Islands & Beaches
Quang Ninh Province, Northern Vietnam
Ha Long Bay
Around 1,600 limestone islands in the Gulf of Tonkin, seen properly only from a boat that stays out overnight.
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Destinations
Islands & Beaches
Hai Phong, Northern Vietnam
Cat Ba Island
The largest island in the Ha Long archipelago, with a national park, a climbing scene and the beaches Ha Long Bay does not have.
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Islands & Beaches
Khanh Hoa Province, South Central Coast
Nha Trang
A six-kilometre city beach in a sheltered bay, with Cham towers behind it, islands offshore and the country's most reliable diving.
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Islands & Beaches
Kien Giang Province, Southern Vietnam
Phu Quoc
Vietnam's largest island, in the Gulf of Thailand: white-sand beaches, a national park over half its area, and a dry season while the mainland is wet.
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Guides
Cat Ba Island Travel Guide: Getting There and Doing It Right
Cat Ba is the independent traveler's answer to a packaged Ha Long cruise. This covers the transport chain from Hanoi or Hai Phong, how to pick a Lan Ha Bay boat, what three days actually costs, and the mistakes that cost people their trip.
5 min readRead more
Hai Phong Travel Guide: How to Visit and What It Costs
Hai Phong is one of the easiest places in northern Vietnam to travel independently, until you try to reach the island. This covers getting there from Hanoi, crossing to Cat Ba, choosing a base, splitting the days and what a trip actually costs.
5 min readRead more
Where to Stay in Cat Ba: Five Areas Compared
Cat Ba is small, but pick the wrong area and dinner becomes an hour-long expedition. Five places to base yourself, from the harborfront strip to a homestay in the forest, with estimated rates and the questions to ask before you book.
6 min readRead more
Where to Stay in Hai Phong: Areas, Types and Prices
This is really three destinations with water in between: a downtown, a mainland beach peninsula and an island. Picking the wrong one costs you hours a day. Here is how the areas compare, with honest price bands.
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Articles
Best Time to Visit Phu Quoc, Month by Month
The island has two seasons and they are not subtle. Which months give you flat, clear water, which give you cheap rooms and afternoon rain, and what each one costs.
28 August 20265 min read
Phu Quoc on a Budget: Free Beaches, Cheap Seafood
The island has a reputation for resort pricing, and most of that pricing is optional. The beaches are free, the fishing villages are cheap, and a motorbike costs less than one taxi ride.
28 August 20265 min read
Things to Do in Nha Trang, and Who It Suits
A high-rise beach resort city with island boat trips, thousand-year-old Cham towers and hot mud baths. An honest look at what is here and which travelers will enjoy it.
28 August 20265 min read
Hai Phong Itinerary 3 Days: City, Island and Food
Three days is enough to eat your way through a port city and still get two proper days on Cat Ba Island. This plan splits the time half-day by half-day, and includes a version for when the boats are not running.
28 August 20265 min read
How Many Days in Hai Phong? The Honest Arithmetic
The answer turns almost entirely on one question: is Cat Ba Island part of your plan or not? This works through what each length of stay actually buys you, and where a port city fits into a two-week Vietnam trip.
28 August 20265 min read
Things to Do in Hai Phong: 7 Places Worth Your Time
Hai Phong is three cities stacked on top of each other: an island coast to the east, a French-era downtown in the middle, and a belt of old temples around the edges. These are the seven that repay the detour.
28 August 20265 min read
Things to Do in Ha Long Bay: On the Water and On Shore
Nearly 2,000 limestone islands, a handful of enormous caves, a viewpoint everyone climbs and a cable car most visitors never hear about. Here is what is worth your time on the bay, on shore, and in the quieter bays next door.
27 August 20268 min read
Best Time to Visit Cat Ba Island, Month by Month
Cat Ba is busiest exactly when its weather is least reliable. This breaks the year into four honest stretches, with what each one gives you and what it costs you.
27 August 20266 min read
Cat Ba Island Itinerary 3 Days: Beaches, Bay and Forest
A session-by-session plan for three days on Cat Ba. Day one gets you onto the island and up to Cannon Fort, day two belongs entirely to Lan Ha Bay, day three is forest or caves before the bus home.
27 August 20266 min read
How Many Days in Cat Ba Do You Need?
Two nights is the honest minimum and three is the sweet spot. Here is what each extra night on Cat Ba actually buys you, and how the island fits into a two-week trip around Vietnam.
27 August 20266 min read
Things to Do in Cat Ba Worth Your Time
Cat Ba is not just a beach island. Lan Ha Bay, a national park, a floating fishing village and an old clifftop fort sit within a few kilometers of each other, so the real skill is matching them to the days you have.
27 August 20266 min read
What to Eat in Cat Ba, and How to Order It
Cat Ba food is fresh seafood cooked simply, which means the meal lives or dies on how you order. Here are the dishes worth your appetite and the four-step routine that keeps the bill sane.
27 August 20266 min read