If you travel to North Vietnam, or Hanoi, DO NOT miss visiting Halong Bay, the Unesco World Heritage area and one of the New 7 wonders of Nature. Ha Long Bay is one of the most beautiful and serene places  I have been, so peaceful and pretty. The bay is famous for its scenic ocean karst topography and is often included in lists of must see places in Asia. And the best way to enjoy Halong Bay is by taking the a boat cruise.  We really enjoyed our one night Halong Bay cruise; it was a great way to chill out after the bustle of Hanoi, and of course the scenery is breathtaking! Well worth the 3hours drive trip from Hanoi.

However, Halong Bay runs the risk of overcrowding, if not already. We sailed with the Dolphin Cruise. There are apparently some 900 boats around the bay, full of curious tourists and it certainly seems so as the waters are all dotted with white boats, and it look like at some point it will resemble the busy streets of Vietnam where all motorcycles, cars and passengers cram together. It doesn’t resembles  the picture in the postcards. The beautiful traditional junks do not exist – their place having been taken by ugly, huge, 3-storey, dirty-white liners and there’s nothing very pleasant about sailing around with 900 other huge boats in a bay that has plastics and rubbish floating in it. Nonetheless, we were incredibly blessed with clear blue skies and beautiful weather – apparently the group before us and after us had their tour cancelled due to stormy conditions.

The bay is lovely nonetheless, with some very pretty views (if you can ignore the hundred odd cruise boats milling around), if you have a chance to kayak – go do it! this is a great chance to view magnificent caves and outcrops up close and just take in the scenery in solitude or as a couple. Guided excursions included the Cave of Awe; a floating village; and Titop Island where we spent enough time to enjoy the beach and trek to the little temple on the top of the island from which there were stunning views of the bay. Here’s some more of images of Halong Bay…