Cat Ba is an archipelago covering approximately 366 islands in different shapes sizes. The main island is Cat Ba, located 30 nautical miles from Hai Phong. The topography of the area consists of limestone, mountains with many grottoes and caves as well as beaches with white powdery sand.
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What’s the best time to explore Cat Ba?
Summer is the most ideal time to travel to Cat Ba. From April to October, the weather is cool, suitable for relaxation and swimming. The peak season is from May to July.
If you plan to go to the island from July and August, visitors should pay attention to the weather forecast three to five days in advance to ensure there are no storms. From November to March, the island is quite deserted. However, this time is ideal for exploring nature and relaxing.
How to get here?
From Hanoi, you can travel along the Hanoi – Hai Phong Expressway, through the Tan Vu sea bridge to Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city. From this location, you will have some ways to travel to Cat Ba Island that you can refer to as follows.
Ferry
Dong Bai Ferry is a new ferry terminal replacing Got Ferry Terminal 3 km away. This terminal operates from 5:30 am to 18:30 pm every day. The last trip from Cai Vieng wharf to Dong Bai Ferry will depart at 18:00 pm. On peak days, the ferry terminal will arrange to increase the number of trips and ferries.
The ferry crossing time will be about 30 minutes to 1 hour and the ticket price is from 12,000 VND for pedestrians, 45,000 VND for motorbikes and 190,000 VND for cars with less than 9 seats.
Cable car
The cable car terminal is located in the old Got Ferry area. Cable car tickets cost about 100,000 VND per trip, children under 1 meter are free. The cable car will be closed every Tuesday (except holidays and Tet).
The cable car will operate according to the following schedule: 9:00 – 9:15, 10:00 – 10:15, 11:00 – 11:15, 13:30 – 13:45, 14:30 – 14:45 and 15:30 – 15:45.
Moving on Cat Ba Island
Leaving the ferry terminal, visitors will travel about 20 km more to reach the center of Cat Ba Island. The road is beautiful, coastal and through Cat Ba National Park. If you do not use personal vehicles, visitors can travel by bus, taxi or other private rental vehicles.
Tourists are cycling and electric-car to turn around
In the center of Cat Ba, visitors can choose by electric car (10,000 VND per person per trip) or taxi (metered), motorbike taxi or other private rental vehicles.
Impressive destinations should not miss when explore Cat Ba
Cat Ba tourism will give you the opportunity to explore beautiful attractions and impressive scenery. Let’s explore the brilliant landscapes in Cat Ba Archipelago with Vietdreamtravel Guide!
Lan Ha Bay
The bay is located in the east, a member of the Association of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World (MBBW). The water here is calm and blue.
When admiring Lan Ha Bay, you will feel the fresh air and the perfect landscape that nature has bestowed upon this place. At Cai Beo wharf, visitors buy a sightseeing ticket for 30,000 VND per person, then take a boat or canoe to Lan Ha. The price for renting a private boat is 2.2 – 3.8 and 5.7 million VND for 2.5 – 4 and 6 hours, respectively, the boat can carry 25 people.
A view from a cruise in Lan Ha Bay.
Motorboats cost 500,000 – 1 million VND, equivalent to the type that can carry 5 – 10 people. Tourists can also buy a tour which cost about 200,000 – 350,000 VND per person with lunch. Popular itineraries include visiting the bay and the ancient fishing village, swimming and diving at some pristine beaches, and free kayaking.
Cai Beo Ancient Fishing Village
The village, also known as Vung O, is considered the oldest fishing village in Vietnam. Coming here, tourists can see firsthand the daily life of the people for thousands of years. Stepping onto the raft house, rowing a boat through the floating rafts, buying seafood… are experiences not to be missed.
Peaceful scene in the early morning at Cai Beo fishing village
This is a popular one-day discovery tour destination from Cat Ba Island.
Monkey Island
Previously known as Cat Dua (wild pineapple trees), today, this is a home of more than 30 monkeys. When there are many tourists, they become more daring, come down to the beach to play and ask for food.
Cat Ba Monkey Island has a circumference of about 3km with a mountain-like structure with a long sandy beach. This island has two crescent-shaped beaches, Cat Dua 1 and Cat Dua 2. Of which, Cat Dua 1 is longer and is also an ideal swimming spot for every tourist when traveling to Cat Ba.
All beaches have food and beverage services, resort bungalows, swimsuit rental, life jackets, kayaks.
Cat Ba National Park
This is also a world biosphere reserve. Visitors can choose to climb the mountain for 4 – 8 hours, or a short route of about 2 hours. Walking, cycling, 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 Ngu Lam peak to see the whole view of the national park, see wild animals at night, explore caves…
Entrance fee is 40,000 VND per adult, 20,000 VND per child.
Quan Y Cave
This is a unique destination, about 8.5 km from the town center, on the way to the national park. The cave is a field hospital, built from 1963 to 1965.
