Lan Ha Bay

Personal impression is that Lan Ha Bay is more beautiful than Halong Bay.
The bay is located approximately 30 km from the city center. It is situated to the east of Cat Ba Island and serves as a connecting link between Cat Ba Island and Halong Bay. From the ferry terminal on Cat Ba Island, it takes about 30 minutes to reach Lan Ha Bay by boat. The bay spans an area of over 7,000 hectares, with more than 5,400 hectares falling under the management of the UNESCO-recognized Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve - Cat Ba National Park. Lan Ha Bay has a curved shape, surrounded by over 400 different small and large islands. The name "Lan Ha" means "orchid" and symbolizes the beauty bestowed upon the world. While it may not have as many islands as Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay stands out with its 139 small sandy beaches such as Ang Vem, Cat Dua, Cat Co, Ben Beo, Co Tien, Van Boi, and Van Ha.

Lan Ha-Cat Ba Bay is located in the northern tourism region, so the weather here experiences all four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each season has its own unique and poetic beauty. Depending on personal preferences and schedules, visitors can plan their time to explore this place accordingly.

A few nautical miles away from the Cat Ba Island, lies the wonderful bay yet to be fully explored, and less crowded, and to a large extent can be called an alternative to the world famous Ha Long Bay.

Half-day and full-day packages starting from VND 500,000 are available from Cat Ba Island, and there is a very small beach inside where one can spend an hour or so apart from enjoying the breathtaking views of the bay. One must take a group tour to go here, and it will include the cost of permit.

As one passes from the water, one gets to see the sui generis rock formations, and as one goes deeper the hidden caves start coming into the picture. The caves are generally small and need a small boat to get through, and ideally the best way is kayaking, and it's worth the try. Sometimes the water gets shallow while traversing through these caves, and the width becomes narrow with rocks on the way such that there comes a possibility of banging the kayak on the rocks ( although it won't hurt at all ).

The waters at times seem to have a bit of litter, and upon inquiring I was told that it comes from Ha Long Bay. If you go further and further, you enter the Ha Long Bay, but a full tour of the same cannot happen in a day from Cat Ba Island.

A peaceful weekend at Lan ha bay. There’s a direct highest cruise from cat ba to hai phong. Else you can take transfer bus to ben pha vieng and then take highest cruise to hai phong. Ticket 140k vnd

Beautiful view from Cat Ba beach 1 and2

Beautiful sightseeing! Glad they still keep it clean and natural. Take a boat, go around, take some nice pictures, watch the local fishing village, kayaking and swimming under the sunshine. Recommended to go on winter to fully enjoy the bay in peace.

Amazing natural landscapes, must visit if you have chance to Hai Phong. We enjoyed our 1day tour in Lan Ha Bay and 2 days in Cat Ba. Our small family did Kayaking and swimming on the Bay, my little 3yo boy loved this place so much and we would love to come back.

Amazing island. We have book a tour from Kitetravel with 15$/person. The tour starts from 8:30am and finish at 4:30pm. The first go to Monkey island and hike to the top for great view. After that go around Lan Ha bay and try kayak and having lunch. Unbelievable price! The tour guide is good English communication and supportive. No more cost required. This tour is a half price compare with Ha Long tour, but the view is more amazing.

Cat Ba is wonderful

Lan Hạ Bay -- A great destination for those avoiding the bustle and hustle of Hạ Long Bay

Great experience! I love the beauty of the nature here. Highly recommend for everyone who visit Cat Ba!

Very beautiful places, recommend visiting when come Vietnam.

Fantastic location and a great view. There are not many cruises in the area. Great place for kayaking and exploring the bay. The location is clean and not much garbage floating around. This location provides a good background for instagram worthy photos.

Don't have anything better to say. The pictures do itself well

Hidden beauty!
Love this place

Great spit. Not as busy as Halong Bay but just as beautiful

Beautifull bay just next to Halong Bay. Breathtaking place. Just love it.

Great

very quiet at night, kayaking here is awesome

good

Lan Ha Bay is truly a beauty. One of the most important tourist destinations of North Vietnam, this place has also many tales to tell . A local , or a tourist guide will be able to tell you many interesting titbits of information. February was a good time of the year to visit this bay, since it gets overly crowded during the summer.