Cat Ba and Lan Ha Bay, the quieter side of Halong

Halong Bay is one of the most famous sights in Asia, and one of the busiest. Its thousands of limestone islands and pillars, rising from the green water of the Gulf of Tonkin, were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1994. Hundreds of tourist boats now cruise its waters every day, and at the most popular caves and viewpoints the boats queue to tie up. It is still beautiful, but it can feel crowded.

The limestone carries on south of Halong Bay proper, into the waters around Cat Ba, the largest island of the archipelago. Lan Ha Bay, off Cat Ba's south-eastern shore, has hundreds of limestone islets of its own, with the same sheer, jungle-topped towers and quiet green lagoons. Because it is further from the main departure points for Halong cruises, it sees far fewer boats. In 2023 the World Heritage listing was extended to take in the Cat Ba archipelago, recognising that the two are parts of the same landscape.

Kayaking among the islands

The best way to explore Lan Ha Bay is by kayak. The water among the islands is usually calm, and paddling quietly into a lagoon enclosed by cliffs, or through a low cave into a hidden bay beyond, is one of the best experiences in Vietnam. Small, sandy beaches appear at the foot of the cliffs, many of them reachable only by boat, and some are nearly deserted even in season.

Floating fishing villages are moored among the islands, collections of wooden houses on rafts, with fish farms, dogs, potted plants and children paddling between them in small boats. Their way of life has been changing as the authorities have moved many families ashore and tourism has grown, but some communities remain.

Overnight cruises in the bay, on wooden junks with cabins, are a popular way to see the islands, and many now head for Lan Ha rather than the busier parts of Halong. Spending a night at anchor among the karsts, with the light fading on the cliffs and the lamps of the fishing boats coming on, gives the bay a quiet the day trips cannot.

Cat Ba Island

Cat Ba itself is a large, mountainous island, much of it covered by forest. A good part of it is protected as Cat Ba National Park, established in the 1980s. The park is the only home of the Cat Ba langur, also called the golden-headed langur, a striking black primate with a golden head. It is one of the rarest primates in the world, with only a small population surviving on the island's limestone cliffs. Conservation work has helped it recover slowly from the brink of extinction. Seeing one in the wild is very unlikely, but the forest walks in the park, through jungle and up to viewpoints over the island's peaks, are rewarding in themselves.

The island also has caves of interest. Trung Trang Cave is a long cave of stalactites and stalagmites. Hospital Cave was used during the Vietnam War as a secret hospital and safe house, built into the hillside on several floors.

The main town on Cat Ba, around its harbour, has grown rapidly with tourism, and its seafront is lined with hotels and restaurants. It can be lively at weekends, especially in summer when Vietnamese holidaymakers arrive. But a short boat ride away, the bay is as quiet as ever.

The tours that go

Explore Worldwide's Inside Vietnam, thirteen nights, includes Cat Ba Island and Lan Ha Bay on a route that also takes in Hanoi, Hue, the Hai Van Pass, Hoi An and My Son, and the Mekong Delta.

Explore Worldwide's Cycle Vietnam, thirteen nights, includes Cat Ba Island, Lan Ha Bay and Trung Trang Cave, along with Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Hue and Hoi An. Explore Worldwide's Highlights of Vietnam and Cambodia, fourteen nights, combines Lan Ha Bay and Cat Ba with Hanoi, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, then Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, the Tonle Sap lake and Angkor in Cambodia.

The best seasons are spring and autumn. Winter can be grey and misty, and summer brings heat, storms and the occasional typhoon, when boats are kept in harbour.