Located in the gulf of Tonkin, the distance between Cat Ba Island and Halong bay is only 25 kilometers; and it takes about 30 kilometers to go to Cat Ba Island from the center of Hai Phong city. From Hanoi, you can catch a coach to Hai Phong city then go to Cat Ba Island by ferry or high-speed ship. Cat Ba has long been famous for its pristine and mighty beauty and it also called the emerald in the gulf of Tonkin.

The beauty of Cat Ba Island is described by the word “pristine” due to the fact that it has large jungle in the limestone mountain which is preserved by the local authority and the government. Everything in the island seem to be intact so that it makes people stunned and overwhelmed while seeing the natural beauty. When come to Cat Ba Island, Cat Ba National Park is a must-to-see place with many interesting things in it. Cat Ba National Park is a special-use forest in Vietnam, the world’s biosphere reserve. The special is that before visit the forest you have chance to watch a video showing the forming history of Cat Ba national park, the fauna and flora system, the endangered species in the park as well as the effort of the local authority and the residents to protect the forest from outside violations. In the park, you can explore many kinds of rare and wild animals: the butterflies gather like a magical carpet, the naughty monkeys swing between the trees, various kinds of birds singing like a choir … In the forest, there are many endangered species such as: yellow head langur, white-shorts langur, crow … and many rare plants like smilax glabra, Podocarpus fleurii, Ardisia spp., Chukrasia tubularis, Madhuca pasquieri …

You can sense the mighty beauty of Cat Ba Island when you travel to Lan Ha gulf which is situated in the Southeast of the main island. From the sight of the boat, you can see many Rocky Mountains with many unique plants and animals live in it. By the way, you can go to visit boathouses where you can see many kinds of seafood and buy it to your home. Travel to the Southeast of the main island, you can visit Cat Gia gulf where has many clean and small beaches with small wave. They are ideal places for relaxing and bathing. Remote beaches also are idea places for you to play with family and friends, make sand castles, walk along and collect the nice shells …
In the main island, you can go to the market to buy souvenirs, gifts for relatives and friends. At night, Cat Ba is much more shimmering with twinkle lights and the bustle. You can walk along the road or hire a bicycle to go around to feel the relax sensation. In the hotel, you can be served many specialties like clam porridge, fried squid, rolled squid, lobsters, grouper, sea snakes, shrimp rice noodle … It is very true when saying that the beauty of Cat Ba is the mixture of forest and sea. Cat Co is a famous beach in Cat Ba with large sandbank and clean water. It is divided into 3 small beaches which are always crowed with tourists.
Cat Ba Island is an ideal destination in the North of Vietnam. Come to Cat Ba and you will have the time of your life.