Cat Hai Islands District, located near Halong Bay, retains its rare and rich natural beauty, providing visitors with a variety of interesting things to explore and appreciate.

Where is Cat Hai islands district

Cat Hai islands district is in Northwest Haiphong city and Northeast Quang Ninh province. The district’s terrain is complex, covering approximately 345 square kilometers, with mountainous forests occupying two-thirds of the area. Cat Hai district has a population of about 30 thousand people. It is made up of two islands: Cat Ba and Cat Hai, with Cat Ba acting as the district’s administrative center.

Best time to travel

Tourists will enjoy the cool climate in Cat Hai district all year. The seasons are well defined in the island district, with the fresh air helping residents feel at ease. For domestic tourists, the perfect time to visit Halong is from June to October, and from November to March for international visitors.

Storms and high south winds are common in July and August. There is also rain and fog in the last months of the year. As a consequence, you should not enter the Cat Hai Islands district during these days.

Top attractions in Cat Hai

Discovering the rich flora and fauna

Cat Ba islands are made up of 336 islands, the biggest of which is Cat Ba island. Cat Ba National Park is situated here. The National Park is home to rare gene properties, including the World Red List-listed white-headed langur. Cat Hai island has sand that is vulnerable to cavitation and tidal erosion. The island is home to about 200 fish species, 600 aquatic mammal species, 75 phytoplankton species, 200 zooplankton species, and 27 varieties of mangroves. Furthermore, mollusks such as penaeid shrimps, spiny lobsters, tortoises, crabs, pearls, green mussels, and geoducks can be found on Cat Hai beach.

Swimming on the lovely beaches

Many lovely beaches with incredibly flat and peaceful white sand, such as Cat Co, Cat Tien, Tung Thu, Cat Dua, and Van Boi, are nestled in the center of the bay, nestled on one side of the mountains. This is one of the attributes that Cat Ba was endowed with by nature. Every afternoon, after engaging in fascinating water sports on the beaches such as volleyball, tennis, and boat racing, among others, visitors will enjoy a romantic dinner right on the sand.

Taking pleasure in seafood

When visitors visit the Cat Hai Islands district, they not only enjoy the fresh air, the cold blue sea, and the smooth white sand beaches, but they also become luxurious guests. There are several new and exotic seafood dishes from the temperate tropical sea that you will not ever forget, such as shrimp rice noodle, steamed geoducks, or horseshoe crabs, among others.

Visitors will eat at a restaurant or at the hotel where they are staying. If you want to be certain of the food’s consistency, buy fresh seafood from markets and get the tasty dishes prepared by the host of your hotel, which will cost you between VND 100,000 and VND 150,000. In addition, travelers can opt to eat on the floating houses for about VND 120,000/person, with specialties from Cat Ba and Cat Hai.