Hanoi to Cat Ba Island by Bus: Honest Guide 2024

Cat Ba Island – Nature lovers would adore this place!

With white sand beaches, stunning coral reefs, amazing limestone mountains in the bay, and lush green forests, not only can you enjoy the beautiful nature on the island, but you can also partake in a wide range of exciting activities such as kayaking, snorkeling, rock climbing, or swimming.

If you are traveling to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi, this post is very helpful for you.

In this post, I’ll show you how to go from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island by bus, including information on bus tickets, what to expect, & the best bus operators.

Additionally, I have provided detailed explanations on how to go from Hanoi to Cat Ba by train, motorbike, tour, and private car charter in the later part of the post as well.

DISCLOSURE: My articles may contain affiliate links. To click on those links, you won’t be charged any extra cost, instead, you help me to get some small commissions to maintain my blog. Thanks for understanding!

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. How to take a bus from Hanoi to Cat Ba
3. Other ways to go from Hanoi to Cat Ba
4. From Noi Bai Airport to Cat Ba Island
5. Speed boat ticket from Pha Got to Cat Ba Island

1. Overview

Cat Ba Island belongs to Hai Phong City, situated 30 km away from the Hai Phong city center.

There is no direct route from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island. Instead, you have to travel to Got Ferry Terminal (Pha Got) on Cai Hai Island by road and then take a speed boat to Cat Ba Island.

There are various transportation options between Hanoi and Cat Ba Island, including buses, trains, tours, private cars, or motorcycles. Undoubtedly, the cheapest and easiest way to travel from Hanoi to Cat Ba is by bus, especially for solo travelers.

2. How to take a bus from Hanoi to Cat Ba

Hanoi to Cat Ba bus ticket

Price: 260.000-320.000 VND/person (about 10-13USD)
3 Ways to buy bus tickets: Buy online via This link, OR at a travel agency, OR your hotel’s tour desk
Bus schedule: Different companies offer different schedules. The most popular timings are 7:30 AM, 10:30 AM, and 2:00 PM.

What to expect about the Hanoi to Cat Ba bus?

The Hanoi-Cat Ba bus journey takes about 3-4 hours. Here’s how the Hanoi to Cat Ba bus journey goes:

The guide will pick you up at your hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter. If you don’t stay inside the old quarter, then you need to go to a designated pick-up point.
The bus will depart to Got Ferry Terminal (Pha Got) on Cat Hai island. There will be a 10-minute break in the middle of the trip.
From Got Ferry Terminal, you will be transferred to a speed boat to go to Cai Vieng harbor on Cat Ba Island; the boat trip takes about 10 minutes.
Upon reaching, the guide will bring you to another bus to drop you off in Cat Ba town

💡 Tip: Some companies offer hotel drop-off services as well such as Good Morning Cat Ba.

Bus companies I highly recommend

Having worked in tourism in Hanoi for 2 years, I know exactly which bus companies are good for the Hanoi to Cat Ba route.

From my experience, Good Morning Cat Ba and Cat Ba Express are the two companies that many of my customers left positive reviews for. Therefore, I think you should definitely go for these two companies.

They offer friendly service, an English-speaking guide on the trip, and hotel pick-up and drop-off. More importantly, they are usually punctual. Sometimes, if you are too late or too early, they can be flexible by organizing a later or earlier bus for you.

➡ You can buy tickets from both companies through This link.

3. Other ways to go from Hanoi to Cat Ba

Other than the bus, there are several other options to get from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island as below:

Tour

Plenty of overnight tours to Cat Ba depart from Hanoi daily. Usually, these tours include 1-2 nights on a cruise in Lan Ha Bay or Ha Long Bay as well, allowing you to visit both Cat Ba Island and the bay.

You can consider this 3D2N Halong Bay & Cat Ba Island Cruise Tour from Hanoi. This tour covers accommodation, meals, transportation, attraction tickets, etc. It involves 1 night cruising along Halong Bay and 1 night on Cat Ba Island. The entire 3D2N trip costs about 4,100.000 VND (~169 USD) per person, which is quite affordable for a 3-star standard.

