Ha Long Bay Guide: History, Weather and Best Time to Visit

Ha Long Bay (Vietnamese: Vịnh Hạ Long) is a small bay on the west coast of the Gulf of Tonkin in the Northeast Sea of Vietnam, including the island waters of Ha Long city in Quang Ninh province. Distance from Halong Bay to Hanoi is about 170km, and this is always one of the busiest tourist spots of the country.

As the center of a large area with more or less similar elements in geology, geomorphology, landscape, climate and culture, with Bai Tu Long Bay in the northeast and Cat Ba archipelago in the southwest, Ha Long Bay is limited to an area of about 1,553 km² including 1,969 large and small islands, most of which are limestone islands, in which the core area of the bay has an area of 335 km² with a dense cluster of 775 islands.

Where is Halong Bay in Vietnam Located?

As a small bay, part of the Gulf of Tonkin, Ha Long Bay is limited to the Northeast bordering Bai Tu Long Bay; the Southwest borders on Cat Ba archipelago; The West and Northwest borders the mainland by a coastline of about 120 km extending from Quang Yen town, through Ha Long city, Cam Pha city to the end of Van Don island district; Southeast and south facing the Gulf of Tonkin. In an area of 1,553 km² including core and buffer zone, located at coordinates from 106°58'-107°22' East and 20°45'-20°50' North, Ha Long Bay includes 1,969 large and small islands. , of which 989 are named and 980 are unnamed.

History and Geology of Ha Long Bay:

Halong Bay - How was it formed? The tectonic history of the bay's limestone karst has spanned about 500 million years with very different paleo-geographical circumstances; and full karst evolution over 20 million years with a combination of factors such as thick limestone bed, hot and humid climate, and overall slow tectonic uplift. The combination of environment, climate, geology, geomorphology, has made Ha Long Bay become a gathering place of biodiversity including tropical moist evergreen closed forest ecosystem and marine and coastal ecosystems. shoreline with many sub-ecosystems, 17 endemic plant species and about 60 endemic animal species have been discovered among thousands of flora and fauna inhabiting the bay.

The results of research, archeological and cultural surveys show that the presence of prehistoric inhabitants on Ha Long Bay from quite early, has created successive ancient cultural forms including: Soi Nhu culture in about 18,000-7,000 years BC, Cai Beo culture in 7,000-5,000 years BC and Ha Long culture about 3,500-5,000 years ago. The process of building the country and the tradition of defending the country of the Vietnamese people, throughout the historical journey, also affirms the forerunner position and cultural position of Ha Long Bay through the places whose names are associated with historical relics. So far, such as Bai Tho mountain, Dau Go cave, Bai Chay Beach, etc. Currently, Ha Long Bay is a dynamic development area thanks to the available conditions and advantages such as having a great potential for tourism, scientific research, aquaculture, fishing, water transportation. with the Northeastern sea area of Vietnam in particular and the North of Vietnam in general.

In 1994, the core area of Ha Long Bay was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage with aesthetic value (standard vii), and was re-recognized for the second time with its outstanding global geo-geological value. (Standard viii) in 2000. Along with Nha Trang Bay and Lang Co Bay of Vietnam, Ha Long Bay is one of the 29 bays ranked and officially recognized by the World's Most Beautiful Bays Club in July 2003.

The geomorphological history of Ha Long Bay spans at least 500 million years with very different paleo-geographical circumstances, with many times of formation-recession and subsidence-advancement. Ha Long Bay used to be a deep sea area in the Ordovician-Siluan period (about 500-410 million years ago); shallow sea areas in the Carboniferous-Permian epochs (about 340-250 million years ago); coastal seas in the late Paleogene and early Neogene (about 26-20 million years ago) and experienced some encroachment during the Anthropocene (about 2 million years ago?). In the Triassic period (240-195 million years ago) Ha Long Bay area was wet swamp with giant ferns and conifer forests accumulated for many generations.

