Geography

Halong Bay covers an area of 1,553 sq. km including 1,969 islands, of which an area of over 434 sq. km including 788 islands has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage due to its cultural, aesthetic, bio-geological and economic value. There are in the bay many soil islands, caves, grottoes, beaches, beautiful landscapes enabling the development of attractive tourist sites of various types.

With all this in mind, the 18th meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO (in Thailand on December 17th, 1994), officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage site of worldwide importance.

Climate

As a coastal city, Halong represents the coastal climate features with 2 distinguished seasons; winter starts from November till April of next year, summer starts from May to October. Visiting Halong Bay in summer, tourists can relax on beautiful beaches or take part in interesting activities like kayaking, swimming or cruising. In winter, it is also interesting to visit the destination since there are lots of places to explore.

Attractions

Viewed from above, Halong Bay resembles a geographic work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands. There is Man's Head Island, which resembles a man standing and looking towards the mainland. Dragon Island looks like a dragon hovering above the turquoise water. La Vong Island resembles an old man fishing.

There are also the islands of the Sail, the Pair of Roosters, and the Incense Burner, which all astonishingly resemble their namesakes. The forms of the islands change depending on the angle of the light and from where the islands are viewed. At the core of the islands, there are wonderful caves and grottoes, such as Thien Cung (Heavenly Residence Grotto), Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto), Sung Sot (Surprise Grotto), and Tam Cung (Three Palace Grotto).

There are many beautiful beaches and natural beauty spots such as Halong Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay, Tra Co Beach, Co To Beach, Dai Beach in Van Don etc. Besides, there are historical and architectural relics enabling the development of tours on land, sea and islands.

Tuan Chau Island belongs to Ha Long Bay has an area of 220ha. It is 8km from Halong City and 2km offshore. This is an ideal spot to develop a super tourist complex. Bai Chay Beach is a wonderful spot and provides full range of services.

With around 500 historical, cultural and arts relics, attached with many traditional festivals; such as Yen Tu Pagoda, Cua Ong Temple, Bach Dang historical relic, Long Tien Pagoda, Quan Lan Communal House etc, which attract a large number of visitors, especially during festivals. Coming to Ha Long Bay, tourists can have good chance of enjoying seafood, including holothurians, abalone, shrimp, crab, areca, shellfish, gaillardia, etc