Disclaimer
The information in this blog is accurate as of November 2019.
CONTENTS
- 🤔 – What to Expect
- 🌅 – Activities
- 🍛 – Food
- 🚇 – Transport
- 🛌 – Accomodation
🤔 What to Expect
- Bai Chay – 1-2 Nights.
- Cat Ba – 2 Nights.
- Personally, we felt Bai Chay should have been skipped.
- Views of the bay are gorgeous!
- Built for tourism.
- Beach is lovely and seems to be under a little construction at the moment.
- Lots of all you can eat and seafood restaurants but not many cheap eats.
- Cat Ba had a larger “party” scene and seemed busier.
🌅 Activities
Bai Chay
Sun World
- Different attractions in a huge complex including cable car, theme park and water park.
- Each attraction had a different price tag. All prices below are for one adult ticket.
We also believe the prices are subject to change according to the season. They also have combination tickets providing entry to multiple attractions at certain times in the year and family tickets.
Dragons Theme Park
- 50,000 VND each (£1.80).
- Open between 1pm & 6pm.
- Great for kids until approx age 13/14.
- Few larger rides but plenty for the younger ones.
Queen Cable Car & Inclusive Attractions.
- 350,000 VND (£11.80)
- Runs between 2pm & 10pm weekdays and 10am & 10pm at weekends. However check as on the day we went it didn’t open until 5pm (at this point it was crazy).
- Tickets provide access to Ferris Wheel, Samurai Slide, Zen Garden and Kiddoland. There is also a water puppet show (free) every hour.
- There are some other attractions which come at an extra fee and also restaurants/ fast food vendors.
Ha Long Bay Cruise
- Half day, Full day and overnight trips available from tour operators and hotels.
- We booked via the hotel with Hà Bình Cruises. Full day for 750,000 dong per person (approx £25).
- Seen half day for 500,000 dong and overnight (1 or 2 nights) starting from £170+.
- Trip includes visiting Fighting Cock island, … Cave, Monkey Island via kayak or bamboo boat, lunch and beach stop. Oh and how could I forget, the welcome drink…
- Sail past multiple stunning views across the UNESCO World Heritage site.
- … Islands. None of which are inhabited by humans only monkeys, birds and bugs.
- No plastic permitted in Ha Long Bay. If you are found with such items you will be fined.
- We certainly didn’t expect the lunch we got – a seafood lover’s dream. Fresh Prawns, Clams, Squid and Sea Bass along with some chicken, staple rice and veg. Drinks were extra (obviously).
Cat Ba
Cat Ba National Park
- 80,000 VND entrance fee.
- Can hire a guide or book trips with your providers however it’s also easy enough to do independently.
- Easy Trek (around 2 hours in total up and down) and Harder trek (4-5 hours, also visiting Hait Village).
- Advise wearing suitable hiking boots/ trainers and taking water.
- Even on the easy trek it sometimes requires you to climb rather than walk.
- Map at the bottom and arrows at points throughout the trek (some signs only in Vietnamese). Also, the map is a little confusing at the start but it all takes you to the same place. We went left round the back of a restaurant.
- We were under the impression there was a zoo, specimen museum and rescue centre however we only saw the specimen museum near the entrance. What we think was once the zoo and rescue centre seem to have gone to rack and ruin. The only thing left is a few deer in a field.
- Ruins of only 40 year old buildings. Shows what happens when it’s not looked after. Not sure where the 80,000 VND entrance fee is going…
- Multitudes of wild life inhabit the national park including native langur monkeys, lizards, birds, spiders and… However we only saw butterflies, a chipmunk and a couple of lizards. ☹️
Canon Fort
- Currently under construction and the sign indicates it doesn’t know when it’ll reopen.
- We walked up a overgrow set of steps further back down the hill towards the satellite tower. After a little climb we could see beautiful views across the bay.
- Some people climbed the satellite tower – we weren’t so adventurous. Not sure if you’re allowed or its safe – I doubt either.
🍛 Food
Linh Dan Restaurant
- Felt like a large function room.
- Food cheap to mid range prices.
- Stir Fried Noodles with Beef was tasty.
- Sweet’n’Sour Ribs a little chewy.
- Spring Rolls were okay – Standard.
- Owners nice.
Bamboo Garden Cafe
- Cheap food but not all that great.
- 58,000 dong for chicken sandwich and 89,000 dong for seabass in a spicy sauce.
- We found a hair in the fries, they took it away and never came back with more fries. We mentioned this on getting our bill, as we were still charged full price, they then discounted 20,000 dong.
- Nice setting with views overlooking part of the bay.
Vinace Italian Restaurant
- Good Vietnamese style Italian food with lovely staff.
- Prices are a little more expensive but the portions are decent.
- Foid was tasty but pasta dish not like a western version.
- Pizza was large and the base was good.
🚇 Transport
Bai Chay – Local Transport
- Local buses running from Bai Chay station to Bai Chay town. Prices differ depending on journey, expect to pay between 5,000 and 15,000 dong.
- Grab is available.
- Local Taxis available and love pipping you. We expect they are more expensive but do have meters.
Ferry to Cat Ba Island
- 80,000 VND each for one way. (£2.80)
- Terminal called Tuan Chau.
- Ferry takes 45-50 minutes.
- Arrive at Gia Luan Harbour (Top of Cat Ba Island)
- A local bus waits at Gia Luan Harbour to take passengers to Cat Ba Town – 30,000 VND (£1.10) each for one way.
- Otherwise there are taxis.
- Journey from harbour to Cat Ba Town is roughly 30 minutes.
🛌 Accommodation
Travellers Comfort Hotel (Bai Chay)
- £6.70 for 1 night bed and breakfast in deluxe double room with private bathroom.
- Lovely room with view of the street.
- Clean, tidy and plainly decorated (a nice change from the usual mux of multiple colours).
- Amenities provided: refridgerator, towels, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel and toilet roll.
- All breakfast options are rather greasy and drinks are luke warm.
- Staff are friendly.
- Other services at an additional fee: laundry 40k/kilo, scooter rental and trips.
Green Mountain Hostel (Cat Ba Island)
- 174,000 VND (£5.80) deluxe double room with breakfast included.
- Private bathroom, air con, fan, towels and other amenities provided.
- Breakfast 7-9am (usual multitude of eggs, pancakes and noodles) and tea/ coffee served 7am-5pm every day.
- No air to circulate which meant our towels didn’t dry.
Travel to the Point 