Recommended Halong bay budget tour package from Hanoi, 2 days 1 night overnight cruise for backpackers

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Ha Long Bay, one of 7 wonders of the world is honorably chosen as a destination for travelers to come when they want to escape from life for a while to reenergize your body because of its magnificent and spectacular landscape created by nature. Normally, you have to spend a decent budget to travel to Ha Long bay. However we would like to share with you some tips to save your money and still have nice time there. There are a lot of activities that you can do such as: taking boat ride in Ha Long, climbing Bai Tho mountain, going shopping at Hon Gai market, wandering around Ha Long night market, enjoying the scenery of Ha Long bay from Bai Chay bridge and entertain yourself at Tuan Chau island. The following are recommended halong bay budget tours

Tips on travelling to Ha Long bay

Ha Long is located about 177km in the northward of Hanoi city, the capital of Vietnam. You can take a local bus at Luong Yen or My Dinh bus station. There are many bus companies with different time that you can take. It often takes 4 hours to go to Ha Long Bay. Here are some trusted bus companies: Phúc Xuyên, Kumho Việt Thanh, Hoàng Long.

2 days is proper period of time for your Hanoi Halong bay tour package. In the first day, you take the earliest bus to go to Ha Long Bay at 7 am. You arrive to the intersection of Tuan Chau around 11h30, get off from there and then take a motorbike to Tuan Chau international port. (From 1/1/2016, the international port was moved from Bai Chay to Tuan Chau). Arriving there, you can choose a local restaurant for lunch with reasonable price, often they have menu for choose. In the early afternoon, you buy ticket to visit Ha Long, you also have to pay for renting a boat. The price is often from 5- 7$/per person for a group boat. You can find there some “brokers” to ask for sharing the boat with others. And don’t worry about the price because it is normally fixed. If you go with friends or family, you should hire a private boat, price is from 7- 8$/per trip from 4-6 hours (in peak season from May to August, the price can be higher).

Note: If you arrive to Ha Long early, you should go to Bai Chay to book a hotel first before going Tuan Chau. The distance between Bai Chay and Tuan Chau is about 15km. There are some hotels in Tuan Chau island but not many and the price is often more expensive.

There are two types of cruise tickets: 4 hours and 6 hours for day trip in Ha Long. With 4 hour ticket, you are able to visit Thien Cung and Dau Go grotto, Fighting Cock island, and make a short cruise in the bay. With 6 hour ticket, you are able to visit Thien Cung and Dau Go grotto, Fighting Cock island, Titop beach and spend more time in a further distance cruising in the bay.

If you are not tired after the bus drive from Ha Noi, you should go to climb Bai Tho mountain first in the afternoon and in the second day take a 6 hour ticket boat ride (you can see more). In the afternoon of second day, take a bus back to Ha Noi. Bai Tho mountain is located in Hon Gai area, closed to Bai Chay bridge. From the top of mountain, you can have overview of Ha Long City and part of Ha Long Bay. This place is not popular in the tour yet.

If you are student and want to have Halong bay budget tour from Hanoi, you should stay overnight at a guesthouse near Long Tien pagoda (there are some cheap guesthouses there with price about 7$/ 2 persons, the quality is like a dorm). On the bus to Ha Long bay, ask the bus driver to drop you off at Long Toong intersection, from here about 15km to Long Tien pagoda. There are two very good local restaurants  opposite the cinema. And if you stay here, you should visit Bai Tho mountain in the afternoon because it is quite closed. However, from this area, you have to take a local bus to reach Tuan Chau island that can take you from 15- 20 minutes.

Besides, when you stay at Long Tien area, it is very convenient to travel to Quan Lan island because of the short distance from Long Tien to Hon Gai harbor (about 400m) where you can find a ferry to Quan Lan. You can stay one night at guesthouse and take a ferry to Quan Lan in the early morning next day.

Ha Long Bay 2 days 1 night tour (spending 1 night on the boat)

With Halong bay 2 day cruise for backpackers, you can do more activities, especially spend the night in the bay. Most of tours spending night on the boat are chosen by foreigners, domestic tourists often stay overnight at hotel because they worry about the service and safety on boats. But in my opinion, the main reason why domestic tourists don’t choose stay overnight on boat is because of high price.

