Cát Bà

Cát Bà Cannon Fort is a French and Japanese military installation from the 1940s on the hilltop above Cát Bà town - preserved cannons, bunkers, and tunnels with 360-degree views over Ha Long Bay, Lan Hà Bay, and Cát Bà Island's forested karst interior.

Cát Bà National Park covers 17,000 hectares of the island's rugged interior - the last habitat of the critically endangered golden-headed langur, with jungle trails to a 331-metre summit viewpoint over Ha Long Bay and Lan Hà Bay simultaneously.

Cát Cò is a series of three beaches on the southern edge of Cát Bà town - the island's most accessible swimming spots, set against karst peaks with forested cliffs dropping to the sand, 10 minutes walk from the town centre.

Hospital Cave is a three-storey limestone cave complex on Cát Bà Island that served as a secret Viet Cong hospital and military headquarters during the American War - treating up to 150 patients at a time while completely hidden from US aerial surveillance between 1963 and 1975.

Lan Hà Bay is the southern section of the Ha Long Bay karst system - 400 limestone islands, hidden beaches, floating fishing villages, and some of the clearest water in the Gulf of Tonkin, with a fraction of Ha Long's boat traffic and far better kayaking conditions.

Trung Trang Cave is the largest accessible cave on Cát Bà Island - a 300-metre limestone grotto inside the national park with stalactite formations, a bat colony, and a jungle approach through primary forest.

Việt Hải is a completely isolated fishing and farming village inside Cát Bà National Park - reachable only by kayak through Lan Hà Bay or by cycling a jungle path through the national park, home to about 50 families who live without road access to the outside world.