Vung Vieng fishing village by bamboo boat

Vung Vieng is a fishing village you visit from the water. A bamboo boat, rowed by a local on the boats that say who rows, takes you between fish and pearl farms under the limestone; on two of the one-night boats you can paddle a kayak instead. Eight of the 15 Bai Tu Long boats we publish include it on their one-night trip, counted on 22 October 2026, and seven of those go early on the second morning. Seven more take you there only on a two-night trip, so every Bai Tu Long boat reaches the village on one programme or another.

Do people still live at Vung Vieng?

No. The families were moved ashore from 2014, the Ha Long Bay and Yen Tu heritage management board says: the provincial People’s Committee resettled what had been one of the bay’s long-established fishing communities on the mainland, for their social welfare. What the board describes now is a place to learn how Ha Long’s fishermen lived: fishing with them from traditional boats, rowing bamboo boats, kayaking, dragon-boat racing, fresh seafood and pearl working.

The board puts the area on its sightseeing route VHL4, about 20 km from Tuan Chau and 16 km from Ha Long International Cruise Port, the route that also takes in Thien Canh Son Cave, which the board calls Co Cave. Look for the rock arch. The board compares the huge natural arch to a village gate and treats it as the landmark of the place, among enclosed lagoons and small sandy coves.

On the water, operators describe the working part. Dragon Legend’s timetable takes you past the fish farms, Paloma stops at a pearl farm, and a Renea guest reviewing in October 2025 enjoyed most of all the silence of being rowed round the fishermen’s village and the oyster pearl farm.

Which boats include Vung Vieng on a one-night cruise?

Eight of the 15 Bai Tu Long boats we publish include Vung Vieng on a one-night cruise. Cycad goes on the first afternoon; the other seven go on the second morning before check-out, and six of those print a start of 07:15 or 07:45. The times are the operators’ own, from each boat’s timetable, and the terms column shows what each operator says it includes.

Boat	When	How you go round	Included in the operator’s terms
Cycad	Day one, 15:00	Kayak, or a local fisherman rows you in a bamboo boat	Ask when booking
Emperor	Day two, 07:15, back aboard by 08:15	Bamboo boat rowed by local fishermen	Bamboo boat and village visit
Dragon Legend	Day two, 07:45, back at 08:45	Rowing boat	Rowing boat and sightseeing fees
Dragon’s Pearl	Day two, 07:45	Bamboo boat	Sightseeing fees
La Regina Classic	Day two, 07:45	Kayak, or a rowed bamboo boat	Kayak and rowing boat
Paloma	Day two, 07:45, about an hour	Bamboo boat rowed by villagers, with a pearl farm	Bamboo boat
Prince	Day two, 07:45	Bamboo boat	Ask when booking
Treasure	Day two, morning	Bamboo boat	Bamboo boat

Seven boats take you there only on two nights. Athena Royal, Larissa, Red Dragon, Renea, Signature and Swan sail a one-night trip without the village; on five of them a smaller day boat carries you there on the middle day of the two-night trip, while Red Dragon’s three-day guests go round on the first afternoon. Signature’s terms list the bamboo boat as extra, a public ticket of 50,000 VND a person. Violet, the seventh, sails only a two-night route, with the village on it, and its terms leave out a Bai Tu Long entrance fee of $45 a person. Two Ha Long boats, Athena Premium and Calista, bring three-day guests here by day boat, at 13:30 and 14:00.

Who rows the bamboo boats, and can I kayak instead?

Local people row, on the three operators’ pages that say who rows, and only Cycad and La Regina Classic let you kayak instead on the one-night trip. Cycad’s operator writes that a local fisherman rows the bamboo boat, Emperor’s operator has local fishermen rowing guests round in their own bamboo boats, and Paloma’s operator writes that villagers may take you round in a small bamboo boat. The board lists both bamboo-boat rowing and kayaking among the things to do here.

Two La Regina Classic guests who reviewed the trip took the kayak: one reviewing in November 2025 rated kayaking in the fishing village among the best parts of the trip, and a Dutch guest reviewing in March 2026 kayaked through it on a one-night cruise. If you would rather sit, the rowed boat is the other option.

What can go wrong with the visit?

Four things, each worth a question before you pay. The catch is the early hour. The board opens the village at 07:30 from 16 April to 31 October and at 08:00 from 1 November to 15 April, and six of the eight one-night boats print a start before 08:00, so in the cooler months ask whether the visit moves.

Then there is the order of the day. La Regina Classic’s timetable puts the village on the second morning, yet a guest reviewing in October 2025 went on the first day and saw the cave the next morning. And the stop can be dropped altogether. One guest, reviewing in November 2023, had chosen a Bai Tu Long cruise for its fishing-village stop and gave one star when the village was left out of their trip. If Vung Vieng is your reason for booking, get it in writing.

On the two-night trips the village sits inside a long day-boat outing. A guest reviewing in April 2026 enjoyed the village, then could not kayak to the cave the rest of the group paddled to and was offered no other way of seeing it, so ask what happens for non-paddlers.

Is the village worth a second night?

Only if you also want the rest of that middle day. If you want the village and a strong guest record, you need two nights on Renea: 259 reviews collected over more than three years, 89% of them five-star, counted on 22 October 2026, with Vung Vieng on the middle day by day boat and left out of the one-night trip. Swan, the only other Bai Tu Long boat past 100 reviews, has the same arrangement. Our page on two days or three weighs the extra night; the guide to Bai Tu Long cruises and the quietest bay cover the boats and the water, and the caves and islands guide sets the village beside the other stops.

Common questions about Vung Vieng

Is Vung Vieng the same as Cua Van? No. Cua Van is the floating culture centre on the board’s route VHL3, on the Ha Long side, and five of the Ha Long boats we publish list it in their stops. Vung Vieng is on route VHL4, and every boat that goes there on a one-night trip sails Bai Tu Long.

How long is the visit? About an hour on the timetables that give an end time. Emperor’s guests leave at 07:15 and are back aboard by 08:15, Dragon Legend’s go at 07:45 and return at 08:45, and Paloma’s timetable gives the rowed visit about an hour, pearl farm included.

Should I bring cash? Take a little. On Signature’s two-night trip the bamboo boat is a public ticket of 50,000 VND a person, outside the fare, and on Cycad and Prince it is worth asking at booking whether the boat is included. Paloma stops at a pearl farm during the visit, and the board lists pearl working among the things to see here, so small notes are useful if you want to buy anything.