Quang Ninh to offer water-taxi for tourists

water-taxi for tourists

Water-taxi for tourists

The Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee has accepted the proposal from Au Lac Quang Ninh Joint Stock Company to invest a water-taxi system under the authority.

The People’s Committee assigned the Quang Ninh provincial Department of Transport in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ha Long City People’s Committee and relevant agencies to directly guide and supervise the Au Lac Quang Ninh Joint Stock Company to build the system safety as current regulations.

This new service will offer another choice for tourists to visit Ha Long Bay, thus providing a tourism product with modern means of transportation./.

 Source: .vietnamtourism

HaLong Bay Travel Guide

Halong vietnam travel guide

A cruise on Ha Long Bay -- or theBay of the Descending Dragon -- for many represents the pinnacle of their experience in Vietnam. easily one of the most popular destinations in the country, UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay is both mystical and magnificent, an incredible feat of nature that almost never fails to impress.

Yes, it really is that good.

Last time we counted, UNESCO had picked out 830 World Heritage sites around the world, chosen for their cultural and historical importance, and also for their geological uniqueness. Ha Long Bay offers a little of all three.

It's not the cliffs themselves that make Ha Long Bay unique, but rather their sheer number. A huge bay, dotted with nearly 2,000 mostly uninhabited limestone cliffs, the breathtaking scenery is very similar to that of the Andaman coast of Thailand, Vang Vieng in Laos and Guilin in China.

Created over millions of years, tectonic forces slowly thrust the limestone above the water-line. During this process waves lapping against the stone carved out a number of vast, striking caverns, as well as other geologically interesting formations, such as tunnel caves and uniquely shaped massifs.

Over the ages, Vietnamese fishermen with too much time on their hands began to see shapes in the stone massifs atop many of the islands, and named the islands accordingly -- Turtle Island, Human Head Island, Chicken Island and so on.

In what constitutes one of the most fascinating cultural features of the area, some of these fisherman still live on the bay today -- on floating fishing villages, where houses are set atop barges year round, the inhabitants catching and cultivating fish throughout.

Ha Long Bay cruises mostly run out of Hanoi or the coastal town of Halong City (which faces out and over the bay). There are hundreds of agencies selling tours on the bay, but very few actually run their own boats -- instead most are consolidators or resellers. Organising a tour is very much a buyer beware scenario -- talk to other travellers and shop around -- if you're paying $15 a head for a two day tour of Ha Long Bay rest assured it will be pretty dodgy. Try to include a stay on Cat Ba Island if you can.

Ha Long Bay entrance fees to increase from 2014

VietNamNet Bridge – The People’s Council of Quang Ninh Province has passed a resolution to increase the entrance fees to Ha Long Bay in order to have funding for renovation, conservation and promotion of the value of this heritage site.

Ha Long Bay entrance fees to increase from 2014

From January 1, 2014, the fees to visit Ha Long Bay in the daytime will increase up to VND150,000 ($7) per person instead of the current fees of VND80,000-VND130,000 ($4-6).

The entrance fees at each destination on the bay, which are invested by the State, will be from VND30,000 to VND50,000 ($1.5-2.5).
The overnight fees will be VND200,000, VND350,000 and VND400,000 ($10, $17, $20) for one, two and three nights, respectively.
The Council also ratified a resolution to collect the entrance fees to Bai Tu Long Bay, with the maximum fee of VND100,000 ($5) per person. However, the date for collecting the fees is not fixed yet.
Visitors who are children and some special subjects will enjoy fee reduction or exemption.
This year Quang Ninh expects to earn VND200 billion ($10 million) from the entrance fees to Ha Long Bay. With the new entrance fees, the province can earn up to VND600 billion ($30 million) in 2014.
Hai Chau(Vietnamnet.vn)

Ha Long Bay

Sung Sot (Surprise) Grotto

Geographical position

Situated in the north-east region of Viet Nam, Halong Bay is a part of Bac Bo Gulf and comprises the sea area of Halong City, Cam Pha Town and a part of Van Don island district, Quang Ninh Province. It borders Cat Ba Island to the south-west, the mainland to the west with a 120km-long coastline.

Geological value

Trinh Nu (Virgin) Grotto 

The most remarkable geological events of Halong Bay’s history in the last 1,000 years include the advance of the sea, the raising of the bay area and the strong erosion that has formed coral and pure blue and heavily-salted water. This process of erosion by sea water has deeply engraved the stone, contributing to its fantastic beauty. Present-day Halong Bay is the result of this long process of geological evolution that has been influenced by so many factors. It is because of all these factors that the tourists now visiting Halong Bay are not only treated to one of the true wonders of the world, but also to a precious geological museum that has been naturally preserved in the open air for the last 300 million years.

Value of biological diversity

Trong Mai (Cock and Hen) Islet 

Results of scientific research show that Halong Bay features ecosystems of a tropical ocean region such as ecosystem of coral reefs with 232 species of coral distributed mainly in the areas of Cong Do and Bo Hung. It is also home to 81 species of gastropoda, 130 species of bivalvia, 55 species of polycheta and 57 species of crab. The ecosystem of salt water-flooded forests chiefly concentrated in the zones of Tuan Chau, Cua Luc and Ba Che has the most diversified collection of species of salt water-flooded plant in North Vietnam. Also living in this ecosystem are a great many species of animals: migrating birds (200 species), polycheta (169 species), seaweed (91 species), reptile (10 species). Halong Bay also has ecosystem of tropical rain forests with various rare and precious creatures: deer, weasels, squirrels and in particular, white-tabby and red-haired monkeys. In addition, there is a system of small caves along the sea, which are the living and development places for many animals and plants: seaweed, water plant, algae, fish and shrimp. Deeper into the water, there are also many species of shrimp, fish, abalone and other sea-specialities.

Historical and cultural value

Halong is a place closely linked to Vietnam’s history with such famous geographical names as: Van Don (site of an ancient commercial port); Poem Mountain (with engravings of many poems by emperors and other famous people of the past); and Bach Dang River (the location of two fierce naval battles fought against foreign aggressors). This is not all, Halong has been proven by scientists to be one of the first cradles of human existence in the area, with such archaeological sites as Dong Mang, Xich Tho, Soi Nhu and Thoi Gieng…

Ha Long Bay seen from Bai Tho (Poem) Mountain  

On December 17, 1994, Halong Bay was recognised as world natural heritage for its natural beauty at the 18th meeting of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in Thailand. On December 12, 2000, Halong Bay was recognised as world natural heritage for the second time based on its geological value at the 24th meeting of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in Cairns, Australia. The recognised site covers an area of 434km², comprises 775 islands and forms a triangle: with Dau Go Island (Driftwood Grotto) to the west; Ba Ham Lake (Three Shelter Lake) to the south and Cong Tay Island to the east.

Source: http://www.vietnamtourism.com