Located in Cat Ba island, Lan Ha Bay is considered as an extension to the southwest of the famous Ha Long Bay, but belongs to different province – Hai Phong. Not only famous for the karst islands and limestone outcrops which are just as beautiful as those of Halong Bay, Lan Ha also attracts us with the numerous isolated white-sand beaches and luxury Halong bay cruise.
Therefore, recently more and more people plan to visit Lan Ha Bay which is still untouched and less touristic compared to the well-known Ha Long Bay, to enjoy the tranquility and immerse in nature by an overnight cruise.
So in order to visit Lan Ha bay to enjoy your holiday, you either can reach Cat Ba island or start to explore the bay from the port there with Lan Ha bay cruises.
From Hanoi
If you are already in Hanoi and you want to get to Lan Bay from there, we have different ways of transportation for you to select the most suitable one:
- By tourist/ public bus: this is the most popular way to get Cat Ba islands since they depart to Cat Ba islands daily with about 10 times per day, with first departure at 06:00 and last one at 14:30.
We can recommend some buses with good quality and services such as Good Morning Cat Ba, Cat Ba Discovery, Daiichi Travel Cat Ba, .... and the buses will pick you up in Hanoi and drop you off in Cat Ba town and vice versa. For the public bus like Hoang Long, you have to go to their office/ bus station in Hanoi/ Cat Ba to catch the bus.
Normally their tickets will vary about USD11 – USD14/ person/ way, covering 03 main routes:
• Hanoi – Got port (by land transport for about 2.5 – 3 hours)
• Got pier – Cai Vieng port of Cat Ba island (by speedboat for about 10 – 15 minutes or ferry for about 25 – 30 minutes, depending on your chosen bus’s company)
• Cai Vieng port – Cat Ba town (by land transport for about 40 – 50 minutes).
You can book the ticket online or ask the hotel’s staff in Hanoi to help you reserve the booking.
- By train: you will catch the train from Hanoi/ Long Bien station to Hai Phong station for about 2.3 – 3 hours, with the cost of about USD4 per ticket per way. Upon your arrival at Hai Phong station, you will have to catch the car to transfer to Cat Ba island for about 30 minutes. Though this is not a wise choice to reach here.
- By private car: thank to the Hanoi – Hai Phong highway, we can save the transfer time by car to about 1.5 – 2 hours only to reach Got pier, then you will get on the ferry and continue the drive to Cat Ba town. The rental fee will depend on the type of transportation (may be vary from USD150 per 4-seat car for 02 days/ 01 night up, not including toll fees).
From Van Don airport
Van Don International airport – the first privately-run airport in Vietnam went into operation from the end of 2018, which helps us save the transfer time for the travelers coming to Ha Long bay and Lan Ha Bay.
Previously, the visitors must take the flight to Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi, then continue the journey by road with about 4 hours to Ha Long Bay/ Lan Ha Bay. Now the travelers should take the private car from Van Don airport to Got pier via the new highway (Van Don – Ha Long – Hai Phong) for about 2 – 2.5 hours.
Transportation always take an important role in your travel plan, as you can save the time and the budget for your trip upon your suitable way of transportation. With above different ways to reach Lan Ha Bay, we hope that you can easily find a perfect one to complete your future holiday to the beautiful bay.