Cát Bà Island is the largest of the 367 islands spanning 260 km2 (100 sq mi) that comprise the Cat Ba Archipelago, which makes up the southeastern edge of Lan Ha Bay in Northern Vietnam. Cat Ba island has a surface area of 285 km2 (110 sq mi)[clarification needed] and maintains the dramatic and rugged features of Ha Long Bay.
Located south of Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay is by far the smallest of the three primary bays in the area. It comprises around 400 limestone islets spread over 76 km2, and is just as pleasing to the eye as Halong Bay. Lan Ha Bay features the same jaw-dropping landscape of towering karst outcrops that tourists typically associate with Ha Long and if it weren’t for the conspicuous absence of crowds in Lan Ha Bay, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two bays
️ Ba Trái Đào Beach – Hidden Gem of Lan Hạ Bay Crystal-clear turquoise waters perfect for swimming and snorkeling. Soft white sandy beach surrounded by stunning limestone karsts and lush greenery. Peaceful and less crowded compared to other famous beaches, ideal for relaxation and nature lovers. Great spot for kayaking and exploring the beautiful Lan Hạ Bay on a sunny day. Experience authentic local vibes with nearby fishing villages and fresh seafood delights. Ba Trái Đào is a must-visit paradise for anyone exploring Lan Hạ Bay!
Just like Sleeping Beauty, Viet Hai village is surrounded by high mountains, thick jungles, and vast ocean. And if you want to see her, you will need to either take a boat or trek through the jungle for hours. But her beauty and the experience she offers are totally worth it! Visit her if you want a chance to switch to a new atmospheric space. And here, you will also appreciate the precious retained hundreds-year traditional cultural values of Cat Ba.
We love the small groups, makes it much more personal. We had a great group of 13 travelers. We were the only family (our kids are 12 and 14) and had such nice contact with everyone. The staff was great, the scenery is beautiful, the activities were fun! This was definitely one the highlights of our holiday!
Excellent extremely well organised trip, beautiful old boat with only 12 guests, excellent service, delicous meals. Great viewing areas on the boat, beautiful wooded panelled rooms with ensuits, nice activities. Couldn't fault the trio. Scenery magnificent. Highly recommend.
A full on, activity packed experience. Very well timed from beginning to end and exceptionally well organised. If you want to see, and enjoy a place of great beauty, with a bit of fun thrown in, then this may well be for you. A great guide in Nam, and very well versed on keeping people entertained and happy. Some fun activities in kayaking, cycling, swimming and cookery classes. By the end I was both Weary, yet relaxed. I really must thank all the other people from around the world who participated in our tour party. They made it more enjoyable. Highly recommended
Such an amazing experience! Ha long bay is really really amazing! Our tour guide (Pinky) especially made it lots of fun from giving us interesting information to Karoake!! Highly recommend!
Me and a friend booked this trip and received confirmation we would be picked up near our hotel. We weren’t picked up and contacted the number provided. Turns out the trip we had booked through trip advisor was full. We weren’t picked transferred onto another tour that did not include a night on a boat, instead was a very run down and bleakly empty hotel on Cat Ba. The food that was included was very poor in the hotel, so we ate out. We enjoyed the kayaking and the boat day trip the next day and the food on the boat was a lot better. The tour company tried to get an additional fee from us, which we did not pay. I asked for a refund through trip advisor but was rejected. Book directly through the tour companies.
An excellent tour. The team was top-notch. The food was excellent, varied, and deliciously prepared. I want to say a huge thank you and wish you all the best!
Good value for money and the crew were great. Really enjoyed the activities despite unseasonably cold weather.
Amazing tour. Itinerary was perfect and our tour guide Tony was great. The scenery is absolutely stunning. Only negative aside from the usual tourist trap bus stops along the way (unavoidable unless you book private transport) was the food on the boat. It was the only bad food we’ve had in Vietnam. The lunches and dinner were OK but the breakfast was very bland with overcooked eggs. The staff on the boat were also pushing us out of our room at 10:15 while we were packing our bags when they said the checkout time is 10:30. They should just say 10:15. Nonetheless I would highly recommend the tour, just pack a little chilli sauce and some snacks.
I would NOT use this tour companybever again. Worst experience ever with them. I did a 2 night cruise and on the way back the bus refused to wait for my tender. Bear in mind there are about 200 boats all coming back at the same time and the window for return is 12:00 to 12:30. As an individual you have no control over when your tender boat gets you back into dock. She literally said to me on the phone, get a taxi - the trip to Hanoi is 3 hours FYI. Also I got into port at 12:08 so I wasn’t even late. I literally had to beg her to wait. Then to top it the bus stopped for 30 minutes at a centre half way into the journey where they try to sell you tourist products which they get a commission on. So in reality the whole thing wasn’t that they I was actually late they just wanted to spend time selling us stuff. Avoid like the plague. There are hundreds to choose from so would never choose these. IF company wants to look into this here’s the registration of the vehicle and date: 546.67 26 26 December
…….. It was nice and pleasant and people were very friendly. Good vibrations. The landscape is very beautiful.