The service and safety of the boat have to be qualified so that Ha Long Bay Management Department gives these boats license. The price for these tours is from 90$- 110$/per night with 3 star boat and higher with 4 and 5 star boat (170$-400$/per night).  Which boat you choose depends on your budget and expectation.

A popular 2 days 1 night tour itinerary:

Day 1:

From Ha Noi to Ha Long Bay, you spend 4 hours on the bus, and arrive there around 12h30. After that, you get on boat and start your journey around the bay. While the boat is navigating, you have lunch. The boat will stop at Titop beach or Amazing Cave at 2pm for your visit there. At the end of the day, you may do some kayaking at a specific place (or maybe you do it in the morning after)

Have a sleep on Halong bay overnight cruise.

Day 2:

For the second of halong bay 2 day 1 night tour package, going some kayaking, having breakfast, and after that, the boat will take you back to the harbor in a different route. You can have lunch on the boat or at local restaurant at Bai Chay. In the afternoon, come back to Ha Noi.

The place where you go kayaking is different from different tour company. With 3 days 2 nights tour, you can go to Cat Ba island in the second day and come back Ha Long in the third day and back to Ha Noi.

Note: If you need help to book a tour or some advice you can contact us. You can leave your email below or contact directly to balotravel.net

Guesthouses and hotels at Ha Long

Ha Long is divided into 2 parts: Hon Gai and Bay Chay connected by Bai Chay bridge. Bai Chay is the main tourist area with a long beach and port. Hon Gai is administrative center. You should stay in Bay Chay because it is more convenient for transporting and eating. Most of hotels and guesthouses are located at Vuon Dao street. The price is from 12-17$/per night, more expensive in summer. There are some good restaurants in this area with reasonable price. Don’t forget to try Squid cake- a special food here.

Some entertainment spots in Ha Long

Hang Thien Cung, Dau Go: you go by island Dau Goisland, continue walking through the steps, enter the cave, explore caves inside, should go both caves. There are many animal shapes and beautiful stalactites. In the evening you can go to Ha Long night market, buy some souvenirs and do not forget to bargain.  In addition you can also walk downtown to the post office, rent a horse car to go around. If you go to Bai Chay Bridge at night, you should go home early for your safety.

Bai Tho Mountain presented above. Also if you are in the area of Hon Gai, though it is far from the tourist center, but close to Halong city, you can enjoy the cuisine and learn about local people's lifestyle of Ha Long. In this area you can visit the Long Tien Pagoda, enjoy rice pancake with grilled Squid, the food here are less expensive than the tourist center. You can take the bus to move between two areas, Hon Gai will be more suitable if you are a student.

Cat Ba and Ha Long combined tour

If you can go both to Ha Long and Cat Ba , it would a perfect trip. In order to get to Cat Ba,you must take a ferry from Tuan Chau. There are specific time for ferry so you should look for it carefully. You can stay in Tuan Chau on the second day and take the last ferry to Cat Ba. When arrive to Gia Luan wharf, Cat Ba you must hire motorbike or taxi to get to the center. You can contact us to book a taxi or car for you because people often overcharge you here. You spend the night in Cat Ba town, and on the last day go swimming and visit the Fish Market. In the afternoon take Hoang Long bus to Hanoi (the ticket is included ferry), last bus is at 3pm.

You want to have more information about tour to Cat Ba, please contact us.

From 2014,Halong bay sightseeing ticket fee has been increased, in particular as following:

From 6:30 to 18:30 during the day is 120,000 VND / ticket(general visiting Halong bay, excluding tickets visitingislands , caves,  etc) The fee for some spots invested by the government such as Cua Van Floating Village, Soi Sim island, Titop island is from 30.000- 50.000 VND)

Generally visting and staying 1 night in Ha Long Bay is 320,000 VND (about 15$). Staying 2 nights and general sightseeing on Halong Bay is 470,000 VND and staying 3 nights and general tours on Halong Bay is 520,000 VND. Children from 7 to 15 years old ; senior citizens aged 70 years and over , the poor , people with disabilities will be exempt from 50% entrance fee . For those who have contributed to the revolution, children under 7 years old will be free from entrance ticket.

