From Hanoi to Slo Pony Adventures on Cat Ba Island, Ha Long Bay

Independant travellers - DO NOT TRAVEL TO or THROUGH HA LONG CITY!!! Get to Cat Ba Island via Hai Phong!!!

It is not difficult to travel to Ha Long Bay on your own despite what some travel guide books say. Don’t get stuck taking a tour from Hanoi if that’s not what you want. Actually it’s quite nice to travel here on your own, because you can bring your entire backpack on the bus rather than leaving it at your Hanoi hotel where it is subject to tampering. Also, you can stay on Cat Ba Island for as long as you’d like without constant and specific agenda being forced upon you with ample time to visit Ha Long Bay whenever you'd like to do whatever you want!

Getting to Cat Ba Island is comfortable and easy with Hoang Long Bus Company for 160,000 - 200,000 (varies seasonally) Dong or about $9-11USD. This route in total is about 4.5 hours long and DOES NOT go through Ha Long City, it goes through Hai Phong City. If you decide to take a public bus instead, it is not recommended to go through Ha Long City as it is extremely difficult to get to Cat Ba Island from there.

Note: Hoang Long will drop you off in the center of Cat Ba Town at the very end the trip. You will be very close to our shop. Just walk directly across the street from the Cat Ba Town pier and archway. We are in a four storey grey building called The Noble House on the mezzanine of the restuarant!!

Hoang Long Busses depart every day from Hanoi at: 5:20AM, 7:20AM, 11:20AM, and 1:20PM. Plan on arriving at least a half hour early to play it safe. Luong Yen is about a 15 minute ride from the Old Quarter of Hanoi to the station. Buy your tickets at the station (recommended) or on the bus.

The station where all buses depart from and tickets can be purchased:
Ben xe Luong Yen
So 1 Nguyen Khoai
Hanoi, Vietnam

How it works:
1) Take a taxi or xeom to Luong Yen Station. Facing the BP station take the small downhill on the left down into the bus station. After you pass through the gate walk towards the dental-floss-green building. Open the doors and look immediately to the right for the Hoang Long ticket booth. Purchase a ticket "to Cat Ba." Sometimes they may ask you to buy the ticket on the bus if it is the same day of travel. After the ticket booth walk through the building via left easeway and out the back where all the busses are. When you come outside look right and you'll see many busses.

The Hoang Long busses are either white and blue, or red and clearly marked with the logo Hoang Long. DO NOT LISTEN TO THE RANDOM MEN WHO TRY TO LURE YOU ONTO DIFFERENT BUSSES for commission.The Hoang Long busses leave this lot at 15 minutes after the scheduled hour, even though the ticket shows the departure time at 20 minutes past the hour. Hoang Long also has other busses that leave 5 minutes after the hour, but these busses will stop only in Hai Phong and you'll have to transfer on your own. So, don't get on a bus until 10 minutes after the hour just to assure that it is the correct bus. If you miss the departure time completely (15 minutes after the hour), the bus will most likely stop accross the street from the BP station until about half past the hour which will still give you a running chance to get on. Only board a bus bearing the Hoang Long Logo and don't get on the earlier Thanh Long Bus which looks similar and departs at 5 minutes after the hour. Any questions, ask a uniformed Hoang Long driver - point to the ticket and say "Cat Ba."

2) You will depart from Hanoi on a nice big air conditioned bus with reclining seats for a 2-2.5 hour ride to Hai Phong City. The bus will probably make some little stops to let people on and off. After about 2-2.5 hours you will arrive in Hai Phong. Stay on the bus and point to your ticket and say Cat Ba – the driver will take you to the transfer point which will most likely be a small Hoang Long office with the address:

Cong Ty T.N.H.H Van Tai Hoang Long
So 5 Pham Ngu Lao
Tel:031-3920920

3) At this Hai Phong Bus stop/office you will transfer to a smaller bus which will take you to the speed boat (about 45 minutes).
4) Then you’ll hop on the speed boat for about 35 minutes which will take you to Cai Vieng Harbor, Cat Ba Island.
5) Once on Cat Ba Island, you’ll transfer one last time to another bus waiting for you which will take you on a crazy ride along the coast and into Cat Ba Town!

