Ferry Cat Ba to Hai Phong: Times, Piers and Prices
There are two real ways from Cat Ba to Hai Phong: a speedboat of about 45 minutes to Ben Binh pier in the city, or the Cai Vieng to Dong Bai car ferry with a road leg at each end. Here is which one fits your day, with the fares and times we found this month.
Most guides send you through Hai Phong on the way to the island, so the trip back gets less attention. It is simple once you know that two piers share almost the same story: Ben Binh is in the city, Dong Bai is out on Cat Hai island. The times and fares below were read on operator and ticket-agent pages on 15 October 2026. They disagree in places, so we say where to check before you pay. For every other crossing, see our full Cat Ba ferry schedule.
The short answer
| Route | On the water | Fare (one way) | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speedboat, Cat Ba Town to Ben Binh (city centre) | About 45 min | About 180,000d to 250,000d, depending on seller and age | A few a day, morning to mid-afternoon; check times when you book |
| Car ferry, Cai Vieng to Dong Bai (Cat Hai island) | 20 to 30 min | About 10,000d on foot, 45,000d motorbike, 190,000d car under 9 seats | About every 30 min, roughly 05:00 to 18:00 in the low season and until about 19:00 in summer |
| Cable car, Phu Long to Cat Hai | About 10 min | About 50,000d to 60,000d one way | Daytime only, closed on Tuesdays; times in our cable car guide |
The speedboat puts you in the middle of Hai Phong. The car ferry is the only crossing that takes motorbikes and the one that runs latest. Neither is a booking you can count on from a screen: ask the operator the day before.
Speedboat from Cat Ba Town to Ben Binh
This is the one to take if you are heading for Hai Phong city or the train. The boat leaves from the pier in Cat Ba Town on the harbour road, so you walk or ride a short way from most hotels, and it lands at Ben Binh pier on the Cam river. The crossing is about 45 minutes. From Ben Binh it is about 5 minutes by taxi or Grab to Hai Phong train station.
Departures change with the season and the operator, so treat any printed list as a guide and confirm the time when you buy. Fares sit roughly between 180,000d and 250,000d, depending on the seller and whether you pay a child fare, so ask what the ticket includes. Arrive 30 minutes before departure. In May to August, morning boats fill early, so book a week or two ahead. In rough seas the boats stay in port.
Car ferry from Cai Vieng to Dong Bai
This is the workhorse crossing of the island. It carries foot passengers, bicycles, motorbikes, cars and the buses from Hanoi. It sails about every 30 minutes, and the Cai Vieng side starts at 05:00. The crossing takes 20 to 30 minutes.
What catches people out is the road. Cai Vieng is about 25 km from Cat Ba Town, and a local shuttle costs about 50,000d, or about 150,000d by taxi. On the Hai Phong side, Dong Bai is roughly 40 minutes by road from the city centre, and a taxi or Grab there is around 150,000d to 250,000d. Add the waits and allow two to three hours door to door, against about 1.5 to 2 hours by speedboat.
Dong Bai is the new Got pier. Passenger ferries moved there from Got on 1 March 2024, about 4 km away. If a guide tells you to go to Got, it was written before the move.
If you drive a car, note that in 2026 Hai Phong suspended cars and trucks heading onto Cat Ba at the Dong Bai ferry between 09:00 and 13:00, from 25 April to 3 May and on weekends from 9 May to 30 September. It applies to the direction onto the island, not the way off, and similar rules may return next summer.
The cable car
The Cat Hai to Phu Long cable car takes about 10 minutes and crosses the channel with a good view. It carries people only, no motorbikes, and Phu Long is still a ride from Cat Ba Town. Check the hours and the day it closes before you plan around it. Our cable car guide has the detail.
Not sure which boat fits your day?
Tell us your date, where you are going in Hai Phong and when your train or flight leaves. We live here and use these boats, and we will tell you which one works.
Which one should you take
Going to Hai Phong city or the train: speedboat to Ben Binh. It is the only crossing that lands you in the city centre.
On a motorbike: the car ferry. It is the only crossing that takes bikes.
Leaving in the late afternoon: the car ferry and the shuttle. The speedboats finish earlier in the day.
Flying from Cat Bi airport: speedboat to Ben Binh and a taxi, with a buffer. Pick the boat first, then the flight.
Going on to Ha Long, not Hai Phong: skip Hai Phong. The ferry from Gia Luan to Tuan Chau crosses straight over, see the Tuan Chau ferry guide.
Plan your last day, and your first
Our day tours, such as the Lan Ha Bay Cruise & Kayaking, pick up at 08:00 and are back around 16:00 to 16:30. That is after most speedboats have left, so plan to travel the next morning. If you arrive from Hai Phong on a morning boat, you reach Cat Ba Town by late morning or lunchtime, in time to join that evening’s Plankton Night Tour, which collects from your hotel at about 16:15. Tell us your boat time and we will line it up.
Onward from Hai Phong
From Hai Phong, the train to Hanoi Long Bien takes about two hours and costs about 80,000d. Cat Bi airport handles domestic flights, and buses run to other cities. For the way into Cat Ba from Hanoi, see how to get from Hanoi to Cat Ba.
Related Reading
- Cat Ba Ferry Schedule 2026: Every Crossing and Its Last Sailing
- Cat Ba Transfers: Every Route In and Out, With 2026 Prices
- Cat Ba Cable Car: Prices, Timetable and Whether It Beats the Ferry
- Gia Luan to Tuan Chau Ferry: Timetable, Prices and the 15:00 Cut-Off
- Getting Around Cat Ba: Ferries, Cable Car and Island Transport
- Lan Ha Bay Plankton Night Tour
Common questions
Yes, two kinds. A speedboat runs from Cat Ba Town to Ben Binh pier in Hai Phong city, about 45 minutes. A car ferry runs from Cai Vieng on Cat Ba to Dong Bai on Cat Hai island, about 20 to 30 minutes, and you still need a road transfer at each end.
The Cai Vieng to Dong Bai car ferry costs about 10,000d on foot, 45,000d with a motorbike and 190,000d for a car under 9 seats. The speedboat to Ben Binh costs roughly 180,000d to 250,000d depending on the seller, so confirm the fare on your ticket.
The car ferry sails latest, with the last departure from Cai Vieng around 18:00 in the low season and around 19:00 in summer. The speedboats stop earlier, usually by mid-afternoon, so check the time for your date.
Ben Binh is a pier on the Cam river in the middle of Hai Phong, about 5 minutes by taxi from the train station. Dong Bai is on Cat Hai island, roughly 40 minutes by road from the city centre, and it is where the car ferry to Cat Ba leaves from.
Yes, on the Cai Vieng to Dong Bai car ferry, for about 45,000d extra on top of your own fare. Speedboats and the cable car do not take motorbikes.
No. Passenger ferries moved from Got pier to the new Dong Bai pier, about 4 km away, on 1 March 2024. Guides that still send you to Got are out of date.
Take the speedboat to Ben Binh and a taxi from there, or the car ferry to Dong Bai and a taxi on. Match your flight to a boat that arrives well before check-in, because the speedboats stop running in the afternoon.
Want to actually do Cat Ba, not just pass through?