Cat Ba Island and Ha Long Bay - pearls of Vietnam
There was a time to definitely leave Hanoi and go to one of the most visited places in Vietnam, to Ha Long Bay. We decided to visit the Bay from Cat Ba Island. This are is not so touristy and we really wanted to enjoy our trip.
From Hanoi to Cat Ba Island
In Hanoi we booked our ticket in Hoang Loang office. The ticket included bus and ferry to Cat Ba. We paid 250 000 VND/person (cca 11.25 USD). On the internet they offer a bit better price but they did not want to give it to us in the office. In the morning we went to the bus station. Bus drove us to the port where the boat was already waiting for us. We got on board and when we arrived on the island there was a minivan which took us to Cat Ba town. Yes, it is also possible to do it your own way but transfers would be more difficult, time consuming and we think there would not safe so much money anyway.
Cat Ba Island
Cat Ba is nice but relatively lonely place. We accommodated in Alibaba’s hotel we can truly recommend. The owner was so nice and generous and made our stay one of the best in Southeast Asia. We also rented a motorbike from her and decided to explore the island a bit. In the middle of the island there is a Cat Ba National park with a spectacular lookout. Well it is a bit demanding to get there but the view is absolutely worth it. Entrance fee is 40 000 VND/person (cca 1.8 USD) + 5 000 VND/motorbike parking (cca 0,23 USD). We liked driving through the villages and observing local rural life. Unfortunately we did not make it up to the north of the island but we are still happy to see it from the best spot possible.
Ha Long Bay
How to visit Ha Long Bay simply? The best option is to go to local port and ask a fisherman to take you there. We found one and he took us for over 1 hour boat trip. In advance we talked about price, we gave him 120 000 VND (cca 5.4 USD). We did not go to the most famous part but it is not about it. We visited Ha Long Bay in order to admire limestone rocks standing out of the sea. Within than one hour we saw and appeared in imminent vicinity of many formations. We have to say they are really bit and during our nice sunny day it was really beautiful romantic boat trip. If you want to avoid commercial trips and you like calm places we recommend to visit Ha Long Bay from Cat Ba island. You will not regret. Even though we truly enjoyed our stay on Cat Ba Island and Ha Long Bay, we needed a break from commercial spots therefore our further steps lead to Ninh Binh town on the mainland where we also rented a motorbike and set out for a real ride in the surrounding! 😉
Tento příspěvek je také k dispozici v jazyce: Czech
Looks like nice place to spend some quiet time. We are much the same and like to find some of the smaller out of the way places rather than some of the touristy ones. Although to see some of the sights you don’t always have a choice. We will try to remember this whenever we make it to Vietnam.
Ruth