Ultimate Travel Guide To Cat Ba Island : The Most Beautiful Island In The North Vietnam

Known as the pearl of Tonkin, Cat Ba island has its own beauty which is pristine and majestic, alluring any visitors. Every year, the island attracts numerous international and domestic visitors.

Cat Ba—A Pearl Of Tonkin

Located 60km from Hai Phong’s center, Cat Ba is one of the best destinations in Vietnam, which attracts a lot of tourists during summer and weekends. You can spend 2-3 days for visits and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of the island.

What Is The Best Time To Visit Cat Ba Island

Cat Ba has a cool climate, which is very suitable for traveling all year round. Normally, Vietnamese travelers go to the island during summer, but foreign tourists travel from November to March.

During weekends in the summer (from May to August), there are a lot of tourists, so you can arrange a trip during weekdays to avoid the unavailability of hotels or low-quality services.

How To Travel To Cat Ba

From Hanoi, you can take a bus at Gia Lam, Yen Nghia or Ha Dong station to Hai Phong’s station for a price of VND 100,000 (USD 4). From here, there are two ways: you either take a hydrofoil to Cat Ba (VND 220,000 – USD 10) or 2 ferries (VND 11,000 – 50 cents and VND 6,000 – 25 cents, respectively). The total time is from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Besides, you can depart from Hanoi toward Halong Bay and then take a ferry at Tuan Chau marina, but it takes more time than the above way. More simply, you can buy a bus ticket from a Vietnam tour operator with a price of VND 480,000 (USD 23). By doing that, you will not have to worry about finding transfer services for next steps because this service will provide you a full package.

Accommodation On Cat Ba Island

On Cat Ba, there are currently numerous hotels and guesthouses, from standard to luxury, scattered on the island but mainly located along the seashore. Prices of accommodation during weekdays are half as cheap as that on weekends (from Friday to Sunday). Similarly, prices during high season are twice as expensive as during the remaining periods. Therefore, you can spend two days during the week to explore Cat Ba with the lowest cost.

What To Visit On Cat Ba Island?

Cat Co Beach

There are three beaches that attract tourists on Cat Ba, including Cat Co 1,2,3 because of the clean and blue water and good location. Among them, Cat Co 1 is the best one surrounded by mountains. Cat Co 2 and 3 are smaller but quite tranquil. All beaches are connected by a small path along the mountains.

From the center, you can walk or rent a bike or electric car to this place. You should go back to shore before 18:30 because of the tide and strong waves.

Cannon Fortress

Located at a height of 177m, this is a historical place that was built and used by the Vietnamese military in the 1940s and that keeps two big cannons with the weight of dozens of tons. Besides visiting the fortress, you can see many interesting places of Cat Ba island such as, Lan Ha Bay, Guoc island…

Lan Ha Bay

Visitors to Cat Ba often take a day boat trip to explore the wonderful beauty of Lan Ha Bay. Located on the South of Halong Bay, Lan Ha has many things similar to the World’s Natural Heritage with numerous islets and mountains jutting out of the sea. From the boats, you will easily recognize the amazing shapes of islets which are named by the locals, including Guoc and Turtle islets… if you want to enjoy the total beauty of the bay, you can rent a kayak to access the limestone mountain and caves hiding in the mountains.

Khi (Monkey) Island

This island is an unmissable place during your trip in Lan Ha. There are numerous monkeys on this island, which are interesting to children. If you want to dip into the natural beach, you can relax or swim at Cat Dua or participate in a snorkeling tour of a center on this island. There are instructors who will go with you during your trip undersea. Price is about VND 1,000,000 (USD 45)/30 minutes.

Fishing Village Of Cai Beo

In Cat Ba, the most famous destination is the fishing village of Cai Beo. It is not as busy as Lan ha, but there are a wide range of boats and ships which are available to take you to places in this oldest village in Vietnam

If you travel in a group, you should rent a big boat, but to explore the local life of the sea, it is best to take a small boat, which brings you to a watercolor painting of Cai Beo as well as an interesting story of the fishing village from rowers. You also can stop at floating houses to see and buy sea animals.

Cat Ba National Park

Is a retreat place built in 1986; Cat Ba national park is located on the way to the center. With price of VND 15,000 (70 cents), you can choose the route of eco-tour to see the abundant flora and fauna inside the park or visit some famous caves, including Trung Trang or Doi (bat) caves…

What To Eat On Cat Ba Island?

In Cat Ba, besides relaxing on the beautiful beaches or swimming in the clean and blue water, enjoying seafood is one of the most attractive activities on this island.

Grilled Horseshoe Crab With Egg

Horseshoe crab is the most typical food here, which provides sea tastes. The food will be prepared carefully in some ways to make a variety of flavors, including blood, raw horseshoe crab with vegetable, sweet and sour horseshoe crab, deep-fry horseshoe crab…

Snout Otter Clam

Is a molluscous species with two shells living in the sea environment. This is a valuable and rare species that offers high nutrition and a special taste. Snout otter clam is not as popular as arca, oyster, or snail… but those who have tried it will not forget its special taste.

Squid Dishes

Normally, to catch squid, we have to go offshore, but because of deep-sea feature with high volume of salt and soft waves, so Cat Ba is a very suitable place for squid living near shore… Therefore, squid is quite popular on Cat Ba island. In the evening, you can find many restaurants near the shore serving grilled squid.

Blue Crab

Blue crab is very popular in the sea places of Vietnam and is also a specialty on Cat Ba island. Besides being caught in the natural environment, on Cat Ba, currently there are many blue crabs that bred in the floating cages.

What To Know When Traveling To Cat Ba Island?

• It is quite cold at night so you should bring warm clothes
• Tourist services on Cat Ba island mainly provided by an agent, so you should search information carefully before using them.

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