Ninh Binh (Ninh Bình) to Cat Ba (Cát Bà) and Back: Bus Times, Fares and Transfers
For one or two people, the easiest way from Ninh Binh (Ninh Bình) to Cat Ba (Cát Bà) is a bus ticket that includes the sea crossing, with pickup at your Tam Coc (Tam Cốc) hotel. Take a morning departure and you reach the island around lunchtime. Groups with lots of luggage can hire a private car. Riders need to reach the pier before the last ferry.
10 min read
A ferry at the island-side pier below the hills of Cat Ba, August 2018.
At seven in the morning in Tam Coc, minibuses squeeze into the narrow lanes below the limestone cliffs and collect travellers waiting outside their homestays with suitcases and backpacks. Four or five hours later, if the roads are clear and the crossing is on time, the same travellers are standing on a ferry deck or sitting in a speedboat, and the hills of Cat Ba are getting closer across the water.
There is no direct road. Every option means about 150 km by road through Hai Phong (Hải Phòng), or a longer way round through Ha Long (Hạ Long), and then a sea crossing. So the ferry and cable car times matter more than the speed of your bus.
Which option suits you?
| Option | Time and guide price | Best for, and what to check |
|---|---|---|
| Bus-and-boat ticket (tourist bus or limo van) | 4-5 hours, sometimes 6; 200,000-380,000 VND per person | One or two people without a vehicle. Check the pickup point, how you cross and where you are dropped off |
| Private car with driver | About 4.5 hours; from about 2.8 million VND for a car for 3 passengers, about 933,000 VND each | Groups with lots of luggage, your own departure time. Ask if the ferry ticket is included |
| Motorbike | About 160 km on ordinary roads; ferry 45,000 VND per bike | Experienced riders with a licence valid in Vietnam. No expressways for motorbikes; do not ride in heavy rain or storm warnings |
| Train via Hanoi (Hà Nội) | Most of a day, with a change of train in Hanoi | Only for people who love trains |
For one or two people, we would take a morning bus-and-boat ticket. One ticket covers the road and the sea crossing, so you do not need to work out ferry times yourself. A private car costs much more. If the quote is 2.8 million VND for three passengers, that is about 933,000 VND each, or roughly 2.5 to 4.7 times a shared seat at 200,000-380,000 VND. In return, you leave when you want, you can stop for lunch in Hai Phong and your bags stay in the same car the whole way.
The train does not really work for this trip. Ninh Binh station is on the north-south line, and the Hai Phong trains start in Hanoi. You would ride just over two hours up to Hanoi, change to the Hai Phong train (2 hours 25 to 2 hours 45 minutes, four a day in each direction) and then still need to reach a pier.
The bus-and-boat ticket: pickup, times and the crossing
A ticket usually includes the bus from Ninh Binh to the pier, the sea crossing and a transfer into Cat Ba town. There are two types of vehicle: tourist buses with 29-45 seats, and 9-12 seat limo vans, which usually cost more and more often pick you up at your hotel. In Tam Coc, many companies pick up at hotels or gather passengers at their office near the boat landing. In central Ninh Binh, near the station, pickup is usually at the company's office. If you are staying near Trang An (Tràng An), about 14 km from Tam Coc, or at a homestay outside the village, ask whether you are inside the free pickup area.
Each company has its own timetable. Taken together, departures from Ninh Binh fall into three groups: 7-7:30am, 8:30-10am and 1-2pm. One company lists 7am, 9am and 2pm; another runs at 7am, 9:30am and 1:30pm for 300,000-350,000 VND. Arrival times on tickets are estimates, usually about 4.5 hours after pickup. Before you book, check the departure times and pickup points on the operator's booking page against the last ferry. We recommend a morning bus. An afternoon bus may reach the island around dusk or after dark, depending on its departure time and the crossing. It also runs close to the last ferry, so a traffic jam can mean a long wait at the pier.
How you cross depends on the company, and it can change from one trip to the next. Some trips take the bus on the Dong Bai - Cai Vieng car ferry. Others move you to a short speedboat or the cable car near Dong Bai, and some listings show a speedboat from Ben Binh (Bến Bính) pier in Hai Phong city. Then a second minibus takes you across the island. A change of vehicle means carrying your own bags across the pier, so ask how your trip crosses before you book. In Cat Ba, buses usually stop at company offices around Nui Ngoc (Núi Ngọc) and 1/4 streets in town; a few go to your hotel.
If the bus goes on the ferry, passengers must get out when it drives on, stay out during the crossing and get back in after it drives off. Vietnamese law (Article 23 of the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety) exempts only the driver, children, pregnant women, frail older people, people with disabilities and sick people.
Booking, paying and luggage
You can book at your hotel reception, at a company office in Tam Coc or Cat Ba town, or on an online booking platform. Payment methods and booking fees vary by platform. Check the options available to you and the final total before paying. When you book at a hotel or an office, bring cash in Vietnamese dong.
Some shops accept QR payments from foreign apps, but not every seller does, so do not rely on QR for a bus ticket. Carry VND, and check before you travel that your app works in Vietnam. Only pay into a company account shown on its official channels, never into a private account sent to you in a chat message.
Luggage rules are set per ticket, not across the route, so check yours. One company allows one suitcase of up to 20 kg and one small bag per person. Bicycles or very large bags need to be arranged in advance and may cost extra. Some passengers in 2026 were charged for luggage even though their ticket allowed it, so save a screenshot of the luggage rules, the pickup time and, the evening before, the vehicle's plate number.
Cat Ba to Ninh Binh
In the other direction, each company again has its own times, usually in three groups: 7:15-9am, 12:15-1pm and 3:30-4:30pm. Midday buses reach Tam Coc at about 5pm and late-afternoon buses at 8-10pm; one company sells them for 380,000 VND. The last bus is not the same for every company: one lists return times that include a 5pm bus. For a late bus, ask how it crosses, because the last ferry leaves Cai Vieng at 5:30pm (1 Sep-31 Dec 2026).
We suggest the midday bus, which gets you to Tam Coc in time for dinner. A short morning boat trip on Lan Ha (Lan Hạ) Bay before it works only if the boat company confirms a return time early enough for your pickup; if it cannot, see the bay the day before. If you want to get off in central Ninh Binh, near the station, check that the bus stops there; some travellers report drivers who would not stop in the city. If you are catching a night train south from Ninh Binh, leave several hours between the bus arrival and the train, because this trip can run late.
Private car, or riding a motorbike
From Tam Coc, the shortest route on the map follows National Road 10 for about 97 km, then the last part of the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway and the Tan Vu - Lach Huyen (Tân Vũ - Lạch Huyện) sea bridge to Dong Bai pier, about 150 km in total. A new Ninh Binh - Hai Phong expressway is still under construction.
A private car with driver costs from about 2.8 million VND for 3 passengers, and about 4.4 million VND for a 9-seat van. A group of four should ask for its own quote and say how many suitcases it has. On the ferry, the same rule applies as on a bus: everyone except the driver and the exempt groups gets out. Ask whether the price includes the ferry, road tolls and waiting time at the pier. Most visitors hire a driver; to drive yourself, you need a licence that is valid in Vietnam.
Motorbikes are not allowed on expressways, so riders go through Hai Phong city on ordinary roads and then over the Tan Vu - Lach Huyen bridge, about 160 km in total. National Road 10 is busy with trucks and passes through several crowded towns. Ride only with a licence valid in Vietnam (and check your travel insurance covers it), wear a helmet and travel in daylight. Leave early so you reach the pier well before the last ferry, and postpone the trip in heavy rain or when a storm warning is out. The motorbike fare on the Dong Bai ferry is 45,000 VND; ask at the pier whether a passenger pays the 10,000 VND foot fare as well.
You can also take a regular bus or limo van to Hai Phong and cross on your own. The Cat Hai - Phu Long (Phù Long) cable car starts next to Dong Bai pier. From 19 October 2026 it is closed on Tuesdays. The published final operating window is 2:30-2:45pm on weekdays and 3:30-3:45pm at weekends. A ride costs 70,000 VND. The Plus ticket bundles the cable car and the shuttle into town; confirm the current price when booking. Only a morning bus connects with it. If you arrive later, walk onto the Dong Bai ferry (10,000 VND, last boat 6pm) and book a taxi for the 22-23 km from Cai Vieng to town. From central Hai Phong, the Ben Binh speedboat is closer: 200,000-300,000 VND per person, with times that vary by company. 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.
Going via Ha Long instead
The second route goes north to Tuan Chau (Tuần Châu) ferry pier in Ha Long, about 173 km from Tam Coc, then crosses on the Tuan Chau - Gia Luan (Gia Luận) ferry to the north of Cat Ba island. The ferry 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, 80,000 VND with a motorbike and 300,000-450,000 VND for a small car; confirm the fare at the pier.
The schedule changes by season and a sailing may need enough passengers before it leaves, so check the current timetable. Gia Luan is about 22 km from Cat Ba town.
Coming straight from Ninh Binh, this route is longer and depends on a ferry with few departures. It makes sense only if you spend a night in Ha Long or on a Ha Long Bay cruise first. Check the ferry times at the pier the day before.
Fitting it into a northern Vietnam loop
The usual loop is Hanoi - Ninh Binh - Cat Ba - Hanoi. Tam Coc is about 103 km from Hanoi's Hoan Kiem (Hoàn Kiếm) Lake and about 127 km from Noi Bai (Nội Bài) airport. From Cat Ba back to the capital, there are bus-and-boat tickets with Old Quarter drop-off.
You do not have to finish in Hanoi. Hai Phong's Cat Bi (Cát Bi) airport has domestic flights and a few international routes, including Seoul Incheon (check airline sites for current schedules). It is about 9 km from Ben Binh pier and 25 km from Dong Bai. So you can fly into Noi Bai, go to Ninh Binh first, then Cat Ba, and fly out of Cat Bi. Arriving at Cat Bi from Korea, do the loop the other way: Cat Ba first, then Ninh Binh, then Hanoi.
- Day 1
Hanoi to Ninh Binh
Morning bus or train, check in at Tam Coc in the afternoon. - Day 2
Trang An and Tam Coc
Boat trip in the morning, rest in the afternoon. Book the Cat Ba bus and confirm the pickup time. - Day 3
To Cat Ba
An early morning bus reaches the island around midday. Beach in the afternoon; swim only where lifeguards are on duty. - Day 4
Lan Ha Bay
Half-day or full-day shared boat. Boats sail only when the port allows it. - Day 5
Leave the island
Bus to Hanoi or Ninh Binh, or cross to Cat Bi airport. Plan around the last ferry.
Treat each travel day as half a day lost. Do not book a full-day Lan Ha cruise on the day you change towns. In storm season, leave one spare night before an international flight, because a cancelled crossing moves everything after it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I visit Cat Ba as a day trip from Ninh Binh?
The timetables allow it, but it is not worth it: eight or nine hours on the road and the sea for a few hours on the island. Stay at least one night on Cat Ba.
If I take the morning bus, can I see Lan Ha Bay the same afternoon?
Usually yes with an early morning bus, which reaches the island around midday. Shared boats run about 3pm to 6pm for around 380,000 VND per person. Ask whether hotel pickup is included, and remember boats sail only when the port allows it.
Can I stop in Hai Phong city on the way?
Yes, with a private car, or by splitting the trip: a bus to Hai Phong, a night in the city, then the speedboat or cable car the next morning. One day is enough for the old centre and a few good meals. Plan it as two separate trips, each with its own ticket.
