Cat Ba Kayaking: Overall Guide

Cat Ba Archipelago has an area of 345 km2 and including 367 islands of different sizes. Cat Ba Island is the biggest island, and home to many hidden caves, lagoons, unspoiled beaches, floating fishing villages, making it a perfect place for kayaking. Moreover, the calm emerald waters of Cat Ba are safe, and best suitable for exploring by kayak. Tourism services here provide a range of tours suited to everyone from beginners like kids through to experienced paddlers.

Amazing Cat Ba Kayaking

The best time to kayak in Cat Ba depends on how you define a perfect holiday. Each time during the year, doing kayaking in Cat Ba brings different feelings and experiences.

If you do not like kayaking in an extremely crowded area where you wait for a long time to be able to rent a kayak, do not go from June to August. It is the beginning of summer when all the schools are closed, and every Vietnamese family with kids goes for their holiday. Moreover, June and July belong to the storm season in the Northern Vietnam coastal area. Storms appear, and they will impact your journey. During that time, kayaking might be prohibited by the local government due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Other months from September to May are the ideal time to travel to Cat Ba. International tourists would love to kayak in Cat Ba during months from November to March as it is quite deserted, and you can comfortably explore this beautiful island.

Best weather to do Cat Ba Kayaking

Here, there are some ideal sites for kayaking that you should not skip, which are:

1. Lan Ha Bay

Located in the south of Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay has plenty of attractive places for tourists to explore with a kayak. The Bay is a nontouristy place, so it is great for those looking for a little more off-the-beaten-path experience in Vietnam. When kayaking in Lan Ha Bay, tourists will pass the beautiful limestone karsts that jut from the sea and try to touch the sky. You can either choose to visit a Cua Van Fishing Village to see how locals do their fish farms, take care of their homes and enjoy their life on the bay, or explore the cave called Luon Cave. The cave which is shaped like a tunnel with a submerged background is considered as one of the narrowest, but most popular caves in Cat Ba & Halong Bay for visiting.

Kayaking in Lan Ha Bay Cat Ba

2. Three Peaches Beach

Three peaches beach is considered the most beautiful beach in Lan Ha Bay, it includes 3 small mountains with a height of 20 meters like 3 giant peaches petrified close together. What makes this beach different from any other beaches in Halong Bay is its emerald and clear water, and picturesque seascape. That’s so amazing if you are able to go kayaking to go around blue beaches and natural mountains in the middle of the ocean. Getting immersed in peaceful and enchanting nature helps you to forget about the anxiety and stress of busy life, and enjoy the slow pace of life.

Kayaking in Three Peaches

3. Dark & Bright Cave

Dark & Light Cave is actually a system made up of two separate caves. Dark Cave is 100 meters long with very little natural or artificial light while Light cave is shorter, and has natural light beaming through gaps and holes in the rock. Unlike Light cave, you will need a flashlight to explore the Dark cave and sometimes can not have access to the cave as it can be swallowed by the tide. When kayaking to explore this cave, you will get a chance to get accessed to the base of the mountain and understand more about an interesting phenomenon that the base of limestones is corroded by water. Tapping the stalactites ceiling in the cave, you can see different classes of stalactites on the ceiling and on the cliffs. Passing through the cave, a sea valley surrounded by magnificent mountains appears, everything looks like the scenery in a fairy tale.

Kayaking in Dark & Bright Cave Cat Ba

4. Vem Cave

Hang Vem and Thinh Linh is the area that is sure to delight your curiosity. Nestled in the magnificent mountains, Hang Vem and Thinh Linh are surrounded by a large, and shallow lake. Coming here, tourists will be able to do learn how to kayak, immerse themselves in the peaceful beauty of Cat Ba island. Doing kayaking here, you will be able to admire the beauty of coral reefs, the tiny fishes swimming, dancing around, and many other interesting sceneries.

• Before you kayak

As kayaking requires people to be outdoors all the time, so you need to prepare yourself some essentials like sunscreen, water shoes, sunglasses, water, a change of clothes for after the tour, a hat with a brim, a waterproof camera, and a towel.

For your safety: avoid kayaking on rainy days, or when you are intoxicated, remember to listen to the instructions from the local guide carefully.

• While you kayak

Follow your guide, keep a suitable distance from other people, not too close nor too far so that you’ll not collide their kayaks nor get lost.

Do not come too close to caves and karsts, and avoid low caves if you’re inexperienced

There are 2 options for you to choose from when you want to kayak in Cat Ba.

The first option is to rent a kayak and you are free to explore Cat Ba island. This is a great choice if you have a lot of experience with kayaking before. It is a lot of fun if you are traveling in a big group. You are not limited by the time to start to finish kayaking.

The second option is to book a kayaking tour or Cat ba Cruise cruise. Cruises often include pick up from, and drop off at your hotel, accommodation (if overnight cruise), meals, kayaking, and other activities on the island such as mountains climbing, swimming, cycling…It is highly recommended to book a kayaking tour or cruise package for kayaking activities as there is always a tour guide who will take care of your you and make sure you are safe.  

Kayaking is an exciting activity that you should never miss when on Cat Ba island. Sitting on a tiny kayak, paddling in the blue water, exploring the cave, or touching the stalactites .. what's more amazing!

Jenny Tran

Image Source: Internet