Bãi Cháy Beach, Halong Bay: How to Get There from Hanoi

Bai Chay Beach, located in Halong City close to Ha Long Bay, between Tuan Chau Island and Hon Gai Island of Quang Ninh Province, is the largest beach in Ha Long. This area can be considered as the tourism center of Ha Long, very convenient to explore the whole of Ha Long City and World Nature Heritage of Halong Bay.

• Location: Halong City, Quang Ninh Province
• Opening Hours: 24 hours
• Entrance Fee: Free of Charge

Bai Chay Beach is an artificial coast, stretching about 1000m long and over 100m wide, is blessed with wonderful beauty with clear blue water, clean beaches, so it attracts many visitors around the country. Along the coast is a stretch of pine trees creating a fresh, peaceful, and relaxing atmosphere of the sea breeze combined with green trees. Coming to this place, enjoy a clear blue beach with white sand and two sides of trees, romantic sunsets, and dawns, giving visitors an incredible comfort and peaceful feeling. In addition, it has also bicycle rental service on the beach, surfing cars, kite rental, and extremely unique various kinds of food and drink.

What to Do and Best Things to See near Bai Chay Beach?

1. Sunbath on the Bai Chay Beach: Sunbathing on the sandy Beach of Bai Chay with the beautiful view of the bay in front of you is an absolute must when you are in Halong City. Bai Chay is a man-made tourist friendly beach, which lies close to the coast of Halong Bay. In summertime, the beach is a popular relaxing destination not only for local people, but also for domestic and international visitors.

There ar also many good hotels for accomodation and local restaurants are located along the beach side. The most popular activities can be found here are swimming, sunbathing team building, and water spot games such as jet skiing, surfing, kayaking.

2. Quang Ninh Museum & Library: This highly recommended to those who are interested in the history and culture of area. Designed by Spanish architect Salavador Perez Arroyo, the cluster of Quang Ninh Museum – Library won the Works of 2013 prize due to its special architectural design, symbolize the image of coal – the main mineral characteristic of Quang Ninh. From the outside, tourists are impressed by twin buildings with the bold and shining appearance.

The outer part covered by dark glasses makes the buildings look like a giant mirror reflecting the gorgeous views of the Halong Bay coastline. The museum is open on Tuesday to Sunday (except Monday), from 8 am to 5 pm.

3. Take a Stroll over Bai Chay Bridge: The holiday to Halong City will definitely be extremely memorable when tourists set foot on magnificent Bai Chay Bridge. At the time of its inauguration in 2006, Bai Chay Bridge is the first and the longest central-line cable-stayed bridge in Vietnam. It lies at about 50m above water level so that all vessels can operate normally when passing under it.

The bridge connects 2 towns of Bai Chay and Hon Gai – two important economic and cultural centers of Quang Ninh and plays an important role in adorning the beauty of Halong Bay and Halong City. Take a stroll along the bridge, tourists can take the panoramic view of Halong City and a large part of Halong Bay as well. When viewed from Bai Chay Bridge, the scenery of Halong City and Halong Bay becomes much more splendid, especially at night time when the city is bathed in colors.

4. Visit Sun World Ha Long Park: Built on an area of 214ha, Sun World Ha Long Park in Bai Chay is the largest entertainment complex in the Northern Vietnam. Ha Long Park is designed with 2 main areas: the coastal amusement area and the Ba Pass entertainment area, connected by Queen Cable Car.

Coming to the coastal amusement area, tourists will be able to enjoy 2 amusement parks with many games: Dragon Park and Typhoon Water Park. Dragon Park currently holds the record for having the fastest roller coaster game in Vietnam.

5. Visit Halong Night Market: The night market has an area of up to 5,000 m2 with 335 business stalls selling all kinds of goods such as souvenirs, clothes, local cuisine, etc. Bai Chay Halong Night Market has become spacious with solid infrastructure such as concrete floors, lighting systems, electric fans, parking, ensuring more safety for tourists as well as shopkeepers.

The best time to enjoy the night market is from 9 pm to 12 pm at night. It is the time when the market is most active, both food stalls and souvenir stalls. You will definitely be surprised by the variety of cuisine in Ha Long at this night market!

6. Capture Halong Bay from the Peak of Bai Tho Mountain: Another viewpoint to capture the natural beauty of Halong Bay from above is Bai Tho Mountain’s peak. The mountain is located right in the city center so it’s very convenient to add the trip of discovering it into Halong City Tour. Even being only about 200 meters in height, the mountain is still considered as one of the most ideal viewing spots over Halong Bay.

The hike trail to the mountain top lies in a small alley and indeed hidden in the retreat at the back of the native lodges. Hence, don’t hesitate to get some help from the locals living nearby when you get lost in direction. After about 30 to 45 minutes of hiking, the view from the peak of Bai Tho Mountain is truly the best reward you can ever get. Are you ready to be mesmerized by the oceanic breeze coming from the horizon while capturing the best scenes in your life? Join the private half-day Halong City Tour with Vietnam Travel’s local guide for Halong discovery and better care on an adventure to Bai Tho Mountain!

7. Explore Tuan Chau Island: Sitting in the north-west of Halong Bay is Tuan Chau Island, which is located 8 km south-west of Halong City. This island is a perfect destination for slow pace travelers who want to escape from the hustle and bustle of city center. The island is the paradise of resorts and recreation with fully developed facilities and infrastructures.

As a newly-developed tourist attraction, Tuan Chau offers many entertaining activities awaiting tourists to discover. Children are keen on dolphin performance, magic show, and circus performances. Teenagers and young people will be immersed in lots of unique and exciting outdoor recreation activities and thrilling games such as fly away, Apollo, love swing, crazy wave, and star flyer. It is also amazing to watch the water show of dancing fountains which is perfectly synchronized with cheerful music.

How to Get to Bai Chay Beach in Halong City?

Distance Hanoi to Bai Chay Beach in Halong City is about 150km, traffic is developing so there are some ways for you to choose, depending you’re your time and budget. Here is our suggestions to go from Hanoi to Halong Bay and Bai Chay Beach:

• By public bus: There are many local public buses coming to Halong in Luong Yen bus station and My Dinh bus station. There is a bus every 5 - 10 minutes.
• By railway train: you can choose the railway train to go from Hanoi to Ha Long. Using this vehicle, you can enjoy sightseeing along the way, learn more about the lives of local people at the places where the train passes.
• By motorbike: It takes you about 160 km driving. You can follow the route: Hanoi - Bac Ninh - Uong Bi - Ha Long City.
• By Seaplane: It is new and enjoyable experience. The flight departs from Noi Bai Airport to Tuan Chau port, flight time is about 45 minutes and some flights have 15 minutes more for tourists to enjoy the scenery.

Best time to visit Bai Chay Beach is from May to September when weather is warmer with less rain, more sun and that will enable you to enjoy all the beach activities. But be aware as that will be the peak season for summer holiday of Vietnamese Tourist, so beach will be more busy.

Adventure Journey

Recommended Tours:

• Halong Bay Day Cruise from Ha Noi
• Halong Bay Tour Overnight Cruises

See Related Articles:

• Halong Bay Travel Guide: Things You Need to Know Before You Go
• Halong Bay Vietnam Tour: Choose 1 Day Trip or Overnight Cruises
• Bai Tu Long Bay Vietnam: Things You Need to Know Before You Go
• Lan Ha Bay Vietnam: Everything You Need to Know Before You Go