1:45 pm | August 2, 2024

Cát Bà Island is the largest of the 367 islands spanning 262.41 km2 (101.32 sq mi) that comprise the Cat Ba Archipelago, which makes up the southeastern edge of Lan Ha Bay in Northern Vietnam and maintains the dramatic and rugged features of Ha Long Bay. The archipelago has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2004 and a part of Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago World Heritage Site since 2023.

Archaeological evidence suggests that people have lived on Cat Ba Island for almost 6,000 years, with the earliest settlements being found on the southeastern tip of the Island close to the area where Ben Beo harbour sits today. In 1938, a group of French archaeologists discovered human remains belonging “to the Cai Beo people of the Ha Long culture, which lived between 4,000 and 6,500 years ago… considered to be perhaps the first population group occupying the northeastern territorial waters of Vietnam the Cai Beo people may be an intermediary link between the population strata at the end of the Neolithic Age, some 4,000 years ago.”

The development of infrastructure on Cat Ba in the 1990’s greatly improved the island’s accessibility. These developments include: the construction of bigger roads; the construction of dams to build harbors and to protect Cat Ba town from flooding; consistent electricity being brought to the island in 1997; and the introduction of daily scheduled large ferries and barges, able to transport trucks and cars from the mainland. These developments lead to a rapid increase in tourism and development in Cat Ba town starting in 2001. Since then, a stop on Cat Ba Island has been included in the itinerary of many Ha Long Bay cruises and a strip of tall, thin, five-storey budget hotels line the seafront. Cat Ba Island receives over 350,000 visitors a year.

Cat Ba Island has become the adventure-tourism capital of Vietnam, and many of the activities advertised are nature-based. Visitors can kayak and take boat cruises through Ha Long Bay and the Cat Ba Archipelago, hike through the national park, mountain bike around the Island, spend time hiking and swimming on Monkey Island just offshore, tourist can stay at Monkey Island Resort for real relax time on private beach, explore the Island’s many caves, swim on Cat Co 1, 2, or 3 (three sandy beaches a short walk from Cat Ba town), or even go rock climbing and deep water soloing on the limestone karsts in Lan Ha Bay. With so many things to do, Cat Ba Island is slowly gaining popularity as an alternat.