Contributing to the brand of Quang Ninh tourism is not only Ha Long Bay or Co To island. The name "Van Don" is still quite new to young people or tourists but if you try to set foot in Van Don, you will feel a very special land still little known of Quang Ninh province.

Van Don is an island district of Quang Ninh province. The name Van Don sounds quite strange but this is a favorite destination in Northern Vietnam. Because Van Don is not as noisy and bustling as Ha Long Bay, this place possesses a peaceful beauty and still has a wild beauty for the time being. In Van Don, there are both sea and mountain. All combined together to create a "charming romantic scene".

1. What is the best time to visit Van Don?
Van Don not only has the sea but also mountains. Van Don is beautiful all seasons but the best time to visit Van Don is probably summer. To make the trip perfect you should also avoid the rainy months like September and October.

In addition, if you like the festive atmosphere, you can go to Van Don during the period from 10th to 20th June of the lunar calendar. At this time, Van Don is more crowded and more colorful with a lot of tourists coming for the Quan Lan festival. This is a festival to praise the national heroes with the glorious victory of the ancient Mongol invaders. Many local activities take place during festivals such as boat racing, processions, swimming, parades, etc.

2. How to get to Van Don?
The distance from Hanoi to Van Don is about 220km. You can travel by bus and take about 4-5 hours. There are two options for you if moving from Hanoi. You can catch a car going straight from Hanoi to Van Don or Hanoi - Cua Ong, then take a taxi or motorbike taxi to get to Van Don.

Bus routes from Hanoi to Van Don:
Bus from Yen Nghia station, Ha Dong didstrict: Departure at 6am. Tel: 0982332266
My Dinh bus station: Depart at 6:20. Telephone: 0915268555
The bus fares is about 120k / person / way.

Bus from Hanoi to Cua Ong:
Buses Hoang Long and Kumho Viet Thanh from My Dinh, Luong Yen and Gia Lam stations cost 120K / one way to Cua Ong. After that, you can take a motorbike taxi or taxi to Van Don, the extra cost is 50.000 – 60.000 / VND.
If you want to save money and time, you should watch the time for a bus operator that goes from Hanoi straight to Van Don!

3. Moving around in Van Don
Tourists coming to Van Don usually travel by boat to the islands. On the islands, you can travel around by tuk tuk, bike or bicycle instead of motorbike because the air is fresh and motorbike rental is not so popular.

4. Where to stay in Van Don?
To reduce costs, you can book online through booking portals apps such as Agoda, Traveloka…In addition, there are a few places in Van Don that are selected by many customers:

Mai Homestay
In Van Don, there are mainly hotels and homestays. Therefore, Mai Homestay is chosen by many young people when coming to Van Don, especially Quan Lan Island, the hotels and guesthouses in Van Don will cost from 200.000 – 500.000 VND depending on standard and service. You should check price before booking the room.

5. What to do in Van Don?
With a large area with different beauty, Van Don can be divided into some small places to help visitors easily navigate, explore and explore with their journeys to reduce time quickly and thus have the most fun.

As an island district of Quang Ninh, Van Don is famous for its beaches. Different from the mass tourist destinations such as Ha Long Bay or Cat Ba island, the beaches here still preserve the wild and peaceful features. This is a place for the people who love the sea and beach

Quan Lan beach
One of the beaches associated with Van Don is Quan Lan. The beach is located on a beautiful island in Bai Tu Long Bay. To reach Quan Lan island, you must travel by high-speed boat from Cai Rong port. Travel time is about 40 – 60 minuties, fares 120.000 -160.000 / person / way.

To make it easier to plan, please refer to the operating time of the boat:
Cai Rong - Quan Lan: 2 times / day, leaving at 7:30 and 13:30
Quan Lan - Cai Rong: 2 times / day, leaving at 8:30 and 14:30
Quan Lan is also the place chosen by many young people for camping activities, team building…

Long Beach
You must love Long beach from the moment you step in. Although not as famous as other beaches in Van Don, recently, Long beach has been particularly popular with many young people. The highlight of Long beach is the wooden bridge. Many young people come here and take the shimmering images. How about you?

Viet My beach
This is an artificial beach, very beautiful and suitable for swimming. In addition, you can visit floating houses and enjoy seafood when coming here.

Cai Bau Pagoda
Cai Bau Pagoda is also known as Truc Lam Giac Tam Zen Monastery. This temple was built on the foundation of Phuc Linh Tu Pagoda, dating from the Tran Dynasty over 700 years ago.

Although it is a spiritual place, the architecture of the temple is highly appreciated with many windy upper corners, you just need to look out to see the immense sea and blue sky.

Ba Mun Island
Visiting Van Don, besides the beach, you can also visit the islands. Currently, Van Don island district has 600 islands. Of which, 20 islands are inhabited. Ba Mun Island is one of them. Many tourists like to come here because of the wilderness and biodiversity on the island. In Ba Mun island you have the opportunity to see valuable plants such as Dinh, ironwood, chrysanthemum, yellow and Vang Huong woods.

Ngoc Vung Island
If you really want to explore this place, you can spend 2 days on Ngoc Vung Island. You can reach the island by boat and contact at the dock. The boats leave at 7.00 and 13:30 every day. Fares 60.000 VND / person / way. On the island, you can travel by car or bicycle and admire the scenery, visit the casuarina forest along the coast, Truong Chinh beach, Phao Dai island at the end of the beach.

In the evening, if you stay on the island, you can light a fire, camping on the 3km long beach located in the East. In addition, the island is quite wild so if you do not like camping activities, you should consider staying the night.

6. What to eat in Van Don?
Traveling to Van Don, you definitely cannot miss the delicious seafood dishes here such as Sa Sung, squid, Tu Hai, grilled oysters…

Depending on the quality and budget, the cost of eating also varies. If you eat in a restaurant, the average price is about VND 100.000 - 200.000 VND / person, but if you stay at homestay you can ask the hosts to cook, the price will be cheaper, only about 50.000 VND / person.

Some cheap restaurants in Van Don that you can consider: Gio Bien 2 Restaurant, Tuyen Tuyet restaurant, Phan Tuyet restaurant, Duong restaurant…

If you are still have difficulty choosing a destination for this summer, try once to choose Van Don to experience a summer filled with sunshine and sea breeze. With fresh air, mountains, sky…Van Don promises to bring the best things to your trip.

Back