halongbaycruise.infoIndependent cruise guide, Vietnam

the island base

Cat Ba Island: base yourself on land, or sleep on a cruise?

Cat Ba Island (Đảo Cát Bà) is the land side of a trip to Halong Bay, Vietnam: the island off Hai Phong where the day boats for Lan Ha Bay start. Two days based in Cat Ba town, with the bus and speedboat from Hanoi both ways, two hotel nights and one day boat, come to VND 1,950,000 per person, two sharing. A night on a Lan Ha Bay cruise comes to VND 4,020,000 all in.

Base yourself on Cat Ba Island if you want the national park, the town and a full day on the water for less. Sleep on a cruise if the evening and the early morning among the islands are what you came for. Both start with the same bus and boat from Hanoi.

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The waterfront square and hotel row on Cat Ba town's harbor.

base or boat

Two days on Cat Ba Island or on board

The same two days from Hanoi, spent two ways: a room in Cat Ba town with a day boat into Lan Ha Bay, or a cruise with one night on board. Each total is built from listed prices and the fee rules, and the lines under it show what goes in.

Base on Cat Ba Island

Two nights in a Cat Ba town hotel plus one Lan Ha Bay day boat, bus and speedboat from Hanoi both ways; per person, two sharing a room

VND 1,950,000

about US$76, AUD 111 or GBP 57

Sleep on a Lan Ha Bay cruise

2 days 1 night on board, Lan Ha Bay, mid-range, per person, two sharing a cabin

VND 4,020,000

about US$157, AUD 228 or GBP 117

Two days from Hanoi: a Cat Ba base or one night on boardPer person, two sharing a room or a cabin. Listed prices are the partners' own, with the date they were read.
What you getCat Ba baseLan Ha Bay cruise
Where you sleepTwo nights in a Cat Ba town hotel, one room for twoOne night on board, in a cabin for two
The way there and backBus and speedboat from Hanoi to Cat Ba town and back, VND 718,000 per person, the Cat Ba Express fareHanoi to the Cat Ba side and back by bus and boat, VND 718,000 per person, added because the listing leaves it out
Time on the road, each wayThe same bus and speedboat: 3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.), as Cat Ba Express states on its Viator listing
On the waterOne full day on a Lan Ha Bay day boat, back in town for the eveningAn afternoon, the evening and the next morning among the islands
On landA whole day free on the island: Cat Ba National Park, Cannon Fort, the townWhatever stop the itinerary names; the listing behind this total names a morning bike ride to Viet Hai village
Bay feeNamed in the inclusions of all three day boatsVND 400,000 per adult, added because the listing does not name it
National park feeVND 160,000 / 80,000 per person per visit (adult / child 6 or over) if you go in; not in the totalNot in the total; the listing does not name it
What you missSunset and sunrise on the waterThe national park, the town and a second day ashore

What the base total holds

  • The cheaper of two Cat Ba town rooms as listed on Booking.com: US$16 per room per night (Family Home Cat Ba) against US$20 (Secret Garden Hostel), both read on 14 November 2026. Two nights for two people is one night's price each.
  • The middle of three Lan Ha Bay day boats sold from Cat Ba town, as listed:
    • Lan Ha Bay Full-Day Cruise and Kayak (small group): US$32 per person
    • Cat Ba: Lan Ha & Halong Bay Full-Day Tour with Biking, Kayaking, Lunch: US$28 per person
    • Lan Ha Bay Full-Day Tour from Hanoi, Hai Phong: Serenity Cruises: US$43.20 per person
  • The Cat Ba Express bus and speedboat, US$14 as listed on Viator, taken both ways.

What the cruise total holds

  • The middle of three Lan Ha Bay cruises with one night on board: Lan Ha Bay Cruise with private balcony: biking, kayaking, meals, listed at VND 2,897,000 per person, two sharing.
  • The bay fee for one night on the Cat Ba bays, set by the Hai Phong City People's Council, Resolution 47/2025.
  • The bus and boat from Hanoi both ways, which this listing leaves out.

the map

Where Cat Ba Island sits in Vietnam

Cat Ba Island belongs to Hai Phong, not to Quang Ninh, and the water around it is Lan Ha Bay, one of the Cat Ba bays. Halong Bay lies to the north-east, a separate bay run by the Ha Long Bay Management Board.

Together the two make one UNESCO World Heritage property, "Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago". UNESCO added the Cat Ba Archipelago to it in 2023, recognized the archipelago as a Biosphere Reserve in 2004, and records that Cat Ba was made a national park in 1986. The Cat Ba langur, found only in this archipelago, is listed as Critically Endangered.

