Travelling on a direct service from Sapa to Cat Ba Island is a quicker option than booking separate services from Sapa to Hanoi and then from Hanoi to Cat Ba. Many travellers will already have visited Hanoi on their way to Sapa and choose not to spend anymore time in Hanoi before moving onto the coast.
Bus Times from Sapa to Cat Ba Island
There are currently 10 bus services a day from Sapa to Cat Ba Island available to book online.
Sapa | Cat Ba | Ticket | Company |
06:30 | 12:45 | $ 30 | Good Morning Cat Ba |
20:30 | 07:20 | $ 27 | Full Moon Party Tour |
20:40 | 07:30 | $ 27 | Full Moon Party Tour |
20:50 | 07:40 | $ 27 | Full Moon Party Tour |
21:00 | 07:50 | $ 27 | Full Moon Party Tour |
21:00 | 07:30 | $ 31 | Techbus VN JSC |
21:15 | 07:45 | $ 31 | Techbus VN JSC |
21:15 | 07:15 | $ 32 | Grouptour |
21:30 | 07:30 | $ 32 | Grouptour |
22:00 | 04:15 | $ 30 | Good Morning Cat Ba |
- Type of Bus: The Grouptour vehicle for the journey from Sapa to Cat Ba Island is a semi-sleeper bus which has individual bunk style reclined seats.
Buy Tickets from Sapa to Cat Ba Island
Use the Search Box to buy your tickets from Sapa to Cat Ba Island.
Sapa Bus Stop
Grouptour services from Sapa to Cat Ba Island depart from 544-586 QL4D, TT. Sa Pa, Sa Pa, Lào Cai, Vietnam.
Cat Ba Bus Stop
Grouptour services from Sapa to Cat Ba Island terminate at 291-171 Đường 1/4, TT. Cát Bà, Cát Hải, Hải Phòng, Vietnam.
Boat trips from Cat Ba Island
Cat Ba is an island in Lan Ha bay, which is one of three coastal areas in Northern Vietnam with lots of limestone karst islands rising dramatically from the sea and communities living on floating platforms making a living from farming fish as well as providing drinks and food to people on passing tour boats. Lan Ha Bay is much less busy than the more famous Ha Long Bay, although just as beautiful. As well as avoiding the crowds by going to Lan Ha Bay the distances you need to travel from Cat Ba Island to reach the areas with the best scenery are less which makes the boat trips out of Cat Ba cheaper and there is less time spent travelling to reach the main attractions.

There are lots of different types of boat trips you can do from Cat Ba on different types of vessels from 3 day, 2 nights trips taking in Lan Ha Bay, Ha Long Bay and the more distant Bai Tu Long Bay, to half day trips around the bay including a stop at Monkey Island. The most popular trip from Cat Ba Ilsand is the full day tour with snorkelling, canoeing, and lunch included which cost around 650,000 VND depending upon where you book it. There are lots of tour agencies in Cat Ba town, and most hotels will offer to organise boat trips. The best thing to do is to ask around about prices and options. Tour boats only go out if there is enough customers and you may need to wait until 21:00 in the evening to know whether your tour for the next day is confirmed.