Travel Guide to Lan Ha Bay, Viet Nam

Lan Ha Bay is located east of Cat Ba island and south of Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), with nearly 400 large and small islands.

Lan Ha Bay is naturally favored with over 100 small, empty sandy beaches like "blue straits". Many sandy beaches stretching between rocky mountains, quiet and without big waves, are ideal for tourists who like to swim. In May 2020, the Association of the most beautiful bays in the World awarded the certificate of Lan Ha at the top of the most beautiful bays. This is a sightseeing route to be noticed by those who come to Cat Ba Island.

Beautiful time

Lan Ha Bay has four seasons according to the northern weather. Usually, from May to August is summer, the sea is calm, the sky is clear, sunny and windy, suitable for swimming and experiencing yachting and exploring the bay. This is also the busiest time for tourists. From September to November, the bay is peaceful and suitable for relaxing in a quiet space. Now, the weather is cool; it is still possible to swim. The remaining months allow visitors to occasionally experience activities in the forest and breathe in the fresh air.

Move

The means of sightseeing on Lan Ha Bay are boats. Visitors will go to Cat Ba Island and buy a train ticket at Beo Wharf in the center of the island to visit Lan Ha Bay. One-way ticket prices from 80,000 VND for adults and 40,000 VND for children.

If traveling in a group, you can rent a private boat. Group of guests from 10 to 20 people, with rental price from 1.6 million to 5 million VND per boat. Groups of guests from 25 to 50 people rent from 2.2 million VND to 7 million VND per boat. The rental price depends on the boat type and the visit time.
Some routes to visit Lan Ha Bay:
Route 1: Ben Beo - fishing village - Monkey Island
Route 2: Ben Beo - Monkey island - Turtle island - Viet Hai gate - Ba Trai Dao island - Toi cave - Sang cave
Route 3: Got Wharf - Gia Luan - Tra Bau - Ang Ong Cam - Toi cave - Sang cave
Route 4: Pier of Cat Ba Tourist Center - Cat Ong Island - Thien Ung Pagoda

Accommodation

Lan Ha Bay used to have many spontaneous resorts on the islands. But from the end of 2022, these places must all be demolished to contribute to conserving marine ecosystems.

Currently, visitors can choose hotels on Cat Ba Island with bay views. Upscale accommodation options include Flamingo Cat Ba Beach Resort and Hôtel Perle d'Orient Cat Ba - MGallery. These two resorts are 1 km apart, connected by the mountain road of Cat Co beach.

Flamingo Cat Ba Beach Resort has three buildings overlooking Lan Ha Bay, including 756 rooms at Cat Co 1 and Cat Co 2 beaches. It has a skywalk (elevated walking path), event area, workshop, four-season swimming pool, speed water slide, and thrilling games such as canoe towing parachute, canoe towing water slide, water motor, and kayak. Room rate per night from 2 million VND.

Hôtel Perle d'Orient Cat Ba - MGallery is an Asian-style boutique hotel. All rooms have a balcony overlooking Lan Ha Bay. This is the most luxurious hotel in the Cat Ba area. Facilities include a restaurant with a terrace, a Japanese restaurant, a bar, a rooftop swimming pool, a spa area, a gym, and a private beach. Room rates are from 3.5 million VND per night.
Freedom Island Retreat on Tu Do Island is a rare resort in the middle of the bay. This place has a beautiful space, a special beach with two sides of the sea, separated by a small sandy beach. Visitors can walk from side to side to admire different views. This destination attracts mainly foreigners and lovers of unspoiled experiences.

Overnight cruises on Lan Ha Bay are rich, with popular names such as Heritage Cruises Binh Chuan, Mon Cheri, Scarlet Pearl, Stellar of the Seas, and Paradise Grand. These yachts have modern amenities and full service for guests, including all meals. Normal itinerary 2 days 1 night or 3 days 2 nights, with the price per night per person from 2.5 million VND.

Viet Hai fishing village is suitable for those who love exploring nature. The village has no big hotels; visitors can stay at homestays such as Viet Hai Lan, Lan, Lotus, Whisper Nature Bungalow, and Long Phuong Motel. The price per room is from about 200,000 VND to 700,000 VND.

Destinations

Cat Ba National Park

Cat Ba National Park is located in Cat Hai district. This is one of the largest special-use forests in Vietnam. Cat Ba National Forest is currently conserving many marine ecosystems, terrestrial forests, submerged forests, and rare species of flora and fauna. In 2004, UNESCO designated Cat Ba National Park as a global biosphere reserve.

Visitors can choose to climb the mountain for 4-8 hours or the short route of more than 2 hours. Many individuals also opt to travel for 1-2 hours by car, bicycle, motorbike, or walking. The tourist options are Kim Giao Forest, Ngu Lam Peak, the national park, nighttime wildlife viewing, and cave exploration. The trekking route will lead visitors to Viet Hai village.
The entry ticket costs 40,000 VND for adults and 20,000 VND for kids.

Viet Hai Village

Viet Hai Village is located in Cat Ba National Park, in Cat Hai Island District, connecting to Lan Ha Bay. The village can be reached from the forest direction as well as the bay direction. The road is winding because it is in the forest, so very few people have visited the village.

Viet Hai is almost completely isolated from the outside World. Currently, Viet Hai has begun to invest in tourism, which is attracting a lot of tourists, both domestic and international.

Monkey Island

Monkey Island is the second largest island in the Cat Ba archipelago. Monkey Island is located in the middle of Lan Ha Bay, formerly known as Cat Dua Island, because there are many wild pineapple trees on the island. Currently, on the island, more than 20 monkeys are residing. They often go to the beach, are fed by tourists and are quite friendly. However, sometimes they can take things from guests, or if they are careful, they can injure visitors.

Luon Cave

Luon Cave is located in the middle of a closed group of islands in the bay, connecting to the sea only by a cave gate about 4 m wide, 3 m high and 100 m long. The salty lake in the cave is surrounded by four mountains, about 1 km wide. On the cliffs, fossilized freshwater snail shells remain. There are few caves of this type in Lan Ha Bay. This is a great place for kayaking. Tourists can experience the peaceful natural space after passing through the gate of Luon Cave by boat.

Van Boi Beach

Van Boi Beach is located along the protruding part of a mountain range, where many tourists often come here to explore boating, swimming, etc. Van Boi Beach has beautiful natural scenery with white sandy beaches stretches, clear blue sea water, and quiet and peaceful space.

Cai Beo ancient fishing village

Cai Beo fishing village is located in the territory of Cat Ba archipelago, Cat Hai island district. In 2009, Cai Beo was recognized as a national relic, is one of Vietnam's largest ancient fishing villages, and is now home to more than 500 households with fisheries and cage fish farming on the bay. To get to Cai Beo fishing village, visitors will start from Cat Ba island and go about 20 km more; you will see villages floating on the waves, lined up close together like a miniature city.

Sang Cave - Toi Cave

Sang Toi Cave (also known as Sang Cave - Toi Cave) is located on the water surface, 70 m long through the mountain, about 12 km from Beo Wharf. Visitors often have to row a bamboo boat or kayak to visit the cave. Toi and Sang Cave is a destination to be noticed for tourists to visit and relax on Lan Ha Bay, especially for overnight guests on a yacht. This is also a popular stop for boats taking guests to Lan Ha Bay during the day.

Sports activities

Climbing on Cat Ba Beach is an activity that attracts tourists, especially foreigners. There are dozens of climbing spots on the islands of Lan Ha Bay, on the mainland and around the Cat Ba area. There are craggy cliffs here, challenging those who love this adventure sport.

In addition, guests can swim and kayak. To have a convenient location for boating, rent a boat to see the bay or buy a kayak tour. Often the boats will take you to calm areas near the shore to make it easier to paddle and ensure safety. Some convenient places are Dark Cave - Sang Cave, Luon Cave, Secret Cave, and Ba Trai Dao Beach.

Cuisine

The cuisine in Lan Ha Bay is mainly seafood, in which species such as sea sam, tutu, shrimp or snails are the most popular. In addition, seafood can be bought as a gift, with a reference price of about 500,000 to 700,000 VND for a pair of sam and 200,000 to 250,000 VND for a kilogram of tutu.

Previously, Lan Ha Bay had many seafood raft houses for tourists to eat on the spot. But now, you will have to eat on the shore, in Cat Ba Island or buy your seafood and organize BBQ meals on allowed beaches like Monkey Island or Tu Do Island.

Note

When eating seafood in the Lan Ha Bay area, visitors should pay attention to asking the price before buying, especially during the summer peak from May to August.

Swim only on the allowed beaches, and remember to wear life jackets when swimming far to ensure safety.d abroad. This is an ideal spot for bike or trekking tours close to nature.