The limestone karsts towered hundreds of feet above our boat as we slid between their fanglike formations. Bushes and vines hung from the cliffs like long tendrils, their roots tracing centuries of erosion and growth. About a dozen of us watched from the deck as these high-rise sculptures—mounds of spikes and cavernous hollows shaped over millions of years—rose from the water. Nearly 2,000 islets and islands dot this UNESCO World Heritage site of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, creating a dramatic, almost otherworldly landscape that served as the backdrop for Kong: Skull Island.
On Day 3 of a 12-day tour of Vietnam with G Adventures, our group arrived for an overnight cruise. After leaving the busy, moped-clogged streets of Hanoi, we took a two-hour bus ride and boarded a traditional junk boat. Our guide introduced himself as Thuy—“Twee,” he said, like a small bird.
All around us, vessels of various sizes drifted and anchored. We passed locals fishing from simple rowboats and saw floating communities—homes anchored permanently in the bay’s shallow waters, where the deepest point reaches about 33 feet.
Thuy led us to Ti Top Beach on Ti Top Island, one of the bay’s most popular stops. The island, just nine acres, was named for a Russian cosmonaut who visited in 1962. While some families swam in the warm, cordoned-off green water, two friends and I climbed the 450 steps to the pagoda perched atop the island, where visitors gather to photograph sweeping views of Ha Long Bay.
© RICHARD VAN DER WOUDE | DREAMSTIME
After the beach, we explored Hang Sửng Sốt—known in English as Surprise Cave—on Bo Hon Island. The cave earned its name for the unexpected scale and variety of its chambers. Spotlights in white, green and red highlighted towering stalagmites, delicate stalactites and natural formations that have inspired local folklore through the millennia humans have inhabited the archipelago.
Our final stop was Luon Cave, where we ducked beneath a low cavern mouth and boarded a small bamboo boat. A local rowed us through a narrow passage that opened into a calm, shamrock-green lagoon framed by jagged cliffs and draped in lush vegetation. Even the children fell silent as the canyon walls reflected in the still water.
Ha Long Bay can be explored on day trips, overnight cruises or longer multi-day itineraries. Options range from simpler vessels to luxury cruises that offer more amenities and curated experiences. Whatever the length or style of the trip, the bay’s karsts, caves and floating villages make it a striking destination for nature lovers and photographers alike.