Legend Story of the name Ha Long Bay:

Ha Long Bay has a long history due to geological tectonics. However, in the minds of Vietnamese people from prehistoric times with folk imagination and the concept of the origin of Dragon and Fairy descendants, some legends say that when the Vietnamese first founded the country, they were invaded by foreign invaders, Ngoc Hoang sent the Mother Dragon to bring a flock of Baby Dragons down to earth to help the Vietnamese fight the enemy. Enemy ships from the sea rushed to the shore just as the dragons arrived in the world. The Dragons immediately spewed fire to burn the enemy ships, a part of Chau Ngoc built up a towering stone wall, causing the enemy ships to crash and break, blocking the foreign advance.

After the war was over, seeing the peaceful ground and lush vegetation, the people here were industrious, hardworking, united to help each other, the Mother Dragon and the Baby Dragon did not return to heaven, but stayed on the earth, where A battle has just taken place to protect the people of Dai Viet forever. The location where the Mother Dragon landed is Ha Long; The place where the baby dragon landed is Bai Tu Long and where the dragons' tails fluttered in white water was Bach Long Vi. However, the name Ha Long or Bai Tu Long has only existed since the French colonial period.

Another legend says that, at a time when the country had foreign invaders, a dragon flew along the river down to the sea and landed in the northeast coast to form a wall to block the advance. of the enemy navy. The place where the dragon landed to protect the country is called Ha Long.

How is the Weather & Climate in Halong Bay?

Halong Bay is located in the North East of Vietnam, the climate is characterized by four distintive seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The rainy season in the North Vietnam usually occurs during the summer season, from June to August. The weather is gradually cooler from September to November, and it gets cold and foggy from December.

Halong Bay Weather Forecast with Average Temperature by Month:

Because the weather changes yearly, we recommend you to check the weather forecast about one week in advance before planning your trip to Halong Bay accordingly. As each season has its own beauty, summer visitors will be delighted to swim on the bay, while in winter, travelers will be able to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Ha Long with kayaking or other outdoor activities.

What Activities to Do and Best Things to See?

There are plenty of activities to do in Halong Bay such as: Boat Cruising to enjoy the beautiful scenery, Hiking to explore the limestone caves and Titop Island, trekking in national park, swimming on the beaches, kayaking to explore islands and islets in less touristy areas, Squid fishing at night time, enjoy nightlife on the water, learn about local life in fishing village.

There are also many places to visit in Halong bay lick: beautiful beaches, fishing villages, caves and islands for you to discover such as: Cua Van fishing village, Titop beach & Island, Monkey Island, Incense Burner Islet, Stone Dog Islet, Cock Fighting Islet,  Surprising Cave, Thien Cung Cave, Tunnel Cave, Dau Go Grotto,...

When is the Best Time to Visit Halong Bay?

Halong Bay is actually beautiful all year around. Although there are many reasons why summer and winter time will be ideal for most visitors, but for most of people, the best time to visit Ha Long Bay in Vietnam is in spring and autumn, when temperature is more pleasant and low rain.

To avoid the crowd with local tourists in summer and have an Affordable Trip to Halong, the Best Time to Travel to Halong Bay is from March to May or from September to October. These months are great to go to Ha Long with more reasonable price and unique opportunities.

The weather / climate from March to May is usually quite pleasant with average temperature about 15°C - 25°C, and dry with fewer typhoons. So you will minimize the risk of extreme weather conditions, making it ideal chance for enjoying the best of Ha Long Bay.

Moreover, travel costs for domestic and foreign tourists will be a bit lower because this is the period between the two highest tourist seasons in the year. So you will have chance to experience more with less price. Also, it’s an ideal travel time with a lower number of local and foreign tourists if you would like to avoid the crowd.

Also, there will be plenty of activities to do and things to see in Halong Bay during this period with warm water for swimming or kayaking and squid fishing, clear sky for sightseeing and photo opputinity. But if you can not plan your trip during this time, Halong Bay of Vietnam is still beautiful all year around.

Recommended Tours:

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

Adventure Journey

See Also:

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