Experiences recommended by Lonely Planet for first-time visit to Ha Long

In addition to cruising - a typical experience for visitors to Ha Long Bay, getting the bird’s eye view of the world's natural heritage site on a cable car ride and enjoying hot spring bathing and diverse cuisine are among experiences that leading travel guide Lonely Planet recommends for travellers.

Lonely Planet, a travel guide considered the "bible" of the global travel community, has recently published an article introducing unmissable experiences for visitors to Ha Long Bay for the first time.

"Today, Ha Long Bay is a must-see destination for its otherworldly beauty – it was the filming location for some scenes in the 2017-movie Kong: Skull Island – with caves, beaches and range of outdoor activities, all just a few hours from Hanoi,” Lonely Planet praises Vietnam's famous heritage bay.

While the most typical experiences in Ha Long are taking an overnight cruise to visit the bay or outdoor activities such as kayaking and swimming, Lucas Nghia Vo, the author of this article, realised that this heritage land can offer many other great experiences. He called those experiences “A first-time guide to Ha Long Bay”.

According to him, the first experience is to take a sightseeing flight over the bay.

From water level, the islands are impressive, with their unique formations and imaginative names like Fighting Cock, Calf’s Head, Stone Dog and Incense Burner (featured on the back of the Vietnamese 200,000 dong note). However, for a completely different perspective, take to the skies on a 25-minute scenic seaplane flight and the islands start looking more like mini mountain ranges snaking through the sea. The water landings and take-offs alone are almost worth the money.

Alternatively, the Queen Cable Car is a great way to get panoramic views of Ha Long Bay and Ha Long city from above. Part of the Sun World Ha Long complex, the cable car system can fit a record-breaking 230 passengers per cabin and travel between the two halves of Ha Long city, with Sun World’s Amusement Complex on one side and Ba Deo Hill on the other, with lots of outdoor games and theme park activities on either end.

Families will enjoy the Sun World Ha Long theme park, with games, roller coasters, a ferris wheel, and one of the largest water parks in Southeast Asia, Lucas wrote.

Lonely Planet also suggests that visitors spend time visiting Ha Long city to explore Bai Tho Mountain, Quang Ninh Museum and Library, which are all unique architectural works.

Other than cruising (which is a bucket-list experience), there is so much to do on land as well. One of Lucas’s favourite places to relax is at the Japanese-style Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh, about 15 minutes from Ha Long.

Surrounded by mountains and forests, this onsen is known for its natural, mineral-rich water. As a bonus, this experience costs a fraction of what a comparable onsen stay would be in Japan.

Before being recommended by Lonely Planet, Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh is also famous as an ideal stopover for tourists after exploring Ha Long for days, allowing themselves to fully recover after long days of continuous travel. Not only hot mineral baths, Yoko Onsen also offers comprehensive health care treatments, from salt and cedar saunas to the most quintessential Japanese massage therapies.

In addition to destinations, Ha Long cuisine also attracts Lucas. He said he also loves sampling all the Ha Long specialties like “bun cu ky” (stone crab soup) made from stone crabs found in the mangroves around Ha Long. The soup comprises rice vermicelli, tomatoes and fresh herbs in a fragrant broth, all topped with stone crab meat. Other favorites include grilled squid and Halong-style squid cakes, made of minced squid that’s formed into chewy patties and deep-fried. They can be eaten as a snack or with steamed rice flour crepes as a meal.

Being a major tourist destination, getting to Ha Long is very easy. It takes about 2 hours if taking the Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway to travel 170km from Hanoi to Ha Long. Ha Long city is also served by Van Don International Airport, located about 50km from the city, with domestic flights from several major Vietnamese cities.

According to Lonely Planet, Ha Long’s scenery changes with the season and there is beauty to be found practically year-round.

For adventurers, summer is ideal for water sports, including kayaking and swimming. The colorful Ha Long Carnaval is also held at the end of April/early May. However, photographers might prefer visiting in winter, as early mornings regularly see misty conditions, creating eerie scenes of fog-shrouded islands in the distance.

TB (according to VNA)