Vung Vieng Fishing Village

1. About Vung Vieng Fishing Village — Key Facts at a Glance

2. Location & How to Arrive

Vung Vieng Fishing Village lies at the heart of Bai Tu Long Bay, approximately 24 kilometers from Halong City on the mainland — positioned well beyond the more heavily visited zones of Halong Bay’s core UNESCO area, in a naturally sheltered cove enclosed by towering limestone cliffs on all sides. The surrounding karst formations create an almost lake-like stillness to the water, providing a natural windbreak and wave barrier that has made this location ideal for a floating community for generations.

The journey to Vung Vieng is itself an experience: cruise ships anchor at a distance and visitors transfer to a bamboo boat rowed by a local village woman for the final 20–30 minutes of the approach. This approach passes through the natural stone arch gateway of Cao Cave — a narrow, low limestone arch through which the boat must pass at water level, emerging into the quieter waters of the village bay beyond. This natural gateway, combined with the remoteness of the location, gives Vung Vieng a sense of genuine discovery that begins long before the village itself comes into view.

Vung Vieng is a designated stop on Halong Bay Route 4 — a cruise itinerary covering Bai Tu Long Bay’s attractions, also including Thien Canh Son Cave, Hang Thay, and the Cong Do area. Most visitors reach it as part of an overnight Bai Tu Long Bay cruise.

3. History: A 19th-Century Maritime Community

Vung Vieng’s origins trace back to the 19th century, when local fishermen began mooring their boats in the sheltered cove to exchange goods and trade with one another. Over time, temporary moorings became permanent floating homesteads, and homesteads became a village — one of what eventually grew into four such floating communities across the broader bay region.

The trading culture was never purely local: Chinese merchants, based roughly 100 kilometers away across the Gulf of Tonkin, were among the regular trading partners at Vung Vieng. The village’s sheltered position, natural limestone barrier, and proximity to rich fishing grounds made it a natural gathering point not just for Vietnamese fishermen but for the entire maritime trading network of the region.

For generations, life at Vung Vieng revolved entirely around the sea. Families lived in wooden homes built on bamboo rafts, catching fish by net and line, harvesting shellfish from the limestone cliff faces, and trading their catch with passing boats and with one another. At its peak, the village supported approximately 50 families and around 300 residents — including roughly 100 children, many of whom were educated in a floating school on the water, one of the most evocative and emblematic features of life in the village.

4. The Village Today: Heritage in Transition

In 2012, the Halong Bay Management Board announced a program to relocate the residents of Halong Bay’s floating villages to new homes on the mainland, citing concerns about safety, access to education, and long-term environmental sustainability. The program was carried out gradually between 2012 and 2021, with most of Vung Vieng’s families eventually accepting the move — receiving new housing, land, and access to the educational and healthcare services that life on the water could not provide, especially for their children.

Today, approximately 30 households remain on the water — not as full-time residential families in the traditional sense, but as working aquaculture operators maintaining the village’s fish farms and pearl cultivation operations. These remaining residents continue to raise sea bass, grouper, and cobia in floating cage systems, and produce cultured pearls through a multi-year cultivation process, much as Vung Vieng families have worked the bay’s resources for generations.

The village today functions as what one source calls “a beautiful hybrid between a working community and a living museum.” Its floating communal house — once the center of community meetings and decision-making — is now a space where visitors can see and buy locally made handicrafts. The old floating school, though no longer in daily educational use, remains a poignant reminder of the extraordinary community life that existed here for over a century.

5. The Visitor Experience: What You’ll See & Do

Arriving by Bamboo Boat Through Cao Cave

The single most memorable moment of most visitors’ Vung Vieng experience comes before they arrive: the approach by bamboo boat through the natural stone arch of Cao Cave — a low, dramatic limestone gateway through which the boat passes at water level. Visitors sit low in the traditional bamboo boat as the arch passes overhead, then emerge into the calm, enclosed waters of the village bay. The transition from open bay to this sheltered cove has a profound quality of arrival — a sense of having entered somewhere genuinely apart from the rest of the world.

The Floating Village Itself

Arriving at Vung Vieng, visitors find a collection of colorful floating wooden homes — painted blue, red, and yellow — connected by wooden walkways and floating on combinations of traditional bamboo and modern buoy systems. Each floating home is approximately 30 square meters. The central communal floating platform anchors the village’s social life, surrounded by the cage systems of the fish farms and the rope lines of the pearl cultivation operation.

