Hanoi (Hà Nội) to Cat Ba (Cát Bà) Island: Bus and Boat, Car or Train
The easiest way from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island is a bus-and-boat ticket, usually with pickup in the Old Quarter; confirm whether your hotel is covered. It takes about four hours. With a car, drive and take the ferry. Take the train only if you want to stop in Hai Phong (Hải Phòng).
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Got (Gót) pier on Cat Hai (Cát Hải) island, August 2018. Public ferry services moved from Got to Dong Bai (Đồng Bài) on 1 March 2024.
Cat Ba has no bridge to the mainland, so every trip from Hanoi has three parts: a road journey to the coast near Hai Phong, a short sea crossing, and about 22 km of island road into Cat Ba town. The first part is the easy one, two hours on an expressway. The crossing is where your plans can go wrong. Boats run only in the daytime, the cable car closes one day a week, and storms can stop everything.
Which way suits you?
| Option | Time and cost | Best for, and the catch |
|---|---|---|
| Bus-and-boat ticket (bus, speedboat or cable car, island shuttle) | 3.5-4.5 hours; US$11-16 per person | Travelling light, first visit. Ask how you cross and where you are dropped off |
| Private car with driver | About 3-3.5 hours; around US$75-90 or 1.5-2.5 million VND per car | Families, big bags, odd hours. Ask if tolls and the ferry are included |
| Driving yourself | About 3-3.5 hours; tolls and ferry about 406,000 VND per car, plus fuel | Residents and long-stay visitors with a valid licence. Last ferry 6pm |
| Train to Hai Phong, then boat from Ben Binh | About 4.5-5.5 hours, depending on whether the boat ticket includes a road transfer; train 120,000-385,000 VND, boat 200,000-300,000 VND | A stop in Hai Phong. Works only with a morning train |
| Via Ha Long and the Tuan Chau (Tuần Châu) ferry | 4.5-6 hours, depending on sailing times; ferry about 60,000 VND on foot | Combining Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba. Few sailings; stops for sea bans |
For a first visit we would book the bus-and-boat ticket. One booking covers all three legs, so you do not need to know the ferry times. Depending on the ticket, you are dropped at your hotel or at the company office in town. A private car makes sense for three or four people with suitcases: the price per person is not far above the bus fare, and you leave when you want.
Bus-and-boat tickets: how they work
A coach or limo van picks you up in the Old Quarter and takes the expressway to Dong Bai pier on Cat Hai island, about two hours with a 15-minute break. Most buses then put you on a small speedboat for a 5-10 minute crossing; some tickets use the cable car, and limo vans usually go on the car ferry. A shuttle then takes 35-40 minutes into Cat Ba town. Operators quote 3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes, plus about 30 minutes of pickups.
Public ferry services moved from Got to Dong Bai on 1 March 2024. For a speedboat ticket, confirm the exact boarding pier with your operator. If your vehicle goes on the ferry, get out when it drives on and stay out until it drives off. Under Article 23 of the 2024 road traffic law, only the driver, children, pregnant women, frail older people, people with disabilities and sick people may stay inside.
Buses leave Hanoi from about 6am until about 2pm; a few limo vans leave at 3pm. Fares on operator sites are about US$11-16 one way. One company adds US$2 for the cable car instead of the speedboat, and another adds 20% on public holidays. Before you pay, ask three things:
- How you cross: speedboat, cable car or ferry. The cable car is closed on Tuesdays and its final weekday operating window is 2:30-2:45pm, so ask how the afternoon buses cross.
- How much luggage is allowed. One operator allows one medium suitcase and one small bag per person and asks you to tell them about anything bigger. On the speedboat you carry your own bags down the pier steps, so pack light if you can.
- What happens if a sea ban stops the boats: a refund, a new date, or waiting at the pier.
Operators take bookings on their own websites and by WhatsApp or Zalo. One lists its departure times, fares and luggage rules on its booking page. Keep the confirmation with the pickup time, and do not send money to an unknown personal bank account.
