If there was one thing that me and Char were going to do whilst in Vietnam it was to visit the infamous UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ha Long Bay. The question was, how were we going to do it without bankrupting ourselves? Luckily our Pinterest obsession paid off (again!) and we found out it would be far cheaper booking directly on Cat Ba Island. For only $29 we wrangled our way onto an incredible day trip with Cat Ba Ventures (more on that later). But Cat Ba Island isn’t all about the boat trip. There is so much more here than meets the eye!
Getting there…
First things first. How did we get there? Char found a company online called Daiichi Travel, that took us all the way from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island (including the ferry) for only $12 USD ($24 for the round trip). They were fast, comfortable and even provided us with complimentary snacks! Highly recommended.
Where to stay?
The hostel prices on Cat Ba Island vary with the seasons. There are so many you can find for a reasonable price. Just make sure you book yourself a hostel that is in Cat Ba Town itself! The island is fairly large and booking yourself into a hostel in the middle of nowhere can make life fairly difficult.
What to do?
There are an abundance of fun things to see and do whilst on Cat Ba Island. You could spend days exploring and making the most of it all. Here are just a few of the things that Char and I got up to.
Beach Day
It really would be rude if you didn’t appreciate the beach on an island paradise like Cat Ba! The three main beaches here are conveniently named Beach 1, Beach 2 and Beach 3. All of the locals recommend Beach 3 and it certainly did not disappoint. Being only a 15 minute walk from our hostel it was easy enough to find.
Once there we spent our time bobbing up and down in the sea whilst Char gave me a lesson in how to tell the difference between birds of prey and other birds by the way the fly. Incidentally, birds of prey soar! There were so many around you really couldn’t miss them. Just some of the rare species that call this part of the world home. Every day is a school day.
Out of Town
If you have more time than we did I would also recommend hiking in the national park and visiting the hospital cave. These activities come highly rated on multiple blogs, but our strict time schedule didn’t allow us the opportunity to go. If you want to get there you need hire a bike from one of the many stores in town. The prices are all reasonable and they are easy enough to drive!
Sunset View Points
As I’m sure you are all aware by now if you’ve been following my adventures is that Char and I love a good sunset. When we heard that the best one on the island could be seen from the Cannon Fort we just had to go. Many people rent motorbikes to take them up to the view point but we opted to walk. It only took half an hour and allowed us some spectacular views of the surrounding limestone cliffs.
It was whilst we were standing and staring out at the limestone cliffs that we met Ace. Highly amused by our Thailand pants he donned us “The Girls Who Hike in Pajamas”. Whilst watching the sunset from the highest point in Cat Ba town, we shared stories of our travels and made fast friends. I must say that this sunset was one of the best of our trip. Word does get out about this view point though so I would suggest getting there early and claiming a spot. The view will take your breath away.
Motorbike Adventures
We’d been chatting to Ace for so long we hadn’t realised that we were the only three left on the view point in the pitch black. Cue the three of us stumbling through the forest getting lost, ending up in the trenches and using the light of our phones to guide us back. Probably not the best time to announce I felt like we were in a game of Slender. Char was not impressed! Anyway, we finally found our way out of the Cannon Fort and in true Vietnamese style, squeezed all of us onto one motorbike to head back into town.
Cat Ba Town
Town itself lends itself to the party lifestyle. There are an abundance of great bars and restaurants on the main street. You can easily find a good meal and a fair few drinks for seriously low prices. We danced the night away and stumbled back to our hostel which was conveniently located less than a minute from the bar! Waking up the next morning for our boat tour was not quite so easy.
Cat Ba Ventures
This brings me to the highlight of our time on Cat Ba Island. Our Ha Long Bay boat tour. Cat Ba Ventures were amazing from start to finish. We began by visiting one of the many floating fishing villages just off the island, amazed to see the different fish and how big they grew.
We then sailed through the southern part of Ha Long Bay itself, taking in the stunning landscape that surrounded us. Not another boat insight, sailing through the limestone formations that continually rose up out of the mist, it felt honestly mythical. Like something out of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. Truly incredible.
When the boat stopped we were allowed to go for a quick swim. Despite the freezing cold weather it was not a thing we were going to miss. The other passengers watched in horror as the two short British girls stripped to their bikinis and jumped right in. We did start a trend though. Everybody else followed us in and we had a great time swimming in amongst the rock formations.
Lunch on Board
Our next stop was Lan Ha Bay where we went for another swim before a beautiful lunch was served on board the boat. Not only am I terribly fussy when it comes to food, I am allergic to shellfish, which is a bit of a hinderance in South East Asia. Cat Ba Ventures catered perfectly to my allergies and I enjoyed every mouthful! Definitely winning.
Kayaking
The final stop on our tour was the best yet. We went kayaking through caves into hidden lagoons. Imagine Jurrasic World without the dinosaurs. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. As nature enthusiasts we were delighted to see bats in the caves, have Sea Eagles swoop low over our heads and even catch a glimpse of the rare and elusive White-headed Langur. There are only around 70 individuals remaining in the wild (at the time of writing) and they can only be found on Cat Ba. How lucky we were!
Heading back to Cat Ba with our complimentary pineapple and watermelon, we reminisced on our incredible day. Cat Ba Ventures is a company I would highly recommend. Anybody visiting should definitely go on a tour with them.
Overall, Cat Ba was full of adventure, laughter and once in a lifetime sights. It is picturesque from every angle. Spend a few days here to fully appreciate its beauty. I am sure you will love it as much as we did.
