Area : 5,938 sq km
Population : 905,000
Provincial : Ha Long City.

Situated in the North-East region of Vietnam,Halong Bay is a bay in the Gulf of Tonkin
Halong Bay borders Cat Ba Island in the southwest, the East Sea in the east, and the mainland, creating a 120 km coastline.
Halong Bay is made up of 1,969 islands ofvarious sizes, 989 of which have been given names. There are two kinds ofislands, limestone and schist, which are concentrated in two main zones: the southeast (belonging to Bai Tu Long Bay), and the southwest (belonging to Halong Bay). This densely concentrated zone of stone islands, world famous for its spectacular scenery of grottoes and caves, forms the central zone of Halong Bay, which has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Viewed from above, Halong Bay resembles a geographic work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands. There is Man's Head Island, which resembles a man standing and looking towards the mainland. Dragon Island looks like a dragon hovering above the turquoise water. La Vong Island resembles an old man fishing. There are also the islands of the Sail, the Pair of Roosters, and the Incense Burner, which all astonishingly resemble their namesakes. The forms of the islands change depending on the angle of the light and from where the islands are viewed. At the core of the islands, there are wonderful caves and grottoes, such as Thien Cung (Heavenly Residence Grotto), Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto), Sung Sot (Surprise Grotto), and Tam Cung (Three Palace Grotto).
With all this in mind, the 18th meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO (in Thailand on December 17th, 1994), officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage site of worldwide importance.

Ha Long is 45km from Cam Pha, 55km from Haiphong and 160km from Hanoi.
       Air Northern Service Flight Company (182 Truong Chinh, Hanoi Tel: 563 3110, Fax: 563 3111) offers an helicopter flight every Saturday from Hanoi, departing at 8 am and returning at 3 pm. The US$ 195 fare includes a four-hour boat trip and lunch
         Train Take the train from Hanoi to Haiphong, then a boat to Halong Bay.
Bus Bai Chay Station is by the Bai Chay Post Office. Buses leave Hanoi’s Gia Lam Station for Bai Chay. Air-con minibuses depart daily from Kim Ma Station to Bai Chay. It takes 3 hours and 40 minutes, and costs 35,000 VND. Buses leave from Bai Chay daily for Haiphong, Danang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Nha Trang. Minibuses depart from Bai Chay to Hanoi from Mien Tay Bus Station.
         Boat Daily ferries leave from the dock in Hon Gai for Haiphong (about three hours, costs US$ 3.50), Cat Hai Island (two hours, cost US$ 2.30) and Mong Cai (about eight hours, costs US$ 6).