Cat Ba Island

When to go?

There are 02 distinctive seasons on Cat Ba Island:
In Summer - June to August: lots of Vietnamese families go on holiday with kids, thank to scholar vacation for children. Most of them come from Hanoi or other provinces in North Vietnam such as Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Lang Son etc... This is the high season for local tourism.

In Winter: there aren’t Vietnamese travelers. But many international tourists come for 2 days/1 night cruise on a junk in Lan Ha Bay or some of them stay for more than 3 nights on the island to discover Cat Ba National Park or trek around villages in Viet Hai district.

How to get there?

If you travel to Cat Ba from Hanoi, you  have a choice to make:

• Take a bus or a limousine car from your hotel in Hanoi to Hai Phong on the new highway before going to Cat Ba Island via 02 ferries GOT and Dinh Vu
• From Halong Bay or Tuan Chau Island harbor, you can take a public tourist boat for 5 hours cruise to Cat Ba northern port – Ben Beo wharf.
• From Ben Binh pier, Hai Phong, there are many hydrofoil (speed boat) a day which deserve Hai Phong – Cat Ba Island route. The journey takes 45 minutes
• If you want to be more adventure, you can take a public bus Hoang Long Bus company at Luong Yen Bus Station in Hanoi from Hanoi to Hai Phong, then you continue keeping this bus crossing 2 ferries before arriving to Cat Ba town. It takes nearly 4 hours to get there.

Where to stay?

There are some 3 and 4 star resorts with international standard for travelers seeking comfort, relaxation, escape from bustling and noisy cities. It is an ideal place to relax in summer with blue sky, sunny and windy. Unfortunately it is not convenient to have beach break in winter, because of cold weather or monsoon season.

If you don't want to stay in the hotel, enjoy 2 days or 3 days cruises programs around Cat Ba Island, exactly Lan Ha Bay and Dark and Bright caves either on luxury cruises like Azalea or Orchid or budget cruises on small junks in wooden.

Please contact our Tour Managers for update information regarding weather and accommodation.

What to do?

 

• Cat Ba National Park, eastern part of the island.  Discover the domain of the endangered Cat Ba Langur, of which there are supposed to be only around 100 left.  Trekking or hiking to a peak viewing tower (1.5 - 2 hours round trip; slippery and muddy if it's rained recently), a frog lake (probably better in the off (wet) season), a short nature walk near the frog pond.
• Caves & beaches: enjoy 2 days/1 night cruise to explore natural caves and small beaches hidden among the limestone cliffs. Lan Ha Bay is an ideal place to swim and kayak for who are looking for isolated paradise from massive tourism. Monkey Island apparently has monkeys, it merits our stop over for stunning beach.
• Cycling around Viet Hai villages and stay at local houses will give you unforgettable travel experiences while interacting with local people to learn about their daily life and activities.

Where to shop?

There isn’t a place for shopping. There are products or foods for daily demand of local people only. It will be exciting for visitors to see local market with seafood, fresh vegetables and plants, fresh spicy plants etc…

Where to eat?

There are lot of small restaurants in waterfront of Cat Ba harbor. Here are some for your reference:

• Green Mango on the waterfront towards the eastern edge of town has the broadest selection of international cuisine on the island, including Indian, Italian, Thai, and Vietnamese. It's not fine dining, but it approaches the mark without pushing up prices too far. A good bet if you want a break from Vietnamese food.
• Mr. Zoom hotel and restaurant at 25 1/4  Nui Ngoc street
• Phương Phương Restaurant at 232, 1/4 street, near Nam Dương Hotel on Cat Ba Island