Ha Long Bay entrance fee: all 8 routes and overnight prices

What does the fee buy on a busy day? Travelers' write-ups of the standard trip sketch it. The drive from Hanoi took three hours each way for two friends on a one-night cruise in April 2025, and a November 2025 day-tripper's bus stopped at a pearl shop on the way. That day-tripper found the water at the swimming stop cold and dirty, and the short, steep island climb "literally a conga line" all the way up, close enough to touch the people in front and behind. In January 2026 another day-tripper walked into the caves at about a meter a minute and stayed on board at the last island. The April cruisers saw Ti Top, Sung Sot and Luon, and found them so busy that one of them wished they'd just stayed on the boat instead of standing in queues. All three are stops on route VHL2 in the table below.

Ha Long Bay entrance fee by route (quick answer)

These are the day-trip fees on the board's fee page, last updated on 31 March 2025 and checked in October 2026:

The fees for VHL6, VHL7 and VHL8 apply from 1 May 2025. The two most common day routes, VHL1 and VHL2, both cost VND 250,000.

Ha Long Bay entrance fee for an overnight cruise

An overnight stay has its own fee, and it covers both the sightseeing route and the stay. One night is capped at 24 hours from the time the boat leaves port, and two nights at 48 hours.

Each overnight route has named mooring areas. For route 2 they are around Trong Cave, Trinh Nu Cave, Dong Tien lake, Hon Lat 690 and Ti Top 587. Route 3 boats moor near Tien Ong Cave, and route 4 boats near Cong Do. A one-night route 2 cruise costs VND 300,000 more in fees than the VHL2 day trip, by our arithmetic.

Who pays less: children, seniors and disabled visitors

The board's exemption page sets three groups, for Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay:

• Free: children of any nationality under 1.2 m tall, or under 7 years old, and people with severe or very severe disabilities.
• Half price: Vietnamese citizens aged 60 and over.
• 20% off: children of any nationality from 7 to under 16.

A foreign child aged 7 to 15 needs a passport to get the child discount. You show the papers at the board's ticket counter at the cruise port, and again at the ticket gates. The board prices everything in dong; what five banks' ATMs charge a foreign card is in our fee guide. On a VND 250,000 route the discount brings a child's fee to VND 200,000, which is our own arithmetic.

The senior discount is written for Vietnamese citizens only. The page does not extend it to foreign visitors.

What time do Ha Long boats leave and return?

Boats leave port from 05:00 and must be back by 20:00 in summer, from 1 April to 31 October. In winter, from 1 November to 31 March, they leave from 05:30 and return by 19:00.

The stops on the bay have their own visiting hours, with a summer season from 16 April to 31 October:

Note that the departure season starts on 1 April and the visiting-hours season on 16 April, so the two calendars do not line up for the first half of April.

Rules on using the ticket

The board lists six things you must not do with a ticket: alter it, use a fake, use it outside what is printed on it, use an expired ticket, lie to get an exemption or discount, or break the rules on printing and issuing tickets.

How big is Ha Long Bay?

The board gives the bay an area of 1,553 km² with 1,969 islands. The part inside the UNESCO listing is 434 km², with 775 islands, 411 of them named. On 16 September 2023 the World Heritage Committee extended the listing to the Cat Ba archipelago, under the name Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago.

UNESCO's own page for the extended property counts it differently, because it now includes Cat Ba: 65,650 ha and 1,133 islands and islets, across Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong city. It also notes that Ha Long Bay was first recognised as a World Heritage site in 1994 and 2000. A UNESCO film on the bay, made with NHK, is below.

Planning around the fee

For a winter trip, our Ha Long Bay weather in winter article has the monthly figures, and fog days in Vietnam compares Ha Long with Sa Pa and Ha Giang. Storm season dates are in Vietnam typhoon season. If you are combining the bay with Ninh Binh, the Trang An boat tour price article lists the tickets there. Our Ha Long Bay page has the full climate table. Vietnam Tourism gives September to November as the best time, saying autumn and spring bring clear, calm days for cruising while summer is hot with the chance of storms, and that winters are cool and drier, with a light mist over the bay.

A visitor surprised by how quiet Ha Long city felt asked r/VietNam why. The top reply:

"No idea what its usually like there, but people go to Ha Long for the boat ride, not to be on land."

u/kakaobohne on r/VietNam

What we could not confirm

• The fee page does not say whether a cruise company must include the fee in its price.
• The board's pages give no price for kayaks or other services at the stops.
• The visiting-hours table names Thien Cung Cave on a line of its own with no hours, so we do not give hours for it.

Our take on the Ha Long Bay entrance fee

For a day on the water, VHL1 or VHL2 at VND 250,000 is the standard fee and covers the best-known caves. A one-night route 2 cruise costs VND 300,000 more in fees than the VHL2 day trip, which is worth knowing when you compare cruise prices that may or may not include the fee. Ask your boat operator whether the quoted price includes it.

How we checked this

We read 8 pages on 2026-10-08: six from the Ha Long Bay Management Board (fees, discounts, ticket rules, boat times, the ticket index and the heritage overview), UNESCO's World Heritage page for Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago and Vietnam Tourism's Ha Long page. Vietnam Tourism later moved and rewrote its Ha Long page, so we re-read it at the new address on 2026-10-12 and updated the season note. Every fee, time and area in this article matches a line in our source log.

On 2026-10-21 we read all eight pages again. The fee page still carries its 31 March 2025 update, the ticket index lists nothing newer, and every fee, discount, boat time and visiting hour is unchanged. Last reviewed 2026-10-21.

References

• Ha Long Bay Management Board, sightseeing fees: all eight routes and the overnight fees. Updated 31 March 2025, checked October 2026.
• Ha Long Bay Management Board, fee exemptions and discounts: who goes free, who pays less, and the papers needed. Checked October 2026.
• Ha Long Bay Management Board, ticket rules: the six ticket rules. Checked October 2026.
• Ha Long Bay Management Board, visiting hours: departure times and hours at each stop. Checked October 2026.
• Ha Long Bay Management Board, Ha Long Bay heritage: area, islands and the 2023 extension. Checked October 2026.
• UNESCO, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago: World Heritage listing, area and dates. Checked October 2026.
• Vietnam Tourism, Ha Long Bay: national tourism site, best time and climate. Checked 2026-10-12.
• UNESCO, Ha Long Bay (UNESCO/NHK): UNESCO's official video on the site.

Photo (cover): Shubham Singla / Unsplash

Data checked: October 2026.