we chose Cat Ba over Halong Bay and here's why 🏝

after this recent trip to Hanoi and embarking on a 3D2N cruise trip, I definitely would 100% recommend Cat Ba Island over Halong Bay!!!!

Halong Bay is a super popular tourist spot, with many cruises and junk boats stationed on the waters. On the other hand, Cat Ba Island is a quieter area where you can enjoy beautiful sceneries and activities like snorkelling because the water is just so much cleaner!

we engaged the cruise services from a local operator — Cat Ba Ventures , and we got the whole boat to ourselves (we travelled with family as a group of 9)! Throughout the 3D2N trip, we had 3 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts on board, and everything was SUPER delicious, so so so much better than we had expected, even from looking at Google review photos!!!

as we wanted to kayak around the lagoons and also do some swimming and snorkelling, the operator suggested that we do a trip to Cat Ba island instead of Halong Bay, as the waters and areas near Halong Bay were much more congested, and the experience will just not be as enjoyable!

and just as they said, even as we took a short 2hr trip to the centre of Halong Bay from Cat Ba Island, we could instantly tell the difference in the environment...

why 3D2N? we felt that in order to get a full experience and to explore different parts of the area, spending more time there would definitely make sense. here's a short summary of our itinerary:

Day 1:

- Arrive at Cat Ba Island around 1pm & board the cruise

- Have lunch onboard

- Visit Lan Ha Bay and kayak through caves and lagoons (caves and lagoons are only accessible via kayaking)

- Keep cruising around the bay and enjoy the sunset

- Anchor for the night near Cat Ba Island (opposite temple beach)

- Have dinner onboard

- Squid fishing!

Day 2:

- Breakfast at 7:30am

- Visit Bai Tu Long Bay & kayak (Bat caves and monkey caves, see some protected Cat Ba Langurs!)

- Have lunch on board

- Cruise to centre of Halong Bay & kayak

- Cruise back to Cat Ba Island and go beach hopping!

- Swimming and snorkelling at the beaches

- Enjoy sunset and dinner on board

- More squid fishing (only the captain managed to catch on squid, we were told it's low season now 😅)

Day 3:

- Breakfast at 7am

- Visit fishing village (they have HUGE fishes, protected by the government, one weighs up to 100kg)

- Visit Viet Hai Village (fish spa and taking a buggy through the jungle areas)

- Lunch on board

- Cruise back to Cat Ba Island and disembark

- arrive back in Hanoi at 4pm

We visited Cat Ba island a few weeks after Typhoon Yagi hit, so we could also see how the typhoon affected the villagers living on the waters, and how they've been working to rebuild their homes.

super enjoyable trip because just look at our views from our bedroom windows... 😮‍💨🤌🏻 100000% recommend going to Cat Ba island the next time you go to Hanoi!

#travel #recommendations #Vietnam #hanoi #travelrecommendation