Vietnam: National Park and Cat Ba Island. Cat Ba Island: holiday with views of Ha Long and the endless green hills of Cat Ba - holidays with children

Today I will dedicate my article to the amazing and unique Cat Ba Island in Vietnam

Cat Ba Island is located in Vietnam in Halong Bay.

Ha Long is a unique place where more than two thousand islands are located in a small area. According to legend, a dragon lived here; when the dragon descended into the sea, it left deep ditches with its paws and claws. Then the ditches were filled with water and a bay with a thousand islands was formed, which they called it - the place where the dragon descends into the sea, i.e. Ha Long. Cat Ba is the largest island in the bay, and at the same time the most visited.

Most of the island is a national park, so from an environmental point of view this is perhaps the best place in all of Vietnam. As soon as you go down to the shore, you will immediately feel the warm and humid tropical air of the island, which is significantly different from the mainland.

How to get to Cat Ba Island

I know of three ways to get to the island. You need to choose a method that is convenient for you based on the characteristics of your movement. If you want to get to the island faster, order a direct transfer; if you want to walk around Hai Phong, choose a bus + rocket; if you are riding a motorcycle, take a cargo ferry.

Direct transfer

The preferred option for tourists without transport is to buy a transfer from Hanoi. The transfer includes a bus to the ferry, an individual ferry for your group, a transfer to the city center. In general, I sat down, drove off and got off at Cat Ba. Minimum waiting time, everything is fast. (total time 3-4 hours from Hanoi). You can buy a transfer at any hotel, you can probably save 60 rubles if you buy at the box office, but is it worth it? In addition, this is the best option for traveling with children.

If you decide to go on your own, then go to the Ben xe Luong Yen bus station, where you buy tickets at the ticket office for 220,000 dong and take the bus. Buses depart at 7:20 and 11:20, someone writes that there is another flight at 5:20 - but I didn’t see it on the schedule.

Bus + Rocket

An option for exotic lovers is to get to Cat Ba Island by Rocket (a high-speed hydrofoil). The process is as follows - bus to Hai Phong, go to the pier, board the rocket, arrive at the central pier of Cat Ba. The price is comparable to option 1. But you need to go to the pier yourself, find out the schedule, etc. From Exotica - ride across the sea on a rocket.

From Hanoi to Hai Phong you can get from 4 bus stations, namely My Dinh (MY DINH), Gia Lam (GIA LAM), Giap Bat (GIAP BAT) and Luong Yen (LUONG YEN) buses run every 20-40 minutes.

The fact is that the city itself is not on the beach; the city embankment runs along the fishing pier and it is impossible to swim there. But if you walk 500 meters to the side, you find yourself in the wonderful, hospitable bay of the Catba Sunrise Resort. Entrance to the beach is free, you will have to pay for a sunbed. If you turn a little earlier to the left you can get to the next Cat Ba beach, and even further there is another beach. It’s difficult to get lost there; everything can be seen on Google maps.

From the beach at Catba Sunrise Hotel, you can walk along the sea along a walking path (a must). There will be wonderful views of the bays, sea and islands. During high season, electric cars go to the beaches.

A little life hack. Go to the Catba Sunrise Resort website, write a letter to the manager with a link to this site, and if you stay on the island for a few days, they will agree on very good booking conditions for you. Of course the price will be more expensive than in a hotel on the outskirts, but it's worth it.

National Park

Most of the island is a national park, and I think you should definitely go there. There is one peculiarity: the national park is not a park for walking in the evening, it is a virgin jungle with narrow paths and signs. Since the terrain is mountainous, the paths often turn into steps carved right into the mountain; steep ascents and descents will constantly accompany you.

There are several routes through the national park - the most equipped and inhabited, and also the shortest, the route to the top in the center of the island. The rest of the routes will require endurance and perseverance from you, but believe me, there are few places else where you will see such beauty: razor-sharp rocks, freshwater crabs and mangrove forests.

Entrance to the park is inexpensive 20-30 dong, i.e. It’s not the kind of money you need to be upset about, I’m posting the card, it’s better to have it on your phone. Well, most importantly, the rules say - take 3 liters of water per person with you, I recommend not to neglect this rule. For a short route, 3 may be a lot, but 1.5 liters is the minimum. When you go, you will understand why.

If you go to the central park, then before entering the route there is a last tray with water, chocolates, nuts, etc. There lives a Vietnamese who speaks Russian. Yes, yes... exactly in Russian. He won’t immediately understand that you are speaking to him in Russian; they don’t often have such guests. But when he figures it out, he’ll communicate well and give you some advice. Say hello to him!

You can get to the national park by motorbike; there is parking near the park, or order a taxi. Paying 400,000 VND per person for a shuttle to the park is just crazy.

