Halong Bay is increasingly being listed among the best destinations for tourists visiting Vietnam at the present time. If you are planning a journey full of safety, adequacy and money saving, especially for the first time, then kindly follow kind advice on Halong Bay travel guide on a budget to help you arrange perfectly your Vietnam vacation and Vietnam day trip.
When to visit
The best time for your schedule to visit Halong Bay should be the lower season
If you are a budget minded traveler, then the best time for your schedule to visit Halong Bay should be set between May and September and not at weekends. This is often considered as the low season when you can find plenty of discounts on various services whereby the large amount of your money can be saved easily in comparison with doing it in the other time of the year. However, there will be a few hurricanes and storms frequently during the months of July – August, which may put your trip under the weather’s influence, such as sight obstruction or tour delay. In those cases, you can visit other destinations in the North of Vietnam instead and enjoy Halong Bay later. These storms only last about 3-4 days.
If you do not have the option of time for traveling, like your fixed leave for example, one suggestion is that you should join some travel company that can organize the best tour for you to prevent the least unexpected disadvantages of the weather.
Package Preparation
The best time to visit Halong coincides with the summer season so that the weather is certainly sunny and hot. However, that also provides appropriate conditions to expose the superb scenes for tourists’ sightseeing like caves and all-shaped stones. Moreover, there are many beach activities waiting for diving-lovers as well as swimmers. Therefore, traveler’s packages should be arranged relevantly and sufficiently to ensure the perfect trips. Here are some kind suggestions:
+ Suntan cream (with over 30 SPF as suggested)
+ Sunglasses and wide-brimmed hat
+ Camera
+ Flip-flops
+ Swimwear and Float.
How to get Halong Bay
Get to Ha Long Bay by plane
Depending on your budget, there are many ways to get Halong from Ho Chi Minh City for a perfect Vietnam package tour. You can take the train to Hanoi or Passenger Car to Hai Phong then catch the bus to Halong. This way will help you save much money but waste of time a lot. Taking plane with the same routes is the best solution to help you save your traveling time.
In reference to travel in Halong City, taxi can be a good choice for you. There is a variety of famous brands suggested as Ha Long, Mai Linh and Hon Gai. To travel on the bay overnight, you can rent the boat to visit by day. The boat rent depends on traveling time and kind of boat. A 10 to 15 group should take a small wooden boat for comfort. If you go alone then ask the hotel staff for help. If your budget is limited, you should choose a 3-4 hour trip. The good time for taking the tour should be the early morning or noon, which brings you more comfort in traveling and resting.
See more: How to get to Ha long Bay Vietnam
Where to stay
Signature Halong Cruise
Apart from the coastal hotels, nowadays many travel agents provide plenty of leisure cruises at Halong Bay, which is increasingly coming tourists’ preference. There are a lot of such services varying in standard that you can pick due to your budget. If you expect for the luxurious experiences on the bay, then Signature, Paradise and Au Co Cruise should be your good choice. On the other hand, if your trip only fit in with a tight budget, then you should contact the travel agents to pick out the best one among the different prices, especially in the summer when many passengers can be supplied a lot of special offers from traveling services. No worry about sightseeing of the place, you still enjoy remarkable spectacles no matter which boat you’re on for sure.
While experiencing cruising services from some cruise line, you can keep an eye on available tour programs, e.g. one 2 days 1 night or 3 days 2 nights package including Hanoi – Halong shuttle, meals and sightseeing tickets. There are a lot of interesting things you can join such as contemplating the sunset down and up, joining kayak, swimming, karaoke and squid fishing.
What to eat
What to eat in Halong Bay
Ha Long not only has the limestone mountains scattered over the calm sea and beautiful caves but also includes the famous specialties that possibly you have never seen before. It can be said that the various marine ecosystem of Ha Long has created many unique sea-foods, which can be felt by the only way that is to come there directly. Some of them may be weird and unfamiliar such as Squid sausage (Cha muc), Earthworm (Sa Sung), Arca Wine (Ngan) and Halong geoduck (Tu Hai) but their tastes are so much amazing. Start enjoying each of them now!
See more: What to Eat in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Things to see and do
Cua Van Floating Village
There are a lot of all-shaped stones as well as fanciful caves in Halong Bay that you cannot completely take your eyes off. The number of scenes exposed depends on the running time of the boat, which you previously catch to go into the bay. One tip is that you should visit the bay in the morning to avoid the sun. It is not suitable for the elderly and children when traveling in the afternoon due to the hotter weather. There are also some clean coasts which are advisable for swimming, kayaking and squid fishing. Besides, whale and water-music performing will truly entertain you after hard-working time.
Cua Van fishing village is surrounded by rocky limestone mountains, including only one way in and out like a giant gate. It is considered as a place of refuge for the elderly and children when their relatives – fishermen are sailing on the sea. In recent years, Cua Van fishing village becomes an attractive destination for domestic and inbound tourists. On the water surface, the boats are connected together by small bridges across. Floating houses with rafts interwoven together with the simplicity, honesty and friendliness absolutely attract all the tourists. You can refer another interesting floating village of Halong as below:
Another highlight of Halong is Cat Ba National Park widely known as one of the large biosphere reserves to the north of Vietnam. See on lonelyplanet.com to gain the clear description of the park’s beauty and diversity. Exactly, it is the home of 11 species of frogs, 20 species of mammals (among them is golden-headed languor which is referred to as the most endangered primate in the world), 20 species of amphibians and reptiles, and 69 species of birds.
Shopping centers and markets in Halong are where you can buy souvenirs and necessary things for your relatives and friends. However, some products can be put on the pretty high prices. You can bargain to gain good deals. Here are some referring shopping place for you.
See more: 4 Best places for shopping in Halong
