Cat Ba travel guide
Lan Ha Bay kayaking, cliff climbs and a wartime hospital cave
The largest island south of Ha Long Bay, a base for kayaking and boat days in quieter Lan Ha Bay, sea-cliff climbing and national park hikes. Late spring and autumn give warm water without the July crowds. Stay two or three nights. Costs are low, and the e-Visa covers every passport.
Cat Ba is the largest of the 367 islands in the Cat Ba archipelago, on the edge of Lan Ha Bay just south of Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam. It shares the same limestone scenery with far fewer cruise ships, and since 2023 the archipelago has been part of a joint World Heritage Site with Ha Long Bay. Much of the island itself is national park.
Lan Ha Bay is the reason to come. Day boats and kayaks leave from Cat Ba town and Cai Beo, the floating fishing village on the edge of town, into lagoons and beaches that Ha Long's big ships rarely reach. Skip the slow tour boats from Hanoi; travel by bus and ferry and book the bay once you are on the island.
The town is not pretty. It is a Vietnamese family resort of waterfront hotels, karaoke and touts, at its noisiest on summer weekends. Use it as a base and get out. The national park road leads to trails up Ngu Lam peak, and the Hospital Cave, a three-storey wartime hospital built inside the rock, sits on the way.
For views without a long hike, walk up to Cannon Fort above the town, where old gun emplacements look down on the floating village and the Cat Co beaches. Cat Co 1, 2 and 3 are small coves a short walk from the waterfront. The golden-headed langur, found only here, survives in tiny numbers, so you are unlikely to see one.
Rock climbing is the island's other speciality, with routes on sea cliffs and deep-water soloing in the bay run by local outfitters. Monkey Island, a short boat ride away, has a small beach with a walking trail behind it, but the monkeys are used to snatching food, so keep bags closed.
Getting around takes some patience. Rent a scooter from your hotel for the national park and the beaches. Taxi meters are often covered, so fix the fare first, and Grab only works intermittently. In winter the bay turns grey and misty and many bars close until spring.
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Top things to do in Cat Ba
Bay kayaking, sea-cliff climbing, national park trails and a cave that sheltered a wartime hospital.
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Best time to visit Cat Ba
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Warm sea, clearer skies and calmer water for kayaking.
Hot and packed with domestic tourists; storms can stop the boats.
Cool, grey and misty, and much of the nightlife shuts down.
Summer weekends fill Cat Ba town with families from Hanoi; come midweek, and keep a spare day in case storms cancel boats.
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Getting there
Bus 16C, the half-hourly ferry and Old Quarter express buses
Cat Ba has no airport or bridge, so every route ends on a boat. The simplest choice from Hanoi is a combined bus-and-ferry ticket from operators such as CatBa Express, which leave Tran Nhat Duat street in the Old Quarter three times a day and reach Cat Ba town in about three and a half hours. Ride bus 16C to the end of the line, cross on the ferry that runs roughly every half hour, then board bus 14, which waits at the pier and drops you in town; the last one leaves around 6pm. Flying into Cat Bi airport in Hai Phong (HPH) puts you within striking distance of that route. Older guides mention buses from Luong Yen station in Hanoi, but that station has closed. The pre-booked boat tours sold in Hanoi are the slowest and least flexible way to reach the island.
- Bus and ferry from Hanoi
- About 3.5 hours from the Old Quarter, three departures a day each way
- Hai Phong bus 16C
- To the last stop, then a ferry about every 30 minutes
- Bus 14
- Meets the ferry and runs to Cat Ba town; last departure around 6pm
- Airport
- Cat Bi, Hai Phong (HPH)
- Public buses start early and finish early, so aim to leave Hai Phong by mid-afternoon.
- Book Lan Ha Bay trips once you are on the island; you get more choice and a shorter day than a tour from Hanoi.
Where to stay
The 1-4 Street waterfront, Cat Co coves or Monkey Island huts
Almost all of Cat Ba's rooms are in Cat Ba town, a resort for Vietnamese families with karaoke, massage parlours and constant building, so where you stay within it decides how much noise you hear. The 1-4 Street waterfront is central and lively, the Cat Co coves are calmer, and Monkey Island has simple huts. Waterfront hotels look much alike, so choose on view, noise and whether there is a lift.
