Exploring Cat Ba Island Vietnam | Trust Car Rental offers private taxi from Hanoi to Cat Ba island directly from 89$USD for a private car 5 person.

Distance form Hanoi to Benh Binh or Got pier is 1h50 minutes on the Express Hanoi - Hai Phong for 100km away and speed boat service to the Cat ba island of Hai Phong is 2hours.

Cat Ba island is distance from Halong 25 km away and 30km from Hai Phong town.
For most people, holiday travels involve relaxing by the beach or hotel pool, but there are also many who see it as an opportunity to get fit or keep fit, get their heart racing and adrenaline pumping.

Cat Ba Island is one the world’s five best ‘keep fit’ holiday destinations, according to Independent Media, a South African multi-content website.
Cat Ba is an archipelago that includes 367 islands spanning 260 square kilometers, of which Cat Ba Island is the largest.

Other places in the list are Yosemite traverse hiking trail (the U.S.) leads, Supertubes (South Africa), cycling in La Farola (Cuba), yoga in Rishikesh and the Ganges River Valley (India) and kayaking in Cat Ba (Vietnam).

In 20179, Cat Ba Island received 2 million visitors, 850,000 of whom were foreigners, according to the Hai Phong department of tourism.

How to exploring Cat Ba island Vietnam from Hanoi?

If traveling by car rental from Hanoi to Cat Ba, the simplest and shortest way is getting to Cat Ba island from Hanoi. so our driver and taxi will drive you to the Got pier and drop you off here so the driver will support for you a entrance speed boat ticket to get to the Cai Rieng site of Cat Ba island.

If traveling by motorbikes, you drive to Hai Phong City, and then ask for direction to Dinh Vu - Ninh Tiep Ferry, and Cai Vieng Ferry. It takes from two or two and a half hours to reach the island. Car and motorbikes can can be loaded by these two ferries. There are six big ferries and six smaller-size one working with 37 turns/day and the capacity of nearly 2000 passengers. Dinh Vu Ferry is open from 6:30 to 17:00 with the frequency of 1 hour/turn, while that at Cai Vieng Ferry is 30 minutes/turn, open from 6:00 to 18:00. The distance from the ferry terminal to the town center is about 20km.

Those from Halong Bay to Cat Ba Island can travel on Tuan Chau Ferry running to Gia Luan pier. Though traveling with Tuan Chau ferry can be somehow convenient, it wastes quite much waiting time if traveling during May and August, sometimes it is overloaded. If arriving late, you have to wait for one to two turns. There is another way to save time for those who want to visit Cat Ba after Halong Bay tours. It is boat transplantation. The Tuan Chau ferry is often closed at 15:00. Thus, there is no chance to reach Cat Ba Island after 15:00 every day from Halong Bay by boat. 

When you travel to Cat Ba island of Vietnam?

With a typical climate of the North but located out of the sea, basically, Cat Ba's climate is relatively cool all year round. However, some notes are as follows for you to choose the right time for your trip:

From April to August is the summer of the North, the temperature is relatively high at this time, so it is suitable for sea vacation. But also because of that, at this time, if you come to Cat Ba every weekend, you will probably be overwhelmed by the overwhelming number of tourists, the services may also be overloaded.

Around July-August, storms and tropical depressions in the North may have a relatively large impact on Cat Ba because this is an island, you still need to travel across the sea. If the weather turns bad suddenly, you can get stranded on the island sometimes. So please watch the weather carefully before your trip.

Winter (not quite the middle of winter, from after September onwards) the island starts to return to its tranquility, visitors to Cat Ba at this time are usually foreign tourists, who are people in Hai Phong. This is an ideal time for extreme sports activities such as mountain climbing, trekking or kayaking.