Note: Your ticket will cover all transfers. Transfers are timely and easy, just get off the bus or boat and the next means of transportation will be there waiting for you. All forms of transport are air conditioned. The entire trip should take you about 4-4.5 hours. Look directly across from the archway/pier in Cat Ba Town and you’ll see the Noble House and Slo Pony Adventures - a bright orange building next door to the post office. Come in to the mezzanine and tell us about your trip!

From Cat Ba to Hanoi:
This is almost the reverse process coming from Hanoi. The Hoang Long office is located near the Slo Pony shop where you can buy tickets directly.

Busses depart at: 7:15AM, 9:15AM, 1:15PM, and 3:15PM. Cost: 160,000 Dong or about $9.00 USD.

1. Depart from Cat Ba Town on a medium-sized Hoang Long Bus which will take you to Cai Vieng Harbor.
2. Off you’ll go on the 35 minute speed boat to Hai Phong.
3. Transfer to another medium-sized bus.
4. Transfer to a large bus and doze off for your two hour ride back to Hanoi.
Note: You can always point to your ticket and say Hanoi if you’re confused. If you print out these directions you should be fine though.
5. Once at Luong Yen station in Hanoi you'll need to get a taxi to your intended location in Hanoi. If you're travelling light, the cheapest ride into the Old Quarter is by motorbike which should be about 30,000 Dong. If you take a taxi, try and negotiate a price before, because most of their meters are rigged. The trip by taxi should be about 60,000 Dong into the Old Quarter.

Traveling Internationally to Vietnam:

Here’s what we do:
First check sidestep, it’s a search engine that checks airfare from many different search engines and compiles them into one list of options. Be careful though when choosing options from companies like Orbitz – they have terrible customer service, never answer the phones, and you’ll have extreme trouble changing your ticket if something unexpected comes up.
Then take the airlines listed on sidestep and contact them directly by phone or online ticket search, because they often have specials that meet or beat the prices listed by search engines…and you’ll have no problem changing your ticket date for a fee. Compare the direct rates with those from sidestep and then make your decision. Cathay Pacific is an airline we use frequently to travel to and from Vietnam Internationally. They have excellent customer service and rates.
After you’ve gotten your airfare flying directly to Hanoi (airport code: HAN) or Ho Chi Minh City (airport code: SGN), also check fares for flying to Bangkok. Try both Thai airports Suvarnabhumi (airport code: BKK) or Don Muang (airport code: DMK). Often rates are much cheaper for flying to Bangkok and then you can catch a flight on Air Asia to Hanoi from $25-$75 on average. These Air Asia flights run regularly throughout the day so your layover in the Thai airport shouldn’t be too long. Be sure to check the baggage fees of Air Asia though, if you are over their limit you could pay a small fortune!!

Be Careful:
WARNING: The Vietnamese con-artists are smart. They know the most vulnerable travelers are those who first arrive. Therefore taxi drivers from the airport are eager to fool you into higher rates. It should cost $13 USD or about 250,000 Dong to travel from the airport to Hanoi. ARRANGE THE PRICE BEFORE YOU GET INTO THE TAXI and DON’T PRE-PAY!! Try to get only in a marked airport taxi through a kiosk outside and signs which display the price professionally. You can write the price on a piece of paper and clearly distinguish dollars or Dong. Don’t let them tell you that you are responsible for paying the toll – it’s included in the 250,000. Don’t pay them until you arrive at the exact hotel you planned to go to. Do not let them bring you to any other hotel, because “the one you want is fully booked.” Go to the reception desk with your bags and ask for yourself. If they bring you to the wrong hotel, simply get out of the taxi and hail another one…they’ll come running after you and then bring you to the right place, because the want their money! If they raise their voice and become aggressive with you, don't worry, they will not harm you as the penalties in VN for messing with tourists are severe!! Acting aggressive is a trick they use because it always works as timid first-time travellers usually back down wanting to avoid confrontation. Don't do it!! You'll just encourage this behavior for the next traveller. Stick to your guns and don't pay until you are at your final destination. Most Importantly: Don’t let the airport taxi drivers, or any other matters similar to this, tarnish your image of Vietnam and its people. This is one of the most beautiful places in the world and inevitably people in a poor developing country are going to try to score money from you in tricky ways. Learn how to avoid this from happening, keep smiling and consider it all part of the adventure!