From Hanoi, go to the Giap Bat bus station (In Vietnamese: ben xe (bus station) Giap Bat), located on Giai Phong street, south Hanoi. Catch a green minibus  (Mai Linh buslines) headed for Haiphong : 50 000 VND, departing every 20 minutes from early  morning. Duration: about 2 hours...

At Haiphong terminus, in Cu Chinh Lan street, turn left at the exit of the station until you reach the main harbour for speedboats. The first ones for Cat Ba leave at 8.40 and 9.00 am. There are several companies, schedules may vary. 100 000 VND, one-hour crossing. Total trip duration : 3-4 hours.

Where to sleep?

No particular tips. If you have a tent, it's possible to camp on beach n°2 in Cat Ba. Here you can find a few boulders (sector called Bi-atch Boulders by SloPony

Usefulplaces in Cat Ba :

- Noble house, Slopony office on the main street, right in front of the Cat ba speedboats harbour;
- Hoang Y, n°195 on the main road, for its food, especially seafood;

Be careful, the last speedboats heading back to Haiphong are at 3 pm from the main harbour of Cat Ba town and 4 pm from the secondary harbour of Cai Vieng (on the opposite side of the island). If you miss the last speedboat, you’ll have to spend an extra night - which is the worse thing in the world.

"I can't climb just a little. I need to crank like a bastard."
Klem Loskot