Cooking class in Halong bay

Cruising on Halong Bay, you can join our cooking demonstration. The chef shows you how to prepare some traditional Vietnamese dishes.

Vietnam is very proud to get more of the recognition it deserves in the world for its cuisine, with fresh ingredients and imaginative flavors, and one of the best experience of any trip to Vietnam is the food. Even if you do not expect to do much Vietnamese cooking, a cooking class is a fun and interesting way to learn and understand the local Vietnamese ingredients and how to make some of the popular dishes.

A cooking class in Halong bay junk cruise tour

Generally, most cooking classes are half-day classes starting in the morning with a trip to the local market followed by a cooking demonstration and lunch where you can eat the dishes that were prepared.

Most of the classes tend to be aimed at casual tourists, rather than serious chefs, and many tend to be cooking demonstrations, rather than classes with individual cooking stations. Please inquire before you book. Also, please keep in mind that some of the smaller, ad-hoc programs may be more flexible to change the menu or request more interaction, especially if you arrange your own private lesson for your group.

Biking tour in Halong bay

Biking in Cat Ba Island to visit Bee farm, cucupine farm, Trung Trang cave, Hospital cave

Moutain Biking
Trek 4500 bike new
Rental:
• Half day: $8. (9am-12pm or 1pm-4pm).
• Full day: $12. (9am-4pm)
• Local guide on motorbike: $25. (9am-4pm)



To rent bikes, contact First Choice
Self-guided route:
1. Cross island jungle way (half day):
Phu Long harbour - Cat Ba town, or vice-versa (~25km).
Rolling hill all the way, no shade but good ocean views.
Sight seeing stops: Thien Long cave in Phu Long.

2. Cross island ocean way (half day):
Gia Luan harbour - Cat Ba town or vice-versa (~25km).
Sight seeing stops: Bee farm, cucupine farm, Trung Trang cave, Hospital cave

3. The loop (half day):
Start cycling in Cat Ba town touring the loop thru the National Park, Hien Hao village and Tran Chau fishing village. A good blend of coastal and jungle sceneries (~31km).
Flat road with two big climbs, shady and cool.
Sight seeing stops: Bee farm, Porcupine farm, Trung Trang cave, Hospital cave.

4. The Big loop (full day):
Start cycling in Cat Ba town to Phu Long fish farm via Ocean road 25km, visit Thien Long cave by boat.
Lunch at Hoang Long restaurant on mangrove wet land.
Cycle back to Cat Ba via the jungle route (25km), and visit Bee farm and cucupine farm on the way.
You also have the choice of seeing more caves such as Trung Trang cave, Hospital cave etc.

• 9.am: Start from Ben Beo cycling to Lien Minh valley (on road)
• Tea break in bee farm before heading to single trail to Suoi Goi hot spring resort. Lunch then relax.
• Cycle single trail to Hien Hao through National park, visit Hospital cave (very interesting).
• 4pm: Tour ends in Ben Beo.

Restaurant & Bar in Halong

All over Halong, you will experience traditional Vietnamese dishes - rice, steamed food, fresh green vegetables, seafood, and beef. As you would expect, seafood dominates the cuisine all over Vietnam, and Halong is no different. Since Halong plays host to many overseas visitors but does not have a large expat population, there are some restaurants offering a specific cuisine. You will usually find these in the Top End hotels.

While you are in Halong city, try "Ba La Lot" or grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf. The meat has a delicious smoky flavour to it with a hint of spice.

Halong Cuisine & Food Guide

There are many restaurants offering both local Vietnamese dishes and "Western" food. The Mid Range hotels will often have restaurants offering both national and local Vietnamese dishes as well as "Western" food. Smaller hotels and guesthouses will usually be able to offer at least some non-Vietnamese food, but it probably will not be "just like Grandma used to make".

We have collected the list of restaurants and eateries in Halong to give you a place to start. However, please keep in mind that some of the heartiest, tastiest and most nutritious food in Halong and all of Vietnam is served from nameless roadside stalls that appear on the sidewalk around 17: 00 and disappear about midnight. Try it, you might like it! 

Restaurants List
Ngoc Linh Restaurant

This is a small restaurant, which serves seafood and western food, especially pizza and spaghetti. With open air space, you can enjoy the delicious food while enjoying the charm of Ha Long Bay.

Price ranges

- Pizza: US$3/piece

- Spaghetti: US$2/dish

- Spring roll: US$2/dish

- Curry: US$2/bowl

Type: International

Address: Ha Long Rd., Bai Chay, Ha Long City (near Post Office)

Opening hours: 07: 00 to 23: 00

 
Harmony Cafe

Located on the slope, 50 m from the Post Office - free entrance.

Type: Cafe

Address: Ha Long Road, Bai Chay

Opening hours: 20: 00 to 23: 00

Queen Vosa

Classical and modern dancing on the 5th floor.

