Share live location with your Halong guide only through a verified booking contact and only when it helps an active meeting, delay or separation. Use a time-limited share when the app allows, then stop sharing after reunion. Always send the named place, visible landmark and current status as well; a moving map dot does not explain whether you are onboard, in a tender, behind a port gate or at the public exit.
Location sharing supports a meeting plan. It does not replace one.
When live location is useful
A temporary share can help when:
- the tender lands at a point different from the expected one;
- the ship uses another passenger exit;
- the guide and passenger are near the same large public area but cannot see each other;
- a vehicle is approaching a revised pickup;
- a subgroup is delayed or separated;
- the return route changes and operations need progress information.
Send the reason with the share: “We are ashore at the public exit and waiting beside this sign.” That sentence can remain useful if the dot stops updating.
Verify the recipient before sharing
Use the guide or operations number confirmed in the Halong Shore Excursion booking. If an unfamiliar account asks for continuous tracking, verify it through the original booking channel.
Do not post a live-location link in a public group, review, social page or chat containing strangers. Share only with the people who need it for the current movement.
Choose a limited duration
Official Apple and Google guidance allows users to choose who receives location and to stop sharing. Select the shortest practical period for the meeting or return. End the share after the purpose is complete.
Remember that a location-share link can reveal more than one pin. Depending on the service, the recipient may see recent location, name, profile details, device battery or movement. Check the app’s current sharing screen before sending.
A GPS dot can be on the wrong side of a barrier
Ports, terminals, multi-level structures and waterside areas can make a pin appear close while passengers and guides are separated by a fence, controlled gate or different level. Never cross a restricted boundary because the dot looks nearby.
Send a photograph of the authorised landmark, gate number or sign without including other passengers’ documents. The guide should direct you through the public route.
State which stage of disembarkation you reached
Tell Halong Shore Excursion one of these:
- still in the cabin;
- waiting for passenger release;
- in a tender queue;
- on a tender;
- inside the terminal;
- at the public exit;
- with the guide;
- in the verified vehicle.
A live point over the harbour cannot show that operational status. Use the cabin-to-Halong-meeting guide to name each handoff.
Share the current meeting point as text too
Write the full place name and landmark before or with the live share. Save the agreed point offline. If the app stops updating, both sides can return to the same stable instruction.
The Halong meeting-point change guide explains how to replace an old pin without creating two competing locations.
Tender passengers should not share the ship’s offshore dot as the meeting
The ocean ship’s position is not a road pickup. Wait until the ship identifies the tender landing, then send the shore-side public meeting point. While aboard the tender, state that status and follow crew instructions.
If the landing changes, use the Halong berth-and-landing change guide before moving.
Protect phone battery and data
Continuous location sharing, navigation and screen use can consume battery. Start the day charged, carry an allowed backup if planned and dim or lock the screen when it is not needed. Keep enough power for the operator, ship and return.
Do not depend on charging aboard the local vessel. If the battery becomes low, send a final text with your exact place, intended movement and next check-in time before ending the live share.
What if mobile signal disappears?
Stay with the agreed meeting plan. Use the saved landmark, time, guide name and operator contact. Ask authorised port or attraction staff for help if the guide cannot be found.
Read what to save offline before going ashore in Halong and the Halong day-boat phone-signal guide.
Do not use live location to follow an unidentified guide
A dot moving away from the port is not proof of identity. Meet at the agreed public point and verify the guide’s name, sign wording, booking reference and contact before entering a vehicle.
If the guide is absent, follow the Halong missing-guide procedure. Do not leave the authorised area merely because an unfamiliar number sends a location.
Families should share one operational location
Name one adult as the location contact and another as the backup. Keep each child with the assigned adult. Avoid several family members sending different moving dots to the guide.
If the group splits intentionally, state who is in each subgroup, their responsible adult and the reunion point. Do not track a child’s device as a substitute for adult supervision.
Limited mobility needs a route, not only proximity
A guide may be 100 metres away but separated by stairs, uneven ground or a controlled gate. Tell the operator the passenger’s walking, standing and transfer limits, and ask for the accessible public route or vehicle pickup.
Send a pin plus the physical barrier you can see. Do not attempt a shortcut because the distance looks small.
What if you become separated on a shore stop?
Return to the last agreed landmark when safe and tell the guide. Share location only with the verified contact and state the passenger count, mobility or medical need and phone battery.
The separated-companion guide for Halong explains when to stop searching and involve authorised staff.
Use location during a serious return delay
If the vehicle or boat is delayed, a verified live location can help Halong Shore Excursion understand progress. Also send direction of travel, vehicle or vessel identity, passenger count and the ship’s current deadline.
Do not let tracking replace a call to the ship’s port agent when the return is at risk. The operator should use the location to coordinate, not to promise the ocean ship will wait.
Stop sharing after reunion
Once you meet the verified guide, enter the confirmed vehicle or complete the return, end any share that is no longer needed. Review the app’s people or location-sharing screen to confirm.
If you sent a shareable link, remember that forwarding may extend access beyond the intended person. Use account-based sharing or a short expiry when available.
Live-location checklist
- Recipient verified through the existing booking.
- Reason for sharing stated.
- Named place and landmark sent as text.
- Current disembarkation stage explained.
- Shortest practical duration selected.
- Restricted gates and levels respected.
- Battery and signal fallback prepared.
- Children and vulnerable passengers supervised.
- Ship-return contacts kept separately.
- Sharing stopped after the purpose ends.
Use live location as temporary evidence of where you are, combined with a stable meeting instruction. Halong Shore Excursion’s decision sequence is Ship + Arrival Date → verified contact → named public point → time-limited share → landmark and status → safe reunion → stop sharing → protected ship return.