Ha Long Bay map: where the bay is and what is where

Where is Ha Long Bay?

Ha Long Bay is in Quảng Ninh in north-east Vietnam, on the Gulf of Tonkin, about 165 km east of Hanoi by the management board’s figure and about 60 km east of Hải Phòng. The Chinese border crossing at Móng Cái is about 3.5 hours away by road.

Map of the caves, islands and ports

The drawn map marks 43 places: four ports and piers, an airport, four towns and districts, three bays, nine islands, four islets, ten caves, four villages, two parks, a museum and a bridge. Each has its Vietnamese and English name and, where it has one, the Board’s route code, and the same list follows in text below the maps.

Eighteen of the 43 positions mark the feature itself, such as a cave entrance or a pier, to within about 100 m. The other 25 are the centre of an island, bay or town, a village anchorage, or for Hòn Xếp and Hòn Cặp Bài an estimate from the Board’s distances to the two ports. VHL7, which combines VHL1 to VHL4 in one day for fast explorer yachts, has no line of its own.

Sixteen stops on the Board’s routes have no reliable position, so they are not drawn: Hang Trống, Hang Hồ Động Tiên, Hang Ba Hang, Hồ Ba Hầm, Hòn Chó Đá, Hòn Muối Nam, Động Cặp La, Vụng Tùng Sâu, Khu sinh thái Tùng Áng, Đền Bà Men, Áng Dù, Rừng Trúc, Hòn Chân Voi, Vụng Ba Cửa, Đảo Tùng Lâm and Cảng Nam Cầu Trắng. A place on a route is not always open: Soi Sim has been closed since 2020, the Cửa Vạn cultural centre since 25 April 2024, and Rừng Trúc is not yet open.

What each cave is like, and which to choose, is on the caves page; the islands where boats land, and the rocks seen from the deck, are on the islands page.

The closest city to Ha Long Bay

The bay lies beside the Bãi Cháy and Hồng Gai waterfronts of what was Hạ Long city, now wards of Quảng Ninh, which became a city itself on 1 September 2026. The next city to the west is Hải Phòng, about 60 km away.

The old city falls into two halves on either side of the Bãi Cháy Bridge. Bãi Cháy, on the west side, holds most of the hotels, restaurants and tourist sites, the beach and the Hạ Long passenger port; the ward received about 8.3 million visitor arrivals in 2025. Hòn Gai, east of the bridge and now spelt Hồng Gai, is the older, working side, with the cargo port, the Hạ Long market, the Quảng Ninh Museum and Bài Thơ mountain.

The bridge itself, 903 m long with a main span of 435 m, opened on 2 December 2006 across the mouth of Cửa Lục Bay, a shallow inlet of about 18 km² with mangroves and tidal flats. Tuần Châu, a former island joined to the mainland by a road, has the marina and the other passenger port, 13.7 km by road from Bãi Cháy’s. Cẩm Phả lies further east; the Bái Tử Long routes BTL7 to BTL10 are listed to start there, though their launch has not been confirmed.

Distances at a glance

Hạ Long International Passenger Port is about 152 km by road from Hanoi’s Old Quarter, 47 km from Cát Bi airport, 53 km from Vân Đồn airport and 13.7 km from Tuần Châu port, and the best-known caves lie 3 to 14 km from Tuần Châu port by the Board’s figures.

The cruise routes on the map

The Board’s eight itineraries start at the two ports. VHL1 and VHL2 carry most day-trippers, VHL3 and VHL4 reach the south-east of the bay and are mainly done on overnight cruises, and VHL5 ends at Gia Luận on Cát Bà.

VHL3 and VHL4 averaged only 200 to 400 passengers a day in 2025, against the crowded VHL1 and VHL2. Boats, prices and what each route is like are on the cruises page.

Questions visitors ask