Nightlife in Halong Bay - Top things to do

Apart from the natural landscape, Halong Bay also has numerous exciting destinations and activities for travelers to experience, especially after dusk. To have an absolute nightlife in Halong Bay, let’s discover some top things you should do at night in Halong.

Halong Bay - located in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, has proudly been one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1994. The majestic and pristine scenery of Halong Bay was formed by over 1600 limestone islands and emerald green waters. That is why this place has attracted millions of domestic and international visitors per year.

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How to enjoy your nightlife in Halong Bay
 

Chill out at Halong’s bars and nightclubs

After such a long day discovering every corner of Halong, it is time to chill with energetic music and scrumptious beverages.

Ba Hang Bar

The most exciting thing about Ba Hang is that this bar is not located on the mainland but floating in the seawater, inside a floating fish village. This night bar offers its customers a wide range of drinks, snacks, foods, and also live music.

Is there anything more wonderful than enjoying music while being immersed in the vast space of heaven and earth? Surely, chilling out at Ba Hang will give you unforgettable moments and memories.

Location: Tuan Chau Island

Valley Beach Club

Different from other nightclubs, Valley Beach does not confine itself in a cramped space but expands to the sandy shore. As one of the largest outdoor clubs in Vietnam, Valley Beach usually hosts numerous festive shows, with the performances of countless famous international and domestic singers, DJs, and bands. While indulging yourself in beach parties, you can also communicate with a lot of locals.

Location: Zone B, SunWorld Beach, Bai Chay

Captain Club

Captain Club is well-known among both locals and visitors as one of the noisiest clubs in Halong Bay. Located inside a luxury hotel, Captain is decorated in a splendid style, also fully equipped with superior audio and lighting systems. Besides flavourful drinks and eateries, this club is renowned for its dedicated customer service. So if you spend your nightlife in Halong Bay here, you will not regret it.

Location: Muong Thanh Hotel - 7/20 East, Ha Long

La Plaza Bar and Lounge

Another bar that you should pay a visit to when in Halong is the La Plaza bar and lounge. This bar belongs to the Halong Plaza Hotel, which has a fantastic view of the Bai Chay bridge. Apart from upbeat music played by professional DJs, La Plaza also has melodious light music during the afternoon. When you come here, you should try the best-seller dish, which is a seafood mix plate.

Location: 8 Ha Long Street

Fleur D'or Maison Bar Halong

Bar and pub in Halong city

Fleur D'or Maison Bar Halong is no longer a strange name for people who love nightlife and cocktails. The popularity of Fleur D'or Maison Bar Halong does not only come from tasty drinks and snacks but also a lively atmosphere created by fantastic musicians and dancers. The music playlist here is quite diverse, from EDM, G-house to rock, you can even request the DJ for your favorite song. Moreover, this bar also offers ‘buy one get one free’ beer on Happy Hours and several other great deals.

Location: Opposite to Halong Novotel hotel. Quang Truong Street, Bai Chay city, Halong.

What to do in Halong
 

Squid fishing - the most significant activities of nightlife in Halong Bay

While visitors in the daytime can go swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, but at night, there is one more interesting activity, which is squid fishing. Indeed, these impressive experiences will be a memory that sticks to your mind.

Please note that this service is not available year-round because if it is not in Squid season, Squid is really small and hard to catch. So, if you want to do squid catching, you should go to Halong Bay from February to November. You do not need to prepare any equipment or baits, as these will be provided in the package.

Moreover, based on the instructions of skilled fishers, visitors should do this activity when the moon is covered by dark clouds, not on moonlit days. That is because, without the moonlight, squids are more attracted to the fishing rods. To catch squid, you have to rely on your skills and fortune.

A ‘lucky’ guest can get up to 25 squids a night. However, you should not care too much about how many squids you get because the most important thing here is that you enjoyed the fun.

Try Halong’s street foods

While venturing the roads, visiting tourist attractions and natural landscapes, savouring the local cuisine is a must-try especially street foods. Let’s find out the list of street food you should try at least once when traveling to Halong.

Nightlife in Halong with street foods

Cha Muc (Grilled Squid)
We cannot help but mention Cha Muc Ha Long (Grilled Squid) when listing one of the most renowned street foods. The ingredients to make Cha Muc are entirely fresh. After catching the squids at night, squids are directly transported to local restaurants and ready to be cooked.

