Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay, and Bai Tu Long Bay are three of the most beautiful bays in northern Vietnam, yet each offers a very different travel experience. While they share the same iconic limestone karsts, emerald waters, and island-dotted scenery, the atmosphere, crowd levels, and activities can vary greatly from one bay to another.
- Halong Bay is the most famous and easiest to access, known for its lively cruises, wide choice of activities, and vibrant tourist scene.
- Lan Ha Bay feels quieter and more adventurous, with calm waters, hidden beaches, and excellent kayaking around Cat Ba Island.
- Bai Tu Long Bay is the most secluded option, offering clearer water, fewer boats, and a slower, more untouched experience.
Beyond scenery, these bays differ in location, size, transport routes, cruise itineraries, and overall pace of travel. Some are ideal for first-time visitors with limited time, while others are better suited for travelers who want to avoid crowds and explore deeper into nature.
Read on to see how Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay, and Bai Tu Long Bay compare in detail—and find out which bay best matches your travel style, schedule, and expectations.
Table of Contents
A bird’s-eye view of the 3 bays
| LAN HA BAY | BAI TU LONG BAY | HALONG BAY |
| 16 km to the east of Cat Ba Island | 30 km to the east of Halong Bay | 170 km to the east of Hanoi |
| Around 400 islets | Around 3000 islets | 1969 islets |
| Area: 76 km2 | Area: 560 km2 | Area: 1553 km2 |
Transport
| LAN HA BAY | BAI TU LONG BAY | HALONG BAY |
| Embarkation point: Tuan Chau Marina (Halong City) | Embarkation point: Halong International Port or Sun Group Port (Halong City) | Embarkation point: Tuan Chau Marina (Halong City) |
| From Hanoi city centre: 150 km – shuttle bus / car (2h30’) | From Hanoi city centre: 136 km – shuttle bus / car (3h15’) | From Hanoi city centre: 150 km – shuttle bus / car (2h25’) |
| From Noi Bai Int’l Airport: 160 km – shuttle bus / car (2h30’) | From Noi Bai Int’l Airport: 157 km – shuttle bus / car (2h30’) | From Noi Bai Int’l Airport: 160 km – shuttle bus / car (2h30’)) |
| From Cat Bi Int’l Airport: 40km – private car / taxi (40’) | From Cat Bi Int’l Airport: 40 km – private car / taxi (40’) | From Cat Bi Int’l Airport: 40 km – private car / taxi (40’) |
Recommended cruises for each bay
Halong Bay Cruises
Lan Ha Bay Cruises
Bai Tu Long Bay Cruises
Popular Activities In The Halong Bay Area
| LAN HA BAY | BAI TU LONG BAY | HALONG BAY |
| Kayaking | Kayaking | Kayaking |
| Swimming | Swimming | Swimming |
| Rock climbing | Climbing | Diving |
| Water bouldering | Fishing | Fishing |
| Cycling | Cycling | Cycling |
| Beach BBQ | Tuk tuk riding | Beach BBQ |
A Note On Day Cruises
Overnight cruises with either 2D1N or 3D2N itineraries used to be far more popular than day cruises. These days, thanks to the newly constructed highway from Hanoi, it takes much less time to get to the bays, so you will still get a reasonable amount of time onboard even if you only visit the area for a day cruise rather than an overnight one. If that’s the only option you can afford in terms of your time or budget, we believe it’s still worth it. Read more about day cruises here.
Overall Impression
| LAN HA BAY | BAI TU LONG BAY | HALONG BAY |
| Tranquil and unspoiled | Less visited due to its secluded location | Easily the most crowded of the 3 bays |
| Far less touristy than Halong Bay | Fewer accessible caves | Hundreds of boats, especially in the peak season |
| Relatively small | Unspoiled and pristine | More polluted than the other bays |
A closer look at the 3 most famous bays in Vietnam
Halong Bay Vs Lan Ha Bay
With more and more foreign travelers coming to realize that Ha Long’s amazing limestone outcrops stretch beyond the actual Halong Bay Park, Lan Ha Bay has become something of a badly kept secret in recent years. If you’re not obsessed with the Halong Bay “brand” but are mainly after the experience itself, you may find that it more than pays to stray off the beaten path of Ha Long cruise liners and head for Lan Ha Bay instead.
