Shore Excursions
Cat Ba Island
A trip to Cat Ba island can done separately or in combination with a visit to Halong Bay. Cat Ba Island is the largest island in the Cat Ba Archipelago that consists of 350 limestone outcrops adjacent to Halong Bay. This is an oasis where you can be gone for one or for several days. If you start from the Halong Bay Wharf, it will take you four hours by boat, with stopovers for swimming, visiting spectacular karst WHAT IS "KARST"? and eating fresh seafood. You can contemplate the beautiful scenery of Halong Bay before reaching the island.
There is an alternative way of getting to Cat Ba Island if you are pressed for time and cannot take in Halong Bay on your tour. You can take an hydrofoil from the Hai Phong Seaport.
With an area of 356 square km, Cat Ba encompasses forested zones, coastal mangroves, freshwater swamps, beaches, caves and waterfalls. In 1986, the Northeast side of the island was designated a National Park and includes a protected marine zone. Cat Ba Island supports a population of over 20,000 inhabitants most of whom live off fishing or farming in and around Cat Ba Town. The town is small and ancient, with clusters of fishing boats. It is an ideal spot to watch inspiring sunsets across the harbor. You can even check out the catch-of-the-day in the early morning as the fishing boats return to port. See cuttlefish dried over hot charcoals, or stroll around the old town. It's a short hike from Cat Ba town through a tunnel to Cat Co Beach where mountains form a throne-like picture holding a marvelous sandy coast. You can even hike further along the beach to reach the rockier Cat Vang Beach.
As transportation in and around the town is not well-developed, the easiest and best way to get to the larger Trung Trang Cave with its many chambers, or to the National Park, or to discover other beaches around the island is by motorbike. A tour guide will be necessary to help you communicate with the local drivers and point out and explain the many beautiful sites.
The National Park is made up of stringy trees, thick undergrowth and slippery vines. In the Park there is also a great view of an old French, now Vietnamese, farming village from the top of the mountain and a wonderful lake in the middle of the Park that takes a half day to reach
Tuan Chau Island
Tuan Chau Island is the only soil island of all. It is not only a place having beautiful natural surroundings: pine trees, lakes, beautiful beach�but also where President Ho Chi Minh chose to be the relax place of other State officials' and his when they came here in 1959.
On the total area of 400 ha, Tuan Chau has the population of 1500. As planned, the total area of Tuan Chau will be widen to 675 ha. It enjoys the advantage of having both road and river transportations. It is about 18 km away from National Highway No.1. This route is an important blood vessel of the robust Hanoi � Hai Phong � Quang Ninh economic triangle. It takes about 3 hours from Mong Cai ( 2 hours by boat) and 1 hour from Hai Phong.
Tuan Chau island's name is the combination between �linh tuan' (the patrolman) and �tri chau' (district chief) because in the feudal time, the royal army set up a guard station here to patrol and defend the borderland. Prior to 1999, the island's residents suffered from a very modest living standard.There was no power network and no clean water. Roads were only trails and there was no mechanical means of transportation. Tuan Chau was a very poor town where fishing with very rudimentary tools is the only means of living.
The first project of great significance was to link Tuan Chau and the National Highway No18 by building a road. The work was officially started on February 28th, 1998. All company staff had to overcome numerous hardships to achieve this difficult task, which translated people's dream into reality.
From a primitive island, Tuan Chau has become well- known to both international and domestic tourists as an attractive destination with:
- a dolphin&seal club
- a circus
- a crocodile club
- an (artificial) beach with 4 km long.
- a Vietnamese culinary area
- a hotel and resort area of 5-star standard (200 rooms)
- a water recreation park with activities such as motor racing, canoeing, parachuting, water skiing, etc.
- Ha Long Bay sight- seeing services by canoe, boat, helicopter.
- a high tech water fountain with music playing, laser lighting and film projecting on water screens.
At present, the Tuan Chau Islandis investing tour build a 36-hole golf course in the west part of the island, a quiet winter zone, a seaside resort area with 300 rooms, an underwater world, a tourist harbor, a supermarket system, a seafood market, an international school, an international hospital, an underwater world. Our strong desire is to make Tuan Chau island become a comprehensive international tourism and recreation complex in the near future.
Your Vietnam Royal Tourism cruise specialist will be happy to help you choose the cruise with the interest shore excursion that best suits you
Please give us a call and our cruise experts will be happy to assist. To book a Halong Bay Cruise, please give us a call today on (+844) 2425892 or email : vietnamroyaltourism@vnn.vn