Cat Ba Island hikes, beaches & boat rides

Cat Ba, Vietnam is one of the places in southeast asia to visit in 2020

Last Updated on May 27, 2023 by Ellen

Last Updated on May 27, 2023 by Ellen

Cat Ba Island a destination for thrill-seekers, hikers, and explorers that is not yet overrun with tourists. The pandemic slowed tourism and development, but now it is set to take off.

We advise visiting this area of Vietnam now — before development adversely impacts its quiet charm.


Cat Ba Island is an awesome place to hike, enjoy beaches, and take boat rides in the fabulous Lan Ha and Ha Long bays.

I mean, look:

panoramic shot of cat ba island bay in central vietnam

Lan Ha Bay has the same geography features as the more famous Ha Long Bay. An imaginary, political oversight line divides the two bays.

Ha Long Bay is to the north, and is more crowded with tourists. Lan Ha is to the south, closer to Cat Ba Island, with fewer tourists.

So, hikes, beaches, and boat rides… keep reading for a few of our favorites, or tap on a link in the Table of Contents to skip down.

Cat Ba Hikes

Cat Ba National Park (on the main island)

This park is a World Heritage Site. It’s a biosphere reserve, and it’s gorgeous. The park covers part of the main island, and also many rock islands in Lan Ha Bay.

Cat Ba Island is home to the critically endangered white-haired langur. Only 65 of these monkeys exist on the planet and they are all found here. We didn’t see any, but maybe you’ll get lucky.

We hiked up to Ngu Lam Peak on the main island for stunning views of the jungle. Stone steps carved into the mountainside make up most of the trail. There are a few places to scramble – especially near the top. I could imagine it’s really slippery when it rains, so this isn’t one for flip flops. Bring mosquito spray or cover your skin, and bring plenty of water. Overall, the hike was easy – just hot.

(I’m about to post a picture of my breastless body, so stop reading if you don’t want to see it.)

We had most of the trail to ourselves – and most of our time at the top we enjoyed alone, too. I was drenched in sweat by the time we got to the peak, so I ripped off my shirt in a victory pose – with a post-breast cancer gratitude to be alive.

I would not encourage women to go topless here.

It might be offensive, and it might even be illegal. In my case, I no longer have nipples, and no one else was at the top when I took my victory pose.

Admission to this trail is $3.50, and it includes a stroll down a long cave a kilometer down the road. You must enter both by 4:30 p.m. Parking at each site for a motorbike is $.20 (yes, 20 cents).

Other hikes

There are other hiking trails and park tours visitors can take – but for some of those you need a guide and admission costs more.

The official park website is here.

Cannon Fort: Hike to “one of the best views in Vietnam”

Cannon Fort is a historic site. It’s where Japanese installed guns in World War II, and the French later used the site during its imperial dominance over Vietnam. Strategically, its a great lookout.

For one of the best views in Vietnam – no, we’re not kidding – head to Cannon Fort where there are astounding panoramas of Cat Ba Island’s jungle-clad hills rolling down to colourful tangles of fishing boats in the harbour and out to the karst-punctuated sea beyond.

– Lonely Planet

This exact view as described by Lonely Planet was not available during our visit in late May 2019. In fact, the whole site was closed, and there was no explanation in English. There were billboards that seemed to advertise in Vietnamese a soon-to-be hotel and casino, and we saw construction workers who wore shirts with the same developer’s logo we saw on the billboard.

That’s all I know about that specific spot, but there are unofficial paths with similar views. The paths start on the left before the guard house at the Cannon Fort gate and lead to views like these:

To get to the Cannon Fort road, walk up a large hill behind the town. The road is well paved. Wear pants. The unofficial paths are a bit overgrown, and many mosquitoes were happy I wore shorts. Hopefully the site will be reopened by the time you get there.

Cat Ba Island Beaches

Beach 1

Yes, that’s the name of it – Beach 1. And Cat Ba Island has a couple of popular beaches.

Get to Beach 1 by the electric green cart taxi from the center of town for about $.45 (yes, 45 cents).

Go at low tide, because the beach is flat and nearly disappears when the tide comes in. The sand is damp and packed with a lot of shells. There is one area to buy drinks or arrange tours from Beach 1, and there is a nominal fee for the umbrellas and chairs – something like $1.50.

Beach 2

A fantastic walkway connects Beach 2 to Beach 1 around some cliffs. The walkway is well-paved with railings and wide landings that show off beautiful viewpoints.

Beautiful panorama shot from walkway that connects two beaches on Cat Ba Island in Vietnam.

Beach 2 is on higher ground so this one is good for anytime. The sand here is white and puffy, like confectioners sugar. Eating and drinking on the beach is prohibited.

beach 2 on cat ba island

There is one restaurant set back from the beach with lounge chair rentals, but this is rather expensive for Vietnam. A lounge chair is the equivalent of about $4.50, and the restaurant prices were about double the local average.

And remember, in Vietnam, locals flock to the sea starting around 4:00 p.m., so it can get quite crowded at these small beaches.

Cat Ba Boat tours

Day trips

Locals sell boat tours practically everywhere you go in Cat Ba town, so shop around for an itinerary and price point that meet your needs.

We used one arranged by our Airbnb host, and it was a great day. I mean, really, how can you not have a great day looking at these stunning views from the water?


If there was any downside, it was that we had to share the boat with about 40 people.

But Lan Ha Bay is much less crowded than neighboring Ha Long Bay, where dozens of boats each packed with dozens of people are the norm. So as many people as there were on our boat, there weren’t as many boats on the south part of the bay as there are in Ha Long Bay.


Boat tour activities & price

We paid $16.50 each for tickets. The price covered transportation to and from our hotel to the ferry dock, park admission fees, and lunch.

It was a full day trip: swimming at a beach off the beaten path; a tour of the bay; a lunch stop; more bay cruising; swimming and snorkeling at Monkey Island, where the monkeys are quite mischievous; a final stop at a fishing village to see how locals live and work.

cat ba island floating village

Want to explore some of the world’s most incredible caves? See our updated post on Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park – a World Heritage site.

Bay night rides at Cat Ba Island

Another boat trip we took was at night in the local bay. We went on an old jalopy of a boat with an experienced and able older captain. We like to spread the love to the little guy instead of the giant tour companies.

The captain approached us as we walked along the waterfront and offered his night ride around the bay for the equivalent of $8.75. We didn’t even haggle. We’re budget travelers, but we’re not cheap.

I’m sure you could stroll the waterfront and find our fisherman – or another – to support. The ride itself was awesome. It was only around the bay, but the giant unlit karst formations against the twinkling lights of the town and the lapping bay water, and the chugging (cough cough) boat, were all an experience to remember.

Cat Ba Island is a place to visit now

Cat Ba and Lan Ha Bay, like most other places in Vietnam we have seen, are thriving with a relatively new tourism industry. Developers are building all over Cat Ba town, and every year more tourists seek out Lan Ha Bay and its more-crowded sister, Ha Long Bay.

If you have this area on your bucket list and prefer places without throngs of crowds, try to get here sooner rather than later because more development is definitely going to happen.

Thanks for reading, “Cat Ba Island hikes, beaches & boat rides.”

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