Private car, or driving yourself
Service sites quote about 1.5-2.5 million VND (one operator lists US$75-90) one way for a 4-7 seat car with a driver. Ask whether that includes expressway tolls, the ferry and an early-morning surcharge, and where the driver will wait if there is a queue for the ferry.
The route is simple: the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway to its end at Tan Vu (Tân Vũ), the Tan Vu - Lach Huyen (Lạch Huyện) sea bridge to Cat Hai island, then Dong Bai pier, about 126 km by map from Hoan Kiem (Hoàn Kiếm) Lake. The toll for a car under 12 seats to Tan Vu is 215,974 VND each way, paid only by e-toll tag, and there are two service areas on the expressway. If you plan to drive yourself, first check that your licence is valid in Vietnam.
At the pier you have two choices. Take the car on the Dong Bai - Cai Vieng (Cái Viềng) ferry: 190,000 VND for a car under 9 seats and 10,000 VND per foot passenger each way. Anyone else in the car gets out and walks on, unless the legal exemptions above apply. Ferries run from 5am at most 40 minutes apart; the last ones leave Dong Bai at 6pm and Cai Vieng at 5:30pm (1 Sep-31 Dec 2026). The times change with the season, so open the city's ferry timetable (in Vietnamese) the day before you drive.
Or park at the Cat Hai cable car station, about 50,000-100,000 VND a day, and take the cable car. The Plus ticket bundles the cable car and the shuttle into town; confirm the current price when booking. This is the simpler choice for one night spent mostly around Cat Ba town and the Cat Co (Cát Cò) beaches, as long as the cable car times work for you (it is closed on Tuesdays).
For two nights or more, we would bring the car across, because Ben Beo (Bến Bèo) pier for the bay boats and the national park are both a drive from town. On summer weekends in 2026 the ferry stopped taking cars towards the island from 9am to 1pm until 30 September, so check for a new notice next summer. Motorbikes are not allowed on expressways in Vietnam (Article 25, clause 3 of the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety). Riders use National Road 5 or 10, which are busy with trucks; the ferry charges 45,000 VND for a motorbike.
By train via Hai Phong
On the Hanoi - Hai Phong train timetable in use since 10 February 2026, train HP1 leaves Hanoi Station at 6:00 and reaches Hai Phong at 8:25; train LP3 leaves at 9:25 and arrives at 12:00. Fares are about 120,000-385,000 VND depending on seat class and day. You can book on the Vietnam Railways website, which has an English version.
Hai Phong Station is about 2 km from Ben Binh (Bến Bính) speedboat pier, a few minutes by taxi. Boat tickets from there cost about 200,000-300,000 VND per person, and each company has its own timetable. Check whether your Ben Binh ticket is a direct sailing or includes a road transfer to Dong Bai, and confirm the total time to Cat Ba town before you buy the train ticket.
This route is about an hour slower than the bus-and-boat ticket and has more changes. Choose it for time in Hai Phong, for example a breakfast of crab noodle soup before the boat. The afternoon train arrives at 18:00, after the last ferry, so plan a night in the city.
Via Ha Long and the Tuan Chau ferry
Tuan Chau pier, on the edge of Ha Long city, is about 150 km from Hanoi. The car ferry to Gia Luan (Gia Luận) on Cat Ba runs three to five times each way a day depending on the season and takes about 50-80 minutes. Fares are around 60,000 VND on foot and 300,000-450,000 VND for a small car; confirm the fare and the sailing times at the pier. Gia Luan is at the north end of the island, about 22 km from Cat Ba town, so arrange your onward ride before you go.
Use this route if you are already staying in Ha Long or want to see both bays on one trip. From Hanoi it is slower than going via Hai Phong, because you wait for a sailing, and there are fewer sailings in autumn and winter. Ask at the pier the day before.
