Ha Long Bay, Sa Pa among world’s top five trending destinations

TripAdvisor recently announced the world’s trending destinations, in which Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa of Vietnam are among the top five.

A view of spiritual cultural structures on the top of Mount Fansipan in Sa Pa (Photo: Sun Group)

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site, connecting travellers and service suppliers worldwide. With over 1 billion user reviews and ratings, it reflects almost the entire global tourism.

Among the 8 million destinations, surpassing an array of tourism paradises in the world like Bogota (Colombia), Pattaya (Thailand), Jeju (the Republic of Korea), and Viti Levu (Fiji), Ha Long in the northern province of Quang Ninh and Sa Pa in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai have emerged as two of the best with their names present among the top five trending destinations of the “Travellers’ Choice Awards – Best of the Best”. The three others in the top five are Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (the Republic of Korea), and Palawan Island (the Philippines).

The Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best title celebrates the highest level of excellence in travel. It’s awarded to those who receive a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community over a 12-month period. Out of the 8 million listings, fewer than 1% achieve this milestone.

A common feature of Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa is the unique natural beauty and cultural diversity. In summer, considered an ideal season for travelling to these two places, while Ha Long welcomes sea breeze from the heritage bay, Sa Pa is engulfed in a cool climate thanks to the majestic Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range and Fansipan – the highest mount in Indochina. The large number of cultural festivals and unique entertainment activities is also a plus to Ha Long and Sa Pa’s attractiveness to millions of global tourists.

Ha Long home to not only heritage bay

According to TripAdvisor, Ha Long Bay is stunningly beautiful. Gigantic nature is the key helping this bay, ranking third in the “Trending Destinations” list, to attract over 1 million visitors since the start of 2024, the majority of whom are international travellers.

The fresh air from the sea and the uniqueness of thousands of islands and caves of all sizes seem to ease the heat of summer and generate refreshing and relaxing feelings for any setting foot here.

However, Ha Long promises many more.

Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh is a resort complex in the midst of a magnificent natural landscape.

Coming to this bay, international visitors can enjoy their time at the luxurious resort of Oakwood Ha Long, try a hot spring bath and spa services at Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh, drop by the floating fishing village of Vung Vieng, go diving off Tuan Chau Island, experience the Ha Long night market, and visit the Quang Ninh Museum.

In particular, tourists can live to the fullest at Sun World Ha Long, an entertainment complex with countless thrilling games and challenging water slide tubes. Sitting on the Queen Cable Car system, gaining a bird’s eye view of Ha Long, or exploring the Sun Hill are also among worth-trying experiences.

Atop Ba Deo Mountain, apart from taking check-in photos at the Japanese Garden and Koi Bridge, visitors to Sun World Ha Long this summer will have a chance to try new products at the Mysterious Castle area like Fun Fest Game and DIY Zone, a paradise for creativity lovers. Meanwhile, the Swordsmith Village was recently added with numerous entertainment activities such as archery, ninja skills, the Irezumi tattooing, Watame cotton candy making, and Katanuki candy cutting.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Garden with cute dragon statues and colourful flower carpets also promises interesting experiences for visitors this summer.

Sa Pa – Mountainous beauty that cannot be found anywhere else

Ranking fifth among the “Trending Destinations” list of TripAdvisor, Sa Pa is blessed with the unique beauty of a miniature Northwest with all the best of the mountainous nature, culture, and people.

In 2020, when the global tourism industry was struggling with a crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the small town of Sa Pa established itself as one of the best emerging places in Asia. An outstanding destination here is Sun World Fansipan Legend, which was listed as the World's Leading Cultural Tourist Attraction and the World’s Leading Natural Landscape Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards 2020.

The feelings of touching the point where the earth and the sky meet and standing on the ground but clouds floating at the feet are special experiences unique to this “roof of Indochina”.

Not only charming travellers by its majestic landscapes, Sa Pa also leaves deep impression thanks to a large spiritual cultural complex on the top of Mount Fansipan, This complex includes 12 structures located at over 3,000m above the sea level.

It could be said that coming to Sa Pa in any season, tourists can also engulf themselves in the imposing but also poetic beauty deeply imbued with the identity of a mountainous region. This place is particularly beautiful in summer as it boasts a comfortable climate, warm sunshine, and endless colourful flowers in full bloom across mountains, especially the forest of “do quyen” (Rhododendron), dubbed the “Queen of the Northwest”, on Mount Fansipan.

Right at this time, the Fansipan Rose Festival 2024, themed “A Million Roses”, is taking place at the largest rose valley in Vietnam, part of Sun World Fansipan Legend. There, more than 300,000 roses are blooming to welcome visitors until the end of June.

With natural beauty combined with cultural beauty like the love market, horse racing, and the reenactment of the Dao ethnic wedding in May Village of this complex, Sa Pa is expected to draw millions of travellers from around the globe this summer./.

VNA