Find Bungalows in Cat Ba Island, Vietnam

The National Park is a beautiful area, and so are the caves. The island in itself is stunning, plus it makes for a great spot to head out for Ha Long Bay from.

Bus/ferry/bus will get you easily to downtown Cat Ba island from Hanoi, and back again. Research tour companies before signing on as some are better than others. Asia Outdoors was outstanding in the service, staffing, meals, and options of activities.

You could go to the National Park and see a grand total of 3 mammal species an perhaps 2 bird species. The most you will see here is groups of weary travelers, being shuffled from one excursion to the next. Very disappointing. I wish I had traveled to S Vietnam instead.

Food wasn't that great, so I was checking on Trip Advisor to see the top rated restaurants. If the weather allows, go for kayaking.

Take the time a book 3 days and two nights. Do it on a one or two cabin boat and ask to keep away from the bigger boats that come from Ha Long. We sman and kayaked everyday in beautiful clean, warm tropical water. the water was so good my wife was the one constantly asking to jump overboard and hang off the anchor ropes. I understand many of the Ha Long mass produced tours wont let you swim. Honestly did not see any amount of rubbish around except for the occaisional plastic water bottles washed up on the small secuded beachs amongst the Karsts. Would highly recomend Mr Tung at Cat Ba Ventures, google his website

The islands are the same as in Halong Bay but the water around is much cleaner and you actually want to jump into the ocean. In Halong we have not seen anyone swimming there. The city is small and offer many seafood restaurants. Good fresh sea food and not overpriced. Getting around, you can rent a motorbike 5 USD/day, there are buses and meter taxis. easy to get a boat at the pier to drive you thru the islands. You can book an island tour or do it by yourself. the ferry is easy to book as is everything else. the people are not screwing you there as its a small and remote destination and has not seen mass tourism yet. You are dealing with locals who make an earning and not with mass tourist companies like in Halong. Really refreshing. I would skip Halong and replace it with Cat Ba as you do not miss out on anything, but actually add more experience as there is a national park You can get the ferry from Hai Phong and then connect from there to Danang by plane. The ride from Hanoi to Hai Phong is 2 hrs only compared to 3 hrs to Halong. The airport is only 10 min from Haiphong and very small, therefore check in and time spend to board etc is minimal

Would suit someone not keen on being a "captive audience" on a cruise boat. The deluxe rooms in the Cat Ba Sunrise Resort afford unspoilt views of the towering limestone karsts rising vertically from the still waters. The centre of the island is a national park - steep green jungle - would suit trekkers.

But if you want to experience the nice countryside life, it's here. Also there are some very impressive caves and a big national park, good for sightseeing.

) We hired motor cycles on a welcome clear day with blue skies and were impressed with the views of both mountains and coast. We enjoyed two extremes of accommodation - basic bungalows in the jungle of the national park and the height of luxury at Cat Ba Sunrise Resort, a grand deluxe room affording unspoilt views of the exquisite bay.

There is a lot to do in terms of protection of enviroment because of water pollution aroung the island. There is an overconsumption of usage by Cat Ba people and tourists, too. Water of the little bays around the island is filled up with much garbage, expecially little styrofoam balls which stem from big styrofoam blocks which the fishermen use to build their houses and whole villages on the water in the bays to keep the houses above the water level. The blocks lose the tiny styrofoam balls of which they are built in the course of time, so that the water is filled up in many, many bays with these little balls, not to mention the other garbage which fishermen and tourists leave. I do hope that the plan to get ahead with the process to become UNESCO world heritage will help to overcome these problems so that Cat Ba island may become a really great place to see in the future.

Food is good. Weather is good. Price is a little expensive. Sometimes cheap if you know the price. But the feeling is good. Better than other places that i have visited. I dont know why. But i will return in future. Just because the good feeling it gives me that no other places can give. ^_^

This included kayaking and a tour of a cave and monkey island. The weather was not great for our stay (3rd week of February).

We rented a motorbike from duc tuan and spent our time caving, climbing, exploring the national park and the beaches. If you are ever bored just contact Asia outdoors and go on an adventure with them.

Walk up to Cannon Fort. This was occupied by the Japanese in WW11, much of it is preserved, ie cannons, bunkers etc, it is a very interesting place to visit and the views are amazing. Thereare many restarants serving great food. We loved it here

followed by 1 night on cat ba island. pickup next morning for return to Hanoi.

There are opportunities for rock climbing, cycling - both motorbikes and bicycles, and walking. Great food!

You need only one max. two days to see all interesting places at island

good base to see surrounding islands

Quiet, lush, relaxing - great walks, some nice bike riding. In all a great place to go for a relaxinmg an interesting holiday.

If you are looking for a nightlife place, this will not be the one. But the nature is great. Just a few kilometers far from the town, you'll find national forest which you can go hiking, exploring. There a bamboo area, which I found accidentally. It's really beautiful with the bamboo grows high and green. I did not remember the exact location but would love to visit that place again. The beach is not big but very beautiful. There are several beaches in the island, so you can go and try different places.