Straight from the airport: Noi Bai or Cat Bi
Noi Bai (Nội Bài), Hanoi's main airport, is about 147 km from Dong Bai pier, around two and a half hours by car depending on traffic. Some bus companies sell an airport pickup to their Old Quarter office (35-45 minutes) together with the bus-and-boat ticket. The last bus leaves Hanoi at about 2pm, so if your international flight lands after midday, take a private car or stay a night in Hanoi. By car, a rough guide is to leave the airport by about 3pm for the 6pm ferry. This is only an estimate from the distance and does not guarantee the connection: traffic or a ferry queue can make you miss it. If you land close to that time, stay the night in Hanoi or Hai Phong.
Hai Phong's own airport, Cat Bi (Cát Bi), is much closer: about 25 km from Dong Bai and 10 km from Ben Binh pier. It has direct flights from Seoul Incheon. Thai AirAsia opened a Bangkok Don Mueang route in July 2025; check whether it is still operating before you plan around it. Grab cars pick up at the international arrivals exit, gate A3. If you land in the late afternoon or evening, sleep in Hai Phong and cross the next morning.
Getting back to Hanoi
Bus-and-boat services leave Cat Ba from about 9am, with the last ones at 4:30-5pm depending on the company, reaching the Old Quarter at about 7-8:15pm. Drivers need the last ferry from Cai Vieng at 5:30pm, 22-23 km from town. For the cable car, the published final operating window is 2:30-2:45pm on weekdays and 3:30-3:45pm at weekends, and it is closed on Tuesdays. The timetable does not separate the two directions, so confirm the last departure from Phu Long separately. For the last train, HP2 at 18:40 from Hai Phong, leave the island in the early afternoon.
On your last day, a short morning boat trip on Lan Ha Bay (vịnh Lan Hạ) fits better than a full day; check the boat's return time against your bus before you book. If you are heading south to Ninh Binh (Ninh Bình) instead of Hanoi, there are bus tickets with the sea crossing included, straight to Tam Coc. The time of the last bus depends on the company.
Money, apps, luggage and visas
Carry some Vietnamese dong in cash for ferry tickets, island taxis and small restaurants. Many sellers also show a QR code for bank transfer, and some foreign banking apps can pay it. This depends on your bank and on the seller, so check before you travel that your app works in Vietnam, and ask before you order whether the place accepts it.
Grab works in Hai Phong city and at Cat Bi airport. On the island, do not rely on it: taxis usually wait at the Phu Long cable car station, and hotels in town can call one for you. On the cable car, each passenger may take one piece of hand luggage up to 80 x 60 x 30 cm and 30 kg; other large items need approval and a fee, and pets are not allowed. For entry rules, check your passport against the official Vietnam e-visa portal before you fly.
Weather, sea closures and what to book ahead
Heavy rain and storms are most likely from May to September, and in some years October too; August is usually the wettest month in Hai Phong. In those months, book rooms you can change and ask the bus company what happens if the boats stop. Book the bus a few days ahead for weekends and Vietnamese public holidays. Cable car tickets are sold at the station and online; ferry tickets are sold at the pier.
Frequently asked questions
Can I visit Cat Ba as a day trip from Hanoi?
On the bus-and-boat ticket, the earliest bus reaches town at about 9:15-9:30am and the last return leaves at 4:30-5pm. That gives you about seven hours on the island before you take off pickup time. Choose one short activity and confirm when it finishes before you book. For Lan Ha Bay in one day, book a day tour with a Hanoi pickup, usually between 6am and 7:45am; expect 12-16 hours door to door. If the tour includes kayaking, ask the operator to confirm that it is permitted at the exact stop on your trip.
Can the bus pick me up outside the Old Quarter?
Several companies pick up at hotels only inside the Old Quarter. From elsewhere, you go to the company office about 20 minutes before departure, or ask if they offer a pickup for a surcharge.
Is the cable car better than the speedboat?
The cable car gives a wide view over the port and the islands, and its cabins are enclosed. The speedboat crossing is only 5-10 minutes and does not depend on the cable car timetable, which matters on Tuesdays and in the afternoon. On a bus-and-boat ticket, the company decides which one you get unless you pay extra.