Cha Muc can be easily found at any small food stalls or restaurant in Halong Bay, with only 22,000 VND per portion. Typically, locals eat Cha Muc with Xoi (sticky rice) or Banh Cuon (steamed rice cake), such a perfect combination!

Horseshoe crab
The horseshoe crab, also called Sam in Vietnam, is a favorite street food of many locals due to its unique taste. Sam is usually prepared to make several tasty dishes such as crab salad, steamed crab, fried crab, stir-fried crab with noodles, and so much more.

Primarily, you should try Sweet and Sour Sam, which is characterized by a spicy taste, but then there is a sweet aftertaste.
Sam is gradually becoming more scarce in recent years, and only a few places still serve dishes from the creature.

Gat Gu cake
Another food specialty that you should try when spending nightlife in Halong Bay is Gat Gu cake. This cake tastes like Vietnamese noodle soup (Pho) or steamed rice cake, but a little different. Best served with minced pork, fish sauce, and fresh chilies, you will feel the tenderness right after the first bite, then the greasy taste of the meat on the inside.

If you want, you can participate in a cooking class in Halong to learn how to make this cake.

Austriella Corrugata
Austriella Corrugata is also known as Ngan. In Vietnamese, the word ‘ngán’ refers to tastelessness, but this word does not apply to this specialty. Ngan is exceptionally mouth-watering when being cooked in countless ways by experienced chefs, including grilled, stir-fried, steamed, etc.

Ngan is also used to make wine with an inexpressible flavor. You can easily find Ngan dishes anywhere, from lavish restaurants to popular sidewalk eateries in Halong.

Other street cuisines that you can try are Sa Sung, seafood, mantis shrimp noodles, mussels porridge, Hoanh Bo sticky rice wine, and many more.

Visit Halong’s night market

Another thing that will make your nightlife in Halong Bay more appealing is visiting Halong’s night market. Based in the heart of Halong, visitors can both shop and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the beach at night. Halong market sells a great variety of products, from hand-crafted souvenirs like necklaces made from seashells, wooden boats, ceramics, and pottery to pieces of silk, embroidered clothes, etc.

Every local vendor here knows English, so you can easily communicate with them. One small thing to note is, prices are often slightly inflated, so you should bargain for at least 20% less.

Location: Ben Doan street, Bai Chay, Halong
Opening hours: 6 pm till midnight

Visit and play at a casino

Opened in 2003, Royal International Gaming Club is one of five places allowed to have a casino in Vietnam, which is located inside a luxury resort. However, due to the government’s restrictions, this casino only serves international tourists, and is open 24 hours daily.

Casino in Halong city

The casino of Royal International Gaming club is extremely large, with a total of 7250 square meters divided into four floors, seventy slots, and eighteen table games. Numerous world-famous games are playing here, such as blackjack, poker, baccarat, casino war, Texas Hold ‘em, etc. Depending on different games, the bets are from 1 to 20 USD or can be up to USD 20,000.

Location: No 1 Bai Chay Str, Halong city, Quang Ninh

Wander at Bai Chay Bridge

The nightlife in Halong Bay does not stop there. If you just want to walk around to see the city at night, you should do it at the Bai Chay Bridge. This bridge is the first cable-stayed built in Vietnam with state-of-the-art construction architecture, which is the pride of Halong’s people. Because of the slight shape, Bai Chay Bridge is a magnificent architecture to adorn the beauty of Halong.

Standing on Bai Chay bridge, you can easily admire the panoramic view of the whole city, and the incredible landscape of the bay will look much more impressive.
For travel enthusiasts, Halong Bay is a beautiful place where you should come at least once in your life.

Not only exciting during the day, but the nightlife in Halong Bay is also vibrant and interesting. Hopefully, you have added some above activities to your travel itinerary after reading this blog.

Overnight on a cruise for unforgetable nightlife in Halong Bay

Don't miss the unforgettable experience Nightlife in Halong Bay by staying overnight on a cruise!

Nightlife in Halong bay cruise

Embark on an exciting adventure in Halong Bay! On the first day, enjoy a boat trip exploring the stunning scenery of Halong Bay, engage in thrilling activities like kayaking, sailing, and swimming. As night falls, stay in Halong Bay cruise and experience the thrill of squid fishing under the starry sky. Process your catch right away and indulge in the freshest ingredients. On the second day, explore fascinating caves and savor a delicious lunch before concluding your unforgettable 2-day/1-night Halong Bay cruise trip at the pier.

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