Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay, Cat Ba – quick travel guide

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Popular scenic bay of Vietnam with big limestone rocks in clear turquoise waters. (UNESCO Heritage Site)

Probably most famous tourist photo of Vietnam. Majestic jungle rocks surrounded by blue-green water. Reality of your experience depends on what season you go, where you stay, what kind of boat tour, and what other activities you choose.

There are so many options that you get lost…and always wondering whether you’re doing Ha Long Bay the “correct way”. Experiences vary widely, some enjoying the landscapes and tour activities while others feel unimpressed or ripped off by overpriced tours.

1 day is enough to see the bay with giant rocks (most important thing). 2 days lets you enjoy Vietnam seaside life, eating out and walking around. Having more extra days allows for beach time, picturesque hiking, more water/outdoor activities, visit national parks, exploring small fishing villages on island. Busy areas are quite fun…lots of food, markets, cheap massages, and local life to check out.

Check weather before you go, since views are different and beaches not as enjoyable when cloudy/cold (even worse if raining). I went in January my first time and wouldn’t recommend that to anybody else. Other destinations like Ninh Binh can still look magical and peaceful in cold/cloudy weather whereas Ha Long Bay looks a little sad/boring. The best months of the year are like Oct-Dec because it’s still sunny but not too hot, not too many tourists, and not during wet/typhoon season.

First choose how you want to experience the Ha Long Bay.

First is choosing whether to stay on a boat (such as an overnight cruise) VS stay on land and visit the bay from there. I highly recommend not staying on a boat. The bay itself is only 2 hours worth of things to see. Beyond that is just the tour adding “activities” to add value and raise the price…kayaking, snorkeling, fish farm, fishing village, etc. Staying on land would give you more things to see, checking out local life and beaches with viewpoints. So I recommend you stay on land and not on a boat!

Second is the season you’re going. Most of the year is cloudy, which some say is more magical but disappoints tourists expecting blue-sky green-waters they saw in travel agency photos. Colder weather also means colder water, perhaps too cold for anyone not from Europe…but also means less crowded. Sunny weather is more touristy and busy, whereas cloudy is more chill. Personally, Vietnam is usually so crowded already so I try to choose chill places if they exist. The best months (sunny & not too crowded) are usually Apr-May and Sep-Oct.

Third is what other activities you want besides boat tour. Boat tour itself is only a day’s worth of activities at best (especially if you don’t get in the water). Other days could be walking around town, hanging out on a beach…or other outdoor activities like hiking, climbing, kayaking, riding bikes around the island, etc.

Fourth and consideration is cost. Seems like Cat Ba is the more budget-friendly option and everything is cheaper there. I never stayed in Ha Long Bay to know the price comparisons personally, but can assure you Cat Ba is cheap for everything. However…Ha Long Bay prices are still affordable, just don’t get ripped off on boat tours/cruises.

Lastly, you should NOT do a Ha Long Bay daytour from Hanoi. That’s absolutely silly as you’ll spend all your time on the bus, too tired and too rushed to enjoy the bay and fishing village life. You should definitely stay in Ha Long Bay or Cat Ba island!

Where to stay:

  • Ha Long Bay – more like a city. More scenic views, more crowded, has nightlife (late night clubs), more structured tours, closer to the caves, also many more boats in the bay. More expensive but still affordable for foreigners, plenty of cheap accommodations since it’s a busier city. Activities are boat cruise, kayaking, caves, then enjoying city and nightlife on land. Located on mainland, easy to reach from Hanoi with one land-transport.
  • Cat Ba – biggest island in Ha Long Bay. More relaxed and peaceful, less crowded, more nature and authentic local vibe. Closer to Lan Ha Bay, which is considered nicer than the more crowded touristy boat-filled Ha Long Bay. Activities are boat cruise, hiking, rock-climbing, then enjoying a still very lively “fishing village island” with plenty of shops and restaurants/bars. Island takes more time and effort to reach (requiring both car & ferry) but all easily managed. Island also has big national park for hiking and views.
    • busiest center – busiest and most touristy center is on Mot Thang Tu street from Nui Ngoc street reaching northwest to Duong 1/4. Busy commercial part reaches east to where the street loops around (before Cat Tien st) and then west to where the street becomes Tung Dinh (wrapping around the water).
    • Area within where Mot Thang Tu main street and Nui Ngoc street connects twice, is most busy foreigner touristy area. Many foreigners in all restaurants and bars, but still some local feel. Restaurants here are most expensive but still affordable for foreigners. This area has the most outdoor seating and noise, especially during holidays or festive weekends. Hotels seem more fancy and expensive the more southeast you go (towards Cat Co 1 beach).
    • Area within where Tung Dinh street wraps around the water, also nice area. Lots of water views, and close to less touristy and less crowded Tung Thu beach. While still 5-10mins walk to busiest area.
  • Floating homestay – you can stay in a floating house in the bay. I’ve researched a few but there are many more and experiences vary widely. Some have very comfy rooms and good food, weak but working WIFI. Others have no wifi, no electricity, no hot water. You’re also at whim to the weather. Bad weather could mean cold damp air where you never feel dry, no hot shower available, and the house moves a lot because of the water so you can’t sleep.
  • Thung lũng Bướm – Butterfly Valley – campgrounds in the nature. Some say it’s beautiful, others feel nothing special.

