Quang Ninh has its sea and islands make up 50% of its total area, including nearly 2,000 islands, or two thirds of those nationwide. Its 250km coastline makes the province a hub of beautiful beaches and coasts of the country. These are all priceless resources for the province to make the most of its sea tourist treasure.
One of the key focus of Quang Ninh’s sea tourism that every visitor should not miss out is the tourist hub of Ha Long city, which boasts Ha Long bay, a world heritage and natural wonder. Given its aesthetic, geological and geographical pluses, Ha Long bay is always a top must-visit and fascination for visitors. Each year this destination receives approximately 3 million arrivals. Tourists who opt for tours on Ha Long bay can stop by Dau Go cave, the Astonishment cave, the Heavenly Palace grotto, Titov island or Ba Ham lake… Many major international cruise brands such as Star Cruises, Costa Crociere, Nautica, Seaborn, Legend of the Sea and Azmara, Aurora or Sun Princess… have selected Ha Long as the final stop of their voyages. Every year, in the cruise season (from October to April the following year), Ha Long is crowded with cruises that carry thousands of international visitors each year.
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Another plus of Quang Ninh’s sea province that one should not omit is Van Don Island District and Co To islands, both of which are heavily invested to become premium sea tourist region in the future. Co To Island District is located offshore in the northeast of Quang Ninh, which boasts fresh air, pristine beaches and crystal-clear azure water all year round, such as Hong Van, Van Chay, Voong Xi or Lesser Co To… for visitors to savor their barbecues and other beach sports. A trip to Co To enables visitors to marvel at the lighthouse, known as the roof of Co To and constructed in the 19th century, strike some poses at Cau My rapid with countless sediment rocks piled upon one another, in different colors and shapes as they were weathered for millennia by sea water. They are valuable and delightful tourist attractions, and also the best place to watch the dawn in Co To. Another surprise is biking across the islands along the “Road of Love” that stretches over 2km and is tiled with red bricks and meanders around the coast in the midst of the vast and lush green casuarina forest. All across Co To islands, accommodation services wildly vary with over 300 units from mini resorts to motels, hotels and homestay units to meet a huge range of demands from travelers. Foods in Co To are equally captivating with delectable seafood, particularly briefly dried squids and abalones…
Situated at the heart of Van Don – Co To Tourist Area, Quan Lan – Minh Chau islands are famous for its sapphire blue beaches and pure white sands of the North spanning all over Quan Lan, Minh Chau or Son Hao… It takes visitors quite much time to fully explore all beaches of these islands, their unspoiled cliffs or the perennial jamblon forest or primordial Bai Tu Long National Park by stretchy mountains that embrace the sea… In addition, visitors can admire its clusters of unique titular temples and shrines that speak volumes of the ancient harbor of Van Don, kayak on the sea or join experimental tours with fishermen to release nets to catch fish and peanut worms and process them on their own. In particular, peanut worms are of best quality throughout the country. To reach Quan Lan, visitors should get aboard canoes from Cai Rong harbor (Van Don) or Hon Gai harbor (Ha Long).
Besides, Quang Ninh also boasts various unspoiled islands, such as Ngoc Vung island (Van Don), Cai Chien island (Hai Ha district), Vinh Thuc island (Mong Cai city) or Ba Mun animal island in Bai Tu Long National Park, a habitat of endangered species… The local seas are also home to historical sites and natural scenes registered at national scale and various folk festivals. These festivals still preserve peculiar cultural essences and reenact customs and ordinary habits of fishermen, and thus quite alluring for visitors. Some of these are Tra Co Titular Temple Festival (Mong Cai city), Quan Lan Titular Temple Festival (Van Don), etc. Notably, Quang Ninh also has extremely rich seafood, ranging from fish, shrimps, squids, crabs or spider crabs to scallops, oysters, clams, snails, Mantis shrimps or geoducks…
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