There are so many attractions in northern Vietnam that are worthy of a visit. If you are not currently in the north, the easiest and most convenient way to reach those destinations is to transit in Hanoi. Halong Bay is one of them. However, there are quite many different transportations in Vietnam that make new-comers confuse to choose from. In this article, we are going to show you the fastest and cheapest way to go from Hanoi to Halong Bay.
About Halong Bay
Halong Bay is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Vietnam. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bay is located in Quang Ninh province, 200km away to the east of Hanoi. That is the reason why there are so many tourists choose to go from Hanoi to Halong Bay to visit this amazing destination. It is a cluster of 1,969 small and big islands. Most of the islands are the limestone. The core of the bay includes 775 islands.
Halong Bay is a cluster of thousands of islands - Image: Cristan Tran.
The most amazing thing that makes Halong Bay becomes the world destination is its formative history. It takes more than 500 million years of creating the limestone of the bay like you can see today. In which, it has taken 20 million years to create the amazing sceneries which are the key features to bring the name Halong Bay to the world.
Take a boat through the islands in Halong Bay would be an awesome experience - Image: Phong Nguyen Huy.
According to a folk story of the local, Halong Bay formation related to the legend that the Vietnamese are the children of Dragon Lord. In the past, when the Vietnamese had to fight against the invasion, there was a dragon flown from the sky to the sea in order to create a solid wall and help the Vietnamese to win over the invader. The stones at Halong Bay today are remnant of the dragon’s wall.
The most common way from Hanoi to Halong Bay is by bus
Due to a cheap price and convenience of the bus, most of the tourists choose to go from Hanoi to Halong Bay by bus. It takes you about 4 hours to reach Halong Bay. This is also the most common way to travel in Vietnam.
There are three bus stations that offer the buses to Halong Bay including Luong Yen, My Dinh, or Gia Lam bus station. It is great that there are always buses depart from early morning to late at night. The earliest trip is at 5:00 AM and the latest one is at 23:50 PM. Thus, you can be freer to arrange your trip schedule.
The most common transport from Hanoi to Halong Bay is a bus - Image: Dylan Lu.
However, be noticed that the bus will not drop you at Halong Bay but some stations nearby or at anywhere you require. The main route that most of the buses follow is Hanoi - Hai Duong province - Hai Phong city - Bai Chay (Quang Ninh province). The bus ticket price is different depends on bus companies. It usually from 120,000 VND to 240,000 VND. You can search for more detail on the top bus booking website in Vietnam, vexere.com.
Drive a motorbike from Hanoi to Halong Bay
It would be a great idea to drive a motorbike to Hanoi to Halong Bay. The road between these two places is not as dangerous as the mountain roads in the northwest area. Its condition is like the flat road in the city. However, there are many highway segments along the road to Halong Bay. You need to drive carefully because there are so many big trucks on this route.
Drive a motorbike to Halong Bay is a great experience - Image: Phuot Cung Nang.
Going to Halong Bay by train is not a good choice
Besides the bus, there is also a train that goes from Hanoi to Halong Bay. However, this is not a good choice due to time.
The train usually departs in the early morning. There are not many people go to Halong Bay by this train but the local businessmen. Therefore, the train coaches are so massive with tons of products and stuff of the businessmen.
The train to Halong Bay is full of products and so massive - Image: Ba Do - VnExpress.
Additionally, it takes you up to 8 hours to move to Halong Bay by train. It is almost triple compared to moving by bus. That is the reason why not many tourists choose to go by train.
Experience luxury transport with seaplane
Away from the common and cheap transport from Hanoi to Halong Bay, the seaplane is luxury transport that can save time the most. It takes you 45 minutes to reach Halong Bay from the capital. However, it is much more expensive compared to other transports. The price ticket is from 4,200,000 VND to 9,700,000 VND depends on the time you choose to travel.
Halong Bay from the height of a seaplane - Image: Travip.
This is the very first and the only seaplane in Vietnam. It gives tourists the chance to have a wide and great observation of Halong Bay from the height.
Conclusion
There are different ways to go from Hanoi to Halong Bay. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. It depends on the different time and purposes that you can choose the most suitable one to have a good experience when traveling in Vietnam.
Source: https://lodyhelp.com/2019/11/17/hanoi-to-halong-bay/