Vietnam visa exemption list

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Vietnam visa is a compulsory paper for foreigners who want to enter Vietnam for business, travel or visit. The following is Vietnam visa exemption list by Vietnam Immigration Department:

1. Those who are Cambodian, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Singaporean, Myanmar and Laotian citizens are granted Vietnam visa-free entry with no more than 30 days of residence.
2. Philipino citizens are granted Vietnam visa-free entry with no more than 21 days of residence.
3. Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Norwegian, Dane, Russian and Finn citizens are granted Vietnam visa-free entry with no more than 15 days of residence.

4. Bruneian citizens are granted Vietnam visa exemption with no more than 14 days of residence.

5. French citizens with valid Diplomatic Passport (DP) or Official Passport (OF) are granted Vietnam single or multiple visa-free entry with no more than 90 days of residence in total during 6 months since the date of very first entry.

6. Chilean citizens with valid Diplomatic Passport (DP) or Official Passport (OF) are granted Vietnam visa-free entry with no more than 90 days of residence.

7. From July 01, 2015 to June 30, 2016: English, French, German, Spanish and Italian citizens are granted Vietnam visa-free entry with no more than 15 days of residence.

8. From July 01, 2015 to June 30, 2020: Belarusian citizens are granted Vietnam visa-free entry with no more than 15 days of residence.

9. Those with APEC business travel card (ABTC) belong to member economies of APEC (The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) are granted Vietnam visa exemption with no more than 60 days of residence.

10. For those who travel Phu Quoc island, Vietnam: Foreigners and Overseas Vietnamese entering Vietnam through international border gate and then traveling to Phu Quoc island Vietnam will be granted Vietnam visa-free entry with no more than 15 days of residence. Passport validity of at least 45 days is required. In the event that tourists want to visit other places or stay at this island more than 15 days, they will be granted a Vietnam visa right in Phu Quoc island.

Vietnam tourist itinerary: splendid & most quiet places of interest to travel and visit

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During long holiday, you may not want to turn your precious trip into something inflicting yourself when you have to hustle in the midst of a press, right? Balotravel will give you suggestions on some most quiet places to visit in Vietnam. Quiet as they are, the beauty of them is undeniable.

Phan Rang – Ninh Thuan

Coming to Ninh Thuan during the last days of April, you can understand why people describe Ninh Thuan as a land of scorching sun and dried wind. Possibly, due to the harsh kind of weather, Ninh Thuan is not so popular among tourists, making it one of Vietnam quiet places to visit during the holidays. However, willing to take a little pain and you may figure out that this is an ideal place for those who want to seek the peace in mind.

Not to mention Vinh Hy bay, which has already been famous, the beauty of the coastal road near Binh Thuan beach is enough to satisfy the choosiest visitors. Besides, Ninh Thuan has a plethora of exclusive activities from which you can choose to enrich your trip to this place: exploring Ca Na lagoon, Dinh head lighthouse, Nam Cuong sand dune, or visiting Truc Lam Vien Ngo Zen monastery located on Da Chong Mountain and watching thousands of sheep in an immense space of the grassland.

Quy Nhon – Binh Dinh

It takes only 1h15m to fly from Hanoi to Quy Nhon. What is awaiting you here is a comfortable sense of calm. This place  is blessed with the harmonious beauty of mountain and sea. To escape from the hustle and bustle of cities like Da nang, Nha Trang, Vung Tau or Phan Thiet, This is ideal for you.

The roads are so broad that “we have never been through any kind of traffic jam” proudly said a taxi driver. Along the street is a perfect half-moon shaped coastal line wrapping the city. On the opposite side stays a vast park with grassland and trees, contributing to the freshness of the city

Coming to Quy Nhon-one of quiet places to visit in Vietnam, you can visit Hon Kho, Cu Lao Xanh whose the sea is crystal-like, or jaw-dropping Ky Co beach and superb Eo Gio looked as if it is about to take off towards the vast ocean. From Xuan Dieu street casting a farther look to the left, you may see the Ghenh Rang peak under the clouds where stays the tomb of Han Mac Tu the famous poet. To the right is the lying-dragon-shaped range. Every day, Lang Mai bay welcomes hundreds of boats coming home from the long-distant journey to land fish.

Buon Ma Thuot – Dak Lak

It is not a tourism city but for those who want to find quiet places to visit in Vietnam,  they will surely to be charmed by Buon Ma Thuot Dak Lak whose atmosphere is calm and congenital. Not as crowded as Da Lat city is, the city on mountain is beautiful in her own way.

