Halong Bay Caves, A Guide to All 6 Worth Visiting

Last updated: July 2026

Most people book a Halong Bay cruise for the scenery and treat the caves as a bonus. Then they walk into Sung Sot and reconsider.

The awkward part is that no single cruise visits all of them. Your ticket buys one licensed route, that route includes two or three caves, and most travellers find out which ones about ten minutes before stepping off the boat.

This guide sorts that out in advance. It covers all six caves you can realistically reach, what each one is actually like inside, and which ticket route you need to get there.

How many caves are there in Halong Bay?

More than 70 caves have been recorded across the bay. Around 59 are considered suitable for tourism, and only 19 are actually open to visitors (Source: Ha Long Bay – Yen Tu World Heritage Management Board).

The "top five" lists you have read are therefore drawn from a much shorter menu than the bay's reputation suggests. Six caves cover almost everything a normal itinerary can reach.

One note on numbers while we are here. Two of the most-cited English guides give different floor areas for Sung Sot, 10,000 and 12,000 square metres, and neither names a source. We have not found an official figure, so we have left it out rather than pick one.

Which Halong Bay cave should you visit?

The answer depends on which ticket route your boat holds and how much company you can tolerate. Sung Sot is the largest and the busiest, Me Cung and Thien Canh Son are the quietest, and Luon is the only one you enter without walking. The table below is the fastest way to narrow it down.

Two conclusions fall out of that table immediately.

• You cannot see Sung Sot and Thien Cung on the same ticket, because they sit on different routes. Choose before you book rather than after.
• Luon is not a walking cave. No engines are permitted inside, so you enter by kayak or bamboo rowboat. If that does not appeal, skip it.

The six caves, one by one

Each cave below gets a short summary covering what it is like inside and which route reaches it. The individual guides carry the full detail, including ticket logistics and photography advice.

Sung Sot Cave

Sung Sot is the cave most people mean when they talk about the Halong Bay caves. It opens as a low, unremarkable chamber, then passes through a gap in the wall into a hall large enough that a full tour group stops sounding like a crowd. The name translates as astonishment, and it earns that at the second doorway rather than the first.

You reach it by a stone staircase above the jetty on Bo Hon Island, and you should expect company. Our Sung Sot Cave guide has the full walkthrough.

Thien Cung Cave

Thien Cung is denser and more theatrical than Sung Sot, packing tighter formations and heavier coloured lighting into a smaller footprint. Some visitors prefer it for exactly that reason, while others find the lighting overdone.

It sits close to Tuan Chau pier, which makes it the standard first stop on VHL1 routes. See our Thien Cung Cave guide for what to expect inside.

Dau Go Cave

Dau Go, sometimes called Driftwood Cave, is the least styled of the three large caves. It is spacious and dimly lit, with more attention paid to geology than to stagecraft. If the coloured floodlights at Thien Cung put you off, this is the antidote.

It shares the VHL1 route with Thien Cung, so most itineraries pair them. Our Dau Go Cave page covers the history behind the name.

Me Cung Cave

Me Cung is narrow, winding and genuinely maze-like, which is where the name comes from. It offers archaeological interest rather than scale, and it draws a small fraction of the traffic that the headline caves attract.

If your priority is not standing in a queue, this is the cave to ask for. It sits on VHL2, so it pairs naturally with Sung Sot. Full detail on our Me Cung Cave guide.

Luon Cave

Luon is not a cave you walk through at all. It is a low tunnel cut through a limestone wall, opening into an enclosed lagoon on the far side, and you duck as you pass underneath.

No engines are permitted, which is precisely why the lagoon inside stays quiet. Golden langurs live on the walls above if you look up at the right moment. See our Luon Cave page for kayak logistics.

Thien Canh Son Cave

Thien Canh Son sits out in Bai Tu Long, well off the main circuit and considerably quieter than the rest. It is smaller than the others, and far fewer vessels hold licences for the routes that reach it.

It is worth the detour on a second visit, or if solitude ranks above scale for you. More in our Thien Canh Son Cave guide and our Bai Tu Long Bay guide.

Which ticket route do you need?