Inside the cave, there is a system of 17 rooms located on three floors, include: treatment rooms, rehabilitation training areas, movie theaters, etc.;. designed with bomb-proof doors, built during the war.
The entrance fee to the cave is 80,000 VND per person.
Trung Trang Cave
Located in the same direction as Quan Y Cave, visitors should visit the cave about 300 m long through the mountain, with a capacity of hundreds of people. The system of stalactites and stalagmites here is large, has many shapes, and is sparkling, about 6 million years old, and continues to be formed by small water drops. This place also contains archaeological sites of ancient Vietnamese people.
The entrance fee is 80,000 VND per person.
Cannon Fort
To both visit and rest, visitors can go to the Cannon Fort relic site, also known as High Point 177. The two large cannons and the trench system on the top of the mountain were built in the 1940s and are still quite intact.
What attracts many visitors is the high position, from here you can see the whole view of the bay. This place is suitable for watching the sunrise and sunset on the island.
The entrance fee is 80,000 VND per person. If you want to take the electric car, you have to pay an additional 50,000 VND per person. In addition, the fee for viewing the scenery with binoculars is 5,000 VND.
Beautiful beaches on Cat Ba Island
If you don’t have time to explore the islands outside the bay, visitors should go to the central beaches. Among them, Cat Co beach cluster and Tung Thu beach are visited by many people.
Tourists enjoy swimming and kayaking in Cat Ba.
These beaches are spacious, calm, have blue water and are easy to move around.
Unique experiences when traveling to Cat Ba
Cat Ba is a beautiful land with a variety of tourist experiences. Most of the tourist experiences in Cat Ba are related to the sea and promise to bring you a great space for fun.
Kayaking on Lan Ha Bay
Kayaking on Lan Ha Bay will give you the opportunity to float on the clear blue water with majestic mountains. With this special experience, you can hunt for impressive photos to check-in and enjoy the fresh air.
Kayaking activities from a cruise
Scuba diving to see corals
Scuba diving to see corals is an exciting sea tourism experience that any young person wants to explore when coming to Cat Ba. Here, you will have the opportunity to witness schools of fish racing to swim and admire the seafood at the bottom of the ocean.
Mountain climbing
One of the most popular activities for adventurous tourists in Cat Ba is mountain climbing. Mountain climbing locations include: Dau Be Island after 2 hours by boat from Cat Ba tourist port, cliffs at Ben Beo 2 km from Cat Ba center, Ba Trai Dao Island 22 km south of the tourist port…
In addition, if you do not like adventure, you can also climb mountains right on Monkey Island.
Squid fishing
Night squid fishing in Cat Ba is an interesting form of entertainment. You can ask the hotel receptionist for help or directly ask the owners of the rafts, boatmen at the pier with a starting price of about 500,000 VND for a short fishing trip.
Cat Ba specialties
Cat Ba is a beautiful coastal area with abundant seafood. Therefore, when traveling to Cat Ba, you should not miss the delicious seafood dishes prepared in many delicious and attractive methods.
– Steamed blue crab: Cat Ba blue crab is a type of seafood caught naturally or raised in brackish water lagoons. Steamed blue crab with just the right amount of sweetness is a specialty that you cannot refuse when coming to Ca Ba.
– Cat Ba shrimp noodles: is a popular dish and is prepared quite elaborately, with a strong flavor of Cat Ba sea but the price is not too expensive.
– Sea cucumber: sea cucumber can be processed into many delicious and nutritious dishes such as sea cucumber salad, grilled sea cucumber, sweet and sour sea cucumber…
– Salt-fried mantis shrimp: mantis shrimp is a famous specialty and is chosen by many travel enthusiasts to enjoy. The salt-fried mantis shrimp here is quite sweet and fresh with a characteristic flavor.
– Tu hai is a nutritious seafood that can be used to prepare many delicious dishes such as salad, porridge or grilled with scallion oil.
Accommodation in Cat Ba
In Cat Ba, there are many hotels and motels from budget to luxury for tourists to choose from. Hotels with sea views, located along 1/4 Street, Tung Dinh Street… average price from 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND per night.
Some resorts such as Flamingo Cat Ba Beach Resort, Nam Cat Island Resort CatbaBay, Monkey Island Resort… average price from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 VND per night.
With more economical costs, tourists can refer to home-stays such as Santorini Homestay, Lepont Bungalow… priced at about 300,000 VND per night.
A cruise in Cat Ba island
Staying overnight on a cruise in Lan Ha Bay is also a different option, with prices ranging from 3,000,000 to 6,000,000 VND per person per night.
Traveling to Cat Ba and admiring the rich scenery of this archipelago is something you should not miss when coming to Hai Phong. We believe that this travel guide will give you the most comprehensive view to explore Cat Ba and experience. Wish you have a good trip!
Source: collected by An
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