Cat Ba National Park Adventure Tour – Trekking, Cycling & Viet Hai Village | Beka Travel

Overview

This full day from Hanoi treks about 2.5 hours through Cat Ba National Park to Frog Pond, then continues on foot to Viet Hai village for a home-cooked lunch. The afternoon is spent cycling, kayaking in Lan Ha Bay and cruising back past Cai Beo floating village.

Weighing a day on foot against a day on the water? Browse the full Lan Ha Bay tours lineup before you choose a departure.

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Highlight

Trek through Cat Ba National Park, and bike to Viet Hai village Cruise around Lan Ha bay and kayak and swim in the blue waters Immerse yourself in Cat Ba National Park with its many rich plant species Learn about the rich history of the area from your guide Visit local villages to learn about the cultures of the region

Details Itinerary

5:15 - 5:30. Pick you up at your hotel in Ha Noi Old Quarter

8:00 - 8:20: Start the journey to Cat Ba national park.

9:00. Arrival National Park, Our tour guide will help you to take the entrance tickets and start hiking from the entry of Cat Ba national park. On the way we will pass 3 peaks named : Ang Vat, May Bau, Ang Phay where we can take a short break in 5-10 minutes for taking pictures, and experiencing the diversity of the viewpoint. The route to Frog Pond will take around 2.5 hours. En route is the chance for enjoying bird watching, sightseeing in the primary forest.

11:30. You will arrive at Frog Pond – the largest freshwater lake on Cat Ba island. You will see hundreds of Va Nuoc trees growing on the water, you will only see this kind of tree here in the whole Cat Ba national park. Frog Pond is also known with about 400 large and small islands and 130 small golden sand beaches. All creating a beautifully natural picture, and located on the route trans-forest from the national park center to Viet Hai village.

12:00. After a 30 minute break we will keep going to Viet Hai village (around 4 km more). The way from here to Viet Hai village will be easy going as there is no uphill any more, the path is mostly downhill and flat.

13:00. Arrive at Viet Hai Village and meet the friendly local people who live inside the National Park.

Enjoy the Lunch with home cooked food at a local house in Viet Hai village, after lunch we will cycle to explore this ancient village with nearly 100 houses, try fish massage experience in the cool stream or local fish pond.

14:00. Start cycling 5km from Viet Hai Village to Viet Hai harbor, this is the most beautiful road for cycling.

15:00. The boat will stop at a floating house, we will see the local life on the water of Lan Ha bay, get a kayak and explore Lan Ha Bay – One of the most beautiful bay in the world.

16:30. The boat will take you back to Cat Ba town, on the way back we will visit Cai Beo Floating village, the oldest floating village in Viet Nam with hundreds of houses on the water.

17:00. Arrive at Ben Beo harbor, get in the car to go back to your hotel in Cat Ba town/ Hanoi. (forr the guest book the bus to Hanoi)

20:30 - 21:00: Drop you off at your Hotel in The Old Quarter in Hanoi!

Important info

Include

Hotel pickup and one-way bus transportation from Hanoi to Cat Ba (if option selected)
Pick up from your hotel in Cat Ba town
Entrance tickets
1.5 L of water / person
Experienced English speaking tour guide
Lunch
Bicycle or Golf car, swimming, fish massage
Boat from Viet Hai back to Cat Ba town

Exclude

Beverage
Personal expenses
Holiday surcharge: (Xmas, new year, lunar new year, 30 April, 1 May, 2nd September)

Important Notes Before Booking

Not suitable for

Children under 5 year
Pregnant women
People with altitude sickness
People over 95 years

Children Policy

A group with 2 adults and 1 child: the child under 5 years old is FOC
A group with 2 adults & children: One child under 5 years old is FOC, the other children under 5 years old are charged at 75% based on adult rate
Children from 5 to under 9 years old are charged at 75% based on adult rate
Children from 9 years old are charged at 100% based on adult price

Cancellation Policy

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time
100% charged for cancellation with in 24 hours before departure or no show

Need to know

Before booking, check to see if pickup is available from your lodging
Make sure to eat breakfast before you start the activity
Itinerary may be changed depending on weather conditions.
Guests are requested to submit their passport at least 24 hours prior to the departure for the travel declaration to the port authority.
Unused services such as meals, sightseeing tours, transport and activities listed in the agenda will not be refunded or exchanged.
Sunglasses, Sun hat, Swimwear, Sunscreen
Hiking shoes, Comfortable clothes

FAQS

Pick-up from Hanoi's Old Quarter is between 05:15 and 05:30, arriving at Cat Ba National Park around 09:00 to begin the trek. The 08:00 shown in the booking widget is not the pickup time, so set your alarm for 05:00 and tell your hotel reception the night before.

A bike ride to Viet Hai village, kayaking and swimming in Lan Ha Bay, and background on local history and culture from your guide. Lunch is home cooked in a village house, the park and bay tickets are paid on your behalf, and a bicycle or golf car is provided in Viet Hai.

Yes — pick-up and return are both from Hanoi on the same day. Pickup runs between 05:15 and 05:30 and the drop-off in the Old Quarter is between 20:30 and 21:00, so allow about fifteen hours door to door. Guests who want a shorter day can join at Cat Ba town instead.

Cat Ba National Park has several marked routes and they are not interchangeable. This tour uses the full crossing from the park centre to Viet Hai. The shorter routes exist as alternatives when the weather closes the crossing or when a group wants a lighter day.

The route climbs over three peaks before descending to Frog Pond, about 2.5 hours of walking on uneven forest ground, then roughly 4 km of flat and downhill path to Viet Hai village. It is not technical, but it is continuous. Bring shoes with grip.

Probably not, and no guide will promise it. Around 90 langurs remained as of October 2024 and they live on cliffs away from the walking routes. What you will see is the forest that keeps the population alive, along with birds and the Va Nuoc trees at Frog Pond.

Cat Ba National Park is the only place on earth where the Cat Ba langur lives, with around 90 individuals as of October 2024, up from roughly 40 in 2003. The wider archipelago has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2004 and records 4,151 plant and animal species. The Cat Ba National Park guide has more.

This tour spends the morning on foot inside the national park and the afternoon on the water. A Lan Ha Bay day tour is on the boat from start to finish. Pick this one if the forest matters as much as the bay, or take the Lan Ha Bay 2D1N adventure for both.

Departure and return times never change with the season. The 05:15 Hanoi pickup and the 20:30 drop-off are the same in January and in July. Only the trekking depends on the weather.

What changes: the climb over Ang Vat, May Bau and Ang Phay and the descent to Frog Pond. Nothing else on the day.
What still runs: the village lunch, cycling in Viet Hai, kayaking in Lan Ha Bay and the boat back past Cai Beo floating village.
What we swap in: Tien Duc cave route, level ground inside the park.
Who calls it off: the bay management board, not the operator. No fixed wind grade is written into the rule.
How long: one to three days at a time. Storm season in the Gulf of Tonkin runs June through September, as the Cat Ba Island travel guide sets out.
If your departure is cancelled: refund, change of date, or the land route above.