Best hotels and hostels in Cat Ba Island

This beachfront resort is tastefully planned, with low-rise, tiled-roofed blocks sitting below green cliffs. The rooms are relatively spacious and smart (more expensive rooms come with sea-view balconies), but...

This island's prescription for relaxation includes simple but handsome wood-clad bungalows, with some located under looming limestone cliffs, others elevated over water. Spend your days swimming and kayaking, and...

Rimming the furthest sandy edge of Cat Co 2 Beach, the charming yet dinky stone-and-thatch bungalows of this resort sit within a manicured lawn dotted with palm trees, and boast open-air bathrooms. Kayaking and a...

This pretty compound wasn't quite finished when we stopped by, but if the existing rooms are anything to go by, it will be a clever budget choice. Expect 10 spacious, if somewhat dark, brick bungalows, all with...

This friendly hostel is fast becoming the heart of Cat Ba's backpacker action. Clean dorms (one with 28 beds, one with 14 beds and two with six beds, including a female-only room) come with lockers built into...

As the name might suggest, basic Woodstock has some dirt under its fingernails, but if you want a uniquely old-school hippie backpacker crash pad, there's no better place. Dorm beds can be as simple as a mattress...

Clean, good-value rooms and a quiet but central location away from the busy coastal strip are a great start, but what really elevates this place is the unbelievably helpful owner Tien, who can arrange anything...

Although the wood-and-thatch standard bungalows are tiny for the asking price, and could do with some TLC, the island location and strip of beach are truly lovely. There’s a nice social vibe, and a nightly...

One of a new breed of modern hostels, this well-run and spotlessly clean place on the western edge of town has dorms and a few comfortable private rooms. The garden area and small pool provide a social hub, or...

Whisper of Nature is a simple place where nature lovers can kick back and enjoy some downtime, or engage in hiking and swimming. Little concrete-and-thatch bungalows are set on the edge of the forest in the...

The Sea Pearl is a solid if somewhat old-fashioned choice. Deluxe rooms are comfortable and spacious and have fine bay views (standard rooms are smaller with no view), and staff are professional and helpful....

At the quieter southeastern end of Cat Ba Town, the towering, three-star Hung Long Harbour has spacious rooms, many with excellent harbour views. Don't bother upgrading to a superior room, as the standards are...

This small family-run place has basically furnished, clean rooms, some boasting four beds (600,000d). Negotiate hard for a front room and wake up to sea views; otherwise, head to the 11th-floor shared balcony.

A new-ish-feeling place with 60 rooms, neither huge nor sexy, but entirely capable. Opt for the more expensive rooms, which have more leg room, natural light and bay-front balconies.

This resort boasts a rural location 12km from Cat Ba Town and 2km off the main road. Spacious, simple and somewhat overpriced wooden stilt houses sit around a breezy bar and restaurant, while more stylish but...

Located around 3km from Cat Ba Town, down an unmarked alley in the village of Ang Soi, this heritage house was carefully moved here from the outskirts of Hanoi. As impressive and atmospheric as the house and...

Removed from the hustle of town, this collection of roadside bungalows and basic hilltop cabins made from pallets offers simple accommodation but great views over two bays from the small but dramatic hilltop...

The fake-flower decor here is an an attempt to jazz up the slightly faded rooms. All are spacious, though the seafront ones, which can sleep up to four people, are particularly vast. Each floor has a teensy...

Service and accommodation may be a bit lacklustre, but Cat Ba Dream has decent-value, small rooms at the back, and larger sea-facing ones with killer views of the bay (room 606 is the best).