Cat Ba Island (Vietnam) is the largest of the 366 islands of the eponymous archipelago, which is located in the famous Ha Long Bay in southeast Asia. The island is inhabited by approximately 30,000 people. About half of its territory, in order to protect the various ecosystems located here, was declared a national park back in 1986. These are humid subtropical forests that cover the slopes of mountains and hills, and coastal mangroves, and deserted beaches, and small swampy areas with freshwater lakes at the foot of the mountains, and, of course, coral reefs.
This article will describe Cat Ba Island, one of the most promising centers for tourism development in this region. In addition to the national park, tourists are expected here: three beautiful equipped beaches, fashionable hotels, interesting sights, as well as impressive landscape panoramas. From the mainland to the island can be reached using a permanent ferry service.
How to get to the island
Before every traveler who decides to visit Cat Bu (Vietnam), the first question is how to get there. Most tourists prefer the fastest and most convenient mode of transport - the plane. Since there is not a single airport on the island itself, there is no way to get here by air. After you have arrived at the international airport located in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, you can use the services of domestic airlines to get to the city of Haiphong, the nearest to the island.
You can also get from the capital to Haiphong by rail, but this, according to numerous tourists, is not the best option, since trains make only a few trips a day there. To get there faster, it is better to use the bus service, which is well established here and costs less. From Haiphong to Cat Ba Island (Vietnam) you can already easily get by boat or ferry.
Best time to relax
You can come to the island and spend your vacation at any time of the year, although when planning this or that type of vacation, you must always take into account the season. Air temperature and weather often depend on the proximity of the sea or ocean. Vietnam is no exception in this case. Therefore, if you just decide to get acquainted with such an attraction as a national park or take a boat trip along Halong Bay, then winter fogs and a cloudy pagoda should not bother you. And the prices at this time of the year are much lower, and there are fewer tourists.
If you have your vacationprefer to spend most of your time sunbathing on the beach, then come to cat ba in late spring. The weather in Vietnam in May is most suitable for sunbathing and swimming in the azure waters of Ha Long Bay. But the beach season also has its negative side: at this time, the resort has the largest concentration of tourists, both local residents and tourists from all over the world. Yes, and prices for everything jump at least twice.
In the summer it is very hot here, it often rains. The number of guests is reduced to a minimum. But by mid-October, when there are almost no rainy days, the air is still warm enough to swim in the sea and lie on the beach, vacationers begin to flock to Cat Bu (Vietnam), especially since the prices for all food and accommodation remain affordable.
Where is the best place to live
The island's tourism infrastructure, which has been actively developing over the past few years, attracts a huge number of tourists here, not only from neighboring China. Vacationing in Vietnam on Cat bu is becoming a trend for tourists from Europe and America.
For them, about fifty hotels of medium and budget classes have been built here. Most of them are located along the waterfront or in the city of the same name. There are also restaurants, shops, a small market, etc. In addition to inexpensive hotels, there are several more luxurious hotels on the island that can offer their guests superior rooms and additional services. Prices there, of course, will be an order of magnitude higher. Let's take a look at someof which:
- Catba Island Resort & SPA 4- this hotel is located on a hilltop surrounded by virgin forest. From here you have a magnificent view of the bay and its own 8 km long beach. The hotel has 109 spacious rooms. All of them are well equipped. Available: bathroom, toilet, mini-bar, all necessary furniture, satellite TV, free Wi-Fi. The hotel has two restaurants with Vietnamese and European cuisine, two bars, swimming pools, shops, etc.
- Catba Sunrise Resort 4 - this hotel offers its guests modern rooms, villas and suites. During its construction, only natural materials were used - teak wood and terracotta tiles. From the windows of the hotel offers a fantastic view of the mountains, white sandy beaches and the bay with crystal clear water. The rooms have showers, satellite TV, air conditioning and a jacuzzi.
Viet Hat Village
If you came here not only to see the sights of Cat Ba Island, but also to get acquainted with the customs and life of the local population, then you better settle in one of the tourist bungalows in the village of Viet Hat. You will definitely like it here, especially since all the rooms are made in eco-style, although the bathrooms are equipped with the most modern sanitary ware.
