One of the most visited attractions – Halong Bay (Vietnam) – how to get from Nha Trang and what to see, read our article. This picturesque place is located in the Gulf of Tonkin. The distance from the Vietnamese capital is approximately 170 kilometers, you need to move north. The bay consists of three thousand small islands, sharp rock formations, cliffs and fairy caves. The bay covers an area of one and a half thousand kilometers. The same name – Halong – has a city located in the province of Quang Ninh, it is here that the bay is located. As a rule, tourists do not stay in the city for a long time, because there are no attractions here, more often it is used as a transshipment base.
general information
The name of the bay means “the bay where the dragon descended.” At the end of the 20th century, the bay was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. And at the beginning of the 21st century, the bay was included in the list of seven modern wonders of the world. The bay is revered and protected, like the cult landscape of the country. There are amazing landscapes that are breathtaking. You can fully enjoy the beauty of the place while taking a boat trip.
It’s important to know! The Internet has many colorful booklets depicting the beauty of Halong Bay. All of them are true. The only thing that should be noted is that tourists do not ride on luxury sailboats, as shown in the booklets, but on ordinary motor boats, but the trip will not become less spectacular from this.
Most of the islands of the bay are covered with rocks, inside of which hundreds of caves of various shapes are hidden. Here you can admire stone formations and even see small waterfalls. The most visited caves are arranged for tourists, and multi-colored lighting gives them a fabulous appearance.
They don’t come to the bay for a long time, but use it as an excursion tour. People come here for just a few days. You can live in a hotel located on the island of Katba.
How to get to Halong Bay from Nha Trang
From Nha Trang to Halong there are regular tourist buses. Tickets can be bought at any travel company. The road takes from 20 to 22 hours. More details about the excursions are written below.
Given the large distance between Nha Trang and the bay – 1,400 km, the easiest way to get to the bay is to fly by plane from Nha Trang to Hanoi, and then get to your destination by bus. The flight will take about 2 hours.
This is the fastest and most comfortable way to get to Halong Bay from Nha Trang. Several flights depart daily from the airport of Nha Trang (Kamran). Airplanes arrive at Non Bai Airport, which is a half hour drive from Hanoi. The further way needs to be done by bus.
Useful information! You can use the aircraft of three airlines – Vietnamairlines, VietJet and JetStar. If you plan a trip on holidays, book your tickets in a few weeks, or even better in a few months. Flight will cost more.
If you have the time, you want to look in addition to the bay and other settlements, use the bus. Since there is no direct flight Nha Trang – Hanoi, you will have to make transfers in the cities of Hoi An and Hue. In each city, you can stop for 1-2 days and explore local attractions.
If you do not want to stop at the intermediate points of the route, buy a ticket for the evening bus flight from Nha Trang.
Useful information! All buses have air conditioning, so grab a blanket to keep warm. Some buses depart from the offices of shipping companies.
Another way to get to the capital from Nha Trang is by train. The route is suitable for tourists who have enough time and who want to travel in comfort. The road will take a day. Eight trains leave daily.
There are four classes of wagons:
- double wooden benches;
- soft seats;
- three-seater coupe;
- two-seater coupe.
It is important! Buy train tickets only at the train station. In no case should you buy tickets from resellers or travel agencies. In this case, you can lose money and a ticket.
There are several routes from Hanoi to Halong
- At Hanoi Bus Station Luong Yen, take the shuttle bus to Haiphong. Ticket cost about $ 4.
- At any Hanoi hotel, book a transfer to Kat Ba Island. The transfer involves a bus ride to Haiphong, a boat trip to Kat Ba and a transfer to the center of the island. The cost of the trip will cost about $ 17.
- At the bus station you can buy a ticket from Hanoi to the center of Kat Ba Island. The ticket involves three transfers – by bus to the city of Haiphong, a boat to the island and a bus to the central part of the island. Ticket cost – about 10 $.
In Haiphong (at the bus station), use a boat that goes to Cat Ba Island. Ticket cost about 3 $.
The disadvantage of this route is that tickets can only be purchased on the morning of departure, so it is impossible to get to the bay from Nha Trang in one day.
The option is generally good, since you do not have to get to the bus station yourself. However, you will have to overpay the hotel for intermediary services and during the transfer of tourists are often brought to souvenir shops and shops.
Keep in mind that the bus schedule changes periodically, so it must be specified in advance.
It is appropriate to go to Halong Bay on your own when you want to carefully get acquainted with this part of Vietnam, stay here for a few days, visit a nature reserve, relax on the coast and take a walk in the streets of the city. If your goal is a visit to the bay and a boat trip, independent travel will not be fun and will require extra financial expenses. As a rule, independent movement around the country is more expensive than a trip as part of an excursion group. It is likely that additional taxi costs will be required.
Sightseeing Tours from Hanoi
You can get to Halong Bay as part of an excursion group. If you have already arrived at the bay and want to get an excursion, use the ticket office at the pier of the bay. Tours are also sold by travel agencies, but you can only buy a trip if you are confident in the chosen company. In no case do not buy a tour from resellers, since in this case you will have to overpay 3-4 times more, but it is not necessary that the quality of the trip will be better, in some cases the tour is uninteresting and uncomfortable.
A standard guided tour consists of:
- transfer from a travel agency to the beach;
- boat trip;
- kayaking;
- snorkeling and flippers;
- transfer to a travel agency.
The trip involves visiting the Monkey Island, if the tour is individual, then you can always change the route and visit several caves instead of the island. The price also includes lunch.
If you want to explore the bay carefully, such an excursion, of course, is not enough. The trip takes place only in the immediate vicinity of the Kat Ba island.
The cost depends on the number of people in the group:
- up to 30 people – 15 dollars;
- from 1 to 3 people – 45 dollars.
The program includes a visit to:
- Monkey Islands
- fishing village;
- one cave.
In addition, the price includes lunch and drinking water.
Tour cost:
- a group of 20-30 people – $ 20;
- a group of up to 15 people – $ 25;
- group up to 5 people – $ 30;
- group from 1 to 3 people – $ 80.
If you want to visit more than one cave, you will have to pay $ 5.
The program includes:
- a visit to Monkey Island and a fishing village;
- exploration of the cave;
- fishing and climbing.
In addition, the price includes two lunches, dinner, tomorrow.
Tour cost:
- a group of 5 to 8 people – from 50 to 70 $;
- a group of 1 to 4 people – about $ 130.
You can rent a ship, the trip will cost $ 260 for two people, you will have to pay another $ 35 for each subsequent passenger.
Sightseeing tours to the bay from Nha Trang
Given the distance between two geographical points, the minimum duration of the excursion from Nha Trang to Halong Bay is one and a half days (two days and a night). The average cost of the tour is $ 250, the price of the trip varies from the duration and transport that you get to the bay.
As a rule, tourists prefer to travel as part of excursion groups – it is much more comfortable and easier.
It is important! All excursions in Halong are morning, as a rule, the last boat leaves at 13-00. Be sure to consider this fact if you do not want to spend one day traveling in vain.
If you plan to buy an excursion to Halong Bay from Hanoi, do not take a one-day tour. In this case, a lot of time will be spent on the road, and you simply will not have time to explore the surroundings.
Before you study the information – how to get to Halong Bay, check out the weather forecast. The most favorable months for travel are spring, September and October.
In winter, the bay is quite cool and windy, and in summer it rains heavily.
The list of the most interesting tourist places undoubtedly includes the picturesque Halong Bay (Vietnam). How to get from Nha Trang, when to arrive and what to consider when traveling – all the useful information is collected in our article. We hope that the material will be useful and the journey will bring a lot of positive emotions.
