Four ways to get to Cat Ba Island without having to wait long for the ferry

HAI PHONG To avoid long waiting times due to the Got - Cai Vieng ferry jam during the peak summer tourist season, visitors can choose to take the cable car, Tuan Chau ferry, or speedboat.

1. Hydrofoil

*Hydrofoil running on the Hai Phong - Cat Ba route. Photo: Catbatourism*

There are many time slots, ticket prices and boat quality for tourists to choose from for high-speed boats to Cat Ba. Major boat companies include Catba Island Resort & Spa, Mekong Hoang Yen, Victoria Cat Ba, Hadeco... Every day, depending on the company, there will be 2 to 5 trips each way (Hai Phong - Cat Ba and vice versa), from 7am to about 3pm.

There are two departure points for the boat, from Hong Bang wharf (Hung Vuong street, Hai Phong city center), travel time 40 to 60 minutes or from Got ferry wharf (Cat Hai district), travel time 10 minutes. Ticket prices range from 130,000 VND to 250,000 VND.

2. Cable car

Cat Hai - Phu Long cable car station is located about 3 km from Got ferry terminal, across Tan Vu - Lach Huyen sea bridge. The cable car has 60 cabins with a capacity of 30 passengers each, transporting only people. The cable car operates from 9:00 to 15:45 (weekdays) and 9:00 to 17:00 (weekends). Frequency of each trip is 15 minutes. Travel time on the cable is 10 minutes per trip. On Tuesdays, the cable car is closed for maintenance.

Cable car tickets cost 100,000 VND per trip for adults and are free for children under 1 meter. Visitors with their own motorbikes or cars can park at Cat Hai station for a fee of 5,000 to 10,000 VND for motorbikes and 20,000 to 70,000 VND for cars, depending on the time of parking.

3. Ferry from Tuan Chau port

*Ferry running on Tuan Chau - Cat Ba route. Photo: Bekatravel*

From Tuan Chau ( Quang Ninh ), there are 5 ferries to Cat Ba Island every day, from 7:30 to 15:00. The opposite direction is from 9:00 to 16:00. The ferry terminal of this route in Cat Ba is Gia Luan. The ferry travel time is about 45-50 minutes. The fare for passengers is 60,000 VND and for cars with less than 9 seats is 300,000 VND.

Compared to Got wharf, the advantage of Tuan Chau - Gia Luan ferry is that it is less crowded, especially during holidays or peak summer tourist season. However, if tourists go from the center of Hai Phong or Hanoi, they will have to travel further by road, and the ticket price is also higher.

3. Bus

From Hai Phong City, visitors can take bus 16C to Got ferry terminal, then walk to the ferry and take bus number 14 (from Cai Vieng) to the center of Cat Ba island. Visitors only buy a ticket for pedestrians for 12,000 VND (7,000 VND for Cat Hai people), the waiting time for the ferry is much shorter than for cars. The bus fare for each leg is 13,000 VND. There are 40 trips per day, including round trips.