- 1-4 Street waterfront
- Bay views and restaurants on the doorstep; loudest at night and on summer weekends
- Side streets behind the harbour
- Newer, cheaper hotels and better sleep, but no sea view
- Cat Co beaches
- Resort hotels by the three coves, a short walk from town; pricier and busy in July and August
- Monkey Island
- Eight bamboo huts behind a secluded beach; peaceful evenings, though staff run a noisy generator by day
- Pay for a room only, not a package with breakfast; the cafes along the harbour do it better.
Getting around
Hotel motorbikes, bottled petrol and the Cai Beo dock
Getting around Cat Ba takes some organising. Most visitors rent a cheap motorbike from their hotel, whose owner should hand over a photocopied island map; petrol is sold in bottles in the villages and near the port, and boats into the bay leave from the Cai Beo dock east of town. Electric carts shuttle people to the Cat Co beaches, but charge heavily for anything further. Grab works some of the time and keeps suggesting addresses in Hai Phong; when it does connect, it is excellent value. Ordinary taxis tend to have their meters covered with cardboard, even at well-known companies, so settle the fare before you set off, especially for the run to Cai Beo, where most bay boats leave.
- Motorbike
- Rent from any hotel; ask for the island map
- Electric carts
- Town to the Cat Co beaches
- Island bus
- From the market crossroads at the west end of town
- Taxi
- Meters usually hidden; agree the fare to Cai Beo first
- Check Grab before you flag a taxi; when it works, it is far cheaper than the street rate.
Know before you go
What makes Cat Ba worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Kayaking in Lan Ha Bay, paddling into lagoons between limestone towers.
- Ngu Lam peak, a sweaty climb in the national park with a view over the forest.
- Hospital Cave, three levels of wartime wards built inside the hill.
- Cannon Fort at sunset, looking down over Cai Beo and the bay.
- Deep-water soloing, climbing sea cliffs with only the water below.
Good to know
- Skip the slow tour boats from Hanoi; bus and ferry is quicker, and you can book the bay on arrival.
- Monkeys on Monkey Island grab bags and food, so keep belongings zipped.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Cat Ba, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Cat Ba are being researched.
Cai Beo kayaks, Ngu Lam peak and Cannon Fort at sunset
Spend your first full day on Cat Ba out on the water. Book a small-boat trip the evening before, ideally one leaving from Cai Beo, the floating fishing village just east of town, that spends most of its time in Lan Ha Bay, away from the Ha Long fleet, with two or three hours of kayaking into enclosed lagoons.
Good trips add swims off beaches that can only be reached by water. Some boats stop at Monkey Island; keep your bags zipped there. Back in town by late afternoon, climb the road to Cannon Fort, where gun emplacements and tunnels look out over Cai Beo and the Cat Co coves, and stay for sunset.
Good trips add swims off beaches that can only be reached by water. Some boats stop at Monkey Island; keep your bags zipped there. Back in town by late afternoon, climb the road to Cannon Fort, where gun emplacements and tunnels look out over Cai Beo and the Cat Co coves, and stay for sunset.
On day two, collect a motorbike early and ride into the national park while it is still cool. The trail up Ngu Lam peak is short but steep and humid, and rewards you with a view over unbroken forest. On the return, stop at the Hospital Cave, a three-storey wartime hospital built inside the hill, with wards and operating rooms cut into the rock. Spend the afternoon at Cat Co 3 for a swim, or, if you climb, book a half-day on the sea cliffs or a deep-water solo session with one of the local outfitters. Eat at the harbour and leave an extra day in case wind cancels the boats.
Squid, tu hai clams and the north-western fish market
Cat Ba's seafood is easiest to understand at the market on the north-western edge of town in the morning. Its stalls show what local boats bring in, squid, prawns, blue swimmer crab (ghe), mantis shrimp and tu hai, a long-necked clam prized on this coast, and much of it is grilled or steamed on the waterfront hours later.
The 1-4 Street strip along the harbour is where most visitors eat. Restaurants there run long menus of Vietnamese seafood with a few western dishes, and the better ones have open-air terraces facing the boats. Phuong Phuong, near the Hai Long Hotel, mixes the two and has a breezy dining room, though service can be slow when it is busy. Tropicana Cat Ba nearby is a simple, cheap option for breakfast or a quick lunch.
