Let me tell you the wildest story from my solo trip in Asia! And it all started when I met a guy at a random restaurant on Cat Ba Island, Vietnam.
I had just arrived on Cat Ba Island earlier in the day and, after settling down, I stopped for dinner. While I was eating, a guy walked into the restaurant and asked the owner if he knew anything about boat rides to Viet Hai Village.
It was such a coincidence, because on my bus ride, I had just met two people that were also heading to Viet Hai Village. My interest peaked, and I started listening in to their conversation.
When the two finished their talk, I approached the guy (Steve) to learn more about Viet Hai. There must be something in this village if everyone was checking it out, right?
As Steve introduced the village to me, I told him about the other two (Kent & Philip) I’ve met earlier. A short text conversation later, the four of us decided to explore the village together the next day.
And this was how my adventurous day at Viet Hai Village started.
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Viet Hai Village
Viet Hai Village is a small fishing village located remotely on the eastern of the Cat Ba Island, next to the Cat Ba National Park. It’s also a popular stop for cruises in the Lan Ha Bay.
Getting to Viet Hai Village
There are two ways to get to Viet Hai Village.
By land, you can trek through the Cat Ba National Park until you get to Viet Hai Village. You’ll need to purchase an entrance ticket in order to access the park.
By water, you can take a boat ride.
We went to a bunch of travel agencies to find out about the boat rides. Here’s what we found out:
There are speedboats and slow boats. The speed boat takes only 15 minutes and is (unsurprisingly) more expensive. The slow boat takes around 45 minutes to get to the Viet Hai Village.
I took the speedboat to the village and the slow boat on the way back.
If you want to explore the beautiful bays and don’t have the budget for cruises, the slow boat is a great alternative. The views during that 45-minute period are breathtaking.
There’s no set price for these boat rides, so negotiate. You can also join another group that looks like they’re heading to the village! It’ll cut down the cost since the boat rides are priced per boat and not per person.
Things to Do in Viet Hai Village
Renting and riding the bicycle to Viet Hai Village

The first thing you’ll see when you get off the boat at the ferry are the bike rental places. The Viet Hai Village is pretty far from the pier, so you need to either rent a bike or hop on the electric buggy to get there.
Biking is by far the most popular choice.
Only issue for me was I’ve never ridden a bike before this…
Let me tell you how my chat with the shop owner went.
Me: “I’ve never been on a bike before.”
Shop owner: “Don’t worry, it’s super easy. There’s no cars, and it’s a straight road. You can do it.”
“Okay, if you say so…” and so I got on the bike.
After a few failed attempts and toppling over, the shop owner sighed, “Maybe….it’s best for you to take the electrical buggy instead.”
My lack of skills had convinced her it’s not worth the risk.
But I was not ready to give up! If I have to learn how to ride a bicycle, I might as well do it where there are no cars.
Even though I was super wobbly, I was happy I made it to the destination.
Hike the back mountains of the Cat Ba National Park
After meeting up with Kent and Philip, we decided to hike up the back mountains of Cat Ba National Park. It’s labeled as Navy Peak Telecom Tower on Google Maps.
When we got to the entrance, there was a man who was selling tickets “unofficially”. I say that because while he had the ticket packs for the Cat Ba National Park, he never gave us the tickets.
Plus, there wasn’t a proper trail up the mountain, just steep rocks and a single power line leading to the top. The hike was pretty intense and exhausting.
After taking a bunch of breaks (mostly for me), we finally made it to the top. It was all worth it for the view at the top.

Watch out when going down the mountain, because some areas are sandy and slippery. This is where I slipped, tumbled, and hit my knees on the rocks.
I totally freaked out when I slipped (and so did everyone else) because you can totally picture what comes next. One nasty fall and it’ll be a total disaster.
We’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, on a mountain, on an island. Thank goodness Philip was in front of me and stopped me.
Obviously, after this, I never travel without travel insurance now.
The Nomad Insurance from SafetyWing is what I find to most suit my needs. It’s flexible with dates/places, so you can extend your coverage or add a new country to your plan at any time. Plus, it covers a wide variety of activities, so you can go on an adventure without worries!
Heading Back
If you’re heading back late in the day, there’s a high chance you won’t be able to find a ride back (which is what happened to us). All the tourists had left for the day, and so did all the boats.
In the end, a local at the pier had to call for a boat to come back to pick us up. When this happens, haggling is not really an option, and the driver gets to set the price.
Fortunately, there was another family stuck with us, so we split the bill.
The slow boat ride was 45 minutes, but I got to enjoy the amazing views of the limestone rocks that went by so fast on the speedboat.
My whole body was killing me for a few days because of the fall and the intense hike. Sure, the day was one crazy adventure, but I’m happy it happened.
1 comment
Hi – how did you hire the boat? did you just get to to Ben Beo pier and ask?