Well organized, quality accommodations and food. Not much interpretation or history but all staff were polite, helpful and professional! Excellent value!
Lovely place. All activities are worth it. Kayaking and cycling were my two favourite ones. Most beautiful sunset and sunrise i have ever seen
I was unsure of what to expect with this tour because some of the reviews for Sunlight Cruise are pretty mixed, but besides our pickup from Hanoi being delayed 30 minutes, I thought this was a great tour and I was very happy with it! The scenery was beautiful and we got lucky with good weather considering it’s the rainy season. I loved all of the activities - especially the karaoke at night on the boat! - and Jack was a great guide. The food was delicious - they were able to accommodate us as vegetarians - and our cabin was very nice. A big thanks as well to all the crew on the boat for giving us a great stay. I would recommend Sunlight Cruise to future travelers!
Loved everything! The activities were great, the bay is amazing and the group was really funny. Our tour guide Tony was also really nice and helpful all the time. Probably would recommend do it for one more night it was a really nice experience.
Excellent service ! The cruise was clean, modern, and very well-organized. Great food, stunning views, and super friendly staff. Totally worth it – I’d love to come back!
Jack was our tour guide and instantly made us feel welcome. Everything was very well planned, the food was great and the day activities very informative. The whole crew were welcoming and very accommodating, even joined us for karaoke! I would definitely book a tour with these guys again, we had such an amazing time :)
Crew and activities were great. Tour guide Jack was very nice guy and made sure we have everything we need. Highly recommend this to everyone!
Absolutely recommend this trip,great staff, plenty of delicious food and fun activities. Room were cozy and clean. Special thanks to our lovely tour guide Jack!
Our guide Jack was great, personable and fun and was always quick to get us anything we needed. The cruise had great planned activities, and we even got some of the crew to join us in karaoke. Great value for the price
The whole trip was a dream! The crew was so nice and accommodating, especially our guide Jack. Our rooms were nice, clean and with AC. Would recommend!
Don’t be fooled by Sunlight Travels’ glossy marketing—our overnight cruise was a disaster. We were given a double room directly above the engine, separated by only a thin floor, exposing us to toxic fumes and intense heat that made the floor unbearable to touch. The air conditioner leaked over our clothes, ruining them. The room’s cleanliness and condition fell far below advertised standards. Worst of all, staff were dismissive and unhelpful. In hindsight, we wish we’d done a day trip and stayed in Cat Ba, avoiding this overpriced, disappointing experience altogether.
Thanks to Steven for his wonderful care of us from first encounter for the pick up from our hotel to drop off at the end of an amazing tour. We enjoyed the kyaking, sight seeing, bike riding, swimming and meals. The feature was the quietness at Lan Ha bay which magnified the natural beauty of this region. Thanks to the whole team on a memorable experience.
It was truly a wonderful experience. Jack is lovely, as are all the other instructors. An experience I will remember for life.
I absolutely loved my cruise in Cat Ba Bay the scenery was breathtaking, and the entire crew was incredibly friendly and attentive. Special shoutout to Jack, our guide, who was amazing throughout the trip – friendly, passionate, and always eager to share interesting facts. I 100% recommend it!
We had an unforgettable time on this cruise through Lan Ha Bay from Cat Ba. Everything went smoothly from start to finish – the organization was great, the boat was comfortable, and the scenery was absolutely stunning. A huge thank you to Jack, our amazing guide, who truly made the experience special with his positive energy, insightful explanations, and attentiveness to everyone. We loved every moment of this trip – from relaxing on the deck, to the fun activities, to the delicious meals on board.
This cruise was okay, but definitely not worth the price. We got the option that included the pick up in Hanoi and while we were on the bus, the side door of the luggage storage opened and my bag was flung out onto the road. Fortunately, the driver noticed and stopped but nothing was ever said to me about the incident or to check if my luggage was damaged or even just a simple apology. Once we arrived on the boat, the crew seemed lovely but had very little English skills. There was a lot of food on offer at meal times, but it was fairly average quality. Make sure you bring plenty of water because they don’t give you any for free except for the 500ml bottle in your room when you first get on, so you are forced to buy water when you’re on the boat. Drinks are cheap by western standards but very expensive compared to what you would find elsewhere in Vietnam. Skip the tour in the village, it is a complete waste of time. There is nothing authentic there at all except for one tiny hut, everything else is overpriced restaurants and “fish massage” places. Our guide was nice. He was only young and seemed new to the job. He didn’t offer much information and didn’t seem knowledgeable when we asked questions about the area. Unfortunately his English was minimal and he was hard to understand.
