Ti Top Island, Halong Bay

After the climb-- a Stunning View!! This is one of about 1600 small islands (averaging about 80 square meters, or 800 sq feet). While this island-- also called Titov Island (named after a Russian Cosmonaut)-- is a bit bigger than the average size--- it has steps that allows one to climb to the top--- after mounting over 450 steep steps! BUT THE VIEWS--- they will reside in one's memory forever!! One can see numerous islands of all shapes--- poking "their heads" out of the water, and it becomes instantly clear why Ha Long Bay has been named a natural World Heritage site by UNESCO!! While I have been to over 140 countries in my 6 decades of travel, this area is as amazing now as it was when I was last here 9+ years ago!! I hope that this Review has been helpful!

The view at the very top is breathtaking. You will get different views throughout the year though. December time is normally foggy. Reaching the top takes time. Not recommended for senior citizens and elderly folks with knee and heart issues. The caretakers of this tourist destination must constantly make improvements. Such as: repair the stairways, put more handles that are strong and apply more crowd control measures.

Amazing view from the top. About 20 minutes going up walking. Watch out your steps.

It's about 450 steps to the pavilion at the top, on a narrow path, which means you'll be squeezing past people on the way up and down. The view is worth it, so bring your camera. An hour - or slightly less - should be sufficient for this island.

Tourist trap! Would not recommend. There are lots of islands around Ha Long Bay, but many tour operators will bring you to this island that has a small beach, fake sand and above all, "sardine packed" with tourists that come in boatloads, wave after wave. Literally there is no place to swim, sit or even walk. With the amount of people there and boat traffic, the water quality is poor and at the very least I would not recommend going under water for health and safety reasons. I would give it one star but the saving grace is that the view from the top of the island is beautiful and else where in ha long bay the limestone karsts are very pretty. An alternative option that I recommend would be an over night stay in a private island or go with a tour operator that goes to a less busy part of the bay e.g Lan ha bay. We stayed on Monkey Island just a few days earlier and there was no comparison. We kayaked to a secluded Beach during low tide and there is probably 5 percent of the visitors that we encountered during the stay. The extra money that you pay is worth it.