Staying in Hung Thang: apartments and resorts around Halong Marina, Ha Long

Who should stay in Hung Thang?

Hung Thang suits families, groups of friends and travellers staying more than two or three nights who want space: a flat with a kitchen, a washing machine and a balcony over the bay costs no more here than a standard hotel room in Bai Chay. It also suits travellers looking for an international five-star hotel with a large pool, a spa and a beach a few steps away, since several of Ha Long's largest resorts stand on this stretch of coast.

The trade-off is distance. Hung Thang is a residential district, and outside the hotels the streets can feel empty, especially in winter; the restaurants, the night market and Sun World are in Bai Chay, about 3 to 5 km away, so most evenings involve a short taxi ride. Travellers who want to walk everywhere, and those on a tight budget who need a simple hotel room for one night, usually do better in Bai Chay or Hon Gai.

Apartments, aparthotels and hotels in Hung Thang

The 123 properties listed in this zone are mostly apartments, about six in ten, followed by hotels, aparthotels, villas and a couple of guest houses. Apartments here usually mean a flat in one of the high-rise buildings of the Marina, let by the night by owners or small management companies: one to three bedrooms, a kitchen, often a washing machine, and access to the building's pool and gym. Aparthotels offer the same kind of flat with a reception, daily housekeeping and sometimes breakfast. Villas, mostly in the low-rise streets behind the beach, sleep larger groups.

The hotels are at the two ends of the scale: a few simple hotels in the residential streets, and a strong group of four- and five-star hotels and resorts on the seafront, which make Hung Thang the area with the most five-star properties in Ha Long on this site. Guest ratings are high, with a median of about 9 out of 10.

As a guide for 2026, an apartment for two to four people costs roughly the same as a three- or four-star hotel room, about 900,000 to 3,500,000 VND a night depending on size, floor and view, and the five-star hotels start at about 3,500,000 VND. Weekends and the summer holidays are the most expensive dates. Two things are worth reading in each apartment listing: how check-in works, since many flats have no reception and keys are handed over by the owner or through a lock box, and whether the building's pool is included and open in the season you travel.

What is there to do in and around Hung Thang?

The district itself is about the sea and the views. Marina Bay Beach is the closest place to swim, calm and shallow in the summer months, and the seafront promenade is popular for evening walks and sunsets behind the islands. Boats to the Vinpearl resort island leave from a pier in Hung Thang, and the local Cai Dam market, about 2 km from the Marina, sells fresh seafood, fruit and everyday goods, which is useful if you have a kitchen.

Everything else is a short drive away. Sun World Ha Long, with the Queen Cable Car, the Sun Wheel on Ba Deo hill, the Dragon Park and the Typhoon Water Park, is 3 to 5 km east in Bai Chay; in 2026 the cable car costs about 380,000 VND for an adult. The beach, the night market and the seafood restaurants of Bai Chay are 10 minutes away by taxi. Tuan Chau Island, with its cruise harbour, its beach and the ferry to Cat Ba, is about 10 minutes west.

How do you get to Hung Thang?

From Hanoi, the road trip takes about 2.5 to 3.5 hours by expressway; limousine vans cost about 200,000 to 300,000 VND per person, and most will drop you at your building on request. From Van Don International Airport, about 50 km away, the drive is 45 to 60 minutes, and from Noi Bai airport in Hanoi about 2.5 to 3 hours. Bai Chay bus station is about 2 to 3 km away.

For the cruises, Hung Thang is well placed between the two main harbours: Tuan Chau is about 10 minutes west by taxi and the Ha Long International Passenger Port in Bai Chay about 10 to 15 minutes east. Many overnight cruise companies pick up guests in the area. Taxis and ride-hailing cars are easy to call, though fewer cruise the streets than in Bai Chay.

When is Hung Thang at its best?

The summer months, May to August, are the beach season, when the pools of the apartment buildings and the resorts are open and the Marina is at its liveliest, especially at weekends. March to May and late September to November bring milder weather and calmer seas, the best combination for a cruise and a few days on land. From December to February many outdoor pools close or are too cold, and the district is very quiet, but long stays in an apartment are at their cheapest. As everywhere around the bay, storms are most likely between July and September and can stop the boats for a day or more.