Caves

There are several caves on Cat Ba, some of the caves can be reached without prior preparation. Others can only be accessed if accompanied by a speleologist. One of the largest caves is located on the road to the national park (on the left there will be a guard booth and a forged gate). I recommend visiting it when you return from the national park. If you are a professional speleologist, then I am not the one who can help you...

Fishing

Cat Ba has many places for excellent fishing, from fishing with a rod from the shore to going out into the open sea. The simplest thing is to take a fishing line, a hook and a weight and move towards the beach, before reaching the beach you go down from the pier, get closer to the rocks and start fishing. The best time was after the storm; nowhere has it ever been as hot as on Cat Ba.

Do you want something exotic? Without any problems, you go to the fishing pier and agree that experienced comrades will take you fishing with them.

Option three - a boat trip combined with fishing. Go to the Central Pier, hire a boat with a diesel engine and off you go.

Old military hospital

Cat Ba is home to an old military hospital from the Vietnam War. It is easy to get to it by motorbike. Walk through caves and dungeons, go to the observation deck, stand next to the gun. Overall, it’s worth spending an hour on this place.

Drive along the roads of the island

In addition, I recommend just driving along the roads of the island, stopping by a pearl farm, seeing how they plow with oxen, how they grow rice and how they live in remote villages. There is practically no traffic on Cat Ba outside the city; it is better to refuel at gas stations - it is much cheaper. I recommend doing this - take a motorbike, fill it with 1-2 liters and go for a ride. As a rule, no documents are required to rent a motorbike.

Conclusion

If you are in Vietnam, be sure to visit Cat Ba Island. I visited this beautiful island several times, the first time with my one-year-old daughter. There is nothing wrong with traveling on your own, just grab your tickets and go.

All questions can be asked in the comments, I will answer quickly enough.

Cat Ba is the largest island in. Most of it is often occupied by mountains and jungles; a rather small area is allocated for the life of people and tourists (compared to the scale of the island). Almost half of Cat Ba Island has been a national park since 1986.

There are many cafes on the island with cheap (compared to Hanoi) seafood. There are shops and massage parlors.

Evening streets of Cat Ba

And a very beautiful embankment, it reminded us of the embankment in Nha Trang:

Floating restaurants

And on Cat Ba Island you have a unique opportunity to stay in a hotel overlooking the picturesque Ha Long Bay. Waking up with a view like this is the key to a successful day!

Hotels overlooking Ha Long Bay

Other hotels on Cat Ba with good discounts from Booking:

Since we came to Cat Ba as part of a two-day excursion from Hanoi, we did not have to choose a hotel. But nevertheless, the hotel was quite decent, although not on the first line, without a panoramic view of Ha Long:

In any case, such a room is better than a cabin on a ship))

View from the window: houses are surrounded by rocks

And from our window you can see the sea, but a little

Cat Ba National Park is the main attraction on the island. Apart from her, there is little interesting on the island. Perhaps a Vietnamese army bunker carved right into the rock. We didn’t visit it, we just learned about its existence from the Internet. This bunker was used during the Vietnam-American War in the 60s and 70s. They say that inside there is a whole city with its own command center, hospital, cinema, swimming pool and even a wedding hall!

Since we bought an excursion to Halong with an overnight stay on the island, our program also included a visit to the National Park.

Entrance to Cat Ba National Park

Cat Ba National Park

According to official information, there are about 740 species of plants and 280 species of various animals and birds in the Cat Ba Nature Reserve. We didn’t notice much (they were probably hiding), but we saw some cute deer:

And monkeys, for some reason, in cages. Why, if there is a jungle around?

At the entrance to the park we met with a tour of schoolchildren. As usual, we couldn’t do without photos

It's time to charge a dollar for a photo)

Useful information about the national park for tourists

Immediately behind this cafe the climb up the mountain begins:

There is also a guide to the reserve here:

Not far from the start of the climb, future jungle bungalows were discovered. The basis of all construction for the Vietnamese is the door. And this case is no exception.

The highest part of the island is Ngu Lam Peak, which is the goal of visiting the national park. Up, up and up: the motto of our walk!

Our 40-minute efforts were crowned with success, such views are worth climbing through the jungle! Endless green hills, a sea of ​​green hills!

There is an observation deck at the top:

We were photographed by a Cambodian man whom we met on an excursion. He turned out to be Denis’s “colleague” - an international journalist. In the 1980s, he visited St. Petersburg, and during the recession in Cambodia, he contributed to the restoration of the press and journalism in general in Kampuchea, working closely with Vietnamese publishing houses and printing houses.

From the observation deck there is a path going even higher, which we, of course, followed.

It was not easy going up and down this path

And they turned out to be even higher!

That same observation deck is now below us

Entrance fee to the national park - 40,000 dong ($1.8). If you come here as part of a Halong tour, admission will be included in the price.

