Cat Ba Islands

Cat Ba is an archipelago that consists of 366 islands, spanning 260km2 in the southern edge and shares the same features with Halong Bay. The archipelago is named after the largest island, on which Cat Ba town is located.

Cat Ba belongs to and is 50km from Hai Phong city, 150km from Hanoi. The place can be accessed by boat from Halong Bay or by 3 different ferry ways from Hai Phong.

Cat Ba is a popular travel destination and is commonly used as stop on tours to Ha Long Bay or a single adventure tour from Hanoi.

The island has a wide variety of natural ecosystems, both marine and terrestrial, leading to incredibly high rates of biodiversity. Types of natural habitats found on Cat Ba Archipelago include limestone karsts, tropical limestone forests, coral reefs, mangrove and sea grass beds, lagoons, beaches, caves, and willow swamp forests.

The main island – Cat Ba is the largest one in the archipelago with the Cat Ba town locates at its southern tip and is the commercial center as well as the tourist base of the island.

Here, there are roughly 13,000 inhabitants living in town and other six different communes, and 4,000 more inhabitants living on floating fishing villages off the coast. From end of 1990s, Cat Ba Town has grown rapidly and has become a tourist hub for both the Island and greater Ha Long Bay.

Situated 15 km to the North - West of the town is the Cat Ba National Park that covers an area of 15,200 ha, including 9,800 ha of forests with splendid grottoes. In tropical and primeval forests, there is a rich fauna and flora. There are 745 species of plants, including various species of rare wood trees, 20 species of mammals, 69 species of birds, 20 species of reptiles and species of amphibians, 11 species of frogs. The Cat Ba Langur, (a type of monkey), or golden-headed langur, is endemic to Cat Ba Island and is one of the most endangered primates in the world. In 2004, Cat Ba Archipelago was designated by UNESCO as World Biosphere Reserve.

Today, increases in infrastructure on the Island made it easier for tourists to visit the Island, leading to a rapid increase in tourism and development in Cat Ba Town. Cat Ba Island has become the adventure-tourism capital of Vietnam, and many of the activities are nature-based. Visitors can kayak and take boat cruises through Ha Long Bay and the Cat Ba Archipelago, hike through the national park, mountain bike around the Island, spend time on Monkey Island just offshore, explore the Island's many caves, swim on white sandy beaches or even rock climb on the limestone karsts. With its stunning scenery and plenty to do, Cat Ba promises a fantastic experience on your holiday.

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