Four Tourist Wharfs in Halong

Heading to Quang Ninh Province, travelers should not leave without transitting at 1 of four main local tourist wharfs: Bai Chay, Tuan Chau, Hon Gai and Hoang Gia.

Bai Chay Tourist Wharf is located in Halong road, Halong city, about 170 km from Hanoi and just 3.5 driving hours. Traveling from Hanoi, shortly before reaching Bai Chay, tourists will see the Bai Chay Tourist Wharf on the right. It is very large and fenced, with a parking area for hundreds of cars. All tourist boats anchor, load and unload here, except for a few large ships and speedboats. This is the wharf for most 3-star cruises like Huong Hai junk, Hai Au junk, Marguerite junk and Poseidon Sails. Hotel area and the bus station are about 3 km away from the wharf. Local taxis are running on the main road. It is not difficult to travel between them.

Some 8 km away from the Bai Chay Tourist Wharf, on the south-west side of Ha Long City, Tuan Chau is a sandy artificial beach which stretches over 3 km. This schist island has an area of 400 ha with the population of 1500 and to the East and South are two beaches endowed with very white and fine sand. As planned, the total area of Tuan Chau will be widening to 675 ha by late 2013. It enjoys the advantage of having both road and river transportations, as located about 7 km away from National Highway No.18. This route is an important blood vessel of the robust Hanoi – Hai Phong – Quang Ninh economic triangle. It takes about 3 hours from Mong Cai (2 hours by boat) and 1 hour from Hai Phong.

Tuan Chau has become well - known to both international and domestic tourists as an attractive wharf. This beautiful stopover is provided with: a dolphin & seal club, an (artificial) beach with 4 km long, a Vietnamese culinary area, a hotel and resort area of 5-star standard (200 rooms), a water recreation park with activities such as motor racing, canoeing, parachuting, water skiing, etc., Ha Long Bay sight- seeing services by canoe, boat, helicopter and a high tech water fountain with music playing, laser lighting and film projecting on water screens.

In 1962, Ho Chi Minh visited Ha Long Bay and made a stop here for vacation. Nowadays, Tuan Chau Island is one of the most attractive destinations in Ha Long City. Tuan Chau is in an important position at the entrance of the waterway system of Thang Long, Bach Dang and Van Don, and this is why it was formerly a military watch station. The Office of Feudal Customs was also installed there. Now Tuan Chau is home to most 4-5 star fleet as Paradise Cruise, Gray Line Cruise, Bhaya Cruise.

Driving over the Bai Chay Bridge, we will find the Hon Gai tourist wharf on No.6, Le Thanh Tong street. In Hon Gai, there is another wharf for tourists to take trips to the bay from the eastern part of Ha Long City. In addition, tourists can buy a hi-speed boat ticket at the ticket offices there. The hi-speed boat departs every 1 hour from 8:00 to 16:00 linking Hon Gai and Quan Lan beach and Cat Ba islands. This wharf has another name as “Vinashin” wharf because it’s state-owned by Vinashin, a state ship corporation. This wharf often welcomes most hi-end luxury cruises as Star Cruise, Costa Cruise and Amazara Qwest.

Hoang Gia tourist wharf lies inside Hoang Gia international park (Royal Park), which runs along Bai Chay Beach, from Bai Chay Wharf to Halong Night Market. The total area reaches 10 ha. It’s home to 4-star fleet of Halong bay cruise: Jasmine Cruise, Ginger Cruise, Indochina Sails cruise, Violet Cruise.

The wharf is close to the new Reu Islet, an attractive eco-tourist site with several kinds of rare birds and animals namely python, ostriches, dwarf horses, and fish, and ornamental trees. It also provides a wide range of services such as restaurant and open-air bar, park, and canoes for cruising around. In the future, Hoang Gia International Joint-venture Company continues investing in building more facilities to serve tourists. One of their recent plans is to build Halong Paradise Resort, which lies in the center of Ha Long and directly links to the Bai Chay Bridge, renovates the infrastructure of the Hoang Gia – Hon Gai – Bai Chay wharf triangle.

(Source: Gray line cruise)