One of the new points of this regulation compared to before is that tourists have more options for visiting Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay, because ships depart earlier and return to port later than at present.
Accordingly, for daytime sightseeing boats, in the summer (from April 1 to October 31), they can depart at 5:00 a.m. and return at 8:00 p.m. at the latest, while currently they can depart at 6:00 a.m. and must return before 7:00 p.m. In the winter (from November 1 to March 31 of the following year), daytime sightseeing boats can depart at 5:30 a.m. and return at 7:00 p.m. at the latest, while currently they can depart at 6:30 a.m. and must return before 6:30 p.m. at the latest.
To better serve tourists' needs, Quang Ninh decided to extend the visiting time in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay.
For restaurant ships operating along Ha Long Bay, they must return to port by 11pm at the latest, while currently it is 10pm. For ships staying overnight in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay, they must enter the overnight accommodation area in the bay by 6:30pm in winter and 7pm in summer. The operating time of water recreation facilities in the bay is from 5:30am to 6:30pm. The above regulations do not apply to tourist ships when not transporting passengers.
The People's Committee of Quang Ninh province has just issued regulations on measures to manage the operations of inland waterway vehicles serving tourists in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay.
According to some cruise ship owners in Ha Long Bay, with the current time frame, there are almost no customers or groups of tourists registering to visit the bay from 6am, so it is unclear whether from October 20, when the ships depart 1 hour earlier (5am), there will be any customers registering to go.
However, according to a representative of a travel agency, the extension of 2 hours for cruise ships operating in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay could be the basis for travel agencies to research and open new tourism products for tourists. Among them, it is possible to organize for tourists to go early to watch the sunrise, experience the fresh air of the early morning on the sea, or a sunset tour on the bay.
