Occupying a total area of 214 ha, Sun World Halong Complex comprises of two main sectors: Beach amusement complex and Mystic Mountain complex. They are linked by a two-kilometer Queen Cable Car line across the two sea sides, offering spectacular skyline panorama.

In the Mystic Mountain complex, visitors are welcomed to take part in numerous activities and admire various sites, such as the Zen garden built in a Japanese-inspired style, the Sun Wheel – world’s top highest ferries wheel, Kidoland playground for toddlers and families as well as having fun with wax figures of celebrities in the Fame Hall.

In the magical and splendid Dragon Park, visitors who have the courage may challenge themselves with various adventurous games such as Tea Cups, Maxi Dance Party, Circus Train, Royal Carousel, Mine Train or Wild Boats.

Relish unforgettable and joyful moments at the Typhoon Water Park – the largest water park in Southeast Asia with twelve unique water games. This park is composed of three zones: family, teenager and children zones, catering to specific needs of each group.

Don’t miss the recreation opportunities at Sun World Halong Beach, either! This is where you can relax and recharge your energy under the sparkling warm sunshine and along the white sands.

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Many islands in Halong Bay have been formed by erosion of wind and water into extraordinary shapes jutting out of the turquoise sea, giving the landscape a fairytale appearance. On the islands you will find countless caves and caves whose walls and floors are covered with splendid stalactites and stalagmites.

Traveling to Halong Bay is without doubt a memorable highlight of every Vietnam trip, in which cruising with a traditional junk through the bay should not be neglected. We are pleased to give you some suggestions for your ideal two-day itinerary afloat Halong Bay.

Day 1 – A day full of splendid panoramas
In the morning you will be picked up at your hotel in Hanoi and taken to the coastal town of Ha Long by private car or limousine. Here is the junk waiting for you. The boat sets out to drive through the special area. While you enjoy your lunch, you will sight-see various islands along the water path like Dinh Huong Island, Ga Choi, Dog Island and Sail Island. Should it be foggy at the time, the rock formations will look dreamily mysterious. Then explore the Sung Sot Grotto on your Ha Long Bay tour and stop at Titov beach for either a small climb to the pagoda or a refreshing bath in the water. After sunset you can end the moonlit evening comfortably in the salty breeze.

Day 2 – Island and bay exploration
Wake up early to relish the first warm sunshine rays with freshly prepared breakfast. Then you will be guided past Man’s Head Island, Tortoise Island, Bai Tu Long Bay, Toad Island and Bai Tho Mountain. Keep your camera ready, as these islands will generously give you magnificent panoramas. On the way back to the town, you can enjoy lunch with fresh and delicious seafood specialties. Around noon, you will be driven back to your hotel Hanoi. The tour ends.

Note: Please be especially careful not to leave garbage on the islands or in the caves. The growing number of tourists has in some places led to waste being thrown away carelessly. Help protect the environment and do not buy items made of corals, shells, stalactites or stalagmites.

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While  a peaceful cruise is the wonderful way to immerse yourself in the iconic view of this UNESCO World Heritage site, there is plenty else to make the most of your trip in Halong Bay.

1. Halong Kayaking Trip.

Kayaking in Halong Bay Vietnam is considered the most interesting way to fully feel the majesty of Halong Bay. Discovering by your own kayak, you can enjoy other features of this international wonder that most visitors never see on cruise.

Here, more than 2,000 limestone karst islets are sculpted by elements that form a labyrinth of protected and spectacularly scenic waterways. Paddle out to calmer and touch the stalactites which are thousands of years old , visitors can directly contemplate the beauties of corals, flocks of freely-swimming fishes and many strange scenery which have never been seen in any travelling books. Kayak perfectly fit right into the Halong Bay sea culture where you can also stop to swim in the warm jade-green water and relax on beautiful sand beaches.

2. Joining cooking class

Vietnam is well-known in all over the world not only for its extraordinary natural landscape but also for its incredible cuisine with fresh ingredients, ingenious recipes and savory flavors. Ranked in the top 10 culinary hotspots according to CNN-travel vote, Vietnamese traditional foods are highly recommend as a must-try-thing for both tasting and learning.

