6 red sailboats first appeared in Ha Long Bay in the golden afternoon sunshine, with surrounding mountains, creating a beautiful picture.
It is expected that these 6 sailboats will be put into tourism operation next week.
Previously, the three-wall sailing tour was expected to be put into operation from April 25, 2026 with a route along the coast of Ha Long Bay, but was later temporarily postponed to change and supplement some items to suit.
While waiting, Quang Ninh Waterway Passenger Transport Joint Stock Company ordered the construction of 3 more sailboats at artisan Le Duc Chan's boat factory, Lien Hoa ward, Quang Ninh.
The three-walled boat is a traditional sailing boat with a history of hundreds of years, common in the Ha Nam island area (old Quang Yen). The structure of the boat is quite special, consisting of three planks combined (one bottom, two sides), using bat-winged sails dyed red-brown. Not only is it a means of livelihood, this is also a product of folk knowledge, showing the flexible adaptation of coastal residents to natural conditions.
The most unique feature of a three-walled boat is its ability to "run against the wind" - a rare thing in traditional sailboats. When operating, the wind impacting the sail system is cleverly arranged, creating thrust to help the boat move in a zigzag motion but still move forward.
According to the plan, this special tour operator will build about 10 three-wall sailboats to serve tourists.
The route runs along the coast of Ha Long Bay, about 12 km long, in which the starting point is at the transport wharf area of Waterway Passenger Transport Joint Stock Company (Ha Long 1 market area, Hong Gai ward), passing through Cot 5 beach area (Ha Long ward) and then returning to the starting point.
Regarding frequency, based on the assessment of sightseeing and tourism demand on the route, the fixed operating frequency is 6 trips/day, each trip is 1 hour.
Regarding operating hours during the day: flight 1 from 8:00 AM, flight 2 from 9:00 AM, flight 3 from 10:00 AM, flight 4 starting at 2:00 PM, flight 5 starting at 3:00 PM, flight 6 from 4:00 PM.
Each boat each time carries a maximum of 12 passengers and 2 crew members.
Putting this type of boat into operation will create a highly promotional tourism product, helping tourists have more new experiences with appropriate time and reasonable costs.
This is also one of the factors that helps tourists have more choices and extend their stay when coming to Ha Long City (old), contributing to increasing the value of four-season tourism.
