All over Halong, you will experience traditional Vietnamese dishes - rice, steamed food, fresh green vegetables, seafood, and beef. As you would expect, seafood dominates the cuisine all over Vietnam, and Halong is no different. Since Halong plays host to many overseas visitors but does not have a large expat population, there are some restaurants offering a specific cuisine.

Halong shopping is characterised by the Vietnamese local market tradition with more offerings of souvenirs than usually found elsewhere. Traditional souvenir items to buy in Halong are lacquer plated chopsticks, ceramic tea sets, the ubiquitous conical hats (non la) that Vietnamese womenfolk wear, silk fabric, silk artefacts and crafts, or the traditional Vietnamese long dress, known locally as the “Ao dai”.

Ha Long Bay is situated off the coast of Halong City, 170 km east of Hanoi. One of Vietnam’s greatest natural wonders, Ha Long Bay was included as an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994 and is one of Vietnam''s most popular tourist destinations, both for the magnificent views of the bay and the relaxing boat trips.