From the North to the South, you can enjoy the spectrum of Vietnamese dishes which is surprisingly refined and diverse for its unique local specialties. In Gray Line Halong, you will have opportunities to enjoy Vietnamese dishes in such your own unique way. You will learn how to prepare materials for cooking and practice step by step how to process a typical Vietnamese dish- nem cuon. Finally, you can have your own dishes of food, enjoy and share it with your companions., an interesting activity for travelling foodies.

3. Squid fishing

After a long day exploring wonderful Halong Bay, if you still want to keep busy in some light activities, squid fishing is the best choice for you.

After dinner, you would be taken by tender boat to the squid fishing area, learnt some fishing techniques and experience the feeling of being a fisherman. You must be excited to clearly see the shoals of squids lazily hovering around; and, step by step each squid is enticed and picked up, remaining totally fresh and striving convulsively.

 After gaining your “result”, you can cook and enjoy it when gazing the Halong night with sea water surface is sparkling with reflected light from cruises anchored on the Bay. Surely, squid fishing will make your night more interesting and full of laugh.

4. Tai Chi Demonstration

Engaging Tai Chi Class in the early morning is the best way to start your new day in Halong Bay. Tai Chi is an ancient art of moving meditation originated in China, which is a gently physical exercise combining deep breathing and relaxation with slow and easy movements.

On cruise, Tai Chi class can create special relax and healthy moment, helping you to control your breath, body and soul through its soft, controlled movement. It is said that practicing Tai Chi in the peaceful and tranquil phenomenon aids in the deep concentration and inner peace. So what better place to do it than surrounded by the extraordinary beauty of Halong Bay?

5. Special activities

You only live once life so enjoy every moment, especially, when it is noteworthy turning point in the life such as: wedding, birthday, anniversary, etc. Together relax and enjoy the beauty of darkness in Halong Bay on sundeck with your soulmate. That’s a wonderful experience.

Gray Line Halong Cruise also schedule so many special activities on our best routes of Halong Bay tours that you can make the most of your special days. We will arrange completely every private request such as honeymoon, wedding, meeting and conference, which customized to fit any budget, with hundreds of choices for a truly unforgettable event. So do not miss your opportunity to create your own memory by visiting Halong and savor every moment with it.

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Coming to Halong Bay, visitors often choose to stay overnight on a Halong bay cruise to experience the beauty of scenic Ha Long Bay or self-kayaking in order to admire this spectacular site. In recent years, almost all Halong bay cruises have taken tourists to visit fishing village to discover the floating life of fishermen here.

Guests can rent bamboo boats at Halong cruise terminal. Each boat can carry about 4 guests, the fishermen dressed in brown with conical hat will row the boat. Only skillful and experienced boatman can bring tourists to wriggle through the gaps, avoid touching “dragon” (small stones) which are hidden by the water surface.

Guests will have an optimal chance to visit the floating houses in the way to witness the daily life of those fishermen. Moreover, tourists can also experience a day as a fisherman and then cook traditional and typical fish dishes, etc. There are several recommended destinations for this sort of trips are usually Vung Vieng fishing village, Cua Van fishing village, Ba Hang fishing village.  That’s why in centuries, the bamboo boat has been and will always be is as a dot of great attraction in this gorgeous Halong Bay.

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Cua Van fishing village is descendent of two ancient fishing villages in Halong Bay which are Giang Vo and Truc Vong village. Along with other islands, it becomes an integral part of Halong Bay. The fishing village is now situated in Hung Thang Ward (Halong City). Cua Van fishing village is today home to more than 200 households living mostly by fishing. Visiting Cua Van fishing village, tourists not only can immerse themselves in a serene, peaceful and incredibly charming space; admire the picturesque nature; enrich their knowledge about the cultural life of fishermen; but also can be directly instructed how to boat, spread the net, and catch the fish in the right way etc. In addition, tourists are easily appealed by the beauty of these eye-catching boats, the bamboo nets in front of the houses, the houses closely tying together against the storm, the frank and kind fishermen but extremely welcoming and hospitable; the kids with their cheerful and innocent smile…

