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Fisherman's hut Lan Ha Bay Vietnam

Lan Ha Bay Vietnam rival for Halong Bay

January 28, 2017 By Jan Robinson 14 Comments

This post may contain compensated links. We may earn a small percentage if you book through a compensated link, but it won’t cost you any more by doing so. You can read our full disclaimer here.


Cat Ba Island is a stepping off point to beautiful Lan Ha Bay Vietnam. Karst islands litter Lan Ha Bay, like stepping stones in a giant playground meant for outdoor pursuits like climbing and kayaking.

The quieter, more pristine waters of Lan Ha Bay Vietnam, rival and many say surpass, those of the descending dragon or Halong Bay, on it’s northern border.

You can read about Lan Ha Bay Tours here.

[pinit]

Lan Ha Bay Vietnam rival for Halong Bay

What You Will Find in This Post

  • Where is Lan Ha Bay?
  • How to get from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island
  • Lan Ha Bay Vietnam Photos and Cat Ba Island Photos
    • More from my site

Where is Lan Ha Bay?

This map below shows the border line between Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay. Halong Bay is accessed from the town of the same name, whilst Lan Ha Bay is accessed from Haiphong.

Whereas mini buses with limited luggage capacity ply the Hanoi to Halong stretch (with enforced stops at tourist shops en-route) as part of a Lan Ha bay boat trip, a full-sized air-conditioned Hoang Long bus makes the Hanoi to Haiphong trip.

Being a regular inter city bus-service, there are no tourist stops. If you want to know more about the whole trip Hanoi to Cat Ba town, I’ve already done the homework for you.

How to get from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island

We did so ourselves in 2011 and it worked exactly how the Asia Outdoors site said it would. Asia Outdoors has changed name to Langur Adventures. Scroll down on the link until you reach the Transportation section. When we did this route it was fairly new to budget travellers but it has been operating consistently since then so is definitely well established way of getting to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi.

You can read the account of our experience in my most popular blog post here.

With such an interest in Lan Ha By, it’s time to share some of our previously unpublished photos.

Lan Ha Bay Vietnam Photos and Cat Ba Island Photos

You can see in the above map that Lan Ha bay has more islands than Halong. Two of the passengers on our climbing and kayaking boat were dropped off at the Sandy Beach Resort on Nam Cat Island, on our return trip to Cat Ba Island for what they hoped would be a romantic island rendezvous.

Sandy Beach Resort, Nam Cat Island Vietnam.

Lan Ha Bay Resort Vietnam

Fishing villages in Lan Ha Bay Vietnam.

Lan Ha Bay Fishing Village Vietnam

Unfortunately we were not allowed access to the houses, which was a little disappointing, but we could kayak up close.

Lan Ha Bay Fishing Village Vietnam

Mussel colony corgi guard dog?

Lan Ha Bay Guard Dog Vietnam

We dropped anchor off a karst island with a small shrine for our second kayaking opportunity. Ours was one of three kayaks that ventured over for a look. Entry is permitted.

Lan Ha Bay Island Shrine Vietnam

We paddled through the opening into a circular rock enclosure which was open to the sky.

Lan Ha Bay Rock Opening, Vietnam

Lan Ha Bay Mussels are grown in containers of sand

The mussels grow in sand in the submerged pots.

Lan Ha Bay Mussels Vietnam

The hazy photos were taken in the morning, but the air cleared as the day progressed and was beautifully clear after lunch.

Lan Ha Bay Fishing Village, Vietnam

Lan Ha Boat Washing on the line

I’m a big squid eater and ordered a plate of stir fried squid and vegetables at a waterfront restaurant on Cat Ba Island. It was THE best squid I’ve eaten – fresh, small, tender, juicy, tasty – tossed in the fiery wok and on my plate within minutes. I will not forget you Cat Ba Island Squid.

Squid Fishing boats with glass lights, Lan Ha Bay.

Squid fishing Boats Lan Ha Bay Vietnam

Another hazy morning shot. Rock islands as far as the eye can see.

Mist Labers Lan Ha Bay Vietnam

Tarring the outside of a traditional Vietnamese fishing boat.

Tarring Traditional Fishing Boats Lan ha Bay

In April the water was too cold for us to swim, but we did enjoy the walk and some others braved the water for us.

Swimming from Cat Ba island in Lan Ha Bay.

Swimming at Cat Ba island in Lan Ha Bay Vietnam

There are rental scooters available to ride around the island, and explore caves and those same karst hills on land. Cat Ba Island National Park has trekking tours and other activities. If you follow the links above to the Asia Outdoor site you can see what is available.

Cat Ba Island Agriculture

Cat Ba Island Road

Cat Ba National Park

Seafood Tank in Cat Ba Restaurant. I’d not seen crabs like this before.

