Located around 20 km off the Northeastern coast of Vietnam, 160 km away from Hanoi, Cat Ba island has recently become a tourist hub thanks to its natural beauty. Cat Ba and other surrounding islets forms the core of Halong bay, creating a magnificent landscape and irresistible charm that help Halong win the title “One of the world’s seven wonders”.
So how to get from Hanoi to Cat Ba? The number of routes may vary, but for tourists, these following three are usually recommended.
How to get from Ha Noi to Cat Ba
Main way of getting from hanoi to Cat Ba Island:
From Hanoi, there are manily 2 way for you to go to Cat Ba island:
-
- Route 1: Hanoi – Haiphong – Got ferry (Cat Hai) – Cai Vieng port – The town of Cat Ba
- Route 2: Hanoi – Tuan Chau Habor (Halong Bay) – Gia Luan Port – Cat Ba Center Town
Route 1: Hanoi – Haiphong – Got ferry (Cat Hai) – Cai Vieng port – The town of Cat Ba
This Route contain 3 small tracks:
- From Hanoi to Got Ferry, which is located in Hai Phong. (about 130 km)
- From the Got Ferry to Cai Vieng port, the West-port of Cat Ba island. (about 3.5 km)
- From Cai Vieng port to your hotel destination in Catba Island. (about 20km)
Track 1: From Hanoi to Got Ferry (Hai Phong)
From Hanoi, you can choose among many means of transportation for going to Hai Phong. If you want to go directly to Got Ferry, you can take a tourist Bus or a private Car for most convinence.
For bus, there are in total 3 trips/day. As our bus is equipped with modern technology including air conditioner and wifi, your trip will be as comfortable as possible. 24/7 support via Whatsapp is also provided in case you would need any assistance. The bus will pick you up at your hotel in Hanoi and directly transport you straight to your hotel in Cat Ba town. Therefore, you don’t need to buy ticket for the ferry and wait for local bus in Cai Vieng. The price is also quite reasonable at $12 for a one-way trip and $21 for a round trip.
Bus to Cat Ba
For private car, it’s almost the same except you can choose which car you would like to use or when to go. Another advantage of private car over other means of transport is that it gives you more privacy which you often have to give up when travel in a bus. Private car is also ideal for a family trip or a group of friends as travelling in a small group often creates a feeling of coziness, which helps strengthen the bond between individuals.
Private car
You also can choose to travel by local bus, which stops at Hai Phong and take a taxi to Got ferry. Similar to travel bus, you can also take the same route using train. Three possible stations are Hanoi, Gia Lam and Long Bien and Ha Noi station is situated in the city center so it will be the most convenient if you hotel is in the Old Quarter. The departure time is fixed so it’s best to book in advance and be on time if you don’t want to miss the train. When get to Hai Phong, you can take a cab to get to the Got station.
| Departs | Arrives | Train No |
|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 08:22 | HP1 (2hr 22min) |
| 15:20 | 18:00 | LP5 (3hr 40min) |
| 18:15 | 21:05 | LP7 (3hr 50min) |
If you’re seeking for a bit of advanture, you could rent a motorbike ride to the Got Ferry. Below are the summarise of all means of transport that could get you from Hanoi the Got Ferry:
| Hanoi to Tuan Chau Habor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Means | Duration | Price | Depature Time |
| Local Bus | 3 hours | 7.5 USD/seat | Check at the bus Station |
| Tourist Limousine Bus | 2 hours | 12 USD/seat | 07:30 AM | 10:30 AM / 14:00 PM |
| Private Car | 2 hours | 75 USD/car | On demand |
| Motorbike | 3.5 hours | 5 – 50 USD | At your preference |
| Train | 3.5 hours | 13 USD/seat | 06:00 AM | 15:20 PM | 18:15 PM |
Track 2: From the Got Ferry to Cai Vieng Port (Cat Ba island)
Once reach the Got Ferry, you will get on a ferry and depart to Cai Vieng port in Cat Ba island Cai Vieng. If you travel by Tourist Bus or Private Car, the ferry fee is included in the ticket price, you just have to seat back and relax. If you travel by local bus or mortorbike, make sure you arrived at the Got Ferry 30 minutes before departure time to get your ticket, which is about $1 for each passenger.
Motobike to Cat Ba
Track 3: From Cai Vieng Port to Cat Ba Center Town
When you arrived at the Cai Vieng Port, you are now on the land of Cat Ba island. For getting to center town of Cat Ba island, you need to take the local bus. The detailed information of the local bus are:
- Bus Intinerary: Cai Vieng Port – Cat Ba Town
- Soonest bus departure at 05:10 AM; Last bus departure at 18:00 PM
- Departure Frequency: every 20 minutes
- Duration: 40 minutes
- Ticket Price: ~1 USD (15,000VND) per ticket
Once you are at the center of Cat Ba town, it would be very easy to get to your hotel for relaxation. If you travel by tourist bus, the bus would drop you of at the lobby of your hotel, so you don’t have to wory about how to get to your hotel.