Your cruise determines this rather than you, so check the route before booking rather than afterwards. The three main routes split as follows:

• VHL1 (250,000 VND) covers Thien Cung and Dau Go, plus Hon Cho Da, Ba Hang and Dinh Huong.
• VHL2 (250,000 VND) covers Sung Sot and Me Cung, plus Soi Sim and Ti Top island.
• VHL3 and VHL4 (200,000 VND) cover the quieter eastern routes, with fewer show caves.

Overnight fares usually bundle the ticket in. Day tours booked cheaply on the street sometimes do not. Ask one question before you pay: is the VHL ticket included?

The full fee table, along with what else you should budget for, sits in our complete Halong Bay trip cost breakdown.

When should you go to avoid the crowds?

Aim for before 10am or after 2pm. The crush at Sung Sot runs roughly 10am to 2pm, when the day boats out of Tuan Chau and the overnight fleet reach the anchorage within the same window.

That four-hour band changes the experience completely. The chambers and the lighting are identical, but you move in a slow line rather than stopping where you want.

Two ways to dodge it:

• Overnight cruises often reach the caves early on day two, before the day boats arrive.
• Ask your operator which slot they hold. Any decent one will tell you, and an inability to answer tells you something in itself.

Season matters less than time of day, since caves are weatherproof. October to November and March to May remain the best months to be on the water though.

What to know before you go

The caves themselves are easy to visit, but a handful of practical details make the hour more comfortable.

• Wear shoes with grip. The stone is wet and polished smooth in places, and sandals are a poor choice.
• Expect humidity rather than cold. No jacket is needed, and you will be warmer inside than out.
• Turn the flash off. The caves are already lit for you, and flash flattens everything.
• Take the entrance stairs slowly. Most caves involve a climb from the jetty before you reach anything.
• Bring a refillable bottle. Single-use plastic is banned across the bay, and boats have been suspended over it.

One further point is worth stressing. You cannot ask the captain to add a cave. Routes are licensed, and a boat on VHL1 cannot detour to Sung Sot however politely you ask. Check the stops listed on your booking confirmation.

Frequently asked questions

These are the questions we field most often about the Halong Bay caves, particularly around routes, pricing and accessibility.

Which is the best cave in Halong Bay?

Sung Sot, on scale and impact. It has the largest chamber of any cave open to visitors in the bay, and it is the one most people remember afterwards. If you value quiet over size, Me Cung on the same route or Thien Canh Son out in Bai Tu Long will suit you better.

Can you visit all the Halong Bay caves in one trip?

No. The caves are split across separate ticket routes, and no single cruise covers them all. A standard VHL2 day tour reaches Sung Sot and Me Cung. Seeing Thien Cung and Dau Go as well means a second trip on a VHL1 route, or a longer multi-day itinerary.

How much does it cost to enter the caves?

Cave entry is included in the government route ticket rather than charged separately. VHL1 and VHL2 both cost 250,000 VND per person, and VHL3 and VHL4 cost 200,000 VND. Overnight cruise fares normally include this, but budget day tours sometimes leave it out of the headline price.

Are the caves suitable for children or older travellers?

Mostly yes, with one caveat. Every walking cave involves a staircase from the jetty and uneven, often wet stone inside. Luon Cave is the exception, since you enter by kayak or rowboat and never walk at all, which makes it the easier option for anyone unsteady on steps.

Do you need a guide inside the caves?

You will have one. Cave visits happen as a group with your boat's guide, and independent wandering is not permitted on the main routes. The commentary is worth listening to, particularly at Dau Go, where the history is more interesting than the rock formations.

Which cave is the quietest?

Thien Canh Son, because far fewer vessels are licensed for the Bai Tu Long routes that reach it. On the main circuit, Me Cung is the quietest by a wide margin, since most itineraries prioritise Sung Sot and many skip it entirely.

Ready to see them?

Pick your route first and the cave second, because that single decision settles most of the rest.

Our Ha Long Bay Day Tour covers the VHL2 set, Sung Sot and Luon included, from $34. If you would rather trade caves for swimming and kayaking, our Halong Bay vs Lan Ha Bay comparison explains what you gain by heading south instead.

Browse everything at bekatravel.com, or start with the full Halong Bay travel guide.

Share: