Hai PhongChanging ferry terminals, taking the cable car or using public transportation are ways to avoid waiting for 4-5 hours for the ferry when arriving at Cat Ba island for the holidays.
Cat Ba is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the North every Tet holiday and summer. Cat Ba ferry has moved from Got wharf to Dong Bai wharf, which is more spacious, but whether it’s a weekday or a weekend other than Tet, congestion still often occurs, causing tourists to spend a lot of time traveling. .
According to Mr. Vinh Nguyen, a tourism worker in Cat Ba, to avoid crowds and waiting leading to an unsatisfactory trip, tourists should proactively find ways to avoid it in the three ways below.
Method 1: Choose public transportation
Limit private driving to Cat Ba island, unless absolutely necessary because if driving privately, visitors will have to wait at Dong Bai ferry terminal for a long time, possibly up to 4-5 hours.
If not taking a private car, visitors should choose public transportation such as buses, high-quality passenger cars, limousines or private rental cars to the ferry terminal or parking at the cable car station. Then, tourists walk to the ferry (faster than traveling by vehicle). Taxi to Cat Ba town costs 300,000 VND per trip, 16-seat car costs 600,000 VND per trip; The bus costs 15,000 VND per ticket.
On the island there are many public transportations such as trams (10,000 VND per person per trip), metered taxis, buses and motorbike taxis.
Tourists departing from Hai Phong City also have the option of taking a high-speed boat from Binh wharf to Cat Ba, a travel time of 50 minutes. Ticket prices range from 250,000 VND to 270,000 VND depending on the type of train.
Currently, the cost for a personal car to Cat Ba includes: ferry ticket 320,000 VND per car with less than 7 seats. Most hotels do not have parking spaces, so visitors will have to park overnight at a cost of about 100,000 VND to 200,000 VND depending on the location.
Method 2: Take the cable car
Use the cable car, personal vehicles are parked at the cable car station near the ferry terminal.
Car parking costs range from 50,000 VND to 70,000 VND per night.
Cable car ticket: 100,000 VND per trip (adults and children over 1 m, children under 1 m free). Note, the cable car is closed from Monday to Thursday every week, only operates on weekends. Cable car operating hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Method 3: Change ferry port
If you still want to take a personal car to Cat Ba, drive about 30 minutes more to reach Tuan Chau ferry terminal, Quang Ninh. This ferry terminal is often more deserted than Dong Bai wharf.
However, there is a limitation: the ferry in Tuan Chau only has 5 trips a day each way to and fro. Operating hours on the Tuan Chau side are from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on the Gia Luan side (Cat Ba) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. while the Dong Bai ferry operates continuously from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Taking this route, visitors will see Lan Ha Bay but the travel time is longer, 1 hour and 20 minutes compared to 25 minutes in Dong Bai. Ferry tickets for personal cars (4 to 7 seats) are also higher, 450,000 VND.