If you want to travel directly from Hanoi to your hotel in Cat Ba without having to switch your vehicals so often, you could try the Cat Ba Express tourist bus, which depart daily from Hanoi, the information of this bus is shown below:
- Cat Ba Express Bus:
- Price: One-way: USD 12, Round-way: USD 21
- Departure Time:
- From Hanoi: 08:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 14:00 PM.
- From Cat Ba: 09:00 AM, 13:00 PM, 16:00 PM.
- Check Availability: Cat Ba Express Bus
Route 2: Hanoi – Tuan Chau Habor (Halong Bay) – Gia Luan Port – Cat Ba Center Town
This Route contain 3 small tracks:
- From Hanoi to the Tuan Chau Habour, which is located in Halong Bay. (about 170km)
- From the Tuan Chau Habour to Gia Luan port, the North-port of Cat Ba island. (about 9km)
- From Gia Luan port to your hotel destination in Catba Island. (about 18km)
Track 1: From Hanoi to Tuan Chau Habor
Getting from Hanoi to Tuan Chau Habor is basically getting from Hanoi to Halong Bay. Now, there are many transfer option for you to choose. You can choose the local bus from Giap Bat Bus sation (Hanoi City) to Halong Bus Station, however you need to get from Halong Bus Station to Tuan Chau Habor on your own. If you need direct transfer from Hanoi to Tuan Chau Habor, you can take a limousine buses and get , which would take about 2,5 hours of driving time. If you want to travel in small group, private car transfer is a perfect fit. If you seek for advantrorous, you can rent a mortorbike and ride from Hanoi to the Tuan Chau Habor. Also, from the Hanoi airport, you can either get to Tuan Chau by car, or just take a seaplane and fly to the Tuan Chau Habor, which would take you about 45 minutes.
Seaplane in Cat Ba
Note: Please note that on this route, all means of transport would drop you off at the Tuan Chau Habor. From their, you would get to the Cat Ba island by yourself
Check out our blog on How to get from Hanoi to Halong for more detail
| Hanoi to Tuan Chau Habor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Means | Duration | Price | Depature Time |
| Local Bus | 3 hours | 7.5 USD/seat | Check at the bus Station |
| Tourist Limousine Bus | 2.5 hours | 16 USD/seat | 07:30 | 09:00 | 11:00 | 15:00 |
| Private Car | 2 hours | 75 USD/car | On demand |
| Motorbike | 3.5 hours | 5 – 50 USD | On demand |
| Seaplane | 25 mins | 105 USD | 10:45 | 11.30 | 13.30 | 14.30 | 15.30 |
Track 2: From Tuan Chau Habor to Gia Luan Port:
Once reach the Tuan Chau Habor, you will get on the ferry and depart to Gia Luan port in Cat Ba island. There are in total 5 daily ferries from Tuan Chau to Cat Ba and vice versa. The ferry depart according to a fixed schedule, and the tickets often sold out quickly, so it’s important to show up at the Tuan Chau Habor 30 minutes before departure time to get your ticket. The fery tickets is price of $3/pax, if you travel by motorbike, you need to paid extra fee of 4 USD for the vehicle.
Cat Ba island
Departure Time
From 16th Apr to 30th Sep
| Route | Departure Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied in Summer Time (From 16th Apr to 30th Sep) | |||||
| Tuan Chau Habor → Gia Luan Port | 07:30 AM | 09:00 AM | 11:30 PM | 13:30 PM | 15:00 PM |
| Gia Luan Port → Tuan Chau Habor | 09:00 AM | 11:30 PM | 13:30 PM | 15:00 PM | 16:00 PM |
From 1st Oct to 15th Apr
| Route | Departure Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied in Winter Time (From 1st Oct to 15th Apr) | |||||
| Tuan Chau Habor → Gia Luan Port | 07:30 AM | 11:30 PM | 15:00 PM | ||
| Gia Luan Port → Tuan Chau Habor | 09:00 AM | 13:30 PM | 16:00 PM | ||
Track 3: Gia Luan Port – Cat Ba Center Town
Arrived at Gia Luan Port, get off the ferry, you now land on Cat Ba island. From Gia Luan Port, you need to take the local bus to the central town, where most of the island’s facilities are situated. Below are the bus information:
- Bus Intinerary: Gia Luan Port – Cat Ba National Park – Cat Ba Town
- Soonest bus departure at 06:50 AM; Last bus departure at 16:50 PM
- Departure Frequency: every 20 minutes
- Duration: 40 minutes
- Ticket Price: ~2 USD (30,000VND) per ticket
Conclusion
To sum up, there are two way for you to travel from Hanoi to Cat Ba. If you start from Hanoi, going to Cat Ba through the Got Ferry is more convinence. If you have stayed at Halong for a few days and want to get to Cat Ba, take the ferry at the Tuan Chau Habor and get to Gia Luan Port is the most adequate way.
Hopefully you have found the right means of transportation for your trip to Cat Ba. For more Cat Ba information, please check:
>>Top recommended Home-stay in Sapa
>>How to rent a mortorbike in Sapa
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