Cat Ba town sits to the south-east of the island's center point, around a harbor full of fishing and tour boats. Cannon Fort, on the hill above it, is about 0.5 km (0.3 mi) in a straight line from the bus station. Viet Hai village, inside the national park, is about 8.5 km (5.3 mi) in a straight line; day-boat tours such as the second card below cycle there. The national park's own point on the map is about 9.2 km (5.7 mi) in a straight line from town.

More about the water around the island is on Lan Ha Bay; the whole area, all three bays, is on the Halong Bay map. Route lines on the map are schematic.

Fly to
VHL2, Halong Bay route 2, schematicVHL7, Halong Bay route 7, schematicLH1, Lan Ha Bay route 1, schematicLH2, Lan Ha Bay route 2, schematic Cai BeoViet Hai villageHoa Cuong CaveTrung Trang CaveBen Beo pierDong Bai ferry pierCai Vieng ferry pierPhu Long cable car station Cat Ba Island
Base map: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), tiles by Protomaps; land cover © ESA WorldCover project, contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2021) processed by the ESA WorldCover consortium (CC BY 4.0). Labels: Noto Sans (SIL Open Font License 1.1). Icons: tangrams/icons (MIT). Route lines are schematic, not surveyed.

the forest

Cat Ba National Park and its fees

The land day is what a cruise cannot give you. The park's forested limestone ridges rise behind the town, with trails, caves and Viet Hai village in a valley inside it.

The Hai Phong City People's Council sets the park fees in Resolution 47/2025, in force from the start of 2026:

  • Park entry: VND 160,000 / 80,000 per person per visit, adult / child 6 or over.
  • Central route (Kim Giao peak, Ngu Lam peak, Trung Trang Cave): VND 120,000 / 60,000 per person per visit, adult / child 6 or over.

Neither fee is part of the base total above, and none of the three day boats names it in its inclusions. A day-boat tour that cycles through Viet Hai covers what its listing names; ask the seller about the park fee before you go if a hike is the plan.

Things to do on land and on the water, from the fort to the beaches, are on things to do on Cat Ba Island.

Cat Ba National Park forest or trail
Forest canopy and limestone ridges seen from a viewpoint in Cat Ba National Park.Photo: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Viet Hai village
The green valley around Viet Hai village inside Cat Ba National Park, with limestone hills in cloud.Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

a day on the water

Cat Ba Island tours: day boats into Lan Ha Bay

These are the three day boats behind the base total, each sold from Cat Ba town with a hotel pickup. Each card shows the bay as the itinerary sails it, what the price holds and the cancellation terms as the partner lists them. The middle one by price goes into the total.

  1. HLB Day

    GetYourGuide, Cat Ba Local - Official

    Lan Ha Bay Full-Day Cruise and Kayak (small group)

    Sails: Lan Ha Bay. Route not stated in the listing. Pier: Cat Ba Island pickup.

    • Day cruise, no night on board
    • Bay fee in the price
    • Starts with a pickup on Cat Ba Island; getting there from Hanoi is not in the price
    • Kayak or bamboo boat listed
    • Free cancellation up to 24 hours before start for a full refund (as listed)

    from US$32 per person for the lowest option on the listing, as listed on 14 November 2026

    All in from the pier: VND 820,000 (about US$32)

    4.8 from 418 reviews

    Check dates: Lan Ha Bay Full-Day Cruise and Kayak

  2. HLB Day

    GetYourGuide, Halong Dolphin Travel

    Cat Ba: Lan Ha & Halong Bay Full-Day Tour with Biking, Kayaking, Lunch

    Sails: Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay in the title, but day boats do not cross between them: ask the seller which bay you sail. Route not stated in the listing. Pier: Cat Ba Island.

    • Day cruise, no night on board
    • Bay fee in the price
    • Starts with a pickup on Cat Ba Island; getting there from Hanoi is not in the price
    • Kayak or bamboo boat listed
    • Free cancellation up to 24 hours before start for a full refund (as listed)

    from US$28 per person for the lowest option on the listing, as listed on 14 November 2026

    All in from the pier: VND 720,000 (about US$28)

    4.8 from 1,720 reviews

    Check dates: Lan Ha & Halong Bay Full-Day Tour

  3. Day

    Viator, Serenity Cruises

    Lan Ha Bay Full-Day Tour from Hanoi, Hai Phong: Serenity Cruises

    Sails: Lan Ha Bay. Route not stated in the listing. Pier: Beo Pier, Cat Ba Island.

    • Day cruise, no night on board
    • Bay fee in the price
    • Hanoi transfer in the price
    • Kayak or bamboo boat listed
    • Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience for a full refund (as listed)

    from US$43.20 per person for the lowest option on the listing, as listed on 14 November 2026

    All in from the pier: VND 1,110,000 (about US$43)

    5.0 from 1,296 reviews

    Check dates: Lan Ha Bay Full-Day Tour from Hanoi, Hai

A day boat leaves after breakfast and is back in town by the evening, so you sleep in your hotel and keep the next day free. You see the bay in daylight only. The bays charge a day fee of VND 120,000 per adult (VND 60,000 for a child), set by the Hai Phong City People's Council, Resolution 47/2025; all three listings name entrance fees in what the price includes.

If you would rather wake up on the water, the one-night and two-night cruises of the Cat Ba side are compared on Lan Ha Bay cruises. A full plan that mixes both, with nights in town and a day on a boat, is on the Cat Ba and Lan Ha Bay itinerary.

Cannon Fort view
View over the sea and islands from the hill at Cannon Fort above Cat Ba town.Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

where to sleep

Cat Ba Island hotels in town

Cat Ba town is where the hotels, the restaurants and the day-boat pickups are, so a base on the island almost always means a room there. Prices are per room per night as Booking.com listed them.

  • Family Home Cat Ba: US$16 per night for a superior double room with breakfast, free cancellation as listed, read on 14 November 2026. This is the room the base total uses.
  • Secret Garden Hostel: Wandernest Cat Ba: US$20 per night for a standard twin room with breakfast, free cancellation as listed, read on 14 November 2026.

Both are small places in town, not resorts. Rooms on Tuan Chau or in Bai Chay, the Halong side, are no use for a Cat Ba base: the day boats here pick up in Cat Ba town. Hotels on both sides are compared on where to stay.

Cat Ba town harbour
Fishing and tour boats moored along the Cat Ba town waterfront at dusk.Photo: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

the way in

Getting to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi

There is no road all the way. Every way in from Hanoi is a bus to the coast and then a boat or a cable car. The usual one is a single ticket by bus and speedboat to Cat Ba town: VND 360,000 one way (about US$14, AUD 20 or GBP 11) per person, as Cat Ba Express sells it on Viator: Bus Hanoi to Cat Ba Island with Cat Ba Express.

The car ferry from Dong Bai and the Sun World cable car from Cat Hai are the other two ways. Each one, leg by leg with its pier, timetable and price, is on how to get to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi.

the verdict

Cat Ba Island vs Halong Bay: who should stay where

Base on Cat Ba Island

You travel on a budget, you want a day of walking in the national park or around town as well as a day on the water, or you would rather sleep in a hotel than in a cabin. Two nights in town with one day boat cost less than half of the one-night cruise in the ledger above.

Sleep on a cruise

You have one night and want it on the water: dinner on deck, the islands at dusk and first light, no packing up in between. The price buys the cabin and the boat's own stops; the island itself you see from the deck or on a short stop the itinerary names.

Halong Bay instead

The classic bay sails from the Halong piers on the mainland, not from Cat Ba. If you base yourself in Bai Chay or on Tuan Chau, a Halong Bay day cruise is the land-based choice there. The two bays side by side are on Lan Ha Bay vs Halong Bay.

good to know

Before you go: weather and safety on Cat Ba Island

The boats in, the day boats and the cruises all depend on the sea. From summer into autumn, storms can stop departures across the bays for a day or more.

Rain, fog and storm odds by month are on Halong Bay weather. If you book in the storm months, a base on the island leaves you with something to do on land if the boats stay in port, and the cancellation line on each day-boat card says what the partner refunds.

Australia's Smartraveller advice for Vietnam, updated on 24 September 2026, names Cat Ba Island among the places where violent crime has occurred. What it advises, with the advice of the UK and US governments, is on safety in Halong Bay.

before you book

Cat Ba Island questions

Is it worth going to Cat Ba Island?

It is if you want land days as well as a day on the water. From Cat Ba town you can walk in the national park, see Cannon Fort and take a day boat into Lan Ha Bay. Two days based there come to VND 1,950,000 per person, two sharing, against VND 4,020,000 for a night on a cruise.

Can you stay on Cat Ba Island?

Yes. Cat Ba town has hotels and hostels around its harbor, and the Lan Ha Bay day boats pick up there. Booking.com listed a superior double room at Family Home Cat Ba at US$16 a night with breakfast, read on 14 November 2026. Hotels on both sides of the bays are on the where-to-stay page.

What is Cat Ba Island famous for?

For Cat Ba National Park, a national park since 1986, the Cat Ba langur that lives only in this archipelago, and Lan Ha Bay off its coast. The island is part of the UNESCO property "Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago", together with Halong Bay.

