Things to do in Cat Ba Island

Epic! Our guide, Ken was such a sweetheart! The other guides were also kind, enthusiastic & fun! Kayaking, Swimming, Jacuzzi was all fun. Although, I didn’t do any of it - the scenery & vibes on deck was amazing. The food was definitely worth it. I would recommend wearing light clothes as walking through the cave in Catbi will make you sweat. Ken guided us through the cave with a lot of historic knowledge & made sure we all were together & safe.

The Cat Ba trip starts from the cable car station, which is spacious, fast, and nice. However, it is a bit disappointing that there are no restaurants. If you depart from Incheon and arrive at 9:55 AM, it is difficult to catch the 11:00 AM cable car, so you will have to wait until 1:30 PM.

For those of you who are considering a Lan Ha Bay tour, I'd like to share some helpful information! Our itinerary was: hotel pickup -> transfer to the pier -> cruise boarding -> kayaking/swimming -> lunch -> visit to Viet Hai village (doctor fish) -> return to the pier -> hotel drop-off. (Once you board the cruise, an English-speaking guide will explain the itinerary.) For those staying on Cat Ba Island, this is a great way to spend a productive half-day at a low cost. 1) Most of the guests are Vietnamese, but the English-speaking guide makes sure that no one feels left out. 2) Compared to other cruises, the quality is very good, and there's less boat vibration, making it more comfortable. 3) Lunch is buffet-style, and the quality is surprisingly good. 4) There's absolutely no pressure for tips or shopping, so you can just relax and enjoy your day~ Here are a few tips, haha: - It's not primarily for water activities, and the water isn't clear, so snorkeling is practically impossible. It's more for just getting in the water, haha. - Since it's mostly Vietnamese guests, it might feel a bit unfamiliar (frequent smoking on deck, chaotic meal times lol). - It's a different experience from tours arranged by Koreans, which are usually well-developed for tourism, but it's still a decent way to spend a day!

The overall experience was wonderful. The biggest highlight of this boat is that there are very few guests, with only 4 cabins, making the entire trip very quiet and relaxing, completely free from the hustle and bustle of large tour boats. It is very suitable for people who want to unwind. Special praise goes to our tour guide, Thai, who was extremely friendly and responsible, and took great care of us. As for the dining, because there are few guests, the variety of dishes may not be as extensive as on large boats, but they made up for it with high quality and great taste; you could tell the ingredients were very fresh. If you are looking for a private and quiet trip to Lan Ha Bay, this is a great choice.

The hotel pickup and drop-off service was very convenient, and the scenery of Lan Ha Bay was amazing. It was great to have some simple fruit provided after kayaking and swimming.

Yes, the tour is very nice. We enjoyed the 2D1N Ha Long Bay Cruise with Mila Grand Cruises. The food, people and accommodations onboard are outstanding. We would highly recommend this tour to our family, relatives and friends. Well done, Mila Cruises. -James Lee

Today we booked the Lan Ha Bay tour from Hanoi, and our guide was Binh. First, they texted us to remind us that they were going to give us two options because one of their boats was broken, and they gave us the choice to either cancel and be refunded or continue the trip on another boat. The other boat that they provided was really nice, as shown here in the photos. And Binh, our guide, was so much fun. He was very funny, he was very knowledgeable of the history of Vietnam, and especially in Cat Ba, and he ensured that we were safe and we enjoyed ourselves. We also had a good time in the itinerary. This is highly recommended. We are so glad that we chose Lan Ha Bay instead of Halong Bay because it was really peaceful and there were not much other tours and ships present. The whole team of Serenity even took note of small details such as placing a fan in front of us when we were feeling a little bit warm and Binh kindly offered to take pictures of us using his camera!

Total of 26 people on the tour. I was the only Korean person. It was a 3-story, high-end cruise ship with a small pool inside, and simple food was provided. You could see several islands, and the sunset was beautiful. We had a short time to enjoy swimming and canoeing. We also visited a local village, and it was a great value-for-money tour. One minor disappointment was that the canoe experience was advertised as included in the tour price, but there was an additional charge (150,000-200,000 VND).

We had a wonderful experience on the Erina Cruise, which we booked for our honeymoon and my wife’s birthday. From the moment we arrived, everything was well organized, and the hospitality from the cruise staff was excellent. A special mention to Link, who warmly welcomed us and took great care of us throughout our journey. She was very friendly, attentive, and made sure we were comfortable throughout our stay. The room was very comfortable, clean, and well maintained. The cruise team also arranged a birthday cake for my wife, which made her birthday celebration on board very special and memorable. As pure vegetarians, we felt that the vegetarian food options could have been a little more varied, but overall, everything else was excellent. A big thank you to the entire team, and especially Link, for making our honeymoon and my wife’s birthday so special!