Best beaches
Most people, when planning their vacation, most often dream of spending it sunbathing on the beach or ocean. Vietnam attracts such tourists because there are many beautifulsandy beaches washed by sea waters.
On the island of Cat Ba, the best beaches are located in its southeastern part. They are called simply: Cat Co-1, Cat Co-2, Cat Co-3. The beaches are well equipped, with toilets and showers, they are always kept perfectly clean. Hotel guests are offered sun loungers and umbrellas here.
In May in Vietnam (the weather at this time is most suitable for relaxing on the sea), as a rule, it becomes very crowded. Therefore, some vacationers prefer to find more secluded beaches. They rent a boat and go looking for them. Such beaches are most often located in small coves. Rocks protect them from prying eyes. In some of them you can even find mini-hotels.
Holidays with children
Today, most families prefer to take their children with them when going on vacation to exotic countries. Demand creates supply, therefore, in all famous and prestigious resorts, in order to have a comfortable stay, the infrastructure includes everything that little guests may need.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in Cat Ba (Vietnam). There are few shops here with baby food departments, an insufficient number of pharmacies, and it is problematic to purchase something from children's clothing or special baby care items. But if the child is over 5 years old, he is he althy and he does not have a strict diet, then you can also have a great time here. Visiting sights such as the old fort, boat trips on a boat or getting to know the deer in the enclosure, he should really like it.
Also,on the territory of beach-1 there is a special children's playground, as well as an aqua park. All this, no doubt, will leave an indelible impression on the child for life.
Pearl Farm
Growing pearls on a special pearl farm is a very common business in many countries of Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, it is also quite well developed. Near every fishing village, along the coast there are similar farms. Here they are quite primitive and represent sticks stuck into the bottom, between which nets are stretched, to which pearl shells are attached. Vietnamese pearls grown in this way are supplied to local jewelers. The pearl jewelry made from it is very popular among the many tourists who come here.
Not far from Cat Ba Island, in Halong Bay, there is such a floating farm. Once this enterprise was founded by the Japanese, but due to low profits, they left it to the locals. Excursions to this place are very popular.
A lot of pearls or just pearls are sold in the city markets of Vietnam. But if you want to buy such a souvenir in memory of your trip to this beautiful country, then in order to avoid fakes, it is better to buy it at the farm.
What to see: Halong Bay
Where else can you go on an excursion? One of the most beautiful, unearthly beauty places on the planet, a real natural miracle can be called Halong Bay. No wonder it is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and everyone who has visitedhere, they say, "If you haven't seen Halong Bay, you haven't seen Vietnam."
This amazing place is not just part of the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea in the usual sense of the word. Halong Bay is a fantastic cluster of about 3,000 islands scattered throughout its water area, covered with virgin tropical forests, with a huge number of rocks and cliffs. Indeed, the bay can be called the most important attraction not only in Vietnam, but also in the entire southeast Asian region.
The appearance of so many islands in a relatively small area, the locals associate with an ancient legend that tells of a dragon that once lived in the mountains of Halong. According to it, walking through his possessions, he made many gorges and valleys with his tail, which filled the waters of the bay … Therefore, the name of the bay is translated as "the place where the dragon descended to earth."
In 2011, this bay was included in the list of "Seven new wonders of nature", and it came under the protection of UNESCO. Thousands of tourists from all over the world strive to visit this unique natural national park every day. Therefore, in order not to harm nature, the world organization has developed special rules for visiting the reserve, which all companies that organize tours and excursions in Halong Bay adhere to.
National Park
More than half of Cat Ba's territory is occupied by a national park. It is rightly called the biggest attraction of the island. Most travelers come here to see this miracle.nature. In the virgin tropical forests of the national park, according to biologists, there are about 700 species of relic plants, 100 species of mammals, amphibians and birds.
For the convenience of exploring the reserve, several options for excursions have been developed. The most popular are short routes from the entrance to the park to the viewing platforms, from which you can view almost the entire territory of Cat Ba Island. Professional guides will always tell you what to see in the national park in the first place.