Located to the south of its famous neighbor, Lan Ha Bay belongs to a different province but is a seamless extension of Halong Bay.
Spreading over 7,000 hectares, Lan Ha Bay is by far the smallest of the trinity of bays but still boasts some 400 karst formations and it comes with a bonus of no less than 139 white-sand beaches – a clear competitive edge over Ha Long.
Home to the majestic Cat Ba Island, Lan Ha Bay falls mostly under the management of Cat Ba National Park and gives ample opportunities to adventure-minded visitors.
It has the best conditions among the three bays in terms of snorkeling, diving, and swimming, and it is a wonderful destination if you enjoy trekking, deep water soloing, or rock climbing (with Cat Ba Island, in particular, offering many great hiking trails).
Lan Ha Bay accommodation
Lan Ha Bay is also known as “a kayaking paradise” – and you can even paddle through a cave! As for overnight stays, your accommodation options in Lan Ha Bay include hotels and hostels on Cat Ba Island, in Viet Hai Village, or on Monkey Island (Cat Dua Island) – and needless to say, you can spend the night on a junk boat too.
Where Lan Ha Bay is going to absolutely win your heart, however, is the tranquillity of the place. Unlike Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay has managed to preserve its untouched, pristine character, and has a decidedly less touristy feel to it. So as long as you don’t dread missing out on Halong Bay’s headline attractions such as Sung Sot Cave or Ti Top Island, you should give serious consideration to a Lan Ha Bay cruise.
Recommended activities in Lan Ha Bay:
- Kayaking
- Diving
- Rock climbing
- Trekking
- Cycling
- Swimming
Places to visit in Lan Ha Bay:
- Trung Trang Cave
- Ao Ech Area
- Cai Beo floating village
- Viet Hai fishing village
- …and many more
Bai Tu Long Bay Vs Halong Bay
And if you can bring yourself to it, in some designated places at the end of your trek you can jump off the cliff face into the bay’s emerald waters!
If Lan Ha Bay’s tranquillity and laid-back atmosphere sound appealing to you, then you need to consider another bay in the area before you make your final choice. Located immediately northeast of Halong Bay and stretching along the coast toward the border between Vietnam and China.
Bai Tu Long Bay possesses a similar landscape to its famous neighbor – as a matter of fact, it is every bit as wonderful but comes with much less bustle than Ha Long.
Still relatively undeveloped and unpolluted, Bai Tu Long now offers better transport to a handful of its emerging resorts, and it is a big favorite with domestic tourists. Western visitors, however, have so far mostly avoided it, for the simple reason that because of its more secluded location, Bai Tu Long is more suitable for itineraries longer than a one- or two-day cruise.
For those ready to spare a bit more time, however, Bai Tu Long offers clearer water and a range of attractions that will surely feel less touristy than their Halong Bay equivalents.
These include kayaking in the charmingly peaceful Vung Vieng fishing village, swimming and snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters of the secluded Ban Chan beach as well as trekking and climbing at the Ang Du area, with wide-ranging vistas and majestic lakes in the background.
The legend has it that when Vietnam was invaded by sea, Emperor Jade pleaded with the gods for help – and the gods listened. Mother Dragon and her children came, razed the wretched invaders in a blaze of fire, and created impassable barriers to future invasions with their emerald teeth – the present-day bays.
To commemorate that deed, the two bays were named Ha Long, or the descending dragon, and Bai Tu Long, literally meaning “bowing down to dragon’s children.”
Divine interventions aside, these days Bai Tu Long still offers plenty of ethereal beauty – and the best thing is, you’ll mostly have it all to yourself. If you’re not coming to the area on a tight schedule (or a tight budget), then you might as well shoot right past Ha Long for the hidden charms of Bai Tu Long Bay.
