Halong Bay
Cruise Trips
Other Junks
Sights
Quan
Lan Island Bai Tu Long Bay
If you're wanting to visit Ha Long Bay, but want
something less touristy, Bai Tu Long Bay is worth a
visit. We stayed a few nights on Quan Lan Island
(pronounced Whan Lan). There are now a few guest houses
to compete with the couple of kitsch resorts. We stayed
in Hotel Ngan Ha, the room at the top was nicely
decorated in wood and minimalist decor. The rates were
300,000 VND per night, in the deluxe room. By no means
go to Thuy Hai Van Resort, where a bear is kept on
display in a tiny cage for the 'entertainment' of
guests.
The Hotel rented us motorbikes for 120,000 VND per bike
per day. You could probably get it for cheaper if you
bargain more. This was a great way to explore the
Island, which is still largely made up of rural fishing
villages and relatively unspoilt.
To get to Quan Lan, we arranged a driver from Hanoi to
Cai Rong (pronounced Cai Zom) through our hotel (Golden
Plaza) which took 5 hours, including a stop for lunch.
It was US $120, though we didn't bargain. Other posts
outline how to get there by public transport, which
takes longer. From Cai Rong, you can either take the
speed boat (45 mins, 100,000 VND/ USD $5) or the slow
boat (2.5 hours). When you get to the ferry terminal at
Cai Rong, the first thing you see is a ticket booth.
This is for the speed boat only. If you prefer the slow
boat to take in the stunning views, go down onto the
pier where all the boats are, some of them will be
public ferries going to Quan Lan . We bought tickets on
the boat, they were about 50,000 VND.
The Tuk Tuk from the pier at Quan Lan will take you to
see the various hotels in the main town for 50,000 VND
or less if you bargain harder. Our Tuk Tuk driver
considered that we had overpaid her, and brought us back
to the ferry terminal for our return trip for free.
Other tips
Useful sites
1. Red Dragon
Junk, Cruise Halong Bay: 5 cabin boat on
Halong Bay
All cruises on
Halong Bay Online,
Halong bay
travel guide, Hanoi Halong Bay Tours, Maps to Halong,
2. Prince
Cruise Halong Bay Vietnam: 4 cabin cruise on Halong
Bay
3. Jayavarman
Cruise on Mekong River Vietnam Cambodia: luxury
cruise on the Mekong River
4. Hanoi Airlines:
book flight tickets to Hanoi
5. Halong Bay
Cruise: list all cruise boats on Halong Bay & Bai Tu
Long Bay
6. Hotel
Vietnam, Vietnam Hotels: book hotels and resorts in
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
7. Laos Travel
Guide: book tours in Laos with the New Road Tour
8. Cambodia
Travel: useful guides, hotels, flights, tours in
Cambodia
9. Phu Quoc
Travel Guide: useful information on Phu Quoc Island
Vietnam
10. Travel Sapa
Vietnam: tours, hotels, maps to Sapa Vietnam
11. Mekong
Delta Tours: cruise, hotels, tours in Mekong, Saigon
Other new travel sites
1. Vietnam Travel
Company: First Choice Tours in Vietnam
2. Hue Travel Guide:
guide, maps, tours in Hue Vietnam
3. Sapa Travel Tips:
Sapa guides, tourist information
4. Mekong River
Tours, Mekong Amalotus Cruise, Amalotus Cruise,
Amalotus Boat Mekong River
5. Amalotus.com,
Amalotuscruise.com, Amalotus Indochina Sails Mekong
River
6. Mekong
River Boats: Mekong Tours, Mekong River Tours
7. Hoi An Travel
Guide: Tours, maps to Hoi An