Open every evening. Drinks at normal prices.

Entrance fee: VND 15, 000

Type: Bar & Dancing

Address: Le Thanh Tong, Hon Gai

Phone: 033.826-193

Opening hours: 00: 00 to 00: 00

Karaoke

In the large hotels: Vuon Dao, Thang Long, Thuong Mai, and Tien Long.

In the restaurants along Ha Long Road, Bai Chay (opposite Hoang Gia Park). On Hang Noi St., street near Bai Tho Mountain and in Ben Doan, Hon Gai.

Type: Karaoke

Address: Various

Opening hours: 00: 00 to 00: 00

Cafe Trung Nguyen Cong Doan Hotel

A sea view cafe is located in front of Cong Doan Hotel. The cafe serves drinks and fast food or breakfast; prices range from US$1 to US$3.

Type: Bar & Cafe

Address: Ha Long Rd., Ha Long Bay

Phone: 844-338 Opening hours: 07: 00 to 21: 00

Le Coq Bar - Le Coq Hotel

On the ground floor of Le Coq hotel, the Le Coq bar offers all the drinks from soft drinks to cocktails or alcohol with slow and light music. The staff are well trained and speaks English fluently.

Type: Bar

Address: Le Coq Hotel

Opening hours: 18: 00 to 00: 00

Halong Bay 2 days tour - sleeping on the boat

 A World Heritage Site, Halong Bay is one of the most beautiful places on earth. With its picturesque blend of land and sea, this is one of the world's most precious beauty spots. The Bay is about 180 km from Hanoi, and covers an area of over 1,500 km. Dotted with thousands of rocky islands, it really is a natural sculpture on a gigantic scale.

Day 1: Hanoi – Halong (L,D)

Pick up and leave Hanoi for Halong Bay. Enjoy an interesting 3-hour drive to Halong City, visitors will see the rich farmlands, water buffalo and people at work. Upon arrival in Halong, board in boat in the emerald water between the limestone outcrops and long corridors, enjoy the harmony of clouds and waters. Lunch on board. Visit the recently discovered Sung Sot Cave (Amazing or Surprise Grotto), one of the most beautiful ones in Halong Bay. Enjoy swimming at Titov beach. Watch the fantastic sunset on the bay. Overnight on board with a magic night in the bay.

Day 2: Halong – Hanoi (B, L)

Morning swim and sunrise breakfast. Continue cruising around the bay for viewing the numerous interesting types of islands on the bay. Visit Dau Go Cave ( Grotto of the Wooden Stakes) where in 1288 one of Vietnam’s most famous generals, Tran Hung Dao, amassed hundreds of stakes deep inside the cave prior to a battle with an invading Mongol army and Thien Cung Cave (Grotto of the Heavenly Palace), famous for its marvelous stalagmites and stalactites. Back to the wharf by noon.

On the way back to Hanoi, stop to visit the embroidery factory of the disabled with wonderful works at unexpected price. Arrive in Hanoi .

Sung Sot Cave

 Situated in the centre of the UNESCO-declared World Heritage area, the Sung Sôt or Surprise Grotto is on Bo Hòn Island, and is one of the finest and widest grottoes of Ha Long Bay.

Ascending to the grotto, the way is covered by trees and foliage, and consists of great paved stone blocks.
Inside, it is partitioned into two chambers; the first one being similar to a wide theatre hall. Many stalactites hang from the high ceiling, with numerous possible forms and shapes.

A narrow passage leads to the second rooms, where a flow of light meets visitors. The chamber is so immense it could contain thousands of people at one time.

At the deepest point of the grotto, a "royal garden" appears with a clear pond and a seemingly fascinating landscape of mountains. Many birds and plants (benjamin figs, cycads and centenary banyan trees) live here. On nice days groups of monkeys might arrive in search of fruit.
It is situated in the central tourism centre of the bay, as well as Ti Tup Beach, Bô Nâu Grotto, Mê Cung Grotto and Luun Grotto. French named it "grotte des surprises" (grotto of surprise)

From the wharf, you climb 50 steep stone stairs to the mouth of the grotto, which lies 25 m above the sea level. Going down some 10 stone stairs, you reach the mouth of a grotto. The grotto covers some 10,000 m2. Inside the grotto there have thousands of stalactites and stalagmites along the 500-meter paved passage. Light posts line the passage and serve as signposts and ornaments. The lighting system with elegant styles adds more charm to the beauty of the grotto.

Up in the 30-meter roof of the grotto, one can figure out small, soft and even concave spots, which look like patterns in the ceiling of a theater. A huge piece of stone stands up to the ceiling by the grotto’s mouth. This evidences one of the typical karst-style grottoes with high scientific values.

At the side of the entrance, the rock seems to form the shape of a horse with a long sword. Legend has it, that after having defeated the Ân aggressors, Thánh Gióng (the Saint Gióng) helped the population to chase away evil spirits and demons. After this feat, Saint Gióng flew to heaven, leaving a stone horse and sword to continue to keep the demons away.

