Halong Bay Tender Port - what to do locally in December?

Seeking recommendations on what to do locally around the tender port for Halong Bay.

What would be the nearest town of possible interest?

Is local tourist information available at the pier? I would prefer to not travel to Hanoi or do a boat trip to Halong Bay.

We will be at Halong Bay for 1.1/2 days in December. I assume it will be cold at that time of year.

Just had a look at weather and it is colder than usual. The article I read said average 19C with highs of 21C and lows of 15C.

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If you can book a junk from Indochina junks to go to the secluded Bai Tu Long Bay you will see beautiful scenery without the crowds.

For sure Hanoi is a long way away but may be worth a peek since you could stay there overnight.

You should also post this on the relevant Ports of Call forum.

Just had a look at weather and it is colder than usual. The article I read said average 19C with highs of 21C and lows of 15C.

 

 

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Right now 19C sounds great. Leaving for heat soon . Will have even warmer but then the tip of S America.

When I was there last January it was light coat weather, but I managed Ok with a sweater and large scarf. It was warmer in the south. As for what to do, you seem to turn your nose up at the two most fantastic opportunties. The drive is long to Hanoi, but I am very glad I went. I loved it so much that I hope to do a land trip next year. I went with a private car (not expensive) so it was less tiring than a bus. The half day (or even private overnight) trips to Halong Bay are equally wonderful. The area around the port is becomming more touristy (hotels, amusement parks, casinos etc), is that something that interests you? I have accepted that in most places all the things I want to see involve several hours of travel.

When I was there last January it was light coat weather, but I managed Ok with a sweater and large scarf. It was warmer in the south. As for what to do, you seem to turn your nose up at the two most fantastic opportunties. The drive is long to Hanoi, but I am very glad I went. I loved it so much that I hope to do a land trip next year. I went with a private car (not expensive) so it was less tiring than a bus. The half day (or even private overnight) trips to Halong Bay are equally wonderful. The area around the port is becomming more touristy (hotels, amusement parks, casinos etc), is that something that interests you? I have accepted that in most places all the things I want to see involve several hours of travel.

Thanks for the information about the weather. Being from the tropics, I'll take suitable cold weather clothes from my overseas box.

My daughter loves Vietnam and has recommended that some places are better visited on longer stays, rather than a rushed visit following long bus tours.

We will be staying in the city in Bangkok (2.1/2 days) and HCMC (1.3/4 days).

I have been able to organise privately wonderful days locally close to ports of call, in lieu of taking long bus trips which allow little time in the well known places.

Whilst my daughter stayed overnight on an island in Halong Bay and absolutely loved her visit, she wasn't able to tell me about the Halong Bay area.

If you can book a junk from Indochina junks to go to the secluded Bai Tu Long Bay you will see beautiful scenery without the crowds.

For sure Hanoi is a long way away but may be worth a peek since you could stay there overnight.

You should also post this on the relevant Ports of Call forum.

Thanks for your response. Yes, I posted on that forum. I posted on this forum because I have discovered that Azamara frequently cruises this itinerary.

We found ourselves back in Ha Long in March 2015 for the second time and both times we had 1 and 1/2 to 2 days.

First time around we did the half day boat trip and the full day Hanoi. In March 2015 we didn't mind too much repeating the Bay boat trip (which we did) but could not face the very long day to Hanoi and back again so decided to stay in Ha Long instead.

It took a LOT of digging to find any info on Ha Long City itself because most of the info which comes up in results is lost in amongst the thousands of snippets for Ha Long Bay. Can only suggest you dig deep.

What we did find was info on a very new (at that time) museum, also a temple and a market. It all sounds a bit predictable but wasn't what you might expect.

The museum is called Quảng Ninh Museum. This is their website:

Địa chỉ: Đường Trần Quốc Nghiễn, phường Hồng Hải, tp Hạ Long

Điện Thoai: 0333.823045 & 0333.825031

Email: baotangquangninh@gmail.com

Website: baotangquangninh.vn

You will find info on it if you search the internet for Quang Ninh Museum, reviews, otherwise it is lost in boat trip reviews. There are a number of them on Tripadvisor and some reviews have info on opening hours and entry cost as well as photos. It is ultra modern, designed by a Spaniard and beautiful inside too, with interesting exhibits. I found info which says it is currently open Tues-Sat only from 0900 and closes for lunch at 11-30 reopening at 2pm but this may or may not be accurate and you would need to check as best you can. It was fairly new when we went and we struggled to get any info in english, eventually taking a chance and going there in a taxi. We had copied a picture of it, with its name, to show the taxi driver. He took us and we paid him to wait for us, which wasn't that long as we had to leave when they closed for lunch, something we had not expected.

From there we headed back along the new and rather lovely promenade. This has views over many limestone "rocks" in that part of the bay. There were some new buildings opposite the water.Very quickly we came to the area where the fishing boats were unloading and we stopped to watch and take photos. Fascinating to watch the local people busy with their boats and catches. Across the main road but a little out of sight was the indoor/outdoor market, again fascinating to watch the comings and goings there. Our taxi driver took us in a different way so we didn't initially realise that the outdoor market led to that promenade road until we wandered down a street which led to it. We left the taxi as we arrived at the market as we wanted time to ourselves and we also visited the very colourful and busy Long Tien Pagoda, the most important temple in town. It is very close to the market. Many of our fellow cruise pax were in the area of the market and the temple and we had no problem getting a taxi back to the tender point.