Where to stay

Some popular hotels in Ca Bat Island are Cat Ba Beach Resort, The Whisper of Nature Bangalow, Sunrise Resort, Cat Ba Palace Hotel, Hai Long Hotel Cat Ba, and Hung Long Harbour Hotel Cat Ba Island... There are two traveling seasons in Cat Ba Island: low season and high season. During low season, the hotel rate is about 150,000 - 300,000 VND (7-14 USD)/room. During high season, the rate fluctuates from 300,000 - 500,000 VND (14 - 23USD). To know more information of hotels in Cat Ba Island, you should call first. If you come here during low season, you do not have to book in advance, just come here and ask directly.

What to do

Swimming

Almost tourists come to Cat Ba in summer to enjoy the cool and turquoise sea water. There are two most famous beaches near Cat Ba Town: Cat Co 1 Beach and Cat Co 2 Beach (about 1km from the town center). These beaches captivate tourists as their spacious and comfortable. Besides, Cat Co 3 Beach or Tung Thu Beach is a great choice for your family when enjoying Vietnam tours in Cat Ba Island.

Yet, Tung Thu Beach does not have too much waves like other beaches, as the beach is surrounded by islets. To make your family vacation more interesting and unforgettable, you should hire a boat to explore Lan Ha Bay, enjoy beaches in the bay or Monkey Island, and free kayaking. Unlike beaches near Cat Ba Town, beaches in Lan Ha Bay are more beautiful and less crowded.

Sightseeing

Lan Ha Bay is located in the south of Halong Bay. Initially, you will see Lan Ha Bay looking like Halong Bay; yet, the bay still has its own unique features. There are some small islands with sand fields at the foot of limestone mountain blocks. Here, you can drop by to wander along the sand fields and enjoy the cool sea water of these pristine beaches, visit Cai Beo Floating Village - the village has been existing for thousands of years, or drop by Three Peaches Island and Monkey Island.

From Lan Ha Bay, tourists can travel to Viet Hai Fishing Village by boat; it takes about 45 minutes. It is possible to travel by motorbikes or bicycles through 6km of forest road to reach the village. Some tourists having good health condition can approach Viet Hai Fishing Village on foot. The village is surrounded by high mountains and old jungles of Cat Ba National Park. Notably, there are few domestic tourists coming the village, yet Viet Hai increasingly attracts foreign tourists. Local people in Viet Hai Village remain their "pristine" life, though there are convenient restaurants and stores for tourists.

Families can hire motor-taxi to Cannon Fort near Cat Co Beaches to contemplate the entire view of Cat Ba Island from high above. From the Cannon Fort, Cat Ba Island appears wonderfully and put all your senses in sight of the island's beauty. Cat Ba Island is grasped all in your view. At sunset, the beauty of this bay is more breathtaking.

Like its name, Monkey Island is the home to hundreds of lovely monkeys. Here is an ideal place for your kids to be lured into the interesting time of exploring more about the nature. Cat Dua Beach in Monkey Island is the most beautiful and cleanest beaches in Cat Ba Island. In front of the beach, there are majestic mountains, creating a striking scenery. The distance from Cat Ba Town to Monkey Island is about 2km as the crow flies. You can book a book at Monkey Island Resort and then experience the friendly-nature life in this island.

Biking

Your family can hire double-bike or motorbikes to running along the coastal road and enjoy the fresh atmosphere. The bike rental rate for four people is 30,000 VND/hour (about 1.5USD/hour). Yet, there are no vehicles allowed entering the town on weekend; thereforeFeature Articles, walking is the best choice. Some tourists adoring to wandering along the roads connecting three most popular beaches to feel the cool of sea wind and free your mind.

Exploring

The world's biosphere reserve - Cat Ba National Park with a diverse and untouched flora and fauna system is one of the most should-not-miss attractions in Cat Ba Island. You and your family members can have great experiences on forest trekking and riding bicycles int he forest. This is a great opportunity to meet wild rare animals and plants. Some specialties in Cat Ba National Park are premium honey and unique local tea...

Read here for Bai Tu Long national park - treasure of nature.

Source: internet