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Jul 23, 2019
By Vu Linh
An Introduction to the Sun World Halong Cable Car
Internationally acclaimed Halong Bay may draw visitors from everywhere around the world, but far fewer tourists are familiar with Halong city that serves it. The vast majority of cruise customers book their tours from Hanoi and head straight to Halong’s Tuan Chau harbor, which is situated right at the western end of the city, meaning the wonders of the city itself usually go unexplored. To rectify this, one of Vietnam’s most successful companies, Sun Group, constructed the Sun World Halong Bay cable car in 2016, taking customers above the UNESCO World Heritage site and providing a view that was previously only possible from an eye-watering expensive helicopter or seaplane rides.
Aside from the stunning vistas that the Halong Bay cable car provides over forested mountain ranges lying in the sea, customers can also breathe in the sights of Halong city, including the Sun World Ferris wheel and the beautiful Poem Mountain. The cable crosses the two halves of Halong city, separated by Cua Luc Bay but connected by the beautiful Bai Chay Bridge, providing families and passengers with one of Halong city’s best activities to explore before or after their cruise.
Admire Halong Bay from Queen Cable Car
Sun World Halong Bay
For a 10 to 15 minute ride, passengers should be prepared to pay 300,000 ($13 USD) for an adult ticket and 200,000 VND ($9 USD) for a child ticket, covering kids below 1.3 meters in height. This might seem one of the more expensive things to do in Halong city, but in other mountainous places around the world, a $13 cable car ride would be very welcome. The two terminals serving the cable car are called the Sun and Ocean stations, which is where customers can buy tickets.
Most people heading to Halong city do so with a shuttle bus service from Hanoi, which takes them directly to Tuan Chau harbor in preparation for their bay cruise. Passengers can easily request to stay in Halong city after their cruise to enjoy the cable car and the other attractions around here. If not traveling with a cruise company, there are three main ways to get to Halong city from its nearby neighbors of Hanoi and Hai Phong.
One bus and two taxis are most likely the cheapest way to see the Halong city cable car from outside of the city, but such transport inevitably requires a bit of effort. To start, you will need to get a taxi from the Old Quarter of Hanoi and cover the respective 7km and 10km to Gia Lam or My Dinh bus stations. After stepping off your bus in Halong, another 6km journey is needed to reach Sun World and its cable car departure station. For customers arriving from Cat Ba Island, you should catch a bus from Hai Phong’s Niem Nghia station, located about 3km outside of the city center.
Bus price from Hanoi: 140,000 VND ($6 USD)
Bus price from Hai Phong: 70,000 VND ($3 USD)
A more relaxed transit from Hanoi to the Halong Bay cable car can be achieved on the train, which runs between Hanoi’s central railway station (Ga Hà Nội) and Halong city’s (Ga Hạ Long). Four daily departures give you a bit of flexibility and the entire train transit takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes, with the earliest departure taking over an hour less than that for no discernible reason. The short taxi rides to Hanoi’s main station and from Halong’s main station are easy to arrange.
Train price from Hanoi: 300,000 VND ($13)
A private car makes everything much simpler as the driver will ensure a smooth connection between the exact pick-up and drop-off points. Understandably, this is certainly the most expensive option, but tourists who like to pay a bit extra for the convenience will definitely want to go with this method.
Private car price from Hanoi: Roughly 1,875,000 VND ($80 USD) for a 4-seat vehicle
Private car price from Hai Phong: Roughly 1,400,000 VND ($60 USD) for a 4-seat vehicle
On a trip to Halong, tourists can find a city aiming to build its own legacy separately from Halong Bay. Some beautiful attractions in Halong city go some way to helping the city establish its own identity, but it will be a long time until the activities in the town will rival those in the bay.
Of course, on the huge majority of trips to Halong, tourists come for the bay. Halong city sees a stunning amount of arrivals to its Tuan Chau and Hon Gai harbors, serving Halong Bay and the neighboring Bai Tu Long Bai respectively. The bay doesn’t need much of an introduction at this point, as many have heard about and seen pictures of its snaking ranges of limestone mountains before they have even arrived in Vietnam. Still, cruising, kayaking and swimming around the bay create a once-in-a-lifetime experience that Halong city will find it hard to top. Joining a cruise in Halong Bay is also one of the best option for visiting Halong.
The World Heritage Site Halong Bay
On any ride up the Sun World Halong cable car, passengers will be treated to views of Tuan Chau harbor, a large and artificial island built to handle the enormous amounts of cruise ships that sail into Halong Bay. On the eastern side of the island is a 3km beach facing onto the World Heritage Site, comprised of beautiful sands and resplendent waters, while a host of bars, restaurants, food courts and live entertainment shows lie behind. For the fact that Tuan Chau beach is completely artificial, its design is very well done and encapsulates the castaway feeling of many of the quieter beaches in Halong Bay quiet well.
Tuan Chau beach in Halong Bay
Halong Bay contains many examples of a unique and ancient culture in its caves and fishing villages, but the city of Halong has seen its fair share of historical activity as well. The Tran Dynasty is honored here for its role in defending Vietnam against the Mongolian invasion during the 13th century, through the Tran Quoc Nghien Temple as well as the Long Tien Pagoda. These two beautiful temples are centers for the Buddhist faith in Halong, containing some exquisite architecture and hosting monthly festivals where locals are encouraged to join in with the feasts and traditional music that accompanies the one-day celebrations.
One of the best views available from the Halong Bay cable car stands proudly beside its terminal station atop Ba Deo Mountain. Poem Mountain provides phenomenal views of Halong Bay and the city stretching out from its own foothills, with a 200m peak climbable in about 30 minutes. En route, there is still much splendor for visitors to enjoy, including untamed vegetation as well as monkeys and goats making use of it. The mountain got its name from King Le Thang Tong, who sanctified the outcrop in 1468 by painstakingly carving an entire poem into its rock.
The Sun World Halong cable car slows to a stop beside the Sun World Ferris Wheel, which is another one of Halong’s city attractions providing great views of the limestone mountains beyond it. Due to its prominent red frame standing 215m above the sea on Ba Deo Mountain, the Ferris wheel has found itself as the symbol to Halong city and a world record holder for the highest Ferris wheel on earth. The wheel is another big push by the local tourism authorities to form an identity for Halong city, and judging by the number of people familiar with its statuesque appearance and the nightly light shows it puts on, the strategy seems to be working.
Sun World Wheel
Thank you very much for reading. We hope that you will have a good time in Halong Bay and your journey to Vietnam. Vietnam Escape Tours Travel - One of the best tour operator in Vietnam is happy to arrange for your holiday in Vietnam.
