Kayaking in Lan Ha Bay: the Caves, Lagoons and Beaches

Nearly every Lan Ha Bay cruise and day boat puts you in a kayak, but where you paddle depends on where the boat starts. Ships from Tuan Chau in Ha Long usually stop at the Dark and Bright Cave, where you choose a kayak or a bamboo boat rowed by a local, then the Ao Ech or Tra Bau area. Small boats from Ben Beo on Cat Ba go deeper into the lagoons south and east of the island and on to Ba Trai Dao. The longest paddle for the money is a day boat from Cat Ba, such as Cat Ba Local’s Lan Ha Bay FullDay Cruise and Kayak (small group guaranteed), from $32 a person (checked November 2026).

The calendar above is that day boat: about eight hours from Cat Ba town in groups of up to 30, with kayaks through lagoons, tunnels and two caves in the morning, lunch anchored at Ong Cam islet, a swim at Ba Trai Dao beach, a fish farm and the run back at about 17:00. Kayaks, dry bags, lunch and the entrance fees are in the price.

Where the kayaks go

The listings name the same handful of places. Which ones you reach depends on the pier, the boat and, on the day, the tide and the wind: every cruise below says the captain may change the stop.

The tours’ listings, November 2026.

Ba Trai Dao is the stop the listings disagree on: Venezia Cruises puts it in Lan Ha Bay, while two of the Cat Ba day boats describe it as Ha Long Bay. The authorities settle it. The Cat Ba bays management board lists Ba Trai Dao on its route 2 from Ben Beo, and the 2026 scheme between Hai Phong and Quang Ninh names it among the Lan Ha stops, with Tra Bau and the Dark and Bright caves. The Cat Ba boats get there and back in a day; a ship from Tuan Chau only goes if the captain picks it.

Since a fatal collision between two tour boats in Lan Ha Bay on 14 June 2026, Cat Hai’s authorities require life jackets for every passenger from boarding.

Kayak or bamboo boat at the cave

At the Dark and Bright Cave, most ships offer a choice: paddle a kayak yourself, or sit in a bamboo boat rowed by someone from the area. Carnival’s two-day ship, Carnival’s three days and Taliya’s day cruise all list the bamboo boat; BAT Group’s and Marvel Travel’s two-day cruises list both. The bamboo boat suits children, anyone nervous on the water and anyone who wants their hands free for photographs.

The Cat Ba bays board describes four caves in the area: the Dark Cave, the Bright Cave, the Bat Cave and the Jellyfish Cave. Paddling through all four is about 5.3 km and an hour and a half; the Dark Cave, over 200 m long, narrow and unlit, needs a torch and the right tide, and when the tide or the board closes it, the three-cave loop is about 4.1 km and 45 minutes. The board calls it a safe place to kayak because it is enclosed and off the boat channels, and names its busiest hours as 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:00. Most ships give you about an hour here, so expect the shorter loop.

If paddling is what you came for, the ships give you about an hour in a kayak each day. The Cat Ba day boats give you more, and they are the cheaper way to do it: the Halong Dolphin Travel day from Ben Beo kayaks at the Bright, Dark and Bat caves and ends with a bicycle ride at Viet Hai, Halong Dolphin Travel's day boat, from $28 (checked November 2026).

Viet Hai village by bicycle

Viet Hai is a village in a valley on the east side of Cat Ba Island, inside Cat Ba National Park. On 30 September 2026 Cat Hai district and Vingroup handed 88 electric motorbikes over to the village. Boats land at the Viet Hai pier and you go on by bicycle or electric cart; Carnival's three-day itinerary puts the ride at about 4 km, past rice fields and old houses. The two-day small boats from Cat Ba stop here on their second morning, and so do the three-day cruises from Tuan Chau.

See Venezia's two days from Cat Ba

The night paddle among the plankton

From Cat Ba town two evening trips go out to see bioluminescent plankton, the tiny organisms that glow when the water is disturbed: Alibaba’s Tour’s plankton boat trip and Cat Ba Local’s sunset and night kayak, each from $44 (checked November 2026). They need a night on Cat Ba, so they suit people staying on the island rather than on a ship.

Pick your paddle

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.