Cat Ba Seafood Restaurant Tanks, Vietnam

Walk around the both sides of the harbour before sunset and you will find Bia Hoi sold by the jug harbour-side.

Cat Ba Town on Cat Ba Island

On shore more fishing boats await their turn to be tarred.

Cat Ba Boats awaiting Tarring

Our hotel overlooked the jetty right in the middle of Cat Ba town.

Cat Ba Island Jetty Vietnam

Sunset over Cat Ba Town Vietnam.

Cat Ba Island Sunset, Vietnam

 

 

Thanks for reading and commenting – we really appreciate it. If you have a blog we would love you to add your travel post to the link below for Nancie’s Travel Photo Thursday which we co-host with Ruth from Tanama Tales and Rachel from Rachel’s Ruminations. 

An InLinkz Link-up


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Filed Under: Itineraries, Journey, Vietnam

About Jan Robinson

Jan Robinson writes about travel on her Budget Travel Talk blog. A solo traveller in her teens, for the last 40 years Jan has travelled through Australia, Asia, Europe, Turkey and New Zealand with her husband. They specialise in road trips, caravanning and Independent travel without spending a fortune. Her favourite destination is Turkey and she is currently dreaming of Myanmar and Mexico.

Previous Post: «Sugar Cane Seller Bac Ha Vietnam What to see and do in Vietnam Itinerary and Destination Guide
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathy Marris

    February 3, 2017 at 7:34 am

    I actually think this place looks better than Ha Long Bay. We found Ha Long Bay to be way to congested with boats and a lot of rubbish and pollution in the waters. Although we still enjoyed our cruise. We are going to Vietnam again towards the end of this year so we might have to check this place out.

    Reply
    • Jan

      February 3, 2017 at 9:41 am

      I’m glad you like the look of it Kathy. We visited in 2011 but I hope it hasn’t changed much and that Halong still gets most of the traffic. We loved our low key day trip into Lan Ha.

      Reply
  2. Pinky Poinker

    February 3, 2017 at 8:01 am

    What a gorgeous part of the world. Now that is one place I really want to visit. I’m a big squid eater too.

    Reply
  3. Toni | 2 Aussie Travellers

    February 3, 2017 at 9:26 am

    It really is such a stunning location. That it’s a little less busy and you can explore up close by kayak are big attractions for me.

    Reply
  4. Ruth

    February 3, 2017 at 2:01 pm

    Jan, your photos are breathtaking! I have never hear of this bay. Do you think tourist are taken here and told they are in Ha Long Bay? I have heard about the many pollution problems in Ha Long Bay. However, this area looks very pristine. I like it a lot. #TPThursday

    Reply
    • Jan

      February 5, 2017 at 10:04 am

      Hi Ruth, Some three day Halong Bay boat trips do venture into Lan Ha Bay and visit Cat Ba Island. This is listed on their itinerary. Lan Ha was fairly pristine when we were there in 2011.

      Reply
  5. Sharon Wagner

    February 4, 2017 at 1:05 am

    This is a bucket list place for me. Great post ending with a perfect sunset. The world is so beautiful. I can’t wait to explore this area someday.

    Reply
  6. Janet Camilleri aka Middle Aged Mama

    February 7, 2017 at 11:34 am

    I must confess Vietnam has never been on my list of must visit places – but if somebody were to send me on an all expenses paid trip I wouldn’t say no, especially after seeing your stunning photos!

    Reply
    • Jan

      February 7, 2017 at 1:29 pm

      Ha ha Janet, I feel like that about most places. Pay for me to go and I’ll be there in a flash.

      Reply
  7. Sophie

    February 8, 2017 at 3:25 am

    Love the emerald green water. Looks like a magical area. Don’t even know why I haven’t been yet…

    Reply
  8. Nancie

    February 9, 2017 at 1:35 pm

    I wish i had known about Lan Ha Bay. I went to Halong and it was nice, but too touristy. That was back in 2007, so I can imagine how overrun it is now. You photos are beautiful. Next time I’m in Vietnam it will be Lan Ha Bay for me. Thanks for co-hosting. #TPThursday

    Reply
    • Jan

      February 9, 2017 at 9:38 pm

      I hope it is still great when you visit Nancie. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Mary {The World Is A Book}

    February 13, 2017 at 4:23 pm

    Each time you post about Vietnam, it just increases my wanderlust and desire to visit this country. This is such a beautiful area. I haven’t heard of Lan Ha Bay before and wow, it’s just stunning.What a great place to kayak.

    Reply
    • Jan

      February 15, 2017 at 11:23 am

      Lan Ha was a good experience for us – we thought it would be better than Halong Bay and weren’t sorry with our choice.

      Reply

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