Most visitors to Cat Ba Island stay in Cat Ba Town. They get seafood restaurants and a busy harbour — but they miss the real island. Here’s why Viet Hai Village is the most extraordinary place to stay on Cat Ba, and why Lan Homestay makes the choice obvious.
Cat Ba Town vs. Viet Hai Village: Two Very Different Experiences
Cat Ba Town is practical and well-connected. It has dozens of hotels in every price range, a waterfront strip of restaurants serving fresh seafood, ATMs, and tour operators on every corner. Getting to the town is simple — ferries from Hai Phong and speedboats from Ha Long City arrive directly at the harbour. For travellers on tight schedules or those who prefer easy access to services, the town makes sense.
But Cat Ba Town is also congested, noisy in the evenings, and feels increasingly like every other Vietnamese coastal town. The views are of the harbour. The air smells of diesel from the fishing fleet. The “local experience” is mostly aimed at domestic tourists and package groups.
Viet Hai Village, a 20-minute boat ride from Cat Ba Town on the far side of the national park, is something else entirely. There are no cars here — none. The only vehicles are small tractors for farm work. The lanes between wooden houses are narrow enough to touch both sides. Water buffaloes wander past at dusk. Limestone karst walls rise on every side, cutting off the village from the rest of the world in the most beautiful possible way.
Viet Hai has about 30 families, a small school, a communal house, and Lan Homestay. That’s more or less it — and that’s exactly the point.
Lan Homestay: The Heart of Viet Hai
Lan Homestay was built and is run by a local family who have lived in Viet Hai their entire lives. The property sits in a tropical garden — banana palms, bougainvillea, vegetable beds, a fish pond — with traditional wooden bungalows arranged around a central dining terrace. From here you can see the rice paddies, the karst walls, and on clear days the glint of the bay.
Room Options at Lan Homestay
- Standard Bungalow — Private wooden cabin with en-suite bathroom, fan or A/C, and garden views. Perfect for couples or solo travellers.
- Deluxe Bungalow — Larger cabin with a private veranda overlooking the garden or paddy fields. The place to linger over morning coffee.
- Family Suite — Spacious suite with a mezzanine sleeping area and private terrace, ideal for families or small groups.
All rooms include breakfast. The kitchen uses vegetables grown on-site and seafood sourced from the village’s own fishing boats.
What You’ll Do from Viet Hai Village
Staying in Viet Hai isn’t a passive experience. Lan Homestay serves as a hub for most of Cat Ba’s best adventures:
- Overnight cruises on Lan Ha Bay — depart from the village pier, avoiding the Cat Ba Town boat queues entirely. See cruise details.
- Guided jungle treks — the park boundary is a 10-minute walk from the guesthouse. Lan Homestay’s guides lead half-day and full-day treks through old-growth forest.
- Kayaking in Lan Ha Bay — boats depart directly from the pier to the best kayaking spots in the bay.
- Bicycle rides around the village — borrow a bicycle and spend an afternoon pedalling between rice paddies with karst walls on all sides.
- Vietnamese cooking class — learn to make traditional dishes from the family kitchen using local ingredients.
- Cultural experience with ao dai — dress in traditional Vietnamese costume and explore the village and garden.
How to Get to Viet Hai Village
From Cat Ba Town, take a small boat from the town pier — journeys take around 20 minutes and the boats run several times daily. Lan Homestay can arrange transfers. Alternatively, the full-day jungle trek from Cat Ba Town through the national park ends directly at the village (5–7 hours, guide required).
Note: if you’re arriving by cruise ship or speedboat from Hanoi, arrange your Cat Ba Town arrival first, then take the local boat across to Viet Hai. Lan Homestay’s team will meet you at the pier.
Check Room Availability at Lan Homestay →
