3 ways to get to Cat Ba to avoid the crowded ferry waiting scene

Cat Ba is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the North during Tet and summer holidays. Cat Ba ferry has moved from Got wharf to Dong Bai wharf, which is more spacious, but whether it is a weekday or a weekend outside of Tet, traffic jams still occur frequently, causing tourists to spend a lot of time traveling.

According to Mr. Vinh Nguyen, a tourism worker in Cat Ba, to avoid crowded and waiting situations that lead to an undesirable trip, tourists should proactively find ways to avoid them in the three ways below.

Method 1: Choose public transport

Avoid driving your own car to Cat Ba Island, unless absolutely necessary, because if you drive your own car, you will have to wait at Dong Bai ferry for a long time, possibly up to 4-5 hours.

If you do not have a private car, you should choose public transportation such as buses, high-quality coaches, limousines or private rental cars to the ferry terminal or park your car at the cable car station. Then, you walk to the ferry (faster than taking the vehicle). Taxi to Cat Ba town costs 300,000 VND one way, 16-seat car costs 600,000 VND one way; bus costs 15,000 VND one way ticket.

Tourists departing from Hai Phong City also have the option of taking a speedboat from Ben Binh to Cat Ba, a 50-minute journey. Ticket prices range from 250,000 VND to 270,000 VND depending on the type of boat.

Currently, the cost for a private car to Cat Ba includes: ferry ticket of 320,000 VND for a car under 7 seats. Hotels almost do not have parking space, so visitors will have to park overnight at a cost of about 100,000 VND to 200,000 VND depending on the location.

Method 2: Take the cable car

Using the cable car, personal vehicles are parked at the cable car station near the ferry terminal.

Cable car ticket: 100,000 VND one way (applicable to adults and children over 1m, children under 1m are free). Note, the cable car is closed every Tuesday (except Tet holidays). Operating hours are from 9am to 3:45pm, according to the following time frames: 9am-9:15am, 10am-10:15am, 11am-11:15am, 1:30pm-1:45pm, 2:30pm-2:45pm and 3:30pm-3:45pm.

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

Method 3: Transfer ferry terminal

If you still want to go by private car to Cat Ba, drive about 30 minutes more to Tuan Chau ferry terminal, Quang Ninh. This ferry terminal is usually less crowded than Dong Bai terminal.

However, there is a limitation that the ferry at Tuan Chau only has 5 trips per day, each way. The operating time for Tuan Chau is 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, visitors will be able to see Lan Ha Bay but the travel time is longer, 1 hour and 20 minutes compared to 25 minutes at Dong Bai. The ferry ticket for a private car (4 to 7 seats) is also higher, 450,000 VND.