How To Organise Your Own Cruise From Cat Ba Island – Budget Travel In Vietnam

Visit Cat Ba Island in Vietnam to experience a popular destination for tourists seeking boat trips through its dramatic limestone karsts.

Cat Ba Island is the biggest of the 367 islands that make up the Cat Ba archipelago in Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay itself is a stunning natural wonder that is home to approximately 1,600 limestone islands. A World Heritage Site, it is Vietnam’s most popular tourist destination.

Deciding not to take the package-deal option from Hanoi to tour the area’s karst-filled waters, we arrived on Cat Ba Island after spending a single night in Bai Chay.

How To Get To Cat Ba Island In Vietnam From Bai Chay

We took a ferry from ‘Bến phà Tuần Châu’ (map). It is quite far from the centre of Bai Chay, so we took a Grab.

Cat Ba Ferry Scam

Our ferry tickets were 80,000 Dong each. The woman at the ticket office short-changed us by 100,000 Dong. When we pointed this out to her, she apologised and gave us the money. A mistake? Well, according to Google Maps, this has happened to quite a few other travellers so I would be extra careful and check your money before you leave the counter.

There have also been reports of a speedboat scam. You are offered a speedboat for 200,000 Dong but then you are dropped far from the resort where a local taxi driver will offer to take you for another 200,000. If you decline, you have to wait for the bus which you would have got on had you taken the ferry anyway! My advice is to take the ferry. It’s slower but the journey is stunning.

There are a couple of food stalls in the ferry terminal but the choice is small. I had a walk around to find some quick food options but all I could find were cafes and we didn’t have time for a sit-down meal.

Ferry To Cat Ba Island From Bai Chay

The ferry departed on time at 11:30 am. The journey takes just under an hour and is a nice taster of what to expect on one of the cruises. The views are stunning. You will travel through many karsts and even see a floating fishing village on the way.

The ferry drops you off at Bến phà Gia Luận. This is at the far north of the island so you will need to take further transport to take you to Cat Ba town. We caught a bus for 30,000 vnd which took us right to the pier in the centre of town.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST HOSTELS IN CAT BA ISLAND!

Things To Do In Cat Ba Island

Most people come to Cat Ba Island to take a cruise amongst the thousands of karsts in the surrounding waters. But there are other places that are worthy of your attention:

Cannon Fort

Cat Ba Cannon Fort (map) offers the best views over Cat Ba. It is a bit of an uphill hike to get there but it only takes about 20 minutes. The fort itself is not very well maintained but still interesting. It is all about the views though.

Cat Ba Beaches

Cat Ba has 3 beaches and you can take a scenic walk from one to the next. The beaches are clean and very beautiful. It was out of season when we went so we had the whole beach to ourselves. (Map).

Cat Ba Cruises

We chose to organise our own cruise. We wanted a 1 day cruise and we heard good things about Cat Ba Green Trail (map). They gave us an out of season discount, meaning that the whole day trip would cost 510,000 Dong each.

We left the Green Trail office in a bus at 7.45 am to our boat which was in good condition.

The first part of the morning was spent relaxing on the boat and watching the amazing scenery drift by.

We then stopped to go kayaking through water caves (fulfilling the promise I made to Joanna in Vang Vieng). It was a great experience, kayaking through the caves and then coming out to see such amazing surroundings.

After this, we went back on the boat to navigate through Ha Long Bay. The boat stopped to allow those brave enough to swim in the freezing cold water the chance to do so. Joanna was the first one in!

Then it was time for lunch.  The lunch was delicious. A grilled fish as the centrepiece and tofu, spring rolls, fish cakes and vegetables as sides.

We then had time to relax. The scenery never got boring.

We then headed to ‘Monkey Island‘ to climb up to a viewpoint to give us some great views across the waters.

We then made our way back to land. When we got back, the manager of ‘Cat Ba Green Trail’ came to personally thank us for using his company. Our guide was excellent and very friendly. We even got an email the next day with pictures of the day’s events. An excellent choice if you wish to book a cruise from the island.

Cycling In Cat Ba Island

You will be able to explore much more of the island if you hire a bike. There is a woman renting motorbikes or, if you don’t have a license like us, bicycles for a good price. She can be found opposite the Saigon Bank on the main street. (Map).

Hospital Caves

We used the bikes to take us to the Cat Ba Hospital Caves (map). The ride was mostly flat but with some pretty steep climbs too. It took about an hour to reach the hospital caves. The caves were used in the Vietnam war as a hospital and meeting place for important political and military persons. It costs 40,000 vnd to enter and this usually comes with a guide. We didn’t get a guide though as we hadn’t purchased a ticket in advance. Tickets should be bought before entering the cave at the ticket office across the street from the entrance.

Cat Ba Hospital Caves Opening Times: 8 am – 5 pm, every day.
Cat Ba Hospital Caves Entrance Fee: 40,000 Dong.

Where To Eat In Cat Ba

There are many places to eat in Cat Ba, offering local and international food at reasonable prices. Here are the places we visited during our three days on the island.

Buddha Belly

A popular vegan restaurant situated to the north of the bay. Joanna was not too impressed but I loved my vegan burger. It’s a bit haphazard in there, so show a little patience! (Map).

Doner Kebab Street Food

On leaving the late bars on the seafront, you will see a number of kebab stalls all shouting for your custom. For 20,000 vnd, you get a baguette filled with salad, then a fried egg appears from nowhere (I think she had a bag of ready made fried eggs) and then topped with kebab meat. They are delicious! Look for them outside the ‘Good Bar’.

Like Coffee

A nice place to have breakfast. I had a delicious sausage baguette. Joanna had eggs which were all ‘gloopy’ if that’s even a word. My advice is to go for the sausage. (Map).

Little Leaf

Previously known as ‘mushroom restaurant’, this was the first place we visited and it was a good choice. I had ‘banh goi’, a local dish which is very crispy rolls filled with noodles, vegetables and pork, washed down with a passion fruit juice. It was delicious. Free desserts too! (Map). EDIT: Little Leaf is now permanently closed.

Quan Cat Ba

We came here after a busy day and treated ourselves to fish and oysters. The food was good but they use A LOT of garlic in the sauce. A little too much, in fact. (Map).

Yummy 2 Restaurant

A popular choice with travellers as it is relatively cheap and has a big menu. I found my food to be average and was a little disappointed as it has a good reputation. I left my phone in here and they came after me to return it. Which was nice. (Map).

Best Bars In Cat Ba Island

Though it is hardly a party island, there are places to be found to have a good time. Enjoy the best of the Cat Ba nightlife.

Cat Ba Sky Bar

Located at the top of the Sea Pearl Hotel, this is a great place to have a drink and look out across the bay. It has a swimming pool too. Beers are cheap. What’s not to like? (Map).

Good Bar

Probably the most lively bar in Cat Ba. Definitely a popular choice for tourists who want to take advantage of their happy hour which runs until midnight. Laughing gas balloons are popular here and they seem to turn a blind eye to weed-smoking. They have DJs and it is a fun place, if a bit loud! (Map).

Is Cat Ba Island Worth Visiting?

Thankfully, Cat Ba was busier than Ha Long Bay. It appears that this is a more popular place for travellers, though that may change in the next few years due to the development going on in Ha Long Bay. We loved Cat Ba. It’s a very beautiful island and just the right amount of tourism, though there are more hotels being built. Visit now before it becomes over-developed.