Legenday Serepok created superb waterfalls namely Dray Sap, Dray Nur, Gia Long, Trinh Nu, Bay Nhanh, Krong Kmar, Bum Bip, etc which make interesting tourist spots. To explore every corner of this waterfall, it takes you 2 days at least and considerable effort to climb. However, to make up for such hard time, Serepok has a splendid landscape for you: immense thick forest decorated by spectacular white waterfalls.

Rambling on the roads in Buon Ma Thuot, you easily catch sight of seemingly endless field of coffee trees. Visiting Bun Me Thuot right before or right after Tet (Lunar New year holiday), you can enjoy the dance of spotless white coffee flowers covering small hills. The aroma of these flowers will linger in the air and stirring tourists’ hearts.

Phu Quy island – Binh Thuan

Located in Binh Thuan province, Phu Quy island charms the senses of visitors with its crystal sea, colorful corals and fresh cool air. As a visitor to Phu Quy island, you can discover small islands, join campfire, stroll along the beach or catch squid & shrimp. Unspoiled as it may seem, its basic services such as food or drinks are of good quality.

Hardly ever does anyone miss the scenery of the sun kissing the horizon. Every person has their own reasons to watch the sunset but one thing they surely have in common is that they cannot look away once they catch a glimpse of Phu Quy’s sunset. Suggested places for a best sight are Ngu Phung, Thay Nai, Trieu Duong bay, etc. Linh Son pagoda is the most popular one because from here, you can get a panoramic spectacular view of vivid horizon of different shades of orange.

Spending 10 minutes on canoe, you can now be able to walk under the shade of trees and know more about the life in fishing village. Visiting Hon Hai - the starting point of shark-fishing ships or giant whale bone in Van An Thanh is an option for your journey. Besides, you can visit Cao Cat, Cam mountains or Linh Buu, Linh Quang and Thanh Lam pagodas.

Binh Lap – Khanh Hoa

Located within Tu Binh sea in Cam Ranh but Binh Lap is barely known by tourists because of its isolated position. IN Binh Lap, Binh Chau beach is a famous place thanks to it easy-to-find location along with a variety of shops and restaurants. Ngang beach lies in front of Dao Hoa Vang Villa. Crystal and clear as its water is, Ngang beach is chosen by locals to be a place to keep shrimps and by tourists as a Vietnam places of interest. From here, you can hire a boat to visit Con beach and other unspoiled ones around Binh Lap.

Still looking for something imbued with Binh Lap’s style, don’t ignore small fishing villages near Sao Bien Ecotourism site. The funny thing is people in this site are mostly locals and tourists who lost their way literally. First thing you can feel is cool winds from the sea even in the middle of the day. at the end of this village is a small bay used as a port for small boat of locals.

Many people consider Binh Lap a miniature of Maldives but BaloTravel thinks there is nothing in common between these two places. Binh Lap is simply a small isolated and quiet peninsula where live the countrified people leading a calm and peaceful life. There is no luxury resorts here, high-class services as well. coming here, you will feel like coming home after a hard day a work, finding everything staying the same.

Con Dao

Simply stated, Con Dao has a perfect beauty, as it is blessed with all what needed to make a beautiful beach.

The calm and quiet in Con Dao will suit perfectly to whoever wants to relax in a green-clean-and-beautiful place where the pace of life is not that fast. Con Dao offers blue ocean, sun-kissed beach and poetic roads less traveled-totally contrast with that in Vung Tau, Nha Trang, or Mui Ne. Vietnam tourist itinerary often includes Con Dao because this island has historical monuments since Vietnam War.

Surrounding Con Dao are island of all sizes like Bay Canh, Tai, Tre, Trung, Trac, etc. This is a place with highest density of coral in Vietnam, ideal for you to discover the wonderful marine life. Riding on coastal roads of Con Dao means you can enjoy the immense ocean on one side while on another is lush forest.

Most of visitors to Con Dao island conclude that this is an island of unspoiled landscapes and fresh air-a well-preserved and heart-stopping beauty.