I stayed twice on Cat Ba but never on Ha Long Bay, so all my locations tips are based on Cat Ba. I imagine most people coming to Cat Ba are looking for something close to the main street and perhaps with a water view. Just know that Cat Ba is very small, many accommodations within 15 mins walk from town center and water, max 40min walk. Most accommodations have cheap motobike rentals as well).

Water view is not important IMO. Outside of prime sunny season, it’s always dark cloudy skies with murky greyish water and no view of the limestone rocks. If your sea view is via windows and not open-air balcony, it looks worse as many hotels don’t clean their windows.

Hostels & Hotels:

  • Secret Garden Hostel – great vibe (ranging from chill nights to party nights). 6 minute walk from the water (no water views), but really nice courtyard garden restaurant with cozy firepit and lounge space to meet and chill with people. Nice staff with good English. Cheap price. Seems lively most nights, perhaps noisy and less peaceful (but it’s never rowdy/trashy). Best hostel for me for solo travelers.
  • Catba Pod Hostel – come for the view, fun setup with lots of personal space, great location (next to water and lively restaurants/bars), social. Cheap for what you get. Stairs (no elevator) can be annoying for someone on higher levels of the floor, but the elevation provides a beautiful view. Lady owner was so unfriendly when explaining tours or motorbike rentals, very pushy and impatient. If not for that, I would have given this place 5-stars easily. Doesn’t have common space to hangout and meet other travelers except maybe their nice restaurant cafe downstairs (The Little Leaf).
  • Catba Green Hotel – excellent place. Located just slightly further up the hill (not inconvenient by any means) and still only 1 block off the main street. Nice rooms at good price, friendly service with good English, hearty free breakfast (pancakes fruits eggs), and what I most appreciated…excellent pricing on their boat tours. Their initial pricing (before negotiation) was already cheaper than all other tour shops on main street..most charged 100-300k more. Catba Green tour and tour guide was excellent!
  • Buffalo Hostel – party hostel, lots of party and socializing, but far location (less food options and you need motorbike or walk 40mins to go into town). Also read the bad reviews before you choose. Having driven past it, I wouldn’t stay here. Seems like a place where you get stuck at home and don’t spend much time in town.
  • Luna’s House Hotel –
  • Cat Ba Mountain View –
  • Cat Ba Pearl Hotel –
  • Freedom Island Retreat – lots of bad reviews, and they seem to be trying aggressively to get rid of them. Not recommended.
  • Cheapest accommodations – stay on the back street further away from the water like Cai Beo or Ha Sen. But you’ll need a car or motobike to get down to the busier water areas.

Secret Garden Hostel has the best vibe for solo travelers or those wanting to be social. Catba Pod Hostel (has a view and great location by the water), has dorms for saving money and meeting people but also has cheap private rooms for couples/groups. For nicer accommodations, search hotels off the main street for lower price or on the water for higher price but has a view. Seems many places give free breakfast.

Neighborhoods & Walking areas:

  • Main street & water – busiest area is where Mot Thang Tu street connects to Nui Ngoc street twice. From here, you walk on Mot Thang Tu street 15 mins southeast until Cat Co 1 beach. Or walk southwest 15mins on MoT Thang Tu towards Tung Thu beach. Many shops, bars, restaurants, lively at day and night.
  • Back street away from water – walk up Duong 1/4 street to where it splits into Cai Beo (heading east towards Ben Beo ferry terminal), and Ha Sen street (heading west eventually towards the entire left side island).