Seafood sold by weight is where visitors get caught out. Ask the price per kilo, watch the item being weighed and agree the total before anything goes into the pot; that applies above all to the huge crabs some places push on foreigners. For a cheaper meal, try banh da cua, the flat red rice noodles in crab broth from nearby Hai Phong, sold at local breakfast stalls. Evenings end at the sea-view bars, where two-for-one cocktails are common, but in winter much of that nightlife closes.
Lan Ha lagoons, Viet Hai village and Monkey Island
Most people come to Cat Ba for Lan Ha Bay, which has Ha Long's limestone towers with fewer boats. Its sheltered lagoons and pocket beaches are made for kayaks; a full-day trip from Cai Beo takes in a lagoon or two, a beach stop and a swim; some add a night on a boat or an island hut.
For deeper coverage, operators on the island run two- and three-day trips into Ha Long and Bai Tu Long Bay with caving and kayaking.
For deeper coverage, operators on the island run two- and three-day trips into Ha Long and Bai Tu Long Bay with caving and kayaking.
Viet Hai, a village of farmers surrounded by the national park, is the other classic outing. You reach it by boat from the bay and a walk or bicycle ride along a quiet lane, or by trail through the forest, and it gives a glimpse of rural island life away from the resort town.
Monkey Island is a short hop from town. Its beach is pleasant, a trail climbs behind it and the macaques have learned to raid bags and bins, so carry nothing loose. The small bamboo-hut resort there makes a good escape for a night.
Rock climbers should know that Cat Ba is one of Vietnam's main climbing centres. Sea cliffs around the bay offer bolted routes and deep-water soloing, where you climb above open water and drop in when you fall. Book with a local outfitter in town and go between spring and autumn, when the water is warm.
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How we research our Cat Ba travel guide
Cat Ba ferry times, Lan Ha boat trips and national park trails are checked against the Cát Bà Island Wikipedia entry and Vietnam Travel, and entry rules against Vietnam's official e-Visa site.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Cat Ba.
Booking
Yes. Combined tickets from Hanoi's Old Quarter take about 3.5 hours door to door. The cheapest route is by public bus and ferry via Hai Phong.
General
April to June and September to November. July and August are hot and crowded with storms, and winter is grey and misty.
Yes, for kayaking and small-boat trips: the karsts are the same but the ships are fewer. Ha Long is easier for overnight cruises.
Rarely. Fewer than 100 survive in the wild, on remote cliffs, so sightings are unusual.
Short but steep and humid, through forest in the national park. Go early and carry water.
Yes. Local climbing outfitters run sea-cliff and deep-water solo trips in the bay from spring to autumn.
Officially, but meters are often covered. Agree the fare before you get in, or try Grab, which works intermittently.
Cai Beo, just east of Cat Ba town, has the dock closest to the Lan Ha lagoons, so most small-boat trips leave from there; a few use the town harbour.
Getting around Cat Ba takes some organising. Most visitors rent a cheap motorbike from their hotel, whose owner should hand over a photocopied island map; petrol is sold in bottles in the villages and near the port, and boats into the bay leave from the Cai Beo dock east of town. Electric carts shuttle people to the Cat Co beaches, but charge heavily for anything further.
Getting there
Around 6pm. Public transport stops early, so cross from Hai Phong in daylight.
Cat Ba has no airport or bridge, so every route ends on a boat. The simplest choice from Hanoi is a combined bus-and-ferry ticket from operators such as CatBa Express, which leave Tran Nhat Duat street in the Old Quarter three times a day and reach Cat Ba town in about three and a half hours. Ride bus 16C to the end of the line, cross on the ferry that runs roughly every half hour, then board bus 14, which waits at the pier and drops you in town; the last one leaves around 6pm.
Health & safety
A three-storey wartime hospital built into the hill, with wards and operating rooms, on the road into the national park.
Vietnam is generally safe. Traffic is the main hazard, and bag snatching from motorbikes occurs in cities.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Cat Ba is Apr to Jun, Sep to Nov. Warm and fairly clear, without the summer crowds or the grey winter.
- Best overall: April - June, September - November (Warm sea, clearer skies and calmer water for kayaking)
- Summer: July - August (Hot and packed with domestic tourists; storms can stop the boats)
- Winter: December - February (Cool, grey and misty, and much of the nightlife shuts down)
Visa & documents
Citizens of a number of countries, including the UK and many EU states, can visit Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days. All nationalities can apply for a single or multiple-entry e-Visa valid for up to 90 days on the official portal.