Activities Available

• Bamboo boat ride (20–30 minutes): The standard visitor experience — sitting in a traditional boat rowed by a local village woman through the village waterways and around the fish farms, in near-total silence.
• Pearl farm visit: Learn the multi-year process of culturing pearls in the bay’s mineral-rich water from one of the village’s remaining aquaculture families.
• Fish farm tour: See the cage systems where sea bass, grouper, and cobia are raised, and hear from local operators about the economics and ecology of aquaculture in the bay.
• Fishing net demonstration: Some cruise itineraries include a hands-on demonstration of traditional net-casting techniques with local fishermen.
• Night squid fishing: Overnight cruise guests can participate in squid fishing from the boat after dark — one of the most popular evening activities on Bai Tu Long Bay cruises that anchor near the village.
• Kayaking: Some operators offer self-paddled kayaking around the village perimeter and through the limestone channels near the Cao Cave gateway.
• Handicraft shopping: The communal floating house offers locally made handicrafts — woven goods, shell jewelry, and other small items — as a source of income for remaining village families.
  

  

6. Ticket Prices & How to Visit in 2026

6.1 Entrance & Route

Note: If visiting as part of an overnight Bai Tu Long Bay cruise, both the Route 4 entrance fee and the bamboo boat ride to the village are typically included in your cruise package — always confirm exact inclusions with your operator before booking.

6.2 Bai Tu Long Bay Route 4 — What’s Included

1. Thien Canh Son Cave
2. Hang Thay Cave
3. Cong Do Island area
4. Tung Ang Ecological Area
5. Vung Vieng Fishing Village ⭐

Important note on access: Larger cruise boats cannot enter the village directly — they anchor at a distance and visitors transfer to bamboo boats for the final 20–30 minutes. As with Thien Canh Son Cave, only operators holding a specific Bai Tu Long Bay permit may include Vung Vieng in their itinerary — always confirm your cruise operator’s permit before booking.

6.3 How to Get There from Hanoi

• By road to Halong City: Approximately 2.5–3.5 hours via the 5B Expressway
• Boat journey from Tuan Chau Port: Approximately 2–2.5 hours to reach the Vung Vieng area of Bai Tu Long Bay
• Recommended: Overnight cruise (2D1N or 3D2N) to allow a relaxed village visit combined with Thien Canh Son Cave and the broader bay experience

7. Best Time to Visit Vung Vieng Fishing Village

Night squid fishing best season: Summer months (June–August), when squid populations are highest. If squid fishing is a priority, plan an overnight cruise during this period.

Avoid: Vietnamese public holidays (Tết, April 30–May 1, September 2) — even Bai Tu Long Bay sees more domestic visitors during these dates.

8. Practical Tips Before You Go

• Wear a life jacket. Mandatory and provided by your cruise operator for all bamboo boat and kayaking activities — no exceptions.
• Bring small VND cash for buying handicrafts at the communal floating house — the village does not have card payment facilities.
• Dress modestly. You are a guest in a working community — light, respectful clothing is appropriate. Swimwear is not suitable for the village visit itself (swimming at the village is not part of the standard experience).
• Follow your guide. Do not climb onto floating structures uninvited, touch fish cages or pearl lines, or enter residential areas without a guide’s direction.
• Photography: ask first. Village residents are not performers. If you would like to photograph someone at close range, ask through your guide — most residents are accommodating when asked respectfully.
• Support local directly. Where possible, buy handicrafts from the village stalls rather than from cruise ship gift shops — more of the revenue reaches the community directly.
• Allow 1.5–2 hours for the full experience including the bamboo boat ride in, village exploration, pearl farm or fish farm visit, and boat ride back.

9. Vung Vieng Fishing Village — Frequently Asked Questions

The questions we get asked most often by travelers planning to visit Vung Vieng Fishing Village in Bai Tu Long Bay.

Last updated: June 2026 | Information verified against multiple Bai Tu Long Bay and floating village tourism sources. Household and population figures for Vung Vieng vary between sources and have changed during the government resettlement program (2012–2021). Current figures are approximate and reflect the most commonly cited estimates.