Lan Ha Bay and Cat Ba: The Quieter Ha Long, the Cruises That Go There, Kayaking, and How to Reach the Island

Lan Ha Bay is the southern continuation of Ha Long's karst, wrapped around Cat Ba island and administered by Hai Phong rather than Quang Ninh, which is why it stayed outside the tourist boat routes for years. It has the same limestone towers, some 400 of them, with more beaches, floating fishing villages, and, at last count, a tenth of the boats. Most of the overnight cruises launched since about 2018 sail here from the Got pier, and the day trips from Cat Ba town cover it by fast boat. If you want the bay without the traffic jam at Sung Sot cave, this is it.

A 2-day-1-night cruise from Got pier: boarding at noon, lunch, kayaking through the Dark Cave and Light Cave arch into a hidden lagoon, a swim at Ba Trai Dao (three peaches) beach, sunset on deck, and the next morning a visit to the Viet Hai fishing village by bicycle or a cave, back at the pier by 11:00. The three-day version reaches the outer islands and Bai Tu Long. Prices track the boat; the choosing a cruise guide applies exactly to Lan Ha too.

Cat Ba is the largest island in the bay, half of it a national park protecting the Cat Ba langur, one of the rarest primates on earth, with about 70 left. The Ngu Lam peak trek is two hours from the park gate to a viewpoint over the karst; Cannon Fort above the town has the bay panorama and wartime tunnels; Cat Co beaches below the town are small and swimmable in summer. Cat Ba town itself is a strip of hotels and seafood restaurants and the base for budget day trips on the bay by fast boat, USD 25 to 45.

From Hanoi: the expressway to Hai Phong then the Got pier (2.5 hours by limousine bus or cruise shuttle), where the cruises board and the car ferry crosses to Cat Ba in 15 minutes; Cat Ba town is a further 40 minutes across the island by bus. Direct bus-and-ferry packages from Hanoi to Cat Ba town take about four hours. From Ha Long city, a fast boat or the Tuan Chau ferry. The getting to Ha Long guide covers the Ha Long side.

March to May and September to November are the months: clear, warm, calm. Summer is hot with domestic crowds on Cat Ba's beaches and typhoon closures from July to September. December to February is cool and misty, atmospheric on the water and cold at night on deck. The langurs are not on the visitor trails; the trek is for the forest and the view.