Cat Ba Island Travel Information

Located thirty miles from the town of Hai Phong, the tourist destination Cat Ba island is famous for its romantic karsts seascape, with towers rising steeply from the sea. Some visitors find it even more beautiful than neighboring Ha Long bay. Its national park is home to a diverse, endemic forest flora and one of the world's most endangered primates, the golden-headed langur. Cat Ba is a perfect place to relax, and it's less than three hours from Ha Noi. 

Cat Ba island

Visitors stepping off the boats find themselves in Cat Ba Town nestled around a bay filled with colorful fishing boats. Friendly hotels and restaurants border the promenade. The first afternoon is est spent admiring the landscape at the Cat Ba Beach. For dinner, try Xuan Hong floating restaurant next to Beo Harbour, since it serves the best seafood in town.

To sea the golden-headed langur, talk to Mr.Phung at Beo Harbour. Silent and patient observation with the aid of binoculars at 5:00 A.M. may pay off handsomely with the sight of a langur troop feeding on a cliff face seventy meters high. However, getting there requires a three-hour trip. Extending the journey in to a day trip around Lan Ha bay brings the reward of seeing spectacular karst gorges and towers, with small, secluded beaches alongside turquoise water. 

Hotels in town can book a tour of the national park, including a forest trek and a stop at the Trung Trang caves. The most demanding and spectacular day trek leads past Frog Lake, which is surrounded by swamp forests, and continues through primary forests to the fishing village of Viet Hai with a return trip by boat to Cat Ba. 

Another possibility for your Cat Ba trip is to hire a motorbike for VND 100,000 (US$ 5 - price 0f 2013) per day and visit the national park headquarters. From there, Frog Lake is a short trek. Or climb Ngu Lam Peak with its fantastic overview of the karsts landscape and forest ecosystems; the short climb requires only one hour for a roundtrip. A further drive to Phu Long will likely include sightings of shorebirds in the mangrove forests and mudflats or near Kim Cuong cave on Cat Ba island.

- Islands in Vietnam -