southern edge, near Cat Ba island, small boats and empty anchorages |
We sail Lan Ha. The honest cost of that choice is that the single most photographed rocks are in Ha Long proper, and the drive from Hanoi is a little longer. The benefit is anchoring at night in a bay with two or three other boats instead of forty.
How many nights
One night aboard is the standard and it is genuinely enough: you board at midday, sail, kayak, sleep at anchor, see sunrise, and are back in Hanoi by early evening the next day. Roughly thirty hours, of which about twenty are on the water.
Two nights buys distance. The second day sails further from the ports into water that day boats never reach, and it is the version to take if you have the time and the bay is the reason you came north. It costs roughly seventy per cent more than one night, not double.
Three nights is too many unless you are diving or kayaking seriously. By the third morning the islands stop registering, which is a strange thing to admit about one of the most striking landscapes in Asia, and it is true.
When to go, and when the sea simply closes
| Season | Conditions | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| September to November | Clear, calm, 22-28°C. The best window | Books out; late October is the busiest fortnight |
| March to May | Warming, some morning fog, good visibility by midday | Fog can flatten photographs in March |
| June to September | Hot, swimmable, dramatic skies between storms | Typhoons. The harbour master closes the bay outright |
| December to February | Cool, 15-20°C, often flat white sky for days | Rarely cancels; frequently disappointing to photograph |
When a storm warning is issued the harbour master closes the bay and no boat sails, from any company, at any price. Any operator promising to sail through a closure is promising something they do not control. We refund in full and tell you as early as we know.
Getting there
| Route | Time | Rough cost | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shuttle bus, Hanoi to Hai Phong | 2.5 hours | USD 12 - 20 | Included on our trip |
| Shuttle bus, Hanoi to Ha Long City | 2.5 hours | USD 12 - 20 | For boats sailing Ha Long or Bai Tu Long |
| Private car | 2.5 hours | USD 90 - 130 | Sensible for four or more |
| Seaplane from Hanoi | 45 minutes | USD 180 - 250 | A sightseeing flight more than a transfer |
Boats board around 11:30 to 12:30, so a same-morning departure from Hanoi works and is what almost everyone does. Coming from Cat Ba island instead puts you in Lan Ha in twenty minutes.
What it costs on the water
| Item | Rough cost per person |
|---|---|
| Budget overnight boat, shared cabin | USD 60 - 90 |
| Mid-range small boat, private cabin, one night | USD 120 - 200 |
| High-end boat, one night | USD 250 - 450 |
| Day trip only, no overnight | USD 35 - 60 |
| Bay entrance and route permits | USD 12 - 20, usually included |
| Drinks aboard, beer | USD 2 - 4 each |
Below about USD 90 for an overnight you are generally on a large boat with thin cabin walls on the busiest route, and the difference shows most at night, when forty boats anchor within earshot of each other.
Pictures of the bay
When to skip Ha Long
- June to September if losing the trip to a storm closure would wreck your itinerary.
- December to February if photographs are the main point. It will not cancel; it will be white.
- If you have one day only. A day trip spends five hours in a vehicle for four hours on the water, mostly on the busiest route.
- If anyone in the group cannot cross a gangplank onto a moving boat or manage uneven cave steps.
- The last week of April and the first week of May, when domestic travel peaks and the bay is at its most crowded of the year.
Our trip here
We run two days and one night in Lan Ha Bay from Hanoi, on a small boat with a maximum of twelve guests, sailing out of Hai Phong rather than Ha Long City. It is the easiest trip we run and the one most exposed to weather, so we would rather talk about your month before you book than refund you afterwards.
Two days, from USD 195
Send your dates. We will tell you what the bay is likely to be doing, including when the honest answer is: choose a different week.
What people ask before booking
Is Ha Long Bay too touristy now?
The main Ha Long routes are, and in October the anchorages there are crowded. Lan Ha and parts of Bai Tu Long are not, and the landscape is the same. Which bay you sail matters far more than which month, with the exception of storm season.
Can I visit Ha Long as a day trip from Hanoi?
You can, and we do not sell it. Five hours in a vehicle for about four hours on the water, on the busiest route, at the busiest time of day. If one night aboard is impossible, spend the day in Hanoi instead.
Will my trip be cancelled by weather?
Between June and September there is a real chance, because tropical storms close the bay by order of the harbour master. Outside those months cancellation is rare. We refund the trip and the film package in full when it happens.
Is the water clean enough to swim?
In Lan Ha and the outer bays, yes, from roughly April to October. Near the main ports and the busiest anchorages it is visibly less so, which is another argument for sailing away from them.
Read next
Tell us your dates and we will send a plan with a price
Dates, how many of you, and whether you want the film package. You get an itinerary and a total in writing, not a brochure.