HaLong Bay - Value of Geology

The most remarkable geological events of Ha Long Bay’s history in the last 1,000 years include the advance of the segeologya, the raising of the bay area and the strong erosion that has formed coral and pure blue and heavily salted water. This process of erosion by seawater has deeply engraved the stone, contributing to its fantastic beauty. Present-day Hạ Long Bay is the result of this long process of geological evolution that has been influenced by so many factors. Some of the most remarkable are: the formation of the limestone layer more than 1,000 m thick during the Carboniferous and Permian periods (240 to 340 million years ago); and the development of the Hạ Long depression during the Neogene period (10 to 26 million years ago). The erosion process forming the limestone plain was most active in the Quaternary Pleistocene epoch (11,000 to 2 million years ago). It is because of all these factors that tourists now visiting Hạ Long Bay are not only treated to one of the true wonders of the world, but also to a precious geological museum that has been naturally preserved in the open air for the last 300 million years.

At the beginning of the Cambrian era (500 to 570 million years ago), the area, which now forms Hạ Long Bay, was basically mainland, submitted to a process of rain erosion. At the end of the period, it was flooded, commencing the existence of Hạ Long Bay. During the Odovic and Silurian periods (400 to 500 million years ago), the area of north-east Vietnam was basically a deep sea, submitted to the constant activity of tectonic plates. At the end of the Silurian period, it underwent a phase of inverse-motion that created mountains deep under the water. From the end of this period and throughout the whole Devonian period (340 to 420 million years ago), the area was subjected to powerful forces of erosion from the hot and dry climate. At this point, Hạ Long was part of a wide mainland that comprised most of today’s East Sea and Chinese continental shelf. Due to tectonic activity, the Hạ Long area and the entire north-east region were raised from the depths at the end of the Devonian period. In the later Carboniferous and Permian periods (240 to 340 million years ago), a shallow and warm sea reformed, which existed for approximately 100 million years. ha Long geologyIt created two kinds of limestone: the Cát Bà layer of the early Carboniferous period (450 m thick); and the Quang Hanh layer of the middle Carboniferous and the early Permian period (750 m thick). These two layers constitute the majority of the islands of the Bay.

Passing into the early periods of the Contemporary era (67 million years ago), Hạ Long Bay existed in the environment of a high mountainous mainland due to the influence of strong mountain-forming phases. The middle of the Paleocene period saw these motions remain continuous and stable, while strong processes of erosion began, and after millions of years, a form of semi-highland topography took shape. The continuation of this erosion has progressively cut the highlands into blocks with altitudes similarrr to today’s mountains.
Into to the Quaternary era, the process of erosion began dissolving the limestone-rich region of Hạ Long. The islands of today’s Hạ Long Bay are basically remnants of these mountains flooded during the early Holocene period. Rainwater flowed into crevices in the limestone that had formed from tectonic activity. This steady erosion constantly widened the cracks, eventually creating today’s formations. The middle and late Pleistocene epoch (11,000 to 70,000 years ago) marks the period when the famous caves and grottoes of the area formed.

The Holocene period (from 7,000 to 11,000 years ago) is notable for the advance of the sea. This movement reached its peak 4,000 to 7,000 years ago and forming today’s Hạ Long Bay. After that, 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, with the sea in a steady process of recession, Hạ Long culture began to develop. At the beginning of the late Holocene epoch, the level of the water once again increased, forming a marshy floor of canals and streams, and creating the water marks that can be seen on the stone cliffs of today.

Cat Ba island

Cat Ba is an island of approximately 140 km2 in Ha Long Bay, Northern Vietnam. It is commonly used as an overnight hotel stop on tours to Ha Long Bay run by travel agents from Hanoi.

Cat Ba is the largest island in the Bay and approximately half of its area is covered by a National Park, which is home to the highly endangered Cat Ba Langur. This golden-headed langur is rarely seen, as fewer than 100 specimens are thought to survive in the wild, although it is the subject of a well-organised conservation programme. The Park covers both land and marine areas and has a high biodiversity, although it is at risk from too rapid an increase in tourism. Other mammals in the Park include civet cats and oriental giant squirrels.

Many tour operators include an option of trekking in the National Park or canoeing on three-day tours; shorter tours generally only stay overnight in the small town of Cat Ba (population about 8,000) or on boats moored in Cai Beo bay, about 2 km away from Cat Ba town. Cat Ba itself is attractively situated around a bay teeming with small boats, many of which belong to pearl or shrimp farmers, and can become very busy at weekends and during public holidays. The promenade has illuminations and a large fountain which only plays after dark; it is backed by a strip of cheap hotels and bars, but dominated by the wooded limestone hills behind. The island is a national park of Vietnam and was recognized by UNESCO in December 2004 as a Biosphere reserve of the world.