If a dog, cat, monkey, bat or other mammal bites or scratches you during a Halong port day, seek medical care immediately. For heavy bleeding, apply firm pressure with a clean cloth or dressing and get emergency help; do not delay bleeding control to complete a wash. Do not press on or remove an embedded object. For other skin wounds, wash and flush with soap and running water for 15 minutes as soon as possible. Do not finish the excursion first, wait for symptoms or postpone assessment until another port.
Halong Shore Excursion recommends alerting the guide or boat crew at once. Wound cleaning begins immediately; a clinician then assesses rabies exposure, tetanus, infection, tissue damage and any treatment required.
Start the 15-minute wash now
- Move away from the animal without trying to catch or strike it.
- Remove clothing or jewellery that blocks access to the wound if this can be done safely.
- Wash and flush the wound with plenty of running water and soap for 15 minutes.
- If soap is not immediately available, begin flushing with water rather than waiting.
- Tell the guide or crew to arrange medical assessment while washing continues.
Do not scrub the wound aggressively, burn it, apply herbs, put chemicals into it or close it yourself. First aid lowers risk but does not replace post-exposure assessment.
Saliva exposure can matter without a dramatic bite
Tell the clinician about:
- any bite that breaks the skin;
- a scratch or abrasion, even when little or no blood is visible;
- animal saliva on broken skin;
- saliva reaching the eyes, mouth or nose;
- direct contact with a bat when a bite or scratch cannot be ruled out.
For an eye or other mucous-membrane exposure, flush with plenty of clean water and seek medical care; do not put soap in the eye. If you are unsure whether the skin was intact, explain exactly what happened and let the clinician classify the exposure.
Use emergency help for serious injury
Call for emergency medical help when there is uncontrolled bleeding, a deep or crushing wound, injury to the face, eye, head, neck, hand or joint, loss of function, collapse, breathing difficulty or another sign that the person is seriously unwell.
In Vietnam, the medical emergency number is 115. Ask the guide or nearby staff to give the responder the exact location and a working callback number. The Halong emergency contacts guide explains the information to prepare.
Do not wait to see whether the animal becomes sick
An animal that looks calm, healthy or owned cannot rule out rabies exposure. A verbal claim that it is vaccinated is not a substitute for medical risk assessment.
Do not delay care while trying to find an owner, capture the animal or obtain a photograph. From a safe place, a companion can note:
- animal type and appearance;
- exact location and time;
- whether the contact was provoked or unprovoked;
- whether the animal appeared owned, confined or free-roaming;
- where it went after the incident.
Give those details to the clinician and local authority. Only an appropriate public-health or veterinary process can decide whether observation or testing of an animal is relevant.
Previous rabies vaccination does not end the question
Seek prompt medical care even if the passenger completed rabies vaccination before travel or received treatment after an earlier exposure. Previous vaccination can change the post-exposure schedule, but it does not make the new incident safe to ignore.
Bring a written or digital vaccination record if readily available. Tell the clinician the product, dates and place of vaccination as accurately as possible. Do not delay the first assessment while trying to recover an old record.
Let the clinician decide post-exposure treatment
World Health Organization guidance describes rabies post-exposure prophylaxis as thorough wound care, a course of rabies vaccine and, when indicated, rabies immunoglobulin or monoclonal antibodies. The exposure type, wound, animal, previous vaccination and patient all affect the decision.
Do not buy a vaccine from a pharmacy and try to design the schedule yourself. A medical facility must assess the wound and determine what product and follow-up are required. Tetanus protection, antibiotics, wound closure and other treatment are also clinical decisions.
Getting help from a Halong Bay boat
Your ocean ship’s berth is not your current location when the incident occurs in the bay. Tell the local boat crew the precise activity stop, floating platform, cave, beach or lagoon and ask them to activate their medical procedure.
If the passenger is in a kayak or bamboo boat, alert the activity operator and return using the supervised route. Do not make an unplanned landing or separate from the group in search of a road. Ask:
- where clean running water and soap are available now;
- how the passenger returns safely to the main vessel;
- which harbor the vessel will use;
- the earliest realistic arrival ashore;
- where a road vehicle will meet the passenger;
- which medical facility has been contacted.
“Return to port” needs the harbor name and road plan. Do not assume the local boat can deliver a passenger directly to the ocean ship or a hospital.
Getting help during a land excursion
Give the guide the attraction, street, building or saved map pin. Replace the next sightseeing stop with a medical facility selected through the ship, emergency responder or qualified local medical service.
The Halong hospital guide provides published facility contacts. A hospital listing does not guarantee that rabies vaccine, immunoglobulin or a relevant specialist is available at that moment, so call before travelling when the situation allows.
Keep the ship involved
Have a companion contact the ocean ship’s medical team or port agent. Provide the passenger’s name, current location, type of exposure, medical destination, companion and callback number.
Tell the treating clinician the ship’s departure time and next ports. If treatment may delay return, update the ship immediately. Do not abandon urgent care to meet the original tour schedule, and do not assume that the ship will wait without direct coordination.
Leave with a complete treatment record
Before leaving the facility, ask for a written record showing:
- the wound assessment and treatment performed;
- rabies vaccine product, batch or identifying details, dose, route and date if given;
- rabies immunoglobulin or monoclonal antibody details if given;
- tetanus or other medicine supplied;
- the next required treatment date and acceptable timing;
- warning signs and wound-care instructions;
- a contact for questions.
Share the record with the ship’s medical team. A first dose may not complete the course, and the next port should not be assumed to stock the same product without confirmation.
Plan follow-up across the voyage
Ask the clinician and ship medical team to map each follow-up date against sea days, port calls and the final journey home. Confirm the next facility before arrival where possible. Keep records, photographs of labels and itemised receipts accessible offline.
Contact the travel insurer as soon as practical for assistance and claim requirements, but do not postpone wound washing or urgent care for insurance approval. The Halong travel-insurance guide covers the documentation questions.
Prevent contact at Halong stops
Observe wild and domestic animals from a distance. Do not feed, touch, tease or pose beside them. Keep food sealed and do not place bags where animals can grab them.
Monkeys may be seen around the lagoon at Luon Cave. A sighting is not permission to interact. Read the Luon Cave guide for cruise passengers before choosing the bamboo-boat or kayak activity.
Explain the rule to children before leaving the ship: no touching or feeding, and report every bite, scratch or lick immediately. Check a young child after any unplanned animal contact because they may not describe a small mark clearly.
The Halong Shore Excursion animal-contact decision
Send Halong Shore Excursion the Ship + Arrival Date, current location, animal involved, exposure time and whether washing has begun. Keep private medical details out of a public enquiry.
Move to safety and alert the guide or crew → control heavy bleeding and get emergency help if needed; otherwise begin the 15-minute wash immediately → urgent medical assessment → ship coordination → documented follow-up across the voyage.
The port day ends when an exposure occurs. The useful outcome is prompt wound care and a medically confirmed plan, not completing one more attraction.