Where Lan Ha Bay Cruises Leave From: Tuan Chau, Ben Beo or Got
Where do Lan Ha Bay cruises depart from? Most two-day ships check in at Tuan Chau in Ha Long; the Cat Ba boats leave Ben Beo. Pier by pier, cruise by cruise.
Most Lan Ha Bay cruises do not start in Lan Ha Bay. The two-day ships sold online check in at Tuan Chau, a marina on an island in Ha Long, and sail about 22 km south (in a straight line) into Lan Ha Bay with lunch on board. The small boats and day boats leave from Ben Beo pier, just east of Cat Ba town, already inside the bay. Ask which pier before you book: it decides how long you spend on the bus and how much of the trip is in Lan Ha Bay. Carnival’s Hanoi: 2D1N Elite Lan Ha & Ha Long Cruise with Infinity Pool, for one, checks in at Tuan Chau Marina at 11:30, from $125 a person (checked November 2026).
The calendar above is that cruise: a tender from Tuan Chau to the ship, kayaking at Ao Ech lagoon and a swim the first afternoon, a night at anchor, then the Dark and Light Cave by kayak or bamboo boat in the morning and back at the marina by about 11:00. The bus from Hanoi’s Old Quarter is US$25 a person.
Pier by pier
| Tuan Chau, Ha Long | Ben Beo, Cat Ba | Got, Cat Hai | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it is | A marina on Tuan Chau island, west of Ha Long city, reached by road | A pier at Cai Beo, on the east side of Cat Ba town | A pier on Cat Hai island, across the water from Cat Ba |
| From Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi | About 148 km by road | About 152 km by road, with the car ferry | Not routed (no fixed point published) |
| Who leaves from it | Most of the two- and three-day ships, and Paradise Grand | The small Cat Ba cruises and the day boats | None of the cruises on this site |
| How much of the trip is in Lan Ha Bay | You sail through the south of Ha Long Bay first | All of it, from the first hour | Route 3 of the bays board starts here |
Distances from a route planner on public road data, Hoan Kiem Lake to each pier, November 2026. Who leaves from where: the cruise listings and the Cat Ba bays management board’s route page.
Tuan Chau Marina
The bigger ships on this site all check in at Tuan Chau: BAT Group’s two-day and larger ships, Carnival’s two-day and three-day cruises, Marvel Travel’s two-day cruise, Taliya’s day cruise, and Paradise Grand, which boards at Paradise Cruises Pier on Tuan Chau Island. Check-in on the overnight cruises is between about 11:00 and 12:00, a tender takes you out to the ship, and you are back at the marina by about 11:00 to 11:30 on the last day. The extra time at sea is the price of the bigger ships: you cross the south of Ha Long Bay on the way in and on the way out, and the afternoon and morning stops are where the Lan Ha part happens.
Ben Beo pier, Cat Ba
Ben Beo is where you board if you are staying on Cat Ba, and where the small boats start: Venezia Cruises’ two days in groups of up to 15, Cat Ba Local’s and Halong Dolphin Travel’s day boats, and Beka’s day boat, where the guide hands out the tickets for what Beka calls the Cat Ba Archipelago bay route at the pier. The boats are in Lan Ha Bay within minutes. The catch is getting to Cat Ba: from Hanoi it is about 152 km by road, including the ferry from Cat Hai to Cai Vieng and about 24 km across the island.
See Venezia's two days from Ben Beo
Got, on Cat Hai
Got (Bến Gót) is the pier on Cat Hai island, at the far end of the Tan Vu to Lach Huyen sea bridge from Hai Phong, and older guides still send Lan Ha cruises there. The Cat Ba bays management board’s route page lists it as the start of route 3, through Gia Luan, Tra Bau and Ang Ong Cam to the Dark and Bright Cave; the page dates from 2020. Bhaya Cruises, one of the operators, writes that most Lan Ha cruises left from Got until construction work there moved them to Tuan Chau before 2022, and that they still leave from Tuan Chau. None of the cruises on this site checks in at Got. The car ferry to Cat Ba no longer uses it either: since 1 March 2024 it runs from Dong Bai, also on Cat Hai, to Cai Vieng. If a cruise you are looking at names Got, ask for the address of the check-in.
Why the ships come from Ha Long
Since April 2026, crossing between the two bays runs under a scheme Hai Phong and Quang Ninh signed on 26 March 2026: tickets for the Ha Long to Lan Ha routes are sold at Tuan Chau and at Ha Long international port, and the Ha Long Bay board lists those routes as overnight cruises. Its Lan Ha legs name the stops the ships make, which vary by route: Gia Luan, Tra Bau, Ong Cam, the Bright and Dark caves, Ba Trai Dao, Quai To, Viet Hai pier and, on one route, the Cai Beo fishing village. The Cat Ba bays board’s own route 2 from Ben Beo also passes Quai To.
Which pier suits you
- Coming from Hanoi for one night: Tuan Chau. The bus is shorter, and the ships are bigger, with pools, spas and balcony cabins.
- Staying on Cat Ba: Ben Beo, and a day boat or a small two-day boat; you are in the bay within minutes.
- Coming from Ninh Binh: several of the Tuan Chau cruises pick up in Ninh Binh and drop you back in Hanoi, or the other way round, if you ask when you book.
Pick your pier
Two Days on Lan Ha and Ha Long Bay, Infinity Pool Ship
Two days: check-in at 11:30, an infinity pool, Ao Ech by kayak, the Dark and Light Cave in the morning.
Check dates →Two Days from Cat Ba: a Small Boat into Lan Ha Bay
Two days from Cat Ba in groups of up to 15: Ba Trai Dao, kayaks, Viet Hai village by bicycle.
See the Cat Ba cruise →Lan Ha Bay Day Boat from Cat Ba, with Kayaks
About eight hours from Cat Ba town: the floating village, kayaks, lunch at anchor, Ba Trai Dao beach.
See the day boat →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
More Cruises with Open Dates
More Lan Ha Bay Cruises with Open Dates
Day boats and overnight cruises into Lan Ha Bay, with live availability. Times and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Two Days from Tuan Chau Marina
Carnival's infinity-pool ship: check in at Tuan Chau at 11:30, kayak at Ao Ech, the Dark and Light Cave the next morning.
Check dates