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Where is Lan Ha Bay? Lan Ha Bay belongs to which province?
Located in Hai Phong province, beside Ha Long Bay and surrounding the entire Cat Ba island, Lan Ha Bay is a wonderful picture that makes Hai Phong more famous.
Lan Ha Bay has an area of 70km2 including 366 large and small islands of many different shapes. Lan Ha Bay is located adjacent to Ha Long Bay, with 139 pristine sandy beaches that have been renovated to become ideal destinations for tourists when visiting the bay.
In 2020, Lan Ha Bay is officially recognized as one of the most beautiful bays in the world.
Let's see what makes Lan Ha Bay outstanding and attracts millions of tourists coming here every year!
The most beautiful time of the year to visit Lan Ha Bay
Lan Ha Bay is located in the North of Vietnam with four seasons spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In each season, Lan Ha Bay has its own beauty.
From April to June is the most exciting time for Ca Ba. In this summertime, boats travel on the bay busily. The sky is clear, the waves are calm, suitable for sightseeing activities and swimming in the bay.
In autumn, the sky is bluer and higher, the space is quieter, suitable for resort activities. Traveling on the bay is also more comfortable, but there are often storms, and activities on the bay are forced to stop. If you want to go to the bay at this time, you need to regularly update the bay situation.
Depending on your preferences as well as your own schedule, you can go to Lan Ha Bay at any time of the year.
Attractions on Lan Ha Bay
Cai Beo fishing village
Cai Beo fishing village is the first destination that all visitors see because it is near to Beo wharf and on the way to visit Lan Ha Bay. This is one of the largest floating villages in the country, discovered in prehistoric times. There are about 300 floating fish cages on the bay caught by the residents here. They provide a large amount of seafood for restaurants, and markets in the Cat Ba town.
The name Cai Beo fishing village is derived from the mass migration to the Vung Cai area to catch seafood. An entire fishing village is surrounded by rocky mountains, so it is extremely airtight and safe. It’s very suitable for aquaculture and at the same time is the anchorage of boats in rough seas and big waves here.
Visitors passing through Cai Beo fishing village can also witness the scene of people pouring food for fish with the baitfish, creating a big curiosity for visitors.
Monkey Island (Cat Dua Island)
Cat Ba Monkey Island is 1.5 km from the town.
Monkey Island has an area of about 0.2km2, including two beautiful beaches located on two sides called Cat Dua 1 and Cat Dua 2. These are two wild beaches on the island, formed for millions of years. There are also small mountains with many types of wild pineapple trees, maple trees, sycamore trees, etc., and many other species of birds living.
Coming to Monkey Island is not only to dip into the clear blue water, and watch monkeys playing, but also to admire the panoramic view of Lan Ha Bay in the beautiful sunset scene.
Dark and Bright Cave
The area of Light - Dark cave, also called Ca cave, is one of the places that visitors cannot ignore in their journey to visit Lan Ha Bay. Ca cave is about 1.1km2 wide. It is one of the typical karst caves of the process of sea-level rise, which erodes the limestone foothills to form beautiful cave arches through the mountains.
This place is surrounded by limestone mountains, so it is very closed and suitable for kayaking activities. Through the cave arches, you’ll feel like getting lost in a fairyland. This area includes 4 caves: Sang cave, Dark cave, Bat cave, and Jellyfish cave.
On beautiful days, the water is clear, visitors can go kayaking while watching the coral reefs of all shapes and sizes, hidden under the clear water.
Three Peach Area (Ba Trai Dao beach)
Ba Trai Dao beach area consists of more than 30 natural sandy beaches, where many of the most beautiful beaches are concentrated on Lan Ha Bay. There are countless fine white sand beaches that have been formed along the foot of the small islands.
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True to its name, Ba Trai Dao is formed by 3 small islands located close together like 3 peaches, where many tourist boats come to relax, swim, and go kayaking right at the beaches.
At high tide, some sandy beaches on the bay will be flooded, and on low tide days, visitors will have the opportunity to admire the sandbanks connecting the two islands together, called flood sands.
Thanks to the beautiful terrain and unspoiled scenery, this place was chosen and brought success for the blockbuster Kong: Skull Island. Thereby, tourists know more about the Ba Trai Dao area.
In addition to the above highlights, on the journey to visit Lan Ha Bay, visitors can observe more famous islands such as Pen Islet, Turtle Islet, But Day Island, Nam Cat Island, Van Boi Beach, etc. ..depending on each route to visit Lan Ha Bay that tourists choose.
Activities on Lan Ha Bay
Going kayaking in Lan Ha Bay
After a while on the boat, kayaking is really suitable for you. The feeling of both sailing and gliding on the water will make your spirit much more excited.
Depending on the tourist destination, visitors will be stopped at a number of different places, the most popular is still the Light-Dark cave because it has many caves for tourists to visit. There are also a few other kayaking places that are Tai Keo cave, Monkey island, and Ba Trai Dao beach, ...
Kayak's hire price is 50.000vnd / unit. If you book a package tour of Lan Ha Bay, you will not need to spend extra money to hire it.
Swimming in Lan Ha Bay
Definitely should not miss this activity when traveling to Lan Ha Bay. On the pristine sands that have been formed for many years, the corpses of creatures such as seashells, snail shells, and fossil coral fragments are carried ashore by waves, making the sand here even wilder.
