Cat Ba Island Travel Guide

Cat Ba Island is the largest island in the Halong Bay vicinity. Lan Ha Bay, off the east side of the island, is especially scenic and offers numerous beaches to explore. While the vast majority of Halong Bay's islands are uninhabited vertical rocks, Cat Ba has a few tiny fishing villages and a fast growing town. The terrain is too rocky for agriculture: Most residents earn their living from the sea while others cater to the tourist trade. Life has always been hard here and, not surprisingly, many Cat Ba residents joined the exodus of Vietnamese 'boat people' in the 1970s and 1980s. Although the island lost much of its fishing fleet this way, the overseas Vietnamese have sent back large amounts of money to relatives on the island, thus financing the new hotels and restaurants that you'll see.

There is very little motorized traffic and, indeed, very few roads. Compared with the tourist carnival at Bai Chay, Cat Ba is still relatively laid-back, despite about a 10-fold increase in hotel rooms (and karaoke machines!) since 1996.

About half of Cat Ba Island (which has a total area of 354 sq km) and 90 sq km of the adjacent waters were declared a national park in 1986 to protect the island's diverse ecosystems. These include subtropical evergreen forests on the hills, freshwater swamp forests at the base of the hills, coastal mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes and coral reefs. Most of the coastline consists of rocky cliffs, but there are a few sandy beaches tucked into small coves. The main beaches are Cai Vieng, Hong Xoai Be and Hong Xoai Lon.

There are numerous lakes, waterfalls and grottoes in the spectacular limestone hills, the highest of which rises 331m above sea level. The growth of the vegetation is stunted near the summits because of high winds. The largest permanent body of water on the island is Ech Lake, which covers an area of three hectares. Almost all of the surface streams are seasonal; most of the island's rainwater flows into caves and follows underground streams to the sea, creating a shortage of fresh water during the dry season. Although parts of the interior of the island are below sea level, most of the island is between 50m and 200m in elevation.

The waters off Cat Ba Island are home to 200 species of fish, 500 species of mollusks and 400 species of arthropods. Larger marine animals in the area include seals and three species of dolphins.

Stone tools and bones left by humans who lived here between 6000 and 7000 years ago have been found at 17 sites on the island. The most thoroughly studied site is Cai Beo Cave, discovered by a French archaeologist in 1938, which is 1.5km from Cat Ba town. Trung Trang Cave is easily accessible; however you will need a torch (flashlight) if you want to see anything. The cave is just south of the park entrance along the main drag. Entry costs US$1.

Ho Chi Minh himself paid a visit to Cat Ba Island on 1 April 1951, and there is a large annual festival on the island to commemorate the day. A monument to Uncle Ho stands on Mountain No 1, the hillock across from the pier in Cat Ba town. The best weather on Cat Ba Island is from late September co November, particularly the latter, when the air and water temperature is mild and skies are mostly clear. December to February is cooler, but still pleasant. From February to April rain is common. The summer months from June through August are hot and humid.

- Hai Phong Province

Related Cat Ba Island Tours

2 Days Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Island
Tour Code: VEH 05
This two day trip allows us to visits both Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. It starts from Hanoi; we go to Halong Bay, explore this World Heritage site and then going to...

3 Days Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Island
Tour Code: VEH 09
Within 3 day trip, this trip will allow us to experience in different feeling and activities such as: relax, sightseeing great landscape, swimming and kayaking to explore lagoon on crystal water...

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