Recommended activities in Bai Tu Long Bay:
- Kayaking
- Swimming
- Snorkeling
- Climbing
- Cycling
- Tuk tuk riding
Places to visit in Bai Tu Long Bay:
- Co To Island
- Cap La Island
- Bai Tu Long National Park
- Thien Canh Son Cave
- Vung Vieng fishing village
- …and many more!
Best cruises that go to Bai Tu Long Bay
Halong Bay – the crown jewel of Vietnamese tourism
A question you might be asking right now is – if Bai Tu Long and Lan Ha Bay are really so wonderful, what’s all this craze for Halong Bay then? How come Halong Bay is a household name all around the world, and Lan Ha Bay isn’t?
The answer is almost as fascinating as the bay itself and exposes some of the inner workings of global tourism. Ever since it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, Halong Bay has been promoted as one of Asia’s premier travel destinations, and over the years it has seen its popularity go through the roof. It is now an absolute fixture in all travel guides to Vietnam and in all travel catalogs, and countless tourists from around the world have visited it, marveled at its beauty, and then spread the word to even more people, further cementing Halong Bay’s reputation as a “must-see”.
It certainly helps that as a tourist destination, Halong Bay is nothing short of perfect. With a landscape of limestone outcrops, tiny islets topped with forest, and surrounded by emerald waters, the beauty of Halong Bay requires no advertisement. But on top of that, it is easily accessed from Hanoi, Hai Phong, and Halong City, and with so many years of experience in the business, it now boasts a complete, polished package of tourist attractions.
And this is where Halong Bay easily outduels its competitors in Bai Tu Long & Lan Ha Bay, two bays that have started to challenge it only recently. It caters to the needs of all types of visitors – families, couples, groups of friends, and solo travelers, and provides an entire range of activities and sports such as climbing, kayaking, diving, and so on, in a far greater abundance of form than Lan Ha Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay.
Halong Bay also has a far superior offer for foodies, with an endless list of freshly-caught seafood as well as all the staples of Vietnamese and international cuisine, and it is equally unrivaled with respect to nightlife and parties (both on land and off-shore).
After all, zillions of tourists can’t be wrong, right? If you don’t mind them being with you there at the same time, you are going to have an absolute whale of a time in Halong Bay!
Recommended activities:
- Kayaking
- Canoeing
- Climbing
- Diving
- Fishing
Read the 15 most thrilling Halong Bay activities!
Places to visit in Halong Bay:
- Ti Top Island (Titov Island)
- Three Peaches Beach (Ba Trai Dao Beach)
- Tuan Chau Beach
Check out the top 20 attractions of Halong Bay!
Best cruises that go to Halong Bay
Don’t tell anyone, but we think these might be the best cruises going to Halong Bay right now!
Decision Time!
Assuming you want to visit just one of them, you now have a choice to make – a choice between three absolutely stunning bays. Relax! It’s a win-win-win situation in that sense, and whichever of them you end up choosing, you’ll get to stand face-to-face with a dazzling, otherworldly landscape that took 500 million years to form – the sort of landscape that looks like a set for a Lord of the Rings film. This is a land of dragons after all, right?
The choice you’re facing is not about what you’ll see, it’s how you’ll see it. Are you more of an independent traveler and an adventure-seeker, not fond of tourist crowds? Are you also ready to spend more time as well as money to reach your destination? Then your safest bet will be either Lan Ha Bay or Bai Tu Long Bay.
But perhaps you don’t mind giving up on those romantic visions of poetic solitude in exchange for, well, everything else – the most affordable deal, the most convenient transport from the doorstep of your hotel to the deck of your junk boat, the greatest choice in terms of food as well as parties, sports and activities in the bay. If that’s the case, then you’re likely headed for Halong Bay!
Lan Ha Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay, Halong Bay. Which one is it going to be for you?