For those of you who are passionate about swimming, try the feeling of jumping from the ship's side to the cool water! Really exciting!
Ticket price to visit Lan Ha Ba
The ticket price to visit Lan Ha Bay will depend on the sightseeing routes you choose, including 4 main routes with the following attractions:
Main routes | Ticket price | |
Adult | Child | |
Rout 1: Beo wharf - Fishing village- Monkey Island - Beo wharf | Stop Selling | |
Rout 2: Beo wharf - Fishing village - Monkey Island - Turtle Island - Viet Hai wharf - Quai To Island - Three Peach - Dark - Light Cave- Beo wharf | 80,000 | 40,000 |
Rout 3: Beo wharf - Gia Luan wharf - Tra Bau - Áng Ông Cậm - Dark - Light Cave - Gia Luan wharf - Got wharf | 80,000 | 40,000 |
Rout 4: Cat Ba tourist center pier - Cat Ong Island - Thien Ung Pagoda - Cat Ba tourist center pier | 50,000 | 40,000 |
Overnight on Lan Ha Bay | 300,000 | |
Hiring a boat to visit Lan Ha Bay
To move to Lan Ha Bay, you need to hire a boat to go and there are two options for you: chartering a private boat/canoe or you can take a joint boat if you go with a few people, and want to save money.
If you are traveling in a large group or family, we recommend that you book a private boat with a package tour for more private space and convenience. The boat hire price depends on the time and type of boat you choose. Beka travel will support you in hiring a boat according to your needs and will discuss specifically with you the travel schedule when visiting Lan Ha Bay.
If you want to go to the bay in the form of self-sufficiency, you will need to hire a boat, buy tickets, hire a kayak, and have to prepare everything for the whole day trip. This will sometimes be very inconvenient for you, especially in peak times when it’s very crowded. It is difficult to hire a boat and other services. Therefore, you should choose joint tours, the service will be much better and you don't need to worry to arrange everything.
Overnight on Lan Ha Bay
On Lan Ha Bay, there are now many places to stay overnight for you. Here are 3 typical types of accommodation for tourists who want to spend the night on the bay.
Fisherman's floating house
Some of the fisherman's floating houses on the bay have bedrooms for guests. The rooms are not too big, enough for visitors to rest. In the evening, visitors can hire a boat to fish for squid in the bay, or listen to the fisherman talk about daily life, and how to breed seafood.
Overnight on the yacht
If you choose a yacht to spend the night on the bay, you can choose yachts such as Orchid, Paradise Grand, Scarlet Pearl... The cost of overnight cruises will be higher than one-day cruises, but instead, you will get fuller experiences including enjoying tea watching the sunset on the bay, squid fishing, cycling around Viet Hai village, kayaking, etc.
Overnight cruises in the bay are currently being offered at Beka Travel, if you care about them, please book a tour through the website or contact us directly at (+84) 965 317 992 (WhatsApp) for more detailed advice on the schedule.
Resorts on Lan Ha Bay
Currently, on Lan Ha Bay, there are a few resorts right at the foot of the islands, where visitors can rest, entertain, and organize teambuilding activities right there. Typical resorts such as Monkey Island, Nam Cat Island, Van Boi area, Freedom beach, etc.
What to eat when traveling to Lan Ha Bay?
Local fish soup
Local fish soup is a famous dish on Cat Ba Island. Although the ingredients in it are simple, it is one of the most tasting dishes for the visitors coming here.
Fish soup is made from sea fish, adding a little sweet and sour taste from pineapple, indian taro, tomato, tamarind, and a little herb, creating a simple but very delicious dish.
Grilled dried squid
Grilled dried squid really matches some beer. Sitting on the boat, eating grilled squid, drinking some beer floating on the bay looking at the surrounding landscape brings a great feeling of relaxation.
Crab, mantis shrimp steamed with beer and lemongrass
Crab or steamed mantis shrimp is selected with large, firm meat, cooked with beer & lemongrass which are both sweet and bold, bringing appetite to diners. Cat Ba crabs and mantis shrimp are stronger than in other areas. Therefore when they are steamed, the sweetness remains the same, mixed with the smell of barley yeast, making the dish even more delicious.
Raw fish salad
Lan Ha Bay Cat Ba is also famous for its fish salad. This salad is very picky because not everyone can eat fish salad. However, once you have tried this fish salad, you will surely be addicted to it.
Fish salad is made from fresh sea fish meat, mixed with galangal, and chili, left for about 1 hour, then enjoy it. You can roll it with clove leaves, basil, pineapple, star fruit, or banana ... dotted with local fish sauce. Superb!
Itinerary suggestion of Lan Ha Bay one-day and two-day cruise
With a one-day itinerary on the bay, you should choose a package tour, including all entertainment, dining, and resting activities, going to the most beautiful places on Lan Ha Bay.
Currently, Beka Travel has available one-day and two-day tour schedules to serve tourists when visiting the island. With a two-day tour schedule, visitors will have 1 day of free play on the island and 1 day to visit the bay.
Please refer to the schedules below
Cat Ba tour:
- Lan Ha Bay half-day tour
- Lan Ha Bay one-day tour
- Cat Ba tour two-day and one-night tour
- Cat Ba three-day and two-night tour
- Cat Ba National Park Tour
- Lan Ha Bay Cruise Tour
Contact us for schedule advice and have a complete tour to visit Lan Ha Bay!