Our guide Stephen gave us the best experience and he gave his all to ensure we all had a good time. Good food, cocktails and spectacular scenery made this an experience to remember!
The itinerary and service are very good. The Cabin is quite old, and the food is average. There were only 10 people in the group. Overall, it is a good tour.
Fantastic trip with the wonderful 'Sun' and team to keep us to schedule! There is a lot to fit in, in the 24 hrs we were on board. Really comfy beds, hot shower and private balcony, as well as lovely outside space both front and back. Food good. Scenery was incredible, even without the sunshine and warmth. So nice to cycle into Cat Ba island a little and experience time inland too. Maybe a night or two would have given a slower pace, but this was perfect for our time plans. Highly recommend
A group of 3 friends and I booked 4 rooms for this tour. I'd previously been on it and enjoyed it very much. We had a good start to the trip. The guides were good. However, the following day, one of my companions fell very ill. Really, really sick. It turns out that he caught Hepatitis A from eating the oysters at dinner. Any reputable chef would realise that the waters of the bay are contaminated with poop. And that the oysters must be rinsed thoroughly and cooked thoroughly. Obviously, these things were not done by the kitchen. My friend is still VERY SICK a week later. The rest of his holiday was RUINED. I gave 2 stars because the rest of us had an enjoyable time. Thank you for reading. I hope that you do your very best to make sure that THIS NEVER HAPPENS TO ANYONE AGAIN. Sorry to say, but your kitchen staff are under-trained or irresponsible. Please try not to poison any more of your clients.
Very friendly staff. Nice rooms and good food. The tour was fun, even though the weather was grey (low cloudes). The best part for me was biking to the village, nothing to difficult. We also had the possibility to try fishing. Happy guide who was easy to talk with, loves karaoke and joined jumping from top deck. He also helped us with information regardig our next tour to nihn bihn.
The first unexpected issue was the 4hour bus trip from and to Hanoi - nowhere in the extremely limited information was that explained, and 8 hrs out of a total 32hrs for the total trip on a bus was not great. Better organisation and less waiting around prior to getting on the boat would have been appreciated. The worst issue was our guide, Nam, who had a heavy cold and cough and sniffed and sneezed throughout the 24hrs we were in his company. He did not wear a mask and said he didn’t have any. Not good enough! 2 of our party are now developing his symptoms. The food on the boat was plentiful, but all appeared at once and was lukewarm warm. The cycle trip on the island and the kayaking were the only highlights.
Jack was an awesome tour guide - incredibly friendly and insightful on the bay. The cruise was great, as someone that isn’t the best at riding bikes I found the path relatively easy (except for one muddy point).
The trip was fun. It was quite a bit of travel to get there, and quite a bit back just for a one day cruise. I don't think we really went far with the boat itself. Overall, it was a beautiful place, the activities were fun, and we all enjoyed. the food was decent. The door to our room did not really fit proper, I put a picture of it in this review. Our guide was in a hurry to end the tour. On our first day, he informed us that the fairy the next day (eve of Chinese new year) was going to close early at 11:30. Because of this, he cut our cruise short by a few hours. We cut our bike ride/time in the local village short, and we ate lunch at 10am! Then on our way back, the guide spent about 20 minutes arguing about 5 people who didn't pay to get a bus ride to the fairy. The fairy did not actually leave until sometime around 1:30 or 2pm. There was no need for cutting the trip short. There was also no life jacket for our 1 year old to go on the kayak trip, so my wife and he did not get to kayak. Other than the poor communication and dishonesty in the fairy situation, the trip itself was beautiful and fun. I think if we ever do it again, though, I will go with a different company. Also, all the companies, on the way to the ships, stop at a tourist shop on the way there and the way back. The prices at the store are outrageously expensive! They try to direct you upstairs to their store, but if you just walk to the street corner, then turn right, go behind their building (across from a school). Their is a nice couple with a store. they have coffee, tea, sausages, chips, water, etc. for real prices. If you buy from the tourist shop, they are charging you about 5-10 times what they should.
Perfectly organized. Very friendly. And just an amazing Experience. Good to have someone Like him Helping you out with any questions throughout your entire holiday. Nam is the man you Need.
It's an amazing experience. Nd the tour guide is one of the best tour guide I have ever had in the tour. The cruise is also very beautiful nd very clean all the staff is very supportive and helpful.
