Cat Ba and Ha Long Bay – Flying Sardines

The city of Cat Ba is perfectly located for those who wish to explore both the Ha Long bay and the Lan Ha bay, by boat or kayak.

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Updated:

November 8, 2017

Flying Sardines

We said our goodbyes to our French friends after spending 5 days with them on the extreme northern Vietnam Loop with them. We decided to go by the sea and we choose Cat Ba. What was our surprise when we saw Carlo, an Italian we met in Má Lé homestay, get on the same night bus as us.

Little description of the night bus, as Pierre calls: the bus from hell. Generally, night buses are equipped with individual seats on three rows of two floors. Each person has his own seat- bed, which was the case in our bus to Sapa. The special particularity of this bus was that the seats-beds were double beds (read 1 ½). It all started when we thought we had a “double” seat each, since there plenty of empty seats when we left the bus terminal. We did not rejoiced for long. Once again, shortly after leaving the terminal, we picked-up many Vietnamese so we had to sit together, in one of the “double” mini seat. In addition to this, we had a 2 or 3 months old baby, a few rows ahead of us, who was clearly not happy to spend the next 12 hours in an overnight bus. Add to that our neighbor’s phone beeping every 5 minutes. We were not at the end of our surprises. The bus stopped again, to bring aboard at least 10 more Vietnameses. As there were no more seats available, they lied on the ground, in the row between the seats. As I can sleep anywhere, that was not really a problem for me, but the night was a different story for Pierre. He slept very little because the seats were too short and too narrow and also, he began to be sick (read Asian tourista). With the only row filled with sleeping bodies.. There was no way to get up and stretch. Nightmare !!!

Arrived in Hai Phong at 6am, we were looking for a nice Vietnamese who would sell us a package to go to Cat Ba without spending too much money. We are talking about finding a needle in a haystack here! So, we’re going to search for that needle. A Vietnamese offered a transport to Cat Ba for 100,000 dong ($ 6) per person, we consulted, not too sure this was a good deal. He talks about fast boat, slow boat, bus. We were 10 tourists, mixed up and tired that did not understand what this Viet was saying to us. Therefore, we went to see other people, checked out our Lonely Planet to realize that it was a good deal. But the Viet with the red North Face coat was gone. So we paid 130,000 dong ($ 8) per person to get to Cat Ba, still unsure if it was a fast boat or not. We are ready to got in the boat, Cat ba is an island after all… but they made us embarked on another bus ??!! We rode for a good 40 minutes. We finally arrived by the water and got in a boat, which seemed rather old to make it all the way across. We do à 10 minutes boat ride to get to the other side, on the mainland. And then there is another bus waiting for us! We were all a little discouraged! Another bus 30-40min and finally we are in Cat Ba. It is 9:30 in the morning. We now have to find a hotel …

We headed to the nearby hotel Le Pont, it was perfect. We negotiated a price of US $ 10 per night. Pierre fell asleep 3 minutes after entering the room and went for a 4 hours nap. The beds were super comfortable, much better than what we had experienced in other homestay.

1st evening, we relaxed (Pierre fell asleep at 18:30 for the night). First morning, after a breakfast, we headed towards the beaches. We were lacking beach and sun. The good news, it’s hot and the sun is here! There are 3 beaches to visit near the town of Cat Ba, but they are filled with tourists and surrounded by luxurious hotels. Not what we expected. So we explored Cat Ba walking around. We discovered a delicious vegetarian restaurant, the Buddha Belly outside the city center. 30,000 dong for a plate of vegetables with rice and a little soup. We like the deals like this.

In the afternoon, we stopped in a nice little cafe with an incredible view of the bay. We ordered Bánh my (Vietnamese sandwich) and we realized that our table neighbors were working on a blog. So we started the conversation. They travel Vietnam by motorbike, then go to Cambodia and Laos (the same itinerary as us!) Their blog is also bilingual but in English and Italian. Their photos are beautiful. Go take a look you will not be disappointed and maybe you will follow them! Here is their Dreamy Travel Story blog and their Instagram page. After saying goodbye to our new travelling friend, we climbed the road to the point of view at the Cannon Fort for the sunset where Carlo came to join us with beers. Then we went in town for dinner at Yummy restaurant which was supposed to be great but I think it is a victim of its popularity. I ate the worst squid of my life. Beer was good and cheap and we were in good company.

From Cat Ba we embarked on a 2 days / 1 night cruise in the very popular and majestic Ha Long Bay. Pierre spoke about this trip for months before our departure. Our tickets were not even booked yet that the budget for this cruise had already been in our books. So our expectations were up to the sky. We bought the cruise from a friend of Perfume, our very nice hostess from our Hanoi homestay. We knew cruises could be mega tourist traps. It was reassuring to have a recommendation. We paid $ 110US each. Lot of money for us since our budget is 50$ per day… for both of us!

Everything could have been so perfect. Other travelers with whom we were on the boat were great and from all over the world. But the crew, the staff, the owner, the food, the activities … everything went terribly wrong. The staff were so not friendly and did not speak english at all and, we did not have the promised guide to inform us during the cruise. We clearly payed far too much for what we got. At $ 220 for 2, we even had to pay for our water.

At least, the scenery was amazing. But we were promised activities that never happened. The Cat Ba Island Cruise is one of the worst choices for your cruise in Ha Long Bay.

Nonetheless, Ha Long Bay and the new star, Lan Ha Bay, a little less busy at the moment, are absolutely magical. Breathtaking landscapes, floating fishing villages that “grow” seafood and fishes in their ponds within the bay. The pleasure of getting up before the sun and enjoy the silence before tourist and fishing boats starts bassing-by. And at sunset, the Bay returns to calm, except the constant noise of the generators that supply the small floating villages in electricity.

Ha Long and Lan Ha bays are worth a visit, especially before the pollution, already visible on the water, destroys this UNESCO jewel.

Cat Ba is becoming more and more popular in the eyes of tourists trying to escape the Ha Long traffic. So Cat Ba is constantly changing. Construction of large hotels, infrastructure, etc. Not the expected paradise.

Once back in Cat Ba, we spent one last night before heading to Ninh Binh / Tam Coc, also known as the Bay of Ha Long on earth, our next destination.

We use different websites and phone apps for our hotel, hostels, homestay, apartment or house reservations. Very convenient and often cheaper than in person at the location. By clicking on the icons below, you’ll get a discount on your next booking and at the same time, we will also receive a discount of our own.

WHAT A DEAL, NO?