With its majestic mist shrouded islands and cliffs, Ha Long Bay is virtually the symbol of Vietnam (or at least it’s one the first pictures that comes up when you google “Vietnam”). We spent 2 days cruising the Bay, including the typical stops at the Thien Cung and Dau Go caves (judging by the neon colored lights, artificial fountain, and money thrown into the natural ponds, probably not fully living up to conservation standards), a “fishing village” where you could boat or kayak into nearby cliff-ringed coves, and a small beach with a steep hike to the top of the island.
Although there seemed to be virtually countless private options and no shortage of (somewhat pushy) guides hocking every sort of boat tour, we decided to take the local boat instead and had a great time with mostly Vietnamese tourists. While this was a more authentic experience, to be honest, we didn’t always know what was going on around us. Long descriptions in Vietnamese ended up being translated into “be back in 1 hour”. But all-in-all, they took great care of us (i.e. we didn’t get abandoned on any islands) and we had a really amazing time visiting this UNESCO site that surely has to be on the “must see once” list.
We had a similar experience when we were there last year. It’s all a bit overly scripted but still amazingly beautiful. Vietnam is an amazing country with lots of very cool people. The official government view of things, though, can be a bit overbearing.