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Vietnam Just Extended Its e-Visa, Here Are 7 Things to Do With the Extra Days
Vietnam's longer e-visa validity gives travellers real room to add Ha Long Bay to a Hanoi trip, and the bay's limestone karsts are worth every extra day.
Jul 23, 2026 · BigTravel.in.jpg?width=1600 "Vietnam Just Extended Its e-Visa, Here Are 7 Things to Do With the Extra Days")
Vietnam has extended its e-visa validity for foreign travellers, including Indian passport holders, giving visitors more flexibility to build a longer trip around Hanoi and the north without a second visa run. With the extra days, Ha Long Bay's limestone karsts are the obvious place to spend them. Here are seven things to do there, each with a direct map link.
1. Overnight cruise through the karsts
An overnight boat, rather than a single-day tour, remains the best way to actually see Ha Long Bay, since it reaches the quieter outer islands the day-trip boats from Hanoi rarely have time for.
2. Sung Sot Cave
The largest and most dramatic of the bay's accessible caves, its name translates to Surprise Cave, for the sudden scale of the second chamber after a modest entrance. Most overnight cruises include it as a scheduled stop.
3. Kayaking through Luon Cave
A low limestone tunnel opens into a hidden lagoon ringed by cliffs, reachable only by kayak or small rowing boat at low tide, one of the few spots in the bay where the water genuinely empties of other tour boats.
4. Ti Top Island viewpoint
A steep but short staircase climbs to a viewpoint over the bay's most photographed cluster of karsts, worth the climb specifically in the hour before sunset when the tour crowds have mostly left.
5. Cat Ba Island
The bay's largest island holds a national park with genuine hiking trails and a small, less-visited town, a good base for travellers who want more than a boat-deck view of the karsts.
6. A floating fishing village visit
A handful of the bay's traditional floating fishing communities remain, reachable by small boat from the larger cruise vessels, offering a genuine look at a way of life the karst photographs never show.
7. Bai Tu Long Bay, the quieter neighbour
The less-visited bay just northeast of Ha Long proper holds similar karst scenery with a fraction of the boat traffic, worth specifically requesting when booking a cruise if crowds are a concern.
Traveller tips
- Book overnight cruises through operators with visible safety certification; Ha Long Bay has had past incidents involving unlicensed boats, and the certified operators are worth the modest price difference.
- Confirm current Vietnam e-visa validity and entry requirements directly on the official portal before booking flights, since terms have shifted with each extension.
- Pack light, breathable layers even in the warmer months; the bay's humidity makes the actual temperature feel several degrees higher.
- Base the overall trip length around the e-visa's current validity window rather than the older, shorter duration many guides still quote.
Where this is
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam