Cat Ba Island

Cat Ba island is a beautifully dreamy island, 70 m above the sea level. On the island, you can see many boats and ships of all shapes and sizes, from fishing vessels, to tiny rowboats to the large traditional junks built for tourists. Cat Ba is for those who love trekking, fishing, beach activities, exploring the caves, going around by kayak, sightseeing...
Cat Ba island is one of the few inhabital islands in the Halong archipelago. Here you can see many floating villages where people live in small houses on the water. Cat Ba is an ideal place to enjoy life, being in a peaceful and quiet atmosphere in the middle of cool sea wind with clear blue water and fresh air will help you have some minutes of relaxation.
Cat Ba National Park supports a diversity of natural habitats, including forested hills, small freshwater lakes, freshwater swamp forest, mangroves, sandy beaches and coral reefs. Each year, Cat Ba island receives large numbers of domestic and overseas tourists with frequent visit to the national park, either on foot, along one of the hiking trails, or by boat, through the marine component.
A scenic view of the rocky beach at Cat Ba shows some of the vegetation-covered islands of Halong Bay in the distance.

With an area of 356 square km wide, Cat Ba encompasses forested zones, coastal mangrove and freshwater swamps, beaches, caves, and waterfalls. In 1986, the Northeast side of the island was designated a National Park, including a protected marine zone. Cat Ba Island supports a population of over 20,000, most of whom live off fishing or farming in the South, in and around Cat Ba Town. The town is small and ancient, with clusters of fishing boats and inspiring sunsets across the harbor. You can check out the catch of the day in the early morning, see cuttlefish dried over hot charcoals, or stroll around the old town. It's a short hike from Cat Ba town through a tunnel to Cat Co Beach, whose mountains look like a throne holding a marvelous sandy coast, or if you hike further along, you will reach the rockier Cat Vang Beach .

As transportation o­n the town is not so well-developed, motorbikes is the most helpful means to get you to the larger Trung Trang Cave with many chambers, or to the National Park, or to discover other beaches around the island. A tour guide is necessary to help you communicate with the local drivers and introduce these viewpoints. The national park contains stringy trees, thick undergrowth and slippery vines. There is a great view that includes a French, now Vietnamese, farming village from the top of the mountain and a lake in the middle of the park that takes a half day to reach.