We are planning to take a northbound train from Danang to make our way to the Bay of Halong (and then later to Hanoi, from where we have a departing flight.) What's the best/easiest route for this? Since we plan to visit Hanoi at the end of our trip, can it be avoided on our way to Halong? Or must the Bay of Halong be joined via Hanoi?
Thanks!
Reply to this Hi Kahns,
You can take the train from Da Nang to Ha Noi then take the bus to Ha Long, there are no flight and train to Ha Long. I think you can take flight from Da Nang to Ha Noi then take a tour from local travel agency to Ha Long bay. Then the last day you could enjoy Ha Noi.
Enjoy your trip.
AnOpenHandTravel.
[Edited: 2012 Oct 13 09:44 - AnOpenHandTravel:251688 ]
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In response to: Msg #161923
Another way no transit at Hà Nội that go through Hải Phòng.
Can take a flight from Đà Nẵng to Hải Phòng province. From Cát Bi airport take taxi to Tam Bạc Bus station and look for Bus go to Cẩm Phả (Quảng Ninh) then drop at the Bay on the way.
to come back Hà Nội just go to bus station and take bus.
check flight at Vietnamairline.
bus takes about 2hours to go to Hạ Long bay.
not sure about prices for buses and flight so i dont know if it's economy. But this sounds better than you come to Hà Nội then go and come back again. And if you have time, can explore Hải Phòng also.
Reply to this Are you planning to do a tour from Halong City? As Linh says above, you can fly from Danang to Haiphong. You can then get a hydrofoil or bus/boat combination from Haiphong to Cat Ba island in Halong Bay. It's easy to arrange boat trips and trips into the national park from Cat Ba island.
Reply to this Thanks so much for the insights. We are indeed aiming to do a tour, currently searching for a safe, family-friendly cruise for 3 days (suggestions would be welcome!) So far, it seems these all depart from Halong and often even include transfer to/from Hanoi...
Reply to this I think if you fly from Da Nang to Ha Noi then take a tour from Ha Noi to Ha Long, it is very easy. Normally, when you take a tour in Ha Noi to visit Ha Long it will include also the tranportation from Ha Noi to Ha Long. So you do not have to think any more about timing. You should take a trip from Ha Noi two days one night - overnight on boat
Enjoy your trip. It is enough to visit around Ha Long
AnOpenHandTravel
Reply to this We got the train from Danang to Hanoi and then when we went to Halong Bay the company picked us up and took us to the boat - just a thought as then it is included in your boat trip. One tip I remember is sometimes they cancel the boat due to weather and as part of the trip is a world heritage site they do not always give you all the money back as they have paid this part already - check it out when you book for the boat.
Reply to this Thanks Paula and Mike. That is indeed what we are doing: train to Hanoi... overnight in Hanoi (which works out to our advantage finally, since it allows us to leave the bulk of our luggage at the hotel and only take essentials for the cruise...) and then cruise company transfers between the bay and Hanoi. As I read up on my question, it sounded like staying in Halong Bay was simply not worthwhile.
Now we just have to cross our fingers for good weather!
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