How to get to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi

How to get to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi with essential travel tips to simplify your journey and improve your experience.

From Hanoi to Cat Ba is about 156 km with 3 main routes:

1. National-way 5: This road is suitable for motorcyclists.
2. High-way 5B: This road is reserved for high-speed cars and goes much faster.
3. Train: Take the train from Hanoi to Hai Phong, then choose a bus, motorbike, taxi, or bicycle to get to Cat Ba Island.

Recommend: Book Lan Ha Bay day tour from Hanoi (pick-up 7:00-7:30) → Click to book.

Get to Cat Ba by On Motorbike/ Private Car from Hanoi

Cat Ba Island is part of Hai Phong City, so you must first travel to Hai Phong to reach it from Hanoi.

Motorbike riders should take National Highway 5 to reach Hai Phong city (105 km – 3 hours), while car travelers should use Highway 5B.

High-way 5B is longer, but there's no traffic since only cars can access it.

Hanoi to Hai Phong National-way 5 → view map

Hanoi to Hai Phong High-way 5B → view map

From Hai Phong City, you have several options to get to Cat Ba island.

Option 1 - by Speedboat

You can take a speedboat from Binh ferry terminal and go directly to Cat Ba Island (~250,000 VND – 60 mins). It’s fast but quite expensive.

Timeline of Binh Speedboat

The speedboat will temporarily stop operating from September to April next year.

Option 2 - by Bus

You can easily book a bus from Hai Phong to Cat Ba Island.

Bus ticket booking office.

1. Cat Ba Transport Travel Company: 16 Ben Binh Street, Minh Khai Ward, Hong Bang District, Hai Phong → view map
2. Cat Ba Island Resort & Spa Company: 41 Ben Binh Street, Minh Khai Ward, Hong Bang District, Hai Phong →​ view map
3. Contact +84976951999 (Mr Hien - WhatsApp/ Call).

Bus Price

Timeline of bus

Option 3: Go straight to Cat Ba by Ferry

Or you can go to the flyover called Tan Vu – Lach Huyen which connects the mainland to Cat Hai Island.

There’s a parking lot at the Dong Bai ferry terminal where you can park your motorbike or car. → view Dong Bai Pier map

If you want, you can bring your motorbike/car to the island with an additional fee for your vehicle.

Tour the amazing road on Cat Ba island with your motorbike. It will take 4 - 5 hours to go from Hanoi to the center of Cat Ba island.

Dong Bai Ferry price

Dong Bai ferry every 30 minutes from 5 AM to 6:30 PM - duration: 30 mins.

Or a speedboat at Got pier (80,000 VND – duration: 8 mins) to Cat Ba Island. (read more Got Speedboat) You must leave your vehicle there if you take the speedboat at Got Pier.

Read more about how to get from Hai Phong to Cat Ba Island → here

Get to Cat Ba island from Hanoi by bus

If you prefer to avoid the hassle of a motorbike, heat, and traffic, simply book a bus ticket that conveniently includes a speedboat from Hanoi to Cat Ba Island for $13, then relax.

You'll get to the center of town after 3 hours 30 minutes.

Book a bus to Cat Ba

1. Hanoi to Cat Ba bus
2. Cat Ba to Hanoi bus
3. Bus Hanoi - Cat Ba round-trip

Cat Ba Express buses will drop off guests at hotels in Cat Ba town center and locations as close to the hotel as possible.

Read more:

1. How to get to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi
2. How to get to Cat Ba Island from Ninh Binh
3. How to get to Ninh Binh from Cat Ba Island
4. How to get to Cat Ba island from Ha Giang
5. How to get to Ha Giang from Cat Ba Island
6. Halong - Lan Ha Bay one day from Cat Ba

By Train from Hanoi

The train from Hanoi to Hai Phong has 4 daily trips: 6:00 am, 9:20 am, 3:15 pm, 6:10 pm. The train departs from Long Bien Station. → Google map (at Hanoi Old Quarter)

To book train tickets, you can book directly at the website of Vietnam Railway Company dsvn.vn or reputable ticket providers like 12go.com.

After arriving in Hai Phong, you need a vehicle from Hai Phong to Cat Ba island. You can learn more about how to get from Hai Phong to Cat Ba → here.

​How to book a bus?

1. Book online here. We will confirm your booking immediately
2. Book in our office at No. 106 Tran Nhat Duat, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi.
3. Call our hotline to book: +84 84 824 4999 (Whatsapp is available)
4. Send your request to info@catbaexpress.com

Read more →

1. Cat Ba Island, Vietnam - an unforgettable holiday
2. The top 15 hotels in Cat Ba Island
3. Lan Ha Bay – the forgotten paradise