What’s more, there is still Cua Van floating cultural center which is a model of the first floating cultural center for fishing communities built in Vietnam, aiming to conserve and preserve the cultural values of the fishing village through several traditional activities as well as some sorts of exchanges between local communities and tourists. Arriving in the village, tourists will have an optimal chance to witness and broaden their horizon about approximately hundreds of artifacts, including tools, ancient means of fishing of Vietnam, numerous images, documentaries, publications on folk culture as well as daily life of those inhabitants here. All are recreated according to models principally basing on 6 main themes: nature and human, livelihoods of fishermen, material life of fishermen, spirituality with spiritual life, waters with life, for today and for future. Prominently, all the guides in the center are residents of Cua Van fishing village. Through an attractive, practical, clear and concise introduction, tourists might be lost in the world of interesting collections of traditional fishing methods here.

When the night falls down, tourists can comfortably kayak around the village, trawl with fishermen, go squid fishing off the coast, and engage in activities of the fishermen. Following the footsteps of guiding girls of the fishing village, tourists can enjoyably play with waters, or watching funny shaped rocks. The most exciting feelings are the moment when tourists can manually take the fish and shrimps out of nets, then process them by hands and enjoy the mouth-watering seafood dished. Moreover, visiting the fishing village on festival occasions, tourists will definitely have a great opportunity to enjoy “hat gheo“, “hat cheo duong” (a form of traditional folk songs in Halong Bay) which all bring you the memorable and unique feelings.

And what’s next? Tourists can not only comfortably admire the majestic Halong Bay but also kayak to visit Sang (Morning) cave after crossing the ravishing red coral reefs right in the pale turquoise and transparent waters or engage in unique ways to visit popular attractions in Halong Bay such as Tien Ong Cave, Ba Ham Lake, etc. Vehicles used throughout the journey are normally the wooden boats or kayaking. It is fishermen in the fishing village that undertake this position. 

These experiences will leave you unforgettable experiences while discovering Halong Bay travel. Providing regularly renewed tours with increasingly attractive programs, Cua Van fishing village will promisingly become one of the impressive spots in the all the trips to Halong Bay. 

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1. Better experience

A vacation on the yacht brings you better experiences than a normal one at a resort on the mainland. There are numerous dining choices and recreational activities for you to choose. Moreover, you can pay more to have additional services that are not included in the ticket price such as a seaplane tour to have a panoramic view of the nature or adventurous mountain climbing, etc.

2. Suitable for all ages

Gray Line Halong offers people of all ages countless activities. If the elderly cannot take part in the adventurous outdoor activities, they can lie on the sundeck to enjoy the beautiful natural landscape of Halong bay. Massage, watching movies on the deck or squid fishing are also the interesting activities that cannot be ruled out on the must do list in Halong. Travel is a great way to learn. If you want to know something while having a vacation on Gray Line cruise, learning to cook Vietnamese dishes or doing taichi exercises in the morning would be great recommendations.

3. Numerous destinations

Another advantage is that you will get to visit a lot of interesting destinations in Halong. Have you ever wondered what made Halong the World Heritage Site. It is because there are so many strange and interesting small islands for you to discover. And Gray Line will take you to all of those amazingly beautiful islands.

4. Family get – together

A long trip with Gray Line is a perfect way for the whole family to relax, have fun and get closer to each other. You can spend time chatting together while enjoying some stunning Vietnamese dishes on the cruise. You and your family can enjoy the trip together without worrying about cooking, cleaning or making beds. What can be more wonderful than relaxing on a beautiful ship.

5. Rooms

We offer you the selection of connecting separated rooms together so that you can have more bathrooms and space. Moreover, there are many types of rooms for you to select. Members in your family can choose the room type that they prefer.

6. Valuable memories

Last but certainly not least, a family trip is sure to give all members a lot of beautiful memories. Fun memories last forever. You will never forget the beautiful time when you enjoy the stunning natural landscapes or take part in recreational activities with your family in Halong.

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When visit this gorgeous Halong, you can not only witness the naturally picturesque scenes but also enjoy various interesting activities which will definitely bring you memorable experiences.

And the list of some interesting things to do below might come in handy for visitors to Halong.

