Things to do on Cat Ba Island

Cat Ba is the largest island in the Ha Long Bay area, and it is an island, not a bay: most visitors use it as a base for Lan Ha Bay, whose limestone karsts lie just off its southern and eastern shores, and as an alternative to boarding a cruise in Ha Long city itself.

Cat Ba National Park, established in 1986, covers much of the interior with limestone forest and the endangered Cat Ba langur. Cat Ba Town, on the south coast, is the island's only real settlement, with a harbour used for boat departures into Lan Ha Bay.

The island has a scattering of beaches on its south-east coast, notably Cat Co 1, 2 and 3, reachable on foot or by taxi from town. Northern Vietnam's cooler, drier season runs roughly October to November.