Handpicked experience · Hanoi
Hanoi, Vietnam
An island named for the second man to orbit the Earth, floating villages emptied within the last fifteen years, and five hours of driving for a few on the water.
Cruising among limestone islands rising straight from the sea
A meal eaten while the boat is under way
Paddling in sheltered water among the rock towers
A large cave reached by steps from the landing
A beach and a staircase viewpoint on a small island
A day trip from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay: a shared cruise among the limestone islands with lunch on board, kayaking in sheltered water, the Surprise Cave and the climb on Titop Island.
Titop Island carries the name of Gherman Titov, the Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the second person to orbit the Earth — and the first to sleep and to be sick in space. He visited the bay with Hồ Chí Minh in 1962, and the island was named for him to mark the friendship between the two states. It is a small piece of Cold War diplomacy that survives as a beach with a very steep staircase.
Until recently several hundred people lived on this water permanently, in floating villages of tethered houses, school buildings and fish pens — communities where children learned to row before they walked. Between 2012 and 2014 residents were resettled ashore, on conservation and safety grounds. Some floating structures remain and are worked for aquaculture and visitors, but the villages as inhabited places are gone, and it happened within the last fifteen years rather than in some distant past.
Surprise Cave was recorded by a French survey in 1901, and the name is theirs — grotte des surprises — for what opens up beyond the entrance: three chambers, the last of them enormous, reached by a stair climb from the landing. What you see now is lit, paved and railed, but the reason for the name is intact the first time the last chamber opens above you.
Worth stating plainly: the bay is around one hundred and seventy kilometres from Hanoi, and even on the expressway that is roughly five hours of driving out of a day that may run eleven. The time actually on the water is a fraction of the total. That is the trade for seeing it without an overnight stay, and it is why longer versions of this trip exist.
The cave and the viewpoint are both stair climbs, and the steps are worn and often wet. Bring a layer — the bay is cooler and windier than the city, and between roughly February and April it is frequently under thick cloud. Kayaking may be cancelled outright in poor conditions, and swimming off Titop depends on the season.
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Gherman Titov, the Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the second person to orbit the Earth. He visited the bay with Hồ Chí Minh in 1962 and the island was named to mark the friendship between the two states.
Not as communities. Several hundred residents of the floating villages were resettled ashore between 2012 and 2014, and the remaining floating structures are worked for aquaculture and visitors.
A French survey recorded it in 1901 and named it grotte des surprises, for what opens up past the entrance — three chambers, the last of them enormous.
Roughly five hours of it. The bay is about one hundred and seventy kilometres from Hanoi, so the time on the water is a fraction of the total — which is why longer overnight versions exist.
Both the cave and the Titop viewpoint are stair climbs on worn steps that are often wet. Neither is long, but neither is level.
No. It is cancelled outright in poor conditions, and swimming off Titop depends on the season as well as the weather.
Cooler and windier than Hanoi. Between roughly February and April the bay is frequently under thick low cloud, which changes the look of it entirely.
Yes, served on board during the cruise. Drinks other than the bottled water provided are ordered separately.