Published:  13:08 Monday - September 12, 2016

Halong Bay is one of New Seven natural Wonders of the world because of unique karst and isles. And cruising in Halong bay is a great way to discovery the spectacular beauty. People often visit Halong bay in summer but you can also visit Halong bay in winter with some tips below.

Halong weather is typical for tropical coastal climate, which has two main seasons all year around. From April to September, it is often hot and humid; from October to March the weather is dry with some cold months. Most travelers visit Vietnam in wintertime, this is dry season in the country. Winter in Halong Bay is a really good time to visit. From December through to late February every year, the temperatures drop to around 16 – 18ºC. The bay is calm, quieter than in the real peak season, and with little wind, holidaymakers can expect excellent conditions for cruising.

1. Weather:

Ha Long bay has a close altitude with two audible seasons: a hot and boiling summer and a algid and drier winter.

There is usually about 5 to 8 hours of sunshine per day, with August is the sunniest month. During these months the clamminess is about 83% and the boilerplate condensate is 23mm, with the wettest month of the year is January. Generally, in these months, there are usually the appearance of fog, this leads to low visibility.

During the winter from October to April of the following year, the average temperature gets as low as 15°C and the lowest could be 5°C sometimes. This time is also dry season with little raining, it’s approximately 15-20% of the total rainfall.

2. Trip cancellation:

Because in Vietnam the weather is changeable and the weather forecast is not good, this is a reason why you have to be informed suddenly like this. You should know some bad weather like storm in hot season (from May to August) and foggy, monsoons, cyclone and thunderstorm in cold season (from November to April next year) which makes the Management Board of Halong Bay have to inform to cancel the overnight cruises.

You can find some advice to deal with this situation at What bad weather might occur in Halong Bay and How to deal with it when you are on a cruise?

3. Activities:

Normally, the cold weather does not have much effect on cruise activities. Some outside recreational activities such as kayaking, swimming, climbing mountains… might be postponed in bad weather. Some days could grow much colder, foggier or have heavy rain that you should pay attention to safety instruction and tour guide’s advice.

4. Packing:

Warm clothes are needed, especially wind breaker for outside activities (kayaking…), waterproof trail shoes for climbing mountain. For more tip, visit: How to pack for your Halong trip in winter?

Water-proof bag for camera because the air is very humid. Winter in the North of Vietnam is not only cold but humid; your electronic devices can be affected.

Preparing with books, music, in-house games when relaxing on board, just in case it is too cold outside and you are not going out for activities.