Lan Ha Bay or Ha Long Bay...which one to choose in Vietnam?

by - 12/16/2022



 If you have tried planning a trip to Vietnam, you will know this dilemma. The biggest decisions lie in the selection of destinations while planning for your trip abroad. And if you are travelling abroad after a long time, read after 2 years of Covid, then expectations are really running high and you don't want to mess it up for your family.


Now what kind of traveller are you or your family members? The touristy ones or the people who love to explore? Well this is the principal deciding factor in choosing the destinations on your itenerary. I, personally love to take the less traveled path more but can't ignore the touristy spots too. For me, the famous spots have to be ticked off from my list and then will tread the road less taken to satisfy my wanderlust soul.
Ever since I started traveling abroad 15 years back, Halong bay in Vietnam has been on my list. For me, the main destination in Vietnam were the limestone studded cliffs in the Gulf of Tonkin, the famous Ha Long Bay which had been declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994.
The norm is to take a cruise on this bay. Either a day cruise or an overnight one. However as we started researching, we realised that Ha Long Bay is overcrowded with 300 operators conducting cruises on a daily basis. In further digging we discovered that Lan Ha Bay, which lies on an extension of Ha Long Bay, has the same topography yet lot less tourists. While Ha Long Bay could be reached directly from Ha Noi, the capital, Lan Ha Bay couldn't. We would have to go to Cat Ba island first and then venture into the sea. That meant more time and money for the limestone cliffs only. We were in a fix.
Upon extensive research, we found out people were raving about Lan Ha Bay. We decided to take a leap of faith and booked our stay plus travel to Cat Ba island. 
The best part of the cruise was when our ship docked in the middle of the sea and we were supposed to swim to a secluded beach. The white sand felt like velvet under our feet. The water was warm and clear. Too sad it was cloudy otherwise the gulf water would have appeared green, as the pictures in magazines.
Me, husband, my father and elder daughter swam to the beach. My mother stayed back in the ship with my little one. We four swam, walked around the islets and saw the grottos. The feeling was absolutely surreal. Natural beauty at its best. And there were hardly any other swimmers apart from the 5 or 6 people from our ship itself. It was our private beach moment!
If you ask me, I have absolutely zero regrets about not visiting the "Halong Bay" . In fact our ship crossed a part of Ha long bay and Lan Ha is part of Ha long itself. Our cruise ship had only 20 people and it was kind of a private experience. Also, the prices are more economical than Ha Long Bay.
God is very generous. The more you explore nature, the more you realise. He is the real magician. Those limestone karsts, thousands of islets, caves and hidden pristine beaches are nothing but God's surprise gifts to us. I am so very grateful to be able to witness a minute part of it.


This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.


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21 comments

  1. Nice write up and a best one for all the travel enthusiasts.

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  2. Wow Lan Ha Bay looks A-MAZING. What a fun trip you guys looked liked you had a great time, truly a beautiful place to go.

    Allie of
    www.allienyc.com

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  3. Beautiful islands all around the postcard beach, the tall islands almost look like the hanging rocks of Avatar movie.

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  4. Here is another of your travel blogs. Fascinating for sure.Lan-ha-bay looks so beautiful through your lens and pen. A keepsake for sure.

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  5. Hats off to the 15 years long wait, the fact that you did make it to Halong Bay and didn't just give up.
    Good 1

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  6. It is good to be an explorer! That way you can visit places whch are less commercial and less crowded. Even we go for that experience. Your pictures look amazing! Just one question if you do not know how to swim is there an alternative way to visit Lan ha Bay!

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  7. Whew! Such a lovely place to visit indeed! I'm sure the photos don't give justice on how majestic the place is in real life! Appreciate you sharing your travels with us! Hope to visit soon too!-MommyWithAGoal

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  8. Wow, what a gorgeous place to vacation. Your words make Lan-ha-bay seem like a picture-perfect setting. Last photo was like watching still from movie kaho na pyar hai 😄.

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  9. i am a travel enthusiast and love exploring different places to know its culture and natural beauties and your post enlightened me to take a dip in this beautiful destination called Vietnam. Thank you for this beautiful and elaborate post.

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  10. Really beautiful pictures. Thanks you for sharing about Ha Long Bay. I agree with you about the lesser known places. I also enjoy the ones where there is less crowd.

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  11. Loved your short and sweet write up of La Han Bay Mandira and happy that your decision to skip Ha Long was worth it. Beautiful pics as usual... n the place so so gorgeous... keep travelling Diva! 😊

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  12. Such a beautiful place and so picturesque. It is going to be a while until we begin traveling again but I am definitely going to bookmark this one.

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  13. I did Ha Long Bay in 2018 and also took the small cruise ship with only 20 people. It was a lovely experience of eating, sleeping and waking up in the middle of the ocean surrounded by so much greenery. We reach the bay in the early morning so it was all the more majestic with the mist. Though I was the only vegetarian, the crew made sure I got an option for every course of every meal. It was yum too! One of the best experiences of my life.

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  14. Wow, what a beautiful view of Halong way. Love the ocean and island. Thank you dear for virtual tour. I really like to read your post. It gives ideas for creating bucket list.

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  15. Wow that’s awesome looks so good island, I am surely addicted this in my list to visit

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  16. You didnt give up and that's my friend the best thing. Perfect and I enjoyed the post along with the pics.

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  17. I'm also like you when it comes to exploring. I really loved reading your experience about lan ha. Thank you so much for letting me know about this . Will definitely plan for this

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  18. Firstly reading this makes me wanna plan a trip too. With schools now open again, it's tough to plan a long holiday. However may be in summer break we will do it.

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  19. Bedabrata Chakraborty26 December 2022 at 10:23

    Fantastic read! You look like a mermaid just out of water. Vietnam is so gorgeous - naturally as well as historically! Lan Hay Bay seems like a wise choice that you made. I am so tempted to pay another visit to Vietnam.

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  20. I am like you, I want to visit less explored places but also don't want to miss out touristy places. Lan Hay Bay looks so amazing and you looking so pretty.

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  21. Thanks for sharing your expertise on this subject!
    Noor

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