1.   Sleeping on board:

Although there are a lot of extravagant hotels which means there are a lot of choices for tourists when coming here, the most recommended one is always having at least one night on boat. By this way, tourists could admire the stunning scenes as well as live closer to the nature. Just like hotels, there are also several types of boat to choose raging from high-standard cruises which may set you back a lot, to medium-cost junks. However, if your budget can afford well, just book a cruiser without any hesitation because you will surely never regret about it!

2.   Sunbathing and Swimming in Halong Bay.

For most of people, sunbathing is always one of the most relaxing and satisfying activities throughout their vacations, this is also true in Halong Bay. Being blessed by the Mother Nature with thousands of exotic caves and limestone islands, this natural wonder offers numerous places for swimming, sunbathing, snorkeling, fishing or kayaking around such as Ti Top Beach, Bai Chay (Bãi Cháy) Beach, Tuan Chau (Tuần Châu), Beach, Ngoc Vung (Ngọc Vừng) Beach and Quan Lan (Quan Lạn) Beach. Some experienced tourists revealed that the especial and a bit craggy structure of mountain cliffs rinsing out of the bay turns out to be an ideal background for different water activities.

3.   Practicing Tai Chi on boat.

Tai chi is a kind of ancient martial art which has been performed for many years in China and now is widely introduced in Vietnam in order to improve both physical and mental health since it requires the good coordination of all parts of body. Tai chi do really good for people health, especially when people practice it in peace and serenity. Hence, it is such a optimal idea to practice this kind of art form when being pampered by the pure beauty of Halong bay.

With the careful instructions of experienced Tai Chi masters, you will get to know soon how to control your mind as well as your body. A high sense of satisfaction and relaxation will be brought when you practice Tai Chi while witnessing the breathtaking sunrise right in the middle of the bay.

4.   Visiting rustic floating villages

Floating villages is considered as an indispensable feature of Halong Bay which fully shows the daily life of locals here. For most of us who just know the on-board experience, it could be a bit difficult to imagine how’s the locals’ lives. This will be a great chance to get better understanding of locals here by chatting with them.

For the majority of households, the bay is their second hometown and offers them ways to earn their living with the abundant supply from the marine life. Then let’s pay a visit to one of those peaceful villages and meet lovely and playful kids which will complete your experience in Halong Bay.

5.   Discovering hidden caves and grottos.

With a diverse system of hundreds of stunning caves and hidden, secluded grottos of all shapes and sizes all over the bay, in order to explore them, tourist should hire a row boat and venture out such as Thien Cung cave (Heavenly Palace Cave) well-renowned for stalactites and stalagmites or Dau Go Cave known as the Cave of wonders etc.

6.   Kayaking between limestone outcrops

After enjoying all those breathtaking landscapes of Halong Bay on board, some of you might have a thirst to experience some more adventurous things to add more colors to your trip. Therefore, kayaking is one of the most recommended ones in which a kayak is used to move across water.

Thanks to the warm and really calm water, kayaking in Halong Bay is kind of easy to join in under the instructions of experiences kayaking masters. The most common places for this interesting activity are often 3 Peaches islets, Dark and Light Cave.

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Just around 180 kilometres from the heart of Vietnam, Hanoi, towards the northeast for about 4 hours by bus, then Ha Long city will be there welcoming you as well as the marvellous Ha Long Bay.

Pampered by the Gulf of Tonkin, this World Heritage site, in the area of 1500 square kilometres, consists of 1969 rising above the sea level limestone island in a wide diversity of shapes and sizes. Those historical, as well as cultural values, are still well preserved until now.

Ha Long Bay has been recognised by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a World Heritage Site for the second time in 2000 and the first time was in 1995. Moreover, in the worldwide competition of the World’s Seven Natural Wonders, the second place also belonged to Ha Long which is believed as a gift for its kindness.

In general, Ha Long Bay maintains its beauty and splendour throughout every season. Sitting on the small sailboat and letting water flux lead us to the Surprise Cave, Paradise cave, Human Head island, the floating village etc and of course, exploring the locals live here are always in the must-see-and-do list. Afterwards, visitors can relax a bit by swimming, sunbathing or even enjoying the kayaking just around the corner of Luon Cave, and so on.

