Ha Long hotels full up for weekend as VnExpress marathon attracts thousands

The race, which has attracted over 11,000 runners, will be run on Sunday on the coastal road along the bay, famous for the limestone karsts rising out of the waters.

Nguyen Van Thanh, manager of Passion Hotel on Ha Long Street, said he has no rooms for July 23-24 and has had to refuse many people in the last few days.

"Accommodation facilities in the downtown area are overloaded this weekend as Ha Long has already entered the peak summer travel season. The weekend marathon event has resulted in full capacity."

Ale Hotel 200 meters away has put up a sign saying "Sorry, we're full for this weekend."

Trinh Huy Lan, the owner of the hotel, said his guests mainly come from the north.

"Many of them have come to Ha Long for the marathon and booked rooms from half a month ago."

A hotel owner in downtown Ha Long puts up an 'Out of room' sign on July 21, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Chieu

Major booking websites Booking.com and Agoda show all hotels in the downtown area are fully booked.

Pham Ngoc Thuy, director of the Quang Ninh Province Department of Tourism, estimated around 180,000 tourists would visit Ha Long this weekend.

Quang Ninh received 5.5 million tourists in the first half of this year, well over 50 percent of the target for the year.