It was indeed an amazing experience we had with hie, he was really amazing and informative about the trip it was pleasant view all along with various activites, we are gonna surely recommend sunshine crew👍🤝
My partner got food poisoning right after the cruise, we assume it's from the fish he ate on the boat (he was the only one eating the fish because he is pescatarian). The rest of the food tasted so bad, I literally spit some of it out. It wasn't even average food, it was BAD. Also, no hot water in the shower!! Nobody had hot water, not just us. I think having decent food and a hot shower is two very basic needs, so I cannot rate this cruise highly even though the rest of it was good. It's just unacceptable.
We stayed 1 night on the cruise and the organization was perfect. from the pick up in Hanoi to the activities during the day to the drop off in Ninh Binh. The room on the boat was super cozy and better than expected 😁 Gorgeous boat, we were a lovely little group of people. We enjoyed kayaking, swimming, beautiful scenery of the 3 bays, making vietnamese summerrolls, cycling, happy water tasting and a fish pedicure. All meals were delicious. Our guide Nam was super funny and lively. We would recommend this trip, great value for money! :)
This trip was phenomenal from start to finish. First of all, the boat was really much better and much more luxurious than I was expecting. I really enjoyed my stay in the boat, and there’s nothing quite like waking up on a boat floating around this beautiful part of Vietnam. We were also surrounded by only 4 boats at night, one of which was the other group that was part of our tour. So, if you want to avoid how touristy/manic Ha Long Bay is - this is the tour for you. The activities organised really make this tour a 5/5 though. We went kayaking, cycling, made Vietnamese spring rolls, and went swimming in Lan Ha Bay. Each one really allows you to explore the charm of Cat Ba and Lan Ha Bay. It was honestly so much fun. The staff are really helpful and, like all of the Vietnamese people I have met whilst in vietnam, are always so kind. I’ll be back.
Great experience of cruising in the secluded area of lan ha bay & cat ba island. Serene nature with great views. Did kayaking & cycling in the viet hai village. Our tour guide HAI was a very nice & helpful guy. Enjoyed alot on this trip.
Took the premium cruise to the less visited Lan Ha Bay and it was an experience of a lifetime! As we has 3 seniors in the trip we were little sceptical of taking a cruise and doing a cycling trip at VietHai village. But our guide Tony and the crew made the experience a wonderful one and at every stage the seniors were well taken care of. The bus trip from/to Hanoi stops midway at a nice art gallery cum coffee shop with neat toilets. The cruise ship is a medium one but the rooms are well decked and views are amazing! Every meal was well curated and our specific preferences were well taken care of. There is a special noodle roll making session done by Tony. The bar is not too prohibitive and they serve free local wine at dinner. The highlight of the trip for me was the cycling trip at Viet Hai village which is just a mesmerising place. The seniors were not left behind as a buggy took them to the end point in Viet Hai village. We didn't feel rushed at all there was enough time to kayak, swim and enjoy the beauty of the bay. Would highly recommend this trip over the more crowded Halong bay.
We had a perfect time on the cruise with jack (best guide ever) as a guide. Activities such as kayaking and cycling was fun. In addition, they also took care of food allergies. The evening and dinner was great as well (soo much food all the time). Drinks are not included in the trip but can be bought for fair prices (still considering it’s a cruise and of course prices are higher than in a streetfood restaurant)
Very good Experience with the overall experience. The rooms was tidy, the food was really good. Plenty of food and variety. Everyone was great at attending you for activities and drinks. Our Tour guide Jack was spot on! He gave great information on the culture and fully made the overall experience the best it could be. Would 100% recommend and would do it again.
We had amazing time on the 2 day boat cruise! Caption Jack was a great host during our time aboard. Would recommend for anyone traveling to Cat Ba.
Captain Jack sparrow was an awesome captain on the cruise. The cruise was absolutely awesome! It felt so comfortable and friendly. It was a very nice vibe. Food was also absolutely amazing. And jimmy’s cocktails were killer
Had an amazing time on 2 day boat cruise, and captain Jack Sparrow was an amazing host. We managed to do lots of activities within the 2 days that we had, like kiaking, swimming, bike riding, and seeing lots of beautiful islands and mountains. 10/10
The experience and the activities were very engaging, the cabins were comfortable and vegan food options were also available.
Amazing cruise experience. Great food and itinerary. I loved the cycling in mountains and the kayak experience. The guide was friendly and spoke in english. Overall a great experience.
Did the boutique version. Fantastic and friendly hosts, superb food, lots of activities, great locations, good room. I did unfortunately have a broken window, which meant the fumes from the engine leaked into the room, but fumes should be expected on a small cruise. Overall very happy. Worth noting that if you're traveling solo there's an additional charge (mentioned in the notes), which does not get paid at checkout but instead during the cruise.
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