The Ba Ham Lake area is a tourist destination on tourist route No. 3, Ha Long Bay. The lake consists of 3 approaches connected to each other through underground caves in the rocky mountain. To admire the beauty of Ba Ham Lake, visitors must wait until the tide recedes, then use a boat or kayak to go through the stream to visit each lake.
Regularly guiding European and American tourists to visit route 3 in Ha Long Bay, but it is very rare for Mr. H.D.T's tourists to come to Ba Ham Lake because it is far away and depends on the water, because only with enough water can visitors kayak inside.
This group of tourists is different, if they want to go to Ba Ham Lake, they have to calculate the water. However, when Mr. H.D.T's Western group had just arrived at Ba Ham Lake, it was also the time when there were 2 watch boats (day tour boats) carrying dozens of Western visitors from Cat Ba, Hai Phong and preparing to enter the cave.
He was surprised because there is currently no tour connecting Lan Ha Bay with Ha Long Bay, including Ba Ham Lake, and there is no management agency here.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, a representative of the Ha Long Bay Management Board admitted that the situation of tourist boats from Cat Ba taking tourists, especially European and American tourists, crossing the border to "illegal" tourism in Ha Long Bay has been going on for a long time, part of Ba Ham Lake is beautiful and very close to Lan Ha Bay.
According to the representative of the 2nd Conservation Center - the unit assigned by the Ha Long Bay Management Board to manage, protect and preserve the values of Ha Long Bay heritage according to the coordinates on the boundary zoning map, including Ba Ham Lake - the unit that regularly sends forces to travel and occasionally discovers tourist ships bringing Western visitors from Cat Ba.
There are days when 2-3 ships take visitors, and on winter days when it is winter, about 4-5 ships.
However, according to the representative of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, the authorities only reminded ship owners and captains to explain to tourists and ask them to leave the area, not to make a record or fine them. Many tourists, when explained, even asked the captain to let the boat return to Cat Ba after knowing that this tour was illegal.
According to the Lan Ha cruise ship Association - an organization of more than 60 overnight ships on Lan Ha and Cat Ba bays - foreign visitors who take a cruise ship to visit Ba Ham Lake and Ha Long Bay are not visitors to the overnight ships.
Reason: from the anchorage and main sightseeing location of the overnight cruise ship fleet in Lan Ha Bay to Ba Ham Lake area is quite far, taking about 45 minutes to travel by tourist boat.
This can be a free tourist and depart from Ben Beo, Cat Ba.
However, according to Mr. Nguyen Duy Phu - Chairman of Lan Ha cruise Association - the fact that tourists cross the route from Lan Ha to "illegal" tourism on Ha Long Bay once again raises the story of connecting tours between Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba archipelago that has been discussed for a long time, and especially after Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba archipelago joined together as the "World Natural Heritage of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago".