I think some ships offer shuttle buses, but our ship (X) did not. If there is a shuttle, I would guess it would run to somewhere close to the temple and market but I do not know.

Reading some of the museum reviews, it appears that the museum area is now very "up and coming" with a new shopping mall and a new Sheraton Hotel.

You could even walk along the seaside promenade between the museum and the markets if you had the time and it wasn't too hot.

Hope some of this helps.

The museum reviews, info and photos are currently at #27 of 53 on Tripadvisor Halong Bay

We found ourselves back in Ha Long in March 2015 for the second time and both times we had 1 and 1/2 to 2 days.

First time around we did the half day boat trip and the full day Hanoi. In March 2015 we didn't mind too much repeating the Bay boat trip (which we did) but could not face the very long day to Hanoi and back again so decided to stay in Ha Long instead.

It took a LOT of digging to find any info on Ha Long City itself because most of the info which comes up in results is lost in amongst the thousands of snippets for Ha Long Bay. Can only suggest you dig deep.

What we did find was info on a very new (at that time) museum, also a temple and a market. It all sounds a bit predictable but wasn't what you might expect.

The museum is called Quảng Ninh Museum. This is their website:

 

 

 

 

TÀNG TỈNH QUẢNG NINH

Địa chỉ: Đường Trần Quốc Nghiễn, phường Hồng Hải, tp Hạ Long

Điện Thoai: 0333.823045 & 0333.825031

Email: baotangquangninh@gmail.com

Website: baotangquangninh.vn

You will find info on it if you search the internet for Quang Ninh Museum, reviews, otherwise it is lost in boat trip reviews. There are a number of them on Tripadvisor and some reviews have info on opening hours and entry cost as well as photos. It is ultra modern, designed by a Spaniard and beautiful inside too, with interesting exhibits. I found info which says it is currently open Tues-Sat only from 0900 and closes for lunch at 11-30 reopening at 2pm but this may or may not be accurate and you would need to check as best you can. It was fairly new when we went and we struggled to get any info in english, eventually taking a chance and going there in a taxi. We had copied a picture of it, with its name, to show the taxi driver. He took us and we paid him to wait for us, which wasn't that long as we had to leave when they closed for lunch, something we had not expected.

From there we headed back along the new and rather lovely promenade. This has views over many limestone "rocks" in that part of the bay. There were some new buildings opposite the water.Very quickly we came to the area where the fishing boats were unloading and we stopped to watch and take photos. Fascinating to watch the local people busy with their boats and catches. Across the main road but a little out of sight was the indoor/outdoor market, again fascinating to watch the comings and goings there. Our taxi driver took us in a different way so we didn't initially realise that the outdoor market led to that promenade road until we wandered down a street which led to it. We left the taxi as we arrived at the market as we wanted time to ourselves and we also visited the very colourful and busy Long Tien Pagoda, the most important temple in town. It is very close to the market. Many of our fellow cruise pax were in the area of the market and the temple and we had no problem getting a taxi back to the tender point.

I think some ships offer shuttle buses, but our ship (X) did not. If there is a shuttle, I would guess it would run to somewhere close to the temple and market but I do not know.

Reading some of the museum reviews, it appears that the museum area is now very "up and coming" with a new shopping mall and a new Sheraton Hotel.

You could even walk along the seaside promenade between the museum and the markets if you had the time and it wasn't too hot.

Hope some of this helps.

Thank you so much for taking the trouble to provide such detailed information, which is much appreciated. This is just what I was looking for.

I have wonderful memories of touring independently locally at ports of call, where I haven't wanted to take long bus trips to well known cities. I love the sense of discovery. However, I just couldn't find any information on this port area, apart from boat trips of the Bay, etc.

BTW I love your beautiful city.

From there we headed back along the new and rather lovely promenade. This has views over many limestone "rocks" in that part of the bay. There were some new buildings opposite the water.Very quickly we came to the area where the fishing boats were unloading and we stopped to watch and take photos. Fascinating to watch the local people busy with their boats and catches.

Just checking you are talking about Ha Long City?

I ask as we did the Bay about 18 months ago and would not want to do it a second time.

Tony

Yes, Ha Long City itself. There is a more detailed reply from me posted today on the Asia board (subject heading is the same as this) as Marion posted on both forums and another CCer asked a question about a cruise line which was not Azamara.

Marion, you will see my post from this morning on the Asia board. Some of what I wrote may not be relevant to Azamara but was in response to a question from a Celebrity passenger.

If Azamara organise a shuttle I would guess it would take you to the Hon Gai area but only Azamara could tell you this.

However, just in case Azamara do NOT organise a shuttle, this may be relevant to you:

There are different places where cruise ships could tender into, but looking at our info it appears that we were at Bai Chay.

Be absolutely certain where the tender dock is for your return, as language was an issue with taxi drivers. Check this with the front desk before leaving the ship or a local business when you get off the tender.

Ha Long is actually two areas. Bai Chay and Hon Gai, connected by a bridge. We didn't explore anywhere in Bai Chay, heading from the tender dock across the bridge to the Hon Gai section, and on return from Hon Gai we went directly on to the tender.

I found this a very frustrating port to research. Info was difficult to find for the city itself, and e-mails to Tourist Info offices in the area were returned undelivered or not replied to. The museum did not respond to an enquiry either.

Good luck!