Are you still reluctant about a place to sleep? Just relax! There are several cruises offering from basic to extravagant services where tourists can have a chance to freely enjoy the nightlife in the middle of the bay while having dinner with exotic seafood served at the table. There is also a session with the massage therapist, sauna or for those who are fond of experiencing new things, squid fishing and shrimp fishing are both optimal choices.

Apart from staying in cruise, let’s visit the Royal Park in Ha Long city, the Water music, circus performances by dolphins, sea lions, crocodiles etc., which will certainly provide you awesome experiences as well as long lasting impression.

This experience in this one of the great World Heritage site would be etched on your mind for years since it is the best thing we have to offer you. Besides, it would be your great opportunity to enrich your knowledge and immersing into an Asian culture by meeting hospitable Vietnamese people, tasting their exotic gastronomy and admiring wonderful landscape with sets of islands in different forms, highlighted by the sun and sea water, especially in sunset or sunrise.

Just make sure that you will not miss this splendid attraction, at least once in a lifetime. Ha Long bay has appealed millions of tourists every year and maybe you will be the next one in no time.

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1. Seafood Noodle

The first one which could be easily found in Ha Long is definitely seafood noodle. Seafood noodle appears also in various cities but this kind of noodle can persuade even the fussiest eater with its diverse ingredients in just a bowl:  crab meat, squid, shrimp, fried fish filets, parsley and tofu. It will be a perfect combination when all these ingredients are harmoniously and perfectly combined with the sweetness of slow-cooker bond soup.  There is a list of well-renowned addresses that you can have a look: White Brigde – Ha Tu precinct, Hai Van restaurant etc.

2. Sam

This kind of dishes made from arthropod crustacean could be a little bit strange to a majority of people. The most special thing is that the male and the female Sam always live in pairs, therefore, when catching Sam, people often choose the female ones as it can be made into various delicacies such as Sam soup, Sam salad, grilled Sam, Sam porridge, fried Sam with sweet and sour flavour etc. If you want to try those scrumptious dishes in a local way, should you go to Mrs.Ty restaurant, Giend Don Food street, Cao xanh Sam shop or Quang Yen Sam which will obviously meet your gastronomic passion.

3. Snails

This one is even more strange than Sam’s dishes but however, you should not miss your rare chance to taste this great popular snacks. Visitors can easily find snail dishes almost everywhere raging from swanky restaurants to those spartan ones or even in several street stalls. There is a wide variety of snail dishes for different choices, fried snails with coconut, butter, boiled or grilled snail etc. Those mouth-watering dishes are served in the best way at some restaurants below: Van Lang restaurant, a chain of restaurants along Bui Thi Xuan street etc.

4. Ngan

Ngan recipes are always excellent and really well-known here which can make various dishes such as steam, cooked porridge, grill and so on. However, the one which appeal almost all the tourists is the perfect combination between fried Ngan and fried noodle. As it is the very basic dish, the appearance could be not too nice but the flavor is beyond words. It’s processing is relatively easy, just washing Ngan and separating it from the shell, then putting on some special spices and frying in a pan. In general, you can easily find this kind of “gourmet” in most of restaurants in Ha Long.

5. Ha

This rural scrumptious dishes are even preferred than oysters. Being used mostly to make soup, the taste of the fatty meat inside the ugly shells will be definitely etched on your mind after the first bowl. Apart from that, Ha also can be combined with white wine to make one of the strangest but most exotic alcohol beverage of the city.

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The performances are often shown in village festivals, rice harvests, Tet Lunar Year, and other special events of the year. Water puppetry has many distinct characteristics from others. Water surface is used to be stage, called puppetry house (thủy đình), curtains covering behind stage, and surroundings decorated with flags, fans, elephants, gates and so on. On the stage, the wooden puppets are controlled by people behind through string systems under the water with folk songs playing in the background.

Puppets are normally made from fig wood that is light and endurable in order to easily emerge on the water.  Each water puppet is hand-carved and given five layers of lacquer paint to protect the puppets from the water and to add vital colors to the performance.

The topics of performances focus on the daily routine of countryside people, folk stories and history told between generations with the aim to create a relaxing space for farmers and entertain them after a hardworking day.

There are some places you can enjoy the water puppet performances such as Thang Long Water Puppet Theater, and Dao Thuc village (Dong Anh district, Hanoi).

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