3 ways to get to Cat Ba Island to avoid crowded ferry queues.

Cars lined up near the entrance to the cable car station, more than a kilometer from the ferry terminal. Photo: Le Tan — Cars lined up near the entrance to the cable car station, more than 1 km from the ferry terminal.

Cat Ba is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Northern Vietnam, especially during holidays and summer. The Cat Ba ferry has moved from Got Wharf to Dong Bai Wharf, which is more spacious, but even on weekdays or weekends (excluding holidays), congestion frequently occurs, causing tourists to waste a lot of time traveling.

According to Vinh Nguyen, a tourism professional in Cat Ba, to avoid crowds and long waits that can lead to an unsatisfactory trip, tourists should proactively find ways to avoid them in the following three ways.

Option 1: Choose public transportation

It is advisable to avoid driving private cars to Cat Ba Island unless absolutely necessary, because if you drive, you will have to wait a long time at Dong Bai ferry terminal, possibly up to 4-5 hours.

If not traveling by private vehicle, visitors should choose public transportation such as buses, high-quality coaches, limousines, or private rental cars to the ferry terminal or park their cars at the cable car station. Then, visitors walk to the ferry (faster than using public transportation). Taxis to Cat Ba town cost 300,000 VND per trip, 16-seater vans cost 600,000 VND per trip; buses cost 15,000 VND per ticket per trip.

There are many public transportation options on the island, such as electric trams (10,000 VND per person per trip), metered taxis, buses, and motorbike taxis.

Tourists departing from Hai Phong City also have the option of taking a high-speed ferry from Ben Binh pier directly to Cat Ba, with a travel time of 50 minutes. Ticket prices range from 250,000 VND to 270,000 VND depending on the type of ferry.

Currently, the cost of traveling to Cat Ba by private vehicle includes: ferry ticket at 320,000 VND per vehicle (under 7 seats). Most hotels do not have parking spaces, so tourists will have to park overnight at a cost of approximately 100,000 to 200,000 VND depending on the location.

Option 2: Take the cable car

To use the cable car, private vehicles can be parked at the cable car station near the ferry terminal.

Cable car ticket: 100,000 VND per ride (applicable to adults and children over 1 meter tall; children under 1 meter are free). Please note that the cable car is closed every Tuesday (except during holidays). Operating hours are from 9:00 AM to 3:45 PM, with the following time slots: 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM, 11:00 AM - 11:15 AM, 1:30 PM - 1:45 PM, 2:30 PM - 2:45 PM, and 3:30 PM - 3:45 PM.

Overnight parking fees at the cable car station: cars from 40,000 to 70,000 VND per visit depending on the type of vehicle; motorbikes are 10,000 VND per visit. Daytime parking fees: cars from 20,000 to 35,000 VND per visit; motorbikes are 5,000 VND per visit.

Option 3: Transfer to another ferry terminal.

If you still want to travel to Cat Ba by private vehicle, drive for another 30 minutes to reach Tuan Chau ferry terminal in Quang Ninh . This ferry terminal is usually less crowded than Dong Bai terminal.

However, a limitation is that the ferry at Tuan Chau only has 5 trips per day in each direction. Operating hours are from Tuan Chau from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM and from Gia Luan (Cat Ba) from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, while the Dong Bai ferry operates continuously from 5:30 AM to 6:30 PM. Taking this route allows visitors to admire Lan Ha Bay, but the travel time is longer, 1 hour and 20 minutes compared to 25 minutes at Dong Bai. Ferry tickets for private cars (4 to 7 seats) are also more expensive, at 450,000 VND.

University (according to VnExpress)

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