Lan Ha Bay Full-Day Boat Trip with Kayaking from Cat Ba

Lan Ha Bay, off Cat Ba Island

Lan Ha Bay is the sheltered sea along the eastern shore of Cat Ba Island, in Hai Phong, just south of Ha Long Bay. Its limestone towers, some shaped like chopsticks or seals, rise from clear green water dotted with small white beaches and fish farms. In 2023 UNESCO extended the Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site to include the Cat Ba archipelago, so Lan Ha now shares that status.

Is Lan Ha Bay worth visiting from Cat Ba? It is the reason most people come to the island: the bay starts minutes from town and stays far calmer than Ha Long. On this Lan Ha Bay day trip from Cat Ba the boat spends the whole day among the islands, with time to kayak, swim and simply watch the scenery change.

Cai Beo floating fishing village

Just outside Ben Beo Pier, the boat glides past Cai Beo, a floating village of wooden and painted houses tied to rafts, with fish and shellfish farms between them. Archaeologists have found traces of people living around Cai Beo thousands of years ago, which makes it one of the oldest settlements in the region, and families still raise fish here today.

Your guide explains how life on the water works: children rowing small boats to school, dogs guarding the rafts, and the daily rhythm of feeding and harvesting. The village is especially photogenic in the morning light as the boat heads out, and you pass it again on the way back in the afternoon. Please keep voices low and avoid photographing people without a smile and a nod first.

Kayaking through a protected lagoon

Around mid-morning the boat anchors near one of Lan Ha Bay's most beautiful lagoons, a designated conservation area that can only be entered by kayak at the right tide. You paddle under a rock arch into a circle of cliffs where the water turns still and clear, with birds overhead and sometimes monkeys on the rocks.

Kayaks take two people, and the guide leads the way and chooses the exact lagoon according to the tide. No experience is needed; life jackets are provided and the pace is easy. Plan on about an hour on the water. This is the moment most guests remember, because the lagoons are quiet even in high season and feel far from any town.

Ong Cam Islet and Ba Trai Dao Beach

At midday the boat anchors at Ong Cam Islet and the crew serves a freshly prepared Vietnamese lunch on board, with vegetarian dishes on request, while you look out over the rock formations. The kitchen is not halal-certified, but seafood and vegetables dominate the menu and no-pork dishes can usually be arranged.

In the early afternoon the boat continues to Ba Trai Dao, known as the Three Peaches area, with small beaches, arches and a little temple on the shore. Here you swim from the sand or jump straight from the boat into clear water. The best time to visit Lan Ha Bay for swimming is May to October, when the sea is warm; in cooler months the stop is perfect for photos and a short walk on the beach.

Cat Ba Town and Ben Beo Pier

Cat Ba Town is the small harbour town on the south of Cat Ba Island and the natural base for Lan Ha Bay. How to get to Cat Ba from Hanoi: about three to three and a half hours by road via Hai Phong with a short sea crossing, or from Ha Long by ferry from Tuan Chau to Gia Luan on the north of the island.

We pick you up at your hotel in Cat Ba Town at 08:30 and drive about ten minutes to Ben Beo Pier, where the guide hands out the bay route tickets. If you are coming straight from Hanoi, other options start with a 05:30 pickup in Hanoi Old Quarter and either bring you back the same evening or leave you in Cat Ba. You are back at the harbour around 16:15 and at your hotel shortly after.