Cat Ba National Park on the map:

How to get to Cat Ba on your own

The easiest way to get to Cat Ba from Hanoi is to buy a combined bus+ferry ticket. You can buy such a ticket at bus stations from where buses depart to different cities in Vietnam (there are many such bus stations). A comprehensive ticket will cost about 200,000 dong.

You can also order such a ticket directly at your hotel. It will cost a little more (approx. 320,000 dong), but you will be picked up directly from your hotel and will not have to go to the bus station on your own, and you will also be met by a bus at the Cat Ba pier and taken to the center of the island.

You will probably spend one day and one night on this island.

Cat Ba Island is famous primarily for the fact that you can book a tour to Halong Bay from it. There's not much else to do on the island. Although, if you look, you can find interesting places, for example, Cat Ba National Park. On January 1, 2015, our new friends Anya and Zhenya and I set off to conquer the summit of Ngu Lam Peak.

Cat Ba National Park occupies most of the island, is protected by UNESCO and in general, the Internet writes that more than 740 species of plants grow there, about 280 species of animals, reptiles and birds live there. The Internet can't lie, but you still have to see it with your own eyes :)

From the center of the only city on the island, which, by the way, is also called Cat Ba, it’s a 10-15 minute bike ride to the National Park. You can rent a bike on every corner for $3 - 4 per day. No documents or deposit are required.

It is impossible to miss the main entrance to the park, because there is only 1 road leading to it. But just in case, we marked the location of the main entrance (where tickets are sold on the map).

Click on the Menu icon in the upper left corner.

Ticket prices depend on which tour you choose:

1. Entrance costs 40,000 dong, you can walk around the park as much as you like.
2. You can order a tour with a guide: kayaking, a walk along the far sides of the park, which cannot be reached on foot, and various other activities. In January 2015, these services were not provided, most likely due to the fact that it was low season and there were few people willing. However, street travel agencies offer walks around the Cat Ba Island National Park, most likely because it is easier for them to gather a group of people. So contact any street agency if you are here in winter.

The entrance area, as well as the asphalt road that runs for about 1 km, look dilapidated and unkempt. The leaves are not swept, the benches are broken, and somehow they don’t really care about Cat Ba National Park.

A long, seemingly endless staircase to the top began.

While we are climbing the stairs, I will tell you what this National Park of Vietnam has. And there are evergreen tropical forests (tropics in common parlance), mangroves, rivers, freshwater lakes and coral reefs.

The stairs ended, the stones began.

While we puff and jump from rock to rock with the agility of a saiga, I will continue: the National Park is home to deer, squirrels, golden-headed langurs (these are monkeys that are officially endangered), wild boars, porcupines, hawks, hornbills, cuckoos and many more species of different birds and animals. Did we meet anyone along the way? We met, but more on that later.

After about 40 minutes we reached the top of Ngu Lam Peak, as the sign informed us about.

These are the views that opened up to our eyes:

It was breathtaking! I wanted to stand and watch it in complete silence.

But silence was impossible, because there was construction going on at the top - they were making an observation deck, and the builders were very active in communicating with everyone.

Numerous hills, the average height of which is 50-200 m, are covered with dense evergreen tropical forests, it seemed that they had no end or edge.

It's funny that we knew by sight almost everyone who climbed to the top; we went on a boat with them along Halong Bay

Having seen a new sign, we followed it, again climbing the stairs and stones.

Looking back, we saw the first observation deck. Now we were already above her!

After 5 minutes we found ourselves at another observation deck. It was not ennobled in any way, just stones.

I wanted to sing with delight!

After admiring the endless expanses of Cat Ba National Park, we headed in the opposite direction. Already at the exit from the park behind the gate we saw deer. One of them stood right on the road, the rest were grazing nearby. We opened the gate of the fence to get closer, but the guard forbade us, closing the gate with a padlock. Well, okay, but we saw deer, not in a zoo, but in the open air! The deer didn’t pay any attention to us at all; they apparently got used to people. The males grazed separately (they are a little visible in the photo on the right), and the females sunbathed imposingly in the sun away from the others.

The trip to the National Park made an impression on us.

What conclusions have we drawn?

• We should have taken water with us. I was terribly thirsty.
• The climb itself was not difficult. We spent 50 minutes on it, considering that I, with my leg injury, generally crawled like a turtle and slowed everyone down. I think that even children from 10 years old can cope with this tracking.
• Just walking for a couple of hours is impossible to see all the species of animals and birds that live there. Most likely, you need to take a longer tour with a guide who knows the places.
• On January 1, 2015 it was warm: +22, and in the jungle it felt like +25; on the mountain, when the wind was blowing on you, it was cool, so we did not regret taking sweaters with us.
• A walk to the National Park is not as boring as it might seem at first glance. Firstly, this is a sport, and secondly, in the tropics, in principle, it cannot be boring: someone is constantly moving and rustling in the bushes. I constantly expected a giant monitor lizard to crawl out of there, but only small lizards crawled out, which, you see, is also pretty cool :)