Cat Ba archipelago consists of 367 islands located south of Ha Long Bay, of which Cat Ba Island is a tourist attraction. This place has the typical scenery of Ha Long Bay with limestone mountains and a calm blue sea.
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When to visit Cat Ba Island?
The ideal summer to travel to Cat Ba. The weather is cool from April to October, suitable for relaxation and swimming. The high season is from May to July.
If you plan to go to the island between July and August, you should check the weather forecast for three to five days to ensure no storms. From November to March, the island is quite deserted. But this time is ideal for exploring nature and relaxing.
How to move Cat Ba
From Hanoi, visitors can take a private car to Hai Phong and cross the Tan Vu sea bridge to Got Ferry. The ferry docks at Cai Vieng wharf in Cat Hai district, and driving about 20 km more, will arrive at the island’s center – Cat Ba town. The cost applies to cars with less than nine seats, including 210,000 VND for roads and bridges and 190,000 VND for ferries. The ferry fee for motorbikes is 45,000 VND per vehicle.
If taking a bus, a ticket from Hanoi to Got Ferry is about 150,000 VND, then to the island by ferry for 12,000 VND per person. In addition, visitors can choose car companies directly to the island’s center for 250,000 VND per person.
Cat Hai – Phu Long cable car saves time to the island, only 10 minutes, instead of 20-30 minutes by ferry. According to roadside signs, visitors enter Cat Hai cable car station, crossing Tan Vu Bridge towards Got Ferry.
The round-trip ticket price of the cable car is 200,000 VND per person, and the person with Hai Phong household registration is 150,000 VND. There is a car park at the station. The cable car operates from 9 am to 4 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 5 pm on weekends.
There is a motorbike rental service on the island, about 40,000 VND an hour and 200,000 VND a day. Taxis from Cat Ba center have services running along the sightseeing route, costing 200,000 – 500,000 VND both going and returning.
Things to do
Lan Ha Bay
The bay, located to the east, is a member of the Association of the Most Beautiful Bays (MBBW). It has calm blue waters.
At Cai Beo harbor, visitors buy scenic tickets for 30,000 VND per person, then take a boat or canoe to Lan Ha. Private boat rental price is 2.2 – 3.8 and 5.7 million VND for 2.5 – 4 and 6 hours, and respectively, the ship can carry 25 people. Motorboats cost 500,000 – 1 million VND and can take 5 – 10 people.
Visitors should buy a tour to save about 200,000 – 350,000 VND per person with lunch. Popular schedules include visiting the bay and ancient fishing villages, bathing and snorkeling at unspoiled beaches, and freestyle kayaking.
Cai Beo ancient fishing village
The village is also called Vung O, considered the oldest fishing village in Vietnam. Coming here visitors can learn first-hand the activities of the people for thousands of years. Stepping on a raft house, rowing a boat between the floating rafts, buying seafood, etc., are experiences not to be missed.
This village is the destination of a popular one-day discovery tour from Cat Ba Island.
Monkey Island
Previously, it was also called Cat Dua because it has many wild pineapple trees. There are more than 20 monkeys on the island. When tourists come a lot, they become bolder, go to the beach to play, and beg for food.
There are two arc-shaped beaches, Cat Dua 1 and Cat Dua 2, where visitors can avoid the crowded scene. The beaches have food service, resort bungalows, rental bathing suits, life jackets, and kayaks.
Lan Ha Bay, one day tour, includes a visit here.
Cat Ba National Park
It is also a world biosphere reserve. Visitors can choose to climb the mountain for 4 – 8 hours or the short route of more than 2 hours. Walking, bicycle, motorbike or car for 2-3 hours is also the choice of many people. Visitors can go through the green Kim Giao forest, go to the top of Ngu Lam to enjoy the panoramic view of the national park, see wild animals at night, and explore the caves.
The entrance ticket is 40,000 VND per adult and 20,000 VND for children.
Military hospital cave
This cave is a unique destination, about 8.5 km from the town center to the national park. The cave is a field hospital built between 1963 and 1965.
Inside the cave, many visitors are surprised to see a system of 17 rooms located on three floors; there is a treatment room, a rehabilitation training area, and a movie theater. It has a bomb-proof door design, born during the war.
Tickets to visit the cave are 80,000 VND per person.
Trung Trang Cave
Located in the same direction as the Military hospital cave, visitors should visit the cave about 300 m long through the mountain bed, which can accommodate hundreds of people. The system of stalactites and stalagmites here is enormous, multi-shaped, sparkling, about 6 million years old, and still being formed by dripping water. It also contains archaeological remains of the ancient Vietnamese.
The entrance ticket is 80,000 VND per person.
Cannon Fort
To both visit and rest, visitors can go to the relics of Cannon fortress, also known as Peak 177. The two large cannons and a system of trenches on the top of the mountain built in the 1940s are still entirely intact.
What attracts many visitors is the high position, from where you can enjoy the panoramic view of the bay. This place is suitable for watching the sunrise and sunset on the island.
The entrance ticket is 80,000 VND per person. Guests who need to ride an electric car must pay an additional 50,000 VND per person. In addition, the fee for sightseeing with binoculars is 5,000 VND.
Beautiful beaches on Cat Ba island
If you do not have time to explore the islands in the bay, go to the central beaches. Many people visit the cluster of Cat Co and Tung Thu beaches. These beaches are spacious, quiet, blue water, and easy to navigate.
Hotels, resorts
In Cat Ba, there are many hotels and motels from affordable to high-class for tourists to choose from. Hotels with sea views, located along 1/4 street, Tung Dinh street, average 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND per night.
Some resorts such as Flamingo Cat Ba Beach Resort, Nam Cat Island Resort CatbaBay, and Monkey Island Resort have average prices from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 VND per night.
With a more economical cost, visitors can refer to homestays such as Santorini Homestay and Lepont Bungalow, priced at about 300,000 VND per night.
Overnight on a cruise on Lan Ha Bay is a different option, with the price of 3,000,000 to 6,000,000 VND per person per night.
What to eat
Cuisine in the bay is mainly seafood. Tourists whisper to each other about specialties such as sea cucumber, geoduck, grouper fish, lobster, surface, sea snake, snails, and shrimp vermicelli. In addition, seafood can be bought as a gift at a low price. The reference price is about 500,000 – 700,000 VND for a pair of sam, 200,000 – 250,000 VND for a kilogram of comedians, lobster from 600,000 VND to 1.8 million VND per kg…
Enjoy the food, and visitors can go to Cat Ba market, where there are many restaurants according to the set or buffet. In addition, Thuy Anh grilled hot pot restaurant, Cai Beo street, is one of the restaurants chosen by many tourists. The average price is 200,000 VND per person.
Note
Do not swim after 6 pm because the tide is high.
It is recommended to travel by cable car on weekends because the ferry is often overloaded.
Tours to explore the bay may reduce a few points, such as beaches and small islands due to rising water.
Before shopping and dining, visitors ask the price.