If you are full of energy and you have enough time, it is better to book a full tour of the reserve. It includes visiting remote forest lakes, walking through the jungle and the seashore, getting to know traditional Vietnamese cuisine, as well as getting extensive and interesting information about the flora and fauna of the national park.
Before you visit the reserve, check out some useful tips:
- When going on a tour of the park, take up to three liters of drinking water with you. You can buy it at the entrance to the reserve, as it is not sold anywhere else throughout its territory.
- Please wear comfortable shoes as you will have to walk through the mountains and it will be very difficult to overcome even the shortest route in heels.
- If you arrived on the island in the winter and decided to visit the national park, then you better take care of the guide in advance by contacting one of the local travel agencies of the city, as regular guides serve touristsin season.
Most of the tourists who have been here, in their reviews, are advised not to limit themselves to a tour of the national park on Cat Ba Island, but to explore it in its entirety. To do this, it is best to rent a bike and go wherever your eyes look.
Narrow country roads will take you through the evergreen jungle, you can visit tiny villages and get acquainted with the life of ordinary Vietnamese, visit rice plantations, sunbathe on wild beaches, admire colorful coral reefs and visit many others, fabulously beautiful and untouched by civilization places.
Historic Sites: Cannon Fort
Besides visiting the natural reserves of the island, it is worth taking some time to get acquainted with its historical monuments. One of these is the open-air museum - the defensive fortification of Cannon Fort.
It was built by the Japanese military in 1942 to defend the island. This fortification was used not only during the Second World War, but also during the Vietnamese-French colonial war of liberation, and in the last war with the United States.
Today this place is quite famous as one of the local attractions and is open to tourists. Cannon Fort is a fairly well-preserved fortification, where visitors can get acquainted with samples of anti-aircraft guns of those times, walk through trenches and tunnels. On the territory of the complex there is a small museum building, in the rooms of which there are exhibits of small arms andmilitary era uniforms.
The circular route laid out for tourists makes it possible to explore this attraction on their own, without resorting to the services of a guide. Signs are installed on almost every object, where all the necessary information about it is posted in English.
Visiting the fort, as an additional bonus, you get the opportunity to admire the magnificent panoramic views of the skeleton and the bay that have opened before you. After the tour, you can relax by visiting a cozy cafe located nearby. Getting to the fort is quite easy. It is only two kilometers from the central embankment.
Cave Hospital
Another historical object that you would be interested to visit along with the Cannon Fort is the military hospital (Hospital Cave), located in natural rock caves. It was equipped during the Vietnam War and the United States in 1963. China provided great assistance in the construction of the hospital.
Its premises, consisting of 17 rooms of various purposes, are located on three levels. These are wards for the wounded, an operating room, a kitchen, warehouses and even a cinema with a swimming pool. This hospital was active until 1975. Powerful granite rocks made it invulnerable to bombardments, so it also served as a refuge for local residents.
Today, only two levels are available for tourists to see. In the premises of this museum, in caves, visitors will be able to get acquainted with the exhibits of that time, some of which are of Soviet origin.
Todaythe head of this cave hospital is Mr. Hoi, an eighty-year-old veteran of the American-Vietnamese war. He always meets visitors to the museum from the top of the hill, dressed in a military uniform. The tour of the complex always begins with Mr. Hoi holding a symbolic line-up for his guests and saluting the North Vietnamese army. While visiting the museum, you can hear a lot of interesting things about those distant events. Such meetings with a former participant in the war remain in memory for many years.
Conclusion
One can talk about the island of Cat Ba endlessly. In this article, we managed to talk about only a few of the most famous natural and historical sights. And how many more beautiful and interesting places are left behind the "frame" … I would like to write about it in a nutshell.
Cat Ba Island is surrounded on all sides by many picturesque small islands covered with lush tropical vegetation. To get there, tourists can rent a classic Vietnamese boat.
On Cat Ba there is a small village inhabited by representatives of national minorities - Viet Thai. This is also a very interesting tour. There you can get acquainted with their traditions and way of life, which have hardly been touched by modern civilization.
On the island, it turns out, there are still several villages whose inhabitants live in small houses built of bamboo. Having been there, you seem to be transported back several centuries, to medieval Vietnam.