Each of these areas could easily be 1-2 hours to walk past, and even a day’s worth of looking around if you stuck your head around each store and corner.

Boat tour of Ha Long Bay & Lan Ha Bay

Ha Long Bay was the original name of the entire bay, before being split into 2 adjacent bays (Ha Long Bay & Lan Ha Bay) I think around 1975 and now managed by 2 different prefectures. For tourist purposes, these 2 bay names are often used interchangeably and many boat tours will visit both Lan Ha Bay and Ha Long Bay…HOWEVER, boat tours leaving from Ha Long Bay spend more time in HLB and boat tours leaving from Lan Ha Bay spend more time in LHB. Both bays have the same limestone karsts rocks in turquoise water landscape!

  • Ha Long Bay (center) – beautiful bay around a crowded busy city by the water, with many boats in the water…leading to more noise and more pollution, also more trash in the water depending on the season (which disappoints many people). Far more boat tour options from Ha Long Bay, but their cost is also higher (because the boats pay a higher fee). HLB tours see more different things, like caves and Ti Top Island.
  • Lan Ha Bay (west) – bigger bay west of Ha Long Bay located around Cat Ba island. Many say Lan Ha Bay is even more beautiful than Ha Long Bay because far less crowded, and very peaceful vibe. Boat tours from here are cheaper.
  • Bai Tu Long Bay (east) – a third, far lesser known and far lesser visited bay on the other side of HLB. Many people who’ve come here say it’s the absolute secret gem of the area. Is only half the size of HLB but has double the limestone karsts. More beautiful and very few tours/tourists going here. I haven’t been here so I don’t have any research information.

Staying on cruise boat vs land:

I haven’t done the overnight cruise boats (where you stay on the boat for 2-3 days). Because I already didn’t like the idea of them. The reviews range widely between happy satisfied customers and people who feel ripped off. And likewise, the prices between different cruises vary greatly.

General appeal is that overnight cruises are very cheap but luxurious, all-inclusive, cover more activities, and saves money since you don’t need hotel. Maximizing time spent on water, beautiful sunrise/sunsets and nights under the stars.

Drawbacks: boat can be crowded and doesn’t look like the luxury photos. Choosing smaller group can end up on even smaller boats, with cramped communal spaces and sleeping areas. Seafood still fresh and good, but they often split you into different tables for vegetarians and non-vegetarians (annoying for couples) but you can resist.

Some overnight cruises may even split you off with one night on the boat (anchored in harbor in Ha Long Bay) and then one night in hotel on Cat Ba island. Some people have also unofficially done a combination of both…doing overnight cruise (spending 1st night on boat), and then spending the next 1-2 nights at hotel on Cat Ba island. It’s a cheap way to feel like you experienced everything and best of both worlds.

For those with limited time or don’t feel like moving around so much…you can just stay on land (whether in Ha Long Bay or Cat Ba island), then take a boat tour from there. Most people enjoyed their time more on land than staying on a boat.

Boat tour experience when staying on Ha Long Bay vs Cat Ba island:

  • boats leaving from HLB are more expensive than from LHB (Cat Ba island), which is reflected in the tour prices
  • unless you’re on an overnight cruise, boats spend more time in the bay closest to them (HLB vs LHB)…this also affects which activities you’re more likely to have
  • HLB has far more boats than LHB, so LHB is better if you want more peace and seclusion with less people and less noise

Boat tour operators:

  • Large agency
    • Big boats with lots of people. I don’t like this, crowded and annoying. Everywhere you go is always crowded since your boat IS the crowd, in addition to people from other boats. All activities take longer to organize because of group size. Price can range between cheap to expensive, and not exactly correlated to your experience.
  • Smaller agency
    • Bedium size boat, my favorite. The boat is still quite big with multiple levels, giving elevated views for better observation of landscape and nicer photos. Bigger boat size also provides more comfort for those wanting to stay on the boat instead of getting off for activities. Many comfortable chairs indoors (away from weather) and outdoors (for views).
    • Small group of only 30ppl feels more intimate, you can easily make friends or keep to yourself in empty corners of the boat. Smaller group also unloads and reloads the boat faster, allowing you faster access to activities before the crowds of bigger boats arrive.
  • Unofficial tours
    • Not an agency. Just local fishermen walking around town in plain clothes offering “Ha Long Bay tours”. Showing you photos (from a binder or their phone) and then offer to take you into the bay at a cheap price. Price is not that cheap and should be haggled further…even after haggling, still only 20-25% cheaper than a real boat tour but missing lots of value. No food provided, and they’ll charge you for extras like kayaking (which is usually included in official boat tours).
    • Smaller boat is less comfortable, less space to move around and lots of sitting on wood surfaces instead of cushion and chairs. Doesn’t go as fast or as far (you see fewer things), with a noisy engine that kills the peace (harder to talk or enjoy the tranquility). No bathroom on boat! Boat driver doesn’t speak much English and gives only limited explanation of things. No food provided. Smaller boat is only one level, so you don’t get elevated views like the bigger boats.
    • Activity schedule is very unstructured, which can be good or bad. They take you around to nice spots they know, some of them being actual stops visited by official tours. Other times they take you places only they know, or spots that they think you would like. They may even leave you on an island while they run errands and come back after an hour (or when you message them). But you don’t know what you’re missing out compared to the real tours, and you’re relying on the generosity of your boat driver whether he feels like taking you to farther and more inconvenient spots.
    • Ultimately, I simply don’t recommend taking a fisherman boat for your first time. They’re only good if you want a private trip to a specific place and be left alone. For a more comprehensive tour of the bay, use a real agency.

Boat tour duration options

  • 4-hour (about $15 USD)
    • Usually either morning like 8am-12pm or 12-4pm.
    • Quick ride through the bay, stopping at one beach, and maybe visiting one cave or do some kayaking. No food provided.
    • I never tried so I don’t really know.
  • Half-day (6 hr, about $18 USD)
    • Usually 12-6pm.
    • Seems to be same as full-day tour but skipping the meal and maybe 1-2 stops/activities.
    • Pricing for this is usually almost the same as the full-day tour.
    • Great option to save time, see only the bay highlights and spend more time on land (which I recommend).
  • Full-day (10hrs, about $22 USD)
    • Usually 8am-6pm. Includes pickup and dropoff from your accommodation, also a nice big lunch provided. Pricing very reasonable for everything you get.
    • Tours leaving from LHB cover beaches, kayak, and visiting a fishing village.
    • Tours leaving from HLB cover beaches, kayak, caves, and visit a fishing village.
  • Sunset tours (about $15 USD)
    • They usually leave later and then come back just after sunset. I think it’s good for seeing not only the sunset but reaches activity spots after other boats have already left.
  • Overnight cruises (2-3 days, about $70-100 USD)
    • I never did it and personally don’t see myself doing it.
    • Activities are same as day tours but you have more stops, also they have other things like cooking classes, watching how locals do fishing, etc.

Boat tour stops & activities:

  • Cai Beo Fishing Village – largest floating village in Cat Ba islands right near the ferry terminal. Your tour probably won’t stop here, it only passes by at beginning and end of tour. If it seems appealing to you, you could consider staying at a floating house homestay.
  • Monkey Island (LHB) – locals call it Cát Dứa “pineapple island” for the wild pineapples, but tourists called it Đảo Khỉ Đảo “monkey island” for the wild monkeys. Tourist name stuck as it’s more appealing. Island isn’t easy to walk around, either you’re on the beach or you’re climbing up sharp rocks for a view from the top (~20min hike). Beware of ultra-aggressive monkeys, known for attacking tourists or stealing items to hold for ransom (until you pay them with food). Used to have hotel resort here but it’s abandoned now and I think that’s why boat tours don’t stop here as much.
  • Bãi tắm Vạn Bội “Van Boi Beach” (LHB) – small rock island that you can walk around in 2 minutes. Sign says no swimming, which doesn’t make sense because the water appears clean enough.
  • Dark & Bright Cave “Hang Tối & Hang Sáng“ (LHB) – also called “Dark & Light Cave”. It’s a kayak stop, where you paddle through calm turquoise waters between the rocks and pass through a natural rock tunnel (Bright Cave). It’s not a land cave where you walk around. Those not wanting to paddle, your tour may arrange a “bamboo boat” for you where you sit in a small group and a local paddles you around. The Dark Cave part (which has nice limestone formations) is underwater at high tide almost all the time and therefore not visited by tours.
  • But Island “Hòn Bút” (LHB) – small cylindrical island looks like a candle sticking out of the water. Not a stop, the tour guide will call it out to you to take a photo as the boat passes by.
  • Ba Trai Dao Island (LHB) – many boats stop around this island, to let people out to swim and snorkel (you probably won’t see much fish). Apparently on the big island north of here, you might see both the common type of monkeys and the rare Cat Ba Langur (orange coat baby).
  • Turtle Island “Hòn Rùa” (LHB) – rock looks like turtle floating in the water, common scenic stop and kayaking. Not a common stop for daytours, more for cruises or as a small boat tour.
  • Viet Hai Village (LHB) – beautiful nature village accessible only by boat. Recommended to even stay here to fully experience it. Not a common stop, I only saw it on a multiple-day cruise.
  • Sung Sot Cave “Hang Sửng Sốt“ (HLB) – aka “Surprise Cave”. Largest and most visited cave in HLB, with beautiful bay views outside and amazing limestone formations inside. Entire stop takes 40 mins and has lots of steps. It’s considered a can’t-miss but beware that daytours from LHB probably won’t cover this.
    • Hang Luồn Cave (HLB) – more like a tunnel through the rocks above water. A common kayak point for the boat tours, those not wanting to kayak will be put on bamboo boats where a local rows for you. You might see monkeys.
  • Ti Top Island (HLB) – popular tourist stop on a crowded island, but still worth seeing. Has a beach with shops for snacks and drinks. Then 450 stairs up to the peak for amazing views, about 25mins to get up.
  • Vung Vieng Fishing Village (HLB) – small floating village. Can be a peaceful beautiful stop where you learn about old ways of living, but can be an annoying tourist stop if they push you through the pearl shop. Also a nice kayak point as well.
  • Tea ceremony – nothing fancy. They just give everyone cups of tea. I think on some cruises, they even dress you up in traditional clothing. Anyway, it sounds gimmicky to me.
  • Cooking class – also sounds gimmicky, like something to add value and justify your tour price. In some cases, they even skip it since they ran out of time. Other times, people say the class wasn’t that great.
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Boat tour companies:

  • Cat Ba Green Trail – great pricing right off the bat, excellent experience. Nice 3-level boat with cheeky local tour guide (who speaks English very well), highly recommended. Group size is only 30 people which was perfect size to meet people but still have tons of space on the boat. I took the full-day tour with them, but also heard great things about their sunset tour.
  • Cat Ba Local – great tour with great guide. I think they have different size boats. I was curious about them because of the sunset and bioluminescent tour.
  • Hai Phong Tours – I didn’t use them but I read great reviews.

Other issue with boats, especially during high season is that you see many boats and many people everywhere you go…since everyone is on the same activity schedule.

However,

First off is to know there are 2 bays to choose from, and 2 land points from which to explore those bays. There is also a cruise option where you stay on a boat for 1 or 2 nights, or even more. Usually nobody does more than 2 nights.

How to manage your Ha Long Bay & Lan Ha Bay boat tour (or boat cruise) experience.

  • Ha Long Bay & Lan Ha Bay
  • Cat Ba Island and Ha Long (city)

Activities to do:

