Halong Bay: Cruise Into An additional World

There's one holiday destination that provides a true type of magic and mystery: Vietnam. In Halong Bay you will experience stunning views of hundreds of limestone karsts with interesting shapes jutting out from emerald waters [occasionally partially hidden by fog], drifting villages, mystical caves with deep grottoes, lakes hidden within hollow limestone islands, gorgeous coastlines and even more.

Take a halong bay cruise to discover this modern day paradise and you'll discover why the destination, stated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994, is now considered one of the brand-new 7 Wonders of the World.

Dragons, Elephants, Roosters and More

Located in the Quáng Ninh province in northeastern Vietnam and surrounded by the Gulf of Tonkin on the south and southeast, a Halong Bay cruise guarantees awe-inspiring scenery and a practically wonderful experience. Even the name is mystical: "bay where the dragon descends into the sea" is the rough translation of Halong Bay. Cruise into the bay and one can nearly see the dragon of legend, plunging into the water, and fancy the different formations as locations where its flailing tail formed the developments.

It is also easy to visualise the animal shapes that inspired the name of some of the islands that can be seen on a Halong Bay cruise. Around the bay you can see the islets with their quirkily detailed names: Elephant Islet (Voi), Battling Rooster Islet (Gan Choi) and more. Genuine animals, nevertheless, such as bantams, antelopes, apes, lizards and a multitude of birds occupy the islands, of which only a section have been called. Practically all of these islands are considered fenglin karsts - a term for tower-shaped karsts that equates as "peak forest". They range in height from 50m to 100m, and have height/width ratios of as much as about one to six.

Magical Caves, Lakes and Beaches

Another fascinating feature are the lakes you will see in the interior of limestone islands. Dau Be Island alone has 6 enclosed lakes, in addition to cavern grottoes that can be seen by boat throughout reduced tide. Dau Go Island, on the other hand, is known for its large and vibrant cavern which has many stalactites and stalagmites, a few of them even more than 20 metres high. Bo Hon Island has two caverns that are popular attractions, Pelican Cave (Hang Bo Nau) and Virgin Cavern (Hang Trinh Nu.) The most popular destination on a halong bay cruise cruise is most likely Feline Be island, a national forest popular for hikes and trips.

Andrew Mulvaney works for Tucan Travel, an award-winning service provider of high-quality tours that include a Halong Bay cruise in Vietnam and various other experience tours to locations such as Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Vietnam tours from Tucan Travel take you out of your comfort zone and immerse you in a thrilling, faraway land.