Monkey Island is located about 2 km from Cat Ba town. To reach Monkey Island, tourists usually take a boat from Beo pier, which takes about 10 minutes passing through the fishing village of Cai Beo, past several small islands, and then straight to Monkey Island.
Formerly known as Cat Dua Island because there were many wild pineapple trees with delicious-looking but inedible fruits. Fishermen often come here to pick them to soak in water for drinking to cool down or dry them for medicinal purposes for diabetes. There are 20 monkeys brought from various places on the island. The monkey troop here is very friendly to tourists. Gradually, the name Monkey Island has become familiar. With its pristine and breathtaking scenery, Monkey Island has become an attractive tourist destination in Cat Ba.
Monkey Island has a circumference of about 3 km. It is a mountainous island with a sandy beach formed over millions of years by the waves and winds carrying sand, rocks, coral, and various marine shells such as snail shells, clam shells, shrimp, crabs to the foot of the mountain, forming a long stretch of beach. Monkey Island has 2 crescent-shaped beaches: Cat Dua Beach 1 and Cat Dua Beach 2. Among them, Pineapple Beach 1 is longer and has a military camp stationed there. This is an ideal beach for swimming for tourists whenever they come to Cat Ba for tourism because the seawater here is very clear and blue. Services here include leaf-roofed restaurants where tourists can sit and enjoy the sea breeze, drinks… along with some services such as renting swimsuits, lifebuoys, kayaks. In the summer when the beaches in Cat Ba become crowded, Monkey Island is the ideal choice for tourists who want to fully enjoy a peaceful and meaningful