Cat Co Beach

The three Cat Co beaches sit in a series of coves on the southern edge of Cat Bà island, each connected to the next by a path that climbs over the limestone headland between them. Cat Co 1 is the first and most accessible — a crescent of sand backed by hotels that got there first, the water clean enough and the beach wide enough to be pleasant but the whole thing unmistakably organized for visitors. Cat Co 2 is smaller, rockier, with a resort that occupies most of the sand. Cat Co 3, reached either by a path over the hill or by the water taxi that runs from Cat Bà Town until early afternoon, is where I spent two mornings.

The third beach faces south and west, which means it catches the afternoon light at an angle that turns the limestone cliffs amber. The sand is slightly darker than Cat Co 1’s — finer, more the color of raw sugar — and the water runs from shallow turquoise to deep green within about twenty meters of shore. On the morning I arrived first, before the water taxi had started its run, there were perhaps six other people on the beach: two Vietnamese women walking the shoreline collecting shells, a man doing tai chi at the water’s edge, a couple reading in the shade of the cliff wall. It was enough people to feel inhabited without feeling crowded.

The swimming here is the best of the three coves. The bottom is sandy rather than rocky for the first twenty meters, and the current is mild enough that you can float without paying attention. I spent an entire morning once doing nothing except swimming and drying and swimming again, eating the bánh mì I’d bought at five-thirty from a woman outside the ferry dock whose operation was entirely in Vietnamese and required pointing and accepting what came. What came was a pork and pâté roll with pickled daikon and enough chili that I ate it facing the water so I could rinse my eyes if necessary. It was excellent.

The headland path between Cat Co 1 and Cat Co 3 passes through secondary jungle and takes about twenty minutes at an easy pace. It is the best way to arrive — the transition from resort beach to the quieter southern cove is gradual, and by the time you crest the headland and look down on Cat Co 3, you’ve worked for it enough to feel the reward. The view from the top of that path, with the South China Sea extending south toward islands I couldn’t name, is one of the better mid-walk moments I’ve found in Vietnam.

When to go: October through April for calm seas and dry weather. The beaches are best in the early morning, before the water taxi from Cat Bà Town begins its runs at around eight-thirty. Walk the headland path rather than waiting for the boat — you’ll arrive before the crowds and the view from the top is worth the twenty minutes.