Van Long – Ninh Binh

In addition to being a nationl park, Van Long is also a splendid Vietnam travel destination. Van Long has long regarded as a Halong bay without wave, as tourists will feel as if they are floating on a giant mirror reflecting strong thresholds of limestone mountains around it, namely Meo Cao, Mam Xoi, HomSach, Da Ban, Nghien, Mo Coi, Co Tien. So clear is the water that you can almost see through it till the bottom.

There are 1000 caves in Van Long, in which a large number of caves is potential for tourism such as Ca, Bong, Rua, Chanh. This cave system is the home of various kinds of fish.

Tourists to Ninh Binh often follow the route through Bai Dinh-Trang An, Tam Coc-Bich Dong and ignore Van Long or Thung Nham bird park.

The four best foods you must eat in Ninh Binh Viet Nam

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Coming to Ninh Binh Viet Nam, travelers have a chance to not only admire breathtaking and famous sceneries and landscapes but also enjoy its unique cuisine with four best Ninh Binh foods, including thịt dê (goat meat), cơm cháy (burned rice), ốc núi luộc (boiled mountain snails) and gỏi cá nhệch (raw snake eels and vegetables), which are featured by the flavor of karst and the diligence in the cooking of Ninh Binh people. If you visit there once, you should not miss these four tasty and idyllic dishes.

Thịt dê (goat meat) – Ninh Binh specialty

Goat meat is processed into many diverse dishes that become a famous food in Ninh Binh and the favorite ones of numerous tourists. The special thing of Ninh Binh goat meat comes from the fact that herds of goats rear on the limestone mountains and eat various kinds of leaves there, thus, their meat turn into delicious, meaty and firm textured. Moreover, the typical way to cook the goat meat makes the dish become the pride of Ninh Binh inhabitants and an impressive must-eat Ninh Binh food in the eyes of travelers.

The dishes processed from goat meat includes dê tái chanh (rare goat meat with lime), tiết canh dê (goat blood pudding), dê né (deep fried goat meat without spices), lẩu dê (goat hot pot), dê áp chảo (Sautéed goat meat), dê nướng (grilled goat meat), cháo dê (goat porridge), dê sốt vang (stewed goat meat), and dê xào lăn (sautéed lemongrass goat meat with herb), of which dê tái chanh served with Ban Village soy sauce and herbs is the most preferable one. If you come to Ninh Binh Viet Namwithout trying this goat dishes, it is exactly an enormous omission in your life.

Cơm Cháy (burned rice) – the featured dish in Ninh Binh

Coming second after goat meat, burned rice is considered one of the four best foods you must eat in Ninh Binh. The chef must do very sophisticatedly to make this burned rice. The rice is medium cooked, not too dry or pappy. From the pot, take all the rice out but leave the layer adhesive at the bottom of the pot to keep being cooked. After this coating turns into well pale yellow, it will be dried for long preservation. Before being served, the pieces of the dried rice is deep fried in oil and added more flavors with some spices. The final crispy, aromatic and greasy bits of burned rice with salted shredded pork sprinkled on top become one of the best Ninh Binh foods appealing tourists.

Ốc núi luộc (boiled mountain snails) – the idyllic food in Ninh Binh

They are called mountain snails because there are a lot of snails on ranges of limestone mountains in Tam Diep Town, Yen Mo, Nho Quan. The snails only flourish in rainy season from April to August every year. They eat various natural grasses and medicinal herbs, therefore their meat become more nutritious, chewier, crispier, sweeter and distinctively tastier than usual. Processed into many different dishes but with simple way to cook, boiled mountain snails are still one of the best foods you must eat in Ninh Binh.

Gỏi cá nhệch (raw snake eels and vegetables) – the delicious Ninh Binh food attracting diners

Snake eel is a type of fish in the same family of eels but its width makes it look like an eel. The snake eel is cleaned in clear limewater and lye water before being sundered into fishbone and meat cut into thin slices. The fish skin is fried to roll the fish meat when it is served. The dish is made quite meticulously and elaborately, which brings it the fleshy aroma of rice and typical sour taste of vinegar. If you travel to Ninh Binh in the snake eel season, this is one of the Ninh Binh foods you must eat in the land of Viet Nam’s ancient capital.

With this introduction about four best Ninh Binh foods, hope you will have a right choice for your meals on vacation in Ninh Binh Viet Nam.