Visit the beautiful neighbor of Ha Long Bay

Lan Ha—a bay in the shape of an arc, which accommodates more than 400 lush-green islets—offers a wonderful landscape.

Lan Ha—a bay in the shape of an arc, which accommodates more than 400 lush-green islets—offers a wonderful landscape.

Moreover, given its location in proximity to the world-famous Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay is dubbed a neighbor of the renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Like its counterpart, Lan Ha Bay features caves with unique stalagmites and stalactites. Among them, Sang (Bright) and Toi (Dark) caves are often on the itineraries of trekkers.

The bay stretches across an area of 7,000 hectares, 5,400 hectares of which is in Cat Ba National Park—a UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserve.

From Hanoi, tourists travel for 90 minutes on an expressway to Got ferry in Hai Phong. Then, they take this ferry to Gia Luan Port where a cruise ship picks them up to Lan Ha Bay.

For an alternative, travelers may take a cable car from Dong Hai Commune on Cat Hai Island to Phu Long Commune on Cat Ba Island. From this, visitors can explore Lan Ha Bay on board a high-speed boat or cruise ship.

Saying “hi” to the new day on the deck of a ship while enjoying the fresh and peaceful atmosphere of Lan Ha may be an unforgettable moment for most of tourists. Meanwhile, the bay exposes a gorgeous and mysterious beauty at dusk. 

 A cruise ship taking tourists around Lan Ha Bay

Aside from white sand and blue seawater, what makes Lan Ha Bay different from its counterparts is its lush forests, according to a tourist from Hanoi.

The pure beauty of the bay also comes from more than a hundred small beaches of white sand. The most attractive of them are Ang Vem, Cat Dua, Cat Co, Ben Beo, Co Tien, Van Boi and Van Ha, which are walled by majestic mountains.

The best time to visit the gorgeous destination, according to veteran excursioners, is May and October, when the weather is pleasant, allowing travelers to take part in all outdoor activities.