Is Cat Ba Island better than Halong Bay?

They are different trips. Cat Ba Island is a place to stay, with a national park and a town; Lan Ha Bay around it is reached by day boat or cruise. Halong Bay sails from the mainland piers. A base on Cat Ba costs less and gives you land days; a cruise gives you the evening on the water.

How do you get to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi?

By bus and speedboat on one ticket, by bus and the car ferry from Dong Bai to Cai Vieng, or by bus and the Sun World cable car from Cat Hai to Phu Long. The bus and speedboat costs VND 360,000 one way, as listed on Viator. Each way is laid out on the Hanoi to Cat Ba page.

Sources

  1. UNESCO added the Cat Ba Archipelago to the property through a significant boundary modification in 2023 year. UNESCO World Heritage Centre, World Heritage List record 672ter 'Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago' (UNESCO open data, dataset whc001).
  2. UNESCO recognized the Cat Ba Archipelago as a Biosphere Reserve in 2004 year. UNESCO World Heritage Centre, World Heritage List record 672ter 'Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago' (UNESCO open data, dataset whc001).
  3. Cat Ba was designated a National Park in 1986 year. UNESCO World Heritage Centre, World Heritage List record 672ter 'Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago' (UNESCO open data, dataset whc001).
  4. UNESCO lists the Cat Ba Langur, endemic to the archipelago, as Critically Endangered. UNESCO World Heritage Centre, World Heritage List record 672ter 'Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago' (UNESCO open data, dataset whc001).
  5. Smartraveller lists among violent-crime hot spots in Vietnam Cat Ba Island, near Ha Long Bay. Australian Government DFAT, Smartraveller, Vietnam travel advice (updated 24 Sep 2026, still current 14 Nov 2026), 24 September 2026.
  6. Under Hai Phong Resolution 47/2025/NQ-HĐND (from 1 Jan 2026) the day sightseeing fee for the route on the bays of the Cat Ba Archipelago (Lan Ha Bay) is, per adult per visit, VND 120,000 per adult per visit. Hai Phong City People's Council, Resolution 47/2025/NQ-HĐND (10 Dec 2025), full text as reproduced by thuvienphapluat.vn, 10 December 2025.
  7. Under Hai Phong Resolution 47/2025/NQ-HĐND the Cat Ba National Park entry fee from 1 Jan 2026 is (adult / child 6+) VND 160,000 / 80,000 per person per visit. Hai Phong City People's Council, Resolution 47/2025/NQ-HĐND (10 Dec 2025), full text as reproduced by thuvienphapluat.vn, 10 December 2025.
  8. Under Hai Phong Resolution 47/2025/NQ-HĐND the fee for the Cat Ba National Park central route (Kim Giao peak, Ngu Lam peak, Trung Trang cave) is (adult / child 6+) VND 120,000 / 60,000 per person per visit. Hai Phong City People's Council, Resolution 47/2025/NQ-HĐND (10 Dec 2025), full text as reproduced by thuvienphapluat.vn, 10 December 2025.
  9. Booking.com lists Family Home Catba at US$16 per night, total US$17. Booking.com product page (as listed on the read date).
  10. Booking.com lists SECRET GARDEN Hostel - WANDERNEST Cat Ba at US$20 per night. Booking.com product page (as listed on the read date).
  11. Viator lists Bus Hanoi to Cat Ba Island with Cat Ba Express at From US$14 per person. Viator product page (as listed on the read date).
  12. Viator lists Bus Hanoi to Cat Ba Island with Cat Ba Express with a stated duration of 3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.). Viator product page (as listed on the read date).
  13. Headline costs. Added up from the listed prices, bay fees and fares each cost names; each part has its own source in this list
  14. Distances in a straight line. Measured on the site from OpenStreetMap coordinates (great circle, 6,371 km earth radius). A straight line between two points, not a sailing or road distance. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
  15. Bay sightseeing fees. Quang Ninh Provincial People's Council Resolution 51/2025 (Halong Bay, published by the Ha Long Bay Management Board); Hai Phong City People's Council Resolution 47/2025 (Cat Ba bays, from 1 January 2026)
  16. What a cruise costs with the parts its listing leaves out. Partner listing prices (as listed on their read date), the bay fee resolutions and the State Bank of Vietnam exchange rates; parts the listing includes add nothing

Photographs

  1. Cat Ba town harbour. Photo: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Cat Ba National Park forest or trail. Photo: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. Viet Hai village. Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
  4. Cannon Fort view. Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
  5. Cat Ba town harbour. Photo: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0