Gia Luan to Tuan Chau Ferry: Timetable, Prices and the 15:00 Cut-Off (2026)
Forty five minutes across the bay for less than four dollars, on a boat that sails three times a day in winter and stops for good at 15:00. Here is how to catch it.
Everyone who spends a few days on Cat Ba ends up asking the same question at some point: what is the fastest way to Ha Long, and is the ferry actually worth it? The answer is a small green car ferry that crosses from Gia Luan on the north of Cat Ba island to Tuan Chau, just outside Ha Long city. It takes forty five minutes, it costs less than four dollars, and the view on a clear morning is better than most paid boat tours.
It also has the single most punishing timetable on the island. Three sailings in winter, five in summer, and a last boat at 15:00 that does not care what your plans were.
The timetable, and the number that ruins trips
| Season | Sailings from Gia Luan | Sailings from Tuan Chau |
|---|---|---|
| Summer, 25 April to 5 September | 07:30, 09:00, 11:30, 13:30, 15:00 | 07:30, 09:00, 11:30, 13:30, 15:00 |
| Winter, 6 September to 24 April | 07:30 or 08:00, 11:30, 15:00 | 07:30 or 08:00, 11:30, 15:00 |
The last sailing is 15:00 all year round. That is the number to write down. In winter there are only three boats a day, so if you miss the 11:30 you are looking at a four hour wait, and if you miss the 15:00 you are not crossing at all.
Operators do shift the first sailing between 07:30 and 08:00 depending on the month and the tide, and in genuinely rough weather the crossing is cancelled outright. It is an open channel and the boat is not big.
What it costs
| Passenger or vehicle | Fare |
|---|---|
| Foot passenger | 80,000d |
| Motorbike, including rider | 100,000d |
| Car up to 9 seats | Around 450,000d |
Prices checked September 2026. You pay at the small ticket window at the pier, in cash, in dong. There is no online booking and no need for one, the boat is rarely full outside the summer weekends.
Getting to Gia Luan in the first place
This is the part people underestimate. Gia Luan is at the far northern tip of Cat Ba island, about 25 kilometres from Cat Ba town, and the road climbs through the national park the whole way. Allow forty minutes by car or motorbike, and more if you stop, which you will, because the viewpoints on that road are some of the best on the island.
Your options from town are a local bus that connects with some sailings, a taxi at somewhere around 350,000d to 450,000d, a motorbike you have rented for the day, or a seat on a shuttle sold alongside the ferry ticket by the travel agents on the harbour road.
Whichever you pick, add a buffer. Working backwards from the 15:00 boat means leaving town by 14:00 at the very latest, and on a Sunday in August you want more margin than that.
The mistake we see most: people plan around the ferry time and forget the forty minute drive to the pier. A 15:00 sailing is a 14:00 departure from Cat Ba town, and the road is winding, not fast.
Where the boat lands, and what happens next
Tuan Chau is a large marina island joined to the mainland by a bridge, about eight kilometres from central Ha Long. It is not Ha Long city itself, so you still need a taxi or a Grab from the pier, which takes fifteen to twenty minutes and costs a couple of hundred thousand dong.
Tuan Chau is also the departure point for most Ha Long Bay cruises, which is why some people build their whole itinerary around this crossing: ferry over in the morning, join a bay cruise in the afternoon, sleep in Ha Long.
The ferry against the bus
| Gia Luan ferry | Through bus | |
|---|---|---|
| Time, town to town | Around 2 hours including the drive to the pier | 2.5 to 3 hours |
| Cost per person | 80,000d plus transport to Gia Luan | Roughly 250,000d to 550,000d |
| Departures | 3 in winter, 5 in summer | Several daily |
| Luggage | You carry it on and off | Stays on the bus |
| Scenery | Excellent, you are crossing the bay | Roadside |
| Weather risk | Cancels in rough conditions | Runs regardless |
Around eighty five percent of travellers take the bus, and for a rainy day in February with two suitcases that is the right call. But if the sky is clear and you are travelling light, the ferry is the better experience by a wide margin, and it is cheaper.
Want us to time this for you?
Send us your date and where you are staying, and we will tell you which sailing to aim for, when to leave town, and whether the winter timetable is going to bite. We are on the island and we check the boats.
Going the other way: Tuan Chau to Cat Ba
The same timetable applies in reverse, with the same 15:00 last sailing. The difference is what happens at the Cat Ba end. You land at Gia Luan, in the north, with 25 kilometres still between you and Cat Ba town. Taxis wait for the boat but there are not many of them, and after the last sailing of the day the competition for them is real.
If you are arriving on the 15:00 from Tuan Chau, message your accommodation in advance and ask them to arrange a pickup. It costs about the same as the taxi and removes the one part of this journey that regularly goes wrong.
When not to use this ferry
Skip it if you are travelling with large luggage, if you are on a tight connection to a flight or a train, if the forecast is poor, or if you are travelling between September and April and cannot make either the morning or the 11:30 sailing. In all of those cases the bus is the sensible answer and the extra cost buys you certainty.
Use it if you have a clear morning, a day bag, and no hard deadline on the other side. It is the most enjoyable hour of transport in the region.
Related Reading
- Cat Ba to Ha Long Bay: Ferries, Buses and 2026 Prices
- Cat Ba Ferry Schedule: Every Crossing and Its Last Sailing
- Cat Ba or Ha Long Bay: Which One Should You Actually Visit
- Cat Ba Transfers: Every Route In and Out, With 2026 Prices
- Renting a Motorbike on Cat Ba Island
Common questions
15:00, all year round. In winter, between 6 September and 24 April, it is one of only three sailings a day, so missing it usually means missing the crossing entirely.
Around 80,000d for a foot passenger and 100,000d for a motorbike including the rider. A car up to nine seats is roughly 450,000d. You pay in cash at the pier.
About 25 kilometres, and the road climbs through the national park, so allow forty minutes. Working back from the 15:00 sailing means leaving town by 14:00 at the latest.
Yes. This is the crossing to use if you are riding, since the cable car does not carry motorbikes and the fast boats to Hai Phong do not either.
In rough weather, yes. It is an open crossing on a small vessel. If the forecast is poor, plan on the through bus instead and treat the ferry as a bonus.
No. Tuan Chau is a marina island connected to the mainland by a bridge, about eight kilometres from central Ha Long. You will need a taxi or a Grab for the last stretch.
There is no online booking and it is rarely necessary. Outside summer weekends the boat is not full. Buy your ticket at the window at the pier.