Cat Ba Island is located in the south of Ha Long Bay. It is about 30km from the central of Hai Phong City and 25 km from Ha Long. In many years, Cat Ba Island is so famous for sea tourism developement in the North Vietnam and also the beach place near Hanoi that converges three national and international titles including Cat Ba National Park, Marine Protected Area and World Biosphere Reserve. Beside that Cat Ba National Park is recognized as a world biosphere reserve with rich and pristine flora and fauna, a must-see attraction when traveling to Cat Ba Island.

Cat Ba island has been known with a primeval forest on limestone mountains, which is being promoted to develope the eco-tourism on the main island. The southeast of the island has Lan Ha Bay, the southwest has Cat Gia Bay with some small but clean sandy beaches, not big waves,it is convenient for the development of beach resorts. In the sea, there are many beautiful limestone mountains on the water similar to Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay.

The Best Time To Visit Cat Ba Island

Cat Ba island is located in the sea with the North Vietnam typical climate so It is basically cool all year round. However, here are some advices to help you choose the best time for the trip:

April to August is the summer of the North, the temperature is relatively high at this time, so it is suitable for beach vacations, almost Vietnamese will travel to the beachese at this time. But also because of this, if you come to Cat Ba every weekend, you will probably feel overwhelmed by the number of tourists, the services may also be overloaded.
July-August : the temperature is so great but there may be storms and tropical depressions in the North Vietnam, which will have a big impact to the island, you still need to travel across the sea. If the weather turns bad suddenly, sometimes you could be stranded off on the island. So you should check the weather carefully or ask your travel agent for advices before your trip.
September to April (mid-winter, the period from September onwards) the island is very peaceful , lot of visitors travel to Cat Ba at this time, almost are foreign tourists and people who live nearby. In my personal opinion This is the ideal time for extreme sports activities such as climbing, trekking or kayaking.

How to get Cat Ba island from Hanoi

BY BUS

If you are staying in Hanoi, there are many bus companies that take passengers from Hanoi Old Quater to hotels in Cat Ba Town directly. They have fixed time daily. You should contact your travel agent or hotel to get the tickets with a good price and They also can support you if any problem happens in your trip.

Here are some Bus routes and time frames every day in Hanoi and Ninh Binh :

Hanoi-Cat Ba: 8h00 - 10h45 - 12h30 -14h30 .

Cat Ba-Hanoi : 7h30 -9h00 -12h45 - 16h00.

Cat Ba-Ninh Binh: 8h30-15h30

Ninh Binh-Cat Ba : 7h00-14h00

From Hanoi, the bus will take you though the highway Hanoi-Hai Phong, arriving to Got Wharf then board a speedboat/or ferry to the other side (Cai Vieng wharf). Here, you continue moving to the Cat Ba town. They will drop you at your hotel in Cat Ba Town, just tell the hotel name to driver. The route time is around 5-6 hours including 30 minute short break.The price ticket cost around $13 per person

BY PLANE

There are many domestic flights to Hai Phong (Cat Bi airport) from most major cities in Vietnam, from Cat Bi airport you can go to Cat Ba island by bus or taxi. Airfares depend on the time of purchase.You also can stay in Hai Phong city for 1 day to explore the cuisine before moving to Cat Ba.

BY PRIVATE CAR

The distance between Hanoi and Cat Ba island is about 160km without ferry's route. You can book a private car depart from Hanoi to your hotel in Cat Ba Town. The price is range around $145 to $195 per way. It depends on the date and time.

Is Cat Ba Worth Visiting? Guide To Discover Cat Ba Island

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