  • Boat tours:
    • HLB/LHB tour – most important activity and covered in previous section.
    • Dau Do Cave “Hang Đầu Gỗ” (HLB) – big beautiful cave with amazing limestone formations, usually visited as part of a smaller more specific tour. Lots of stairs.
  • Motorbike
    • Explore Cat Ba island on motorbike. Several little villages to check out, nature points for hiking and beautiful views of the landscape, churches and caves.
    • you have 4 directions/places.
    • go up the center, then west back down the coast.
  • Beaches & waterpoints:
    • Bãi tắm Cát Cò 1 (Cat Co 1 beach)* – first of the 3 touristy beaches on Cat Ba and fastest to reach from town, other 2 are just 10-20 minutes of walking. Also connected to the trails around the rocks. Depending on season, beaches can be un-swimmable (dirty and with dangerous waves). My favorite thing is to walk the trail around the rocks (towards beach #3) for beautiful views. You can even climb up the rocks, I saw local boys do it at this point and hangout up above everyone. Beware of hotel guards trying to ripoff foreigners and demanding money to park motorbike (when locals weren’t asked). Don’t be intimidated by their aggressive behaviors, just move your bike elsewhere.
      • Bãi tắm Cát Cò 2 (Cat Co 2 beach) – reached by walking through hotel area at beach #1. Depending on the season, can be cleaner or dirtier than beach #1. I think there’s bioluminescent plankton nearby here but they hotel closes the beach at 6pm so you can’t see it for free.
      • Bãi tắm Cát Cò 3 (Cat Co 3 beach) – many feel this is the nicest and least touristy of the 3. You’ll reach this one anyway if you’re walking the rock trail from beach #1.
    • Bãi tắm Tùng Thu (Tung Thu beach)* – considered the nice local beach and not crowded and touristy.
    • Storland Beach – raw landscape, some hiking through the forest to get here. Beautiful paradise views but lots of trash. Please take some out with you.
  • Cat Ba National Park – pretty much the green space taking up 80% of the island. Explore as you like, some nice terrain and wildlife (including the endangered white-headed langur monkeys). A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, this park features tropical forests, limestone cliffs, and coral reefs. Visitors can explore hiking trails, including the Ngu Lam Peak Trail, which offers breathtaking views of the island.
  • Caves – you can checkout
    • Trung Trang Cave – easy enough to get to with motorbike, only takes 15mins to walk through. Also has nice view of the mountains at entrance. Some of you may find it fun and magical, others may find it not much different/unique from other caves they’ve already seen. You might also see bats there.
  • Viewpoints & sunsets:
  • Sunset views:
    • Boat – if you take a sunset boat tour or overnight cruise, they’ll situate you in the sea with a lovely sunset view. Of course, it’s best during clear sky weather.
  • Kayaking – depending where you start, maybe you can reach this tiny temple in the islands.
  • Bioluminescent plankton – usually seen from tour, or also floating homestay.
  • Rock-climbing – I didn’t do it but there’s rock-climbing around Cat Ba island (on the limestone rocks and also caves). See locations Hidden Valley & Buddha Cave Climbing, and climbing tour agencies like Cat Ba Pathfinders & Cat Ba Climbing.

Restaurants & Cafes:

  • Honestly, check GoogleMaps and all the high-rated ones are a safe bet.
  • The Little Leaf – same building as Catba Pod Hostel. Nice menu and food, very cozy and comfy with great views. Almost all foreigners.
  • The Secret Garden (hostel restaurant) – also nice menu and nice vibes.
  • Nhà Hàng Yummy 1 (Yummy Restaurant) – great food with many western-friendly options and very affordable (about half the price of typical foreigner restaurants). Friendly family service with limited but sufficient english, mostly foreigners eating here. We came here several times for the food, but to play with the many puppies they had (their dog had given birth recently).
  • Cheap market restaurants – many cheap local food stalls by the Cat Ba market (CHỢ ĐẦU MỐI CÁT BÀ). During the day, restaurants range from cheap to expensive but at night seems only the cheap restaurants are open. You can tell by many locals eating there and almost no foreigners.
  • Kem Dua Con Dao – many spots here selling this delicious coconut ice cream. Not sure if the one I linked is exactly the one I tried and loved, but that corner has many of them (and with outdoor seating).

Many nice restaurants right on the main street…ranging from Western-vibe to fancy local seafood places, many of them full of foreigners. Seems like a small fishing village on the map and photos but you have plenty of good eating options from every corner of Catba.

Bars & Clubs:

  • Lots of bars on the main street. Walk around (check the seating, music, and crowd) to see which fits your vibe. But no clubs or spaces with dancefloors, or not that I know of.

Miscellaneous tips:

  • Vietnam – quick travel tips
  • Transportation:
    • Walk – most places are close enough to walk. You can cover almost anywhere within 20mins of walking and everything is just a little bit more.
    • Electric cart – many yellow carts on Cat Ba island that go around frequently, offering anybody who wants a lift. Anywhere you want to go costs only ~10k VND. Really pleasant and cheap for when your legs are too tired to walk.
    • Motorbike – rent a bike if you plan to explore the island. Or because you’re staying further from center and want to save 30+ mins of walking every time you go eat, etc.
    • Bicycle – not realistic because the central areas are close enough to walk and the farther areas are too far to cover by bicycle and the freeways don’t have much space (kind of dangerous).
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Itineraries:

  • 1-DAY – do half-day boat tour and explore busy areas of Cat Ba island.
  • 2-DAY:
    • Do half-day or full-day boat tour, then explore busy areas of Cat Ba island.
    • Spend time on the beaches, hiking, or motorbiking around the island to viewpoints and little fishing villages.
  • 3-DAY:
    • After boat tours and exploring Cat Ba island, you can visit the national parks.

Nearby towns:

  • Ha Long Bay

Unfiltered notes:

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