Bai Tu Long Bay Attractions - Things to Do in Bai Tu Long Bay Vietnam
Bai Tu Long Bay Located east of Halong Bay and closed to Chinese border, It is off the beaten tourist track. As it is not so near to the popular Catba Island which has lodging, beaches and nearby caves in Halong Bay, the area has scarcely seen any tourist development. The Bay has a rich biodiversity with two ecosystems: a tropical, moist, evergreen rainforest ecosystem; and a marine and coastal ecosystem.
According to legend, an immense dragon descended to Halong Bay (meaning "Descending Dragon") millions years ago, dropping numerous eggs. These eggs hatched forming thousands of rocks and islands. The tail of the dragon extended far to the sea, forming Bach Long Vi (meaning "The Tail of the White Dragon"). As she returned to heaven, she said good bye to her offspring at the Bai Tu Long Bay (means "The dragon parts the offsprings").
Notable attractions in Bay Tu Long Bay are Vung Vieng fishing village, Quan Lan Island, Ngoc Vung Island, Van Don Island. The bay is also home to the large Bai Tu Long National Park. It is one of seven Vietnamese amphibian national parks which has both terrestrial zone and aquatic zone. Book Bai Tu Long Cruise Tours
Bai Tu Long Bay is a beautiful bay of the Gulf of Tonkin, in the northeastern Vietnam. It belongs to the territory of Quang Ninh Province and about 200 kilometers far from Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.

Legend said it that in the early era of Vietnam, the country had to fight against powerful invaders. To help Vietnamese people save their country, a family of dragons was ordered by the god to assist them. Dragons spitted out various jewels and jades to form a long and solid citadel. Therefore, the invaders had to give up their invasion plot and sailed their ships back. After the war, the family of dragons stayed on the Earth as beautiful and peaceful scenery there. The bay, where the mother dragon descended, was named Halong bay (Dragon Descending Bay). And the bay where the dragon’s children descended was called Bai Tu Long Bay. Nowadays, variety of islets on Halong Bay is said to be petrified jewels and jades that the dragons spitting out. The island range of Bach Long Vi is considered as the trail of dragon’s tail on the sea.
Bai Tu Long Bay comprises hundreds of islands in both big and small sizes. They belong to two types: lime-stone islands and schist islands. The islands of Bai Tu Long are the result of tectonic process over 300 million years. Many of them are well-known tourism islands such as Quan Lan Island, Minh Chau Island, Ngoc Vung Island, and The Vang Island. Karst corrosion process and weathering created several amazing caves, especially Quan Cave (Navy Cave).
Bai Tu Long Bay has a rich biodiversity with typical ecosystems: mangrove ecosystem, coral reef ecosystem, ecosystem of tropical forests. It is home to various species of flora and fauna. There are 780 species of flora in Bai Tu Long Bay and 21 species among them are included in the list of Vietnam’s Red Data Book. Scientists also found 931 species of aquatic animals there. In 2001, Bai Tu Long National Park was established with the area of 14 ha in order to preserve biodiversity in this region.
Bai Tu Long Bay has the total population of 30.000 people whose livelihoods depend mainly on farming and fishing. On Bai Tu Long, there remain many archaeological relics of Halong Culture (dating around 3.000 – 2.000 BC) and historical trails of the ancient Van Don commercial port (in 13th century) .See more pictures of Bai Tu Long Bay Vietnam

Quan Lan Island - Bai Tu Long Bay VietnamQuan Lan Island Vietnam
Quan Lan Island is a big Island of Bai Tu Long Bay; part of an island range on the outside of the gulf of Le Tonkin. It has an area of 11 sq. km, and features eight populated hamlets. Quan Lan Island stretch toward East – West from the foot of Van Don Range to the Got Mount with many high mountains to the east barring waves and winds, protect the villages. The island is situated on an important navigation route that connects China, Japan, Thailand and Philippines to Vietnam. Along two sides of the island are tens kilometres of sand beaches. This is the endless resource for glass making which the sea gives to man and it is also the extremely interesting tourism .Quan Lan Tours
Since the 11th century, Quan Lan had been one of the centres of the ancient commercial port of Van Don, which was animated and prosperous at the time. Today, there are still many vestiges linked to the ancient commercial port. This also explains why the island, lying deep in the sea, has the large pagodas and archaeological sites seen today. On the island there is the Quan Lan Communal House built in the 18th century; exceedingly beautiful and almost entirely preserved. Next to it is Quan Lan Pagoda (Linh Quang Tu), which is dedicated to Buddha and God Lieu Hanh. The pagoda also worships the statue of old Hau, a local person who made lots of contributions to the construction of the pagoda. The statue features a gentle and cheerful old woman, which adds an original character to the pagoda. Beside Quan Lan Pagoda lies Nghe Quan Lan (Duc Ong) Shrine, which is dedicated to Pham Cong Chinh, a local people who participated in the historical Vân Don battle against the Yuan invaders. He was later honored as a god. Quan Lan has many valuable sea products such as octopuses, butterfish, mackerel, holothurian, shrimp, and sai sung.
How to get in Quan Lan Island Vietnam ?
Drive from Hanoi to Van Don Dist 200km it take 4 hours and a half, the getting to Cai Rong port -2km from Van Don Post office. From Cai Rong Port – you will take tuk tuk to Quan Lan island and other beach as Minh chau... Around Quan Lan island.
Normal boat: at 7;00 and 13;00 everyday it takes 120 minutes to Minh Chau port, from Minh Chau port you can take a TUK TUK just 5 minutes ( 2km ).
Speed boat: at 7;30 and 13;30 everyday it takes 40 minutes to Minh Chau port, from Minh Chau port you can take a TUK TUK just 5 minutes ( 2km ).
Public bus: There are many public bus go to Cua Ong town or Van Don from Luong Yen bus station. Call to ask 043.972 0477.
Note: You can get to Quan Lan bey driving to Halong, taking the ferry to Hong Gai, going to a different port and taking a local boat to Quan Lan. It takes 3.5 hours and currently leaves around 1PM every day