INTRODUCTION
Halong City is a town on the northern side of the Ha Long Bay Archipelago of Vietnam. It’s the capital of Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province, about 180 km from Hanoi, and is known as the northern tourist paradise. The name Ha Long means “descending dragon“. Thanks to its favorable location, modern infrastructure, and developed transportation system, Ha Long attracts tens of millions of domestic and international tourists annually.
Ha Long Bay or Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quang Ninh province. The bay has an area of 1,553 km2 with about 1,900 large and small limestone islands of very vivid shapes. The bay has been voted many times by UNESCO as a world natural wonder, and is known as a must-see place once in a lifetime.
Geologically, Ha Long bay has experienced at least 500 million years in various geological states of orogeny, marine transgression and marine regression. During the Ordovician and Silurian periods (500-410 million years ago), Hạ Long Bay was deep sea. During the Carboniferous and Permian periods (340-250 million years ago), Hạ Long Bay was at shallow sea level. The dominated uplift movement of neotectonic and recent tectonic activity deeply influenced this area, and the present landscape of sea-islands was formed around 7 or 8 thousand years ago by the sea invasion during the Holocene transgression, which began 17–18 thousand years ago.
Topographically, Ha Long bay is a mature karst landscape developed during a warm, wet, tropical climate. The sequence of stages in the evolution of a karst landscape over a period of 20 million years requires a combination of several distinct elements including a massive thickness of limestone, a hot wet climate and slow overall tectonic up lift.
ONE-DAY TOUR ITINERARY
Beside the two-day technical program in Hanoi, the organizing committee (OC) also organizes one-day post-conference excursion tour to Ha Long bay on December 16, 2023 (see Schedule below) with the participation of the keynote speakers and many well-known scholars. The delegation would enjoy the Bay tour by a 5-star cruise. All attendees are cordially invited to join the tour at a very reasonable price. For details, please contact the Secretariat at support@geotechn.vn.
ONE-DAY SCHEDULE TO HALONG BAY (DECEMBER 16, 2023)
| 5:30 | Pick up tourists at the meeting point in Hanoi (expected at the CEO Tower) and departs for Ha Long. |
| 08:00 – 08:45 | Check in at the 1st Floor, Terminal – Halong International Cruise Port, Bai Chay Ward, Halong City and transfer to the 5-star Cruise. |
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Enjoy sightseeing while the 5-star Cruise passes by thousands of majestic limestone islets in Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay. |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Explore Sung Sot Cave – the largest and most magnificent cave in the bay featuring marvelous and mysterious thousand-year-old stalactites in a variety of unique forms. |
| 11:40 – 12:30 | Visit Titov Island – a splendid destination encompassing a crescent moon-shaped beach, where you can immerse yourself in the turquoise water and climb to the top of the Island beholding the breathtaking 360o view of the bay. |
| 12:30 – 14:00 | Savor a premium lunch buffet while the 5-star Cruise passes by famous beautiful landscapes in Halong Bay. |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Enjoy tea and coffee at the restaurant. |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Discover Luon Cave – one of the most unique caves in Halong Bay featuring the self-contained lake inside a closed arch-shaped mountain, where you can experience sitting on a bamboo boat* rowed by a local or Kayaking*. |
| 15:00 – 16:00 | Indulge in fascinating live band music at the Sundecks (except on every Monday) and admire the magical scenery of Halong Bay. You can enjoy the cooking class at the 4th-floor restaurant. |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Check out at the reception on the first deck while cruising back to the harbor. |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Disembark at Halong International Cruise Port. |
| 17:00 – 18:30 | Transfer back to Hanoi |
NOTES:
Benefits: Premium lunch, Outdoor Jacuzzi pool, Spacious Sundecks, Cooking class demonstration, Ambassador Concierge Service
Inclusions: Day cruise itinerary and program, Round-trip shuttle bus transfers Hanoi – Halong and vice versa as listed in the itinerary, 01 premium lunch buffet, Onboard insurance, tax, and service charges, Entrance and sightseeing fees
Exclusions: Airfare & airport transfers, Visa arrangements, Accommodation, Onboard cabins, Beverages, Kayaking and bamboo boat rowing, Massage, spa treatments, Tips and other expenses not mentioned in inclusions.