Private car charter

If you are traveling in a large group (more than 10 people), booking a private car charter is a wise option because it would be very cheap when you share the cost. Below are prices for different types of cars:

4-seater car: 3,900,000 VND (~160 USD)
7-seater car: 4,500,000 VND (~185 USD)
16-seater van: 4,900,000 VND (~198 USD)

➡ Click here to book a private car charter.

💡 Note: You have to double-check whether the price includes speed boat tickets from Pha Got to Cat Ba Island for both the car and passengers.

Train

This is the most time-consuming but cheapest way to travel from Hanoi to Cat Ba. But if you prefer traveling by train, here is a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Hanoi Railway Station to Hai Phong Railway Station

First, you have to go to Hanoi Railway Station (Le Duan) or Long Bien Railway Station. There are about 4-5 trains departing every day. You can buy tickets online via this link(dsvn.vn) or purchase them at the train station. The train tickets cost around 120,000 VND/person/way, and it takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Hai Phong.

Step 2: Hai Phong Railway Station to Got Ferry Terminal (Pha Got)

Take bus No.16C at this location (Tòa Án Nhân Dân Quận Ngô Quyền) to Pha Got (the last stop). The journey takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes, and the bus ticket costs 13,000 VND.

Note: Some websites state that you can go to Pha Dinh (Dinh Ferry Terminal) to take the speed boat to Cai Ba; this is totally outdated information. There is no speed boat to Cai Ba from that ferry terminal anymore.

Step 3: Got Ferry Terminal (Pha Got) to Cat Ba Island

From Pha Got, buy the speed boat tickets to Cai Vieng Harbour (Cat Ba Island). It takes about 7-10 minutes to reach Cat Ba Island. More details about the speed boat’s ticket and schedule are at the end of the post.

Upon reaching, you can take a taxi to get to your hotel. Expect to pay around 300.000 VND for a 4-seater car from Cai Vieng Harbour to Cat Ba Town.

Motorbike

From Hanoi, you can drive to Got Ferry Terminal (Pha Got) by following this route: QL5 – Hong Bang St. – Bach Dang St – Hoang Dieu St. – Le Thanh Tong St – Chua Ve St. – Mac Thai To St. – Tan Vu Lach Huyen Bridge – 356 St.

From Pha Got, just take a speed boat as in Step 3 above.

💡 Note: You will need to pay an extra fee for your motorbike. More details about the speed boat’s ticket and schedule are provided at the end of the post.

4. From Noi Bai Airport to Cat Ba Island

There are two easiest ways to go from Noi Bai Airport to Cat Ba Island: by bus and by private car charter.

Noi Bai Airport to Cat Ba Island by Bus: Good Morning Cat Ba company offers this route. As mentioned above, this company is reliable, so you can book with them via This link. The journey takes about 4 hours and costs 560,000 VND per person.

Noi Bai Airport to Cat Ba Island by Private Car Charter: If you’re traveling in a group, you can also rent a private car charter. Typically, the driver will drop you off at Pha Got, and you will have to take the speed boat to Cat Ba Island by yourself. Make sure to double-check this information before booking the car. Check out the prices via This link.

5. Speed boat ticket from Pha Got to Cat Ba Island

There’s a speed boat departing from Pho Got to Cai Vieng Harbour (Cat Ba Island) every 30 minutes from 5 AM to 6:30 PM. Prices for one-way tickets are as follows:

Passenger (+ bicycle): 12.000 VND
Passenger + motorbike: 45.000 VND
Car: 190.000 VND
Van (under 24 seats): 210.000 VND
Bus (24-32 seats): 240.000 VND
Bus (over 32 seats): 330.000 VND

Above is my detailed guide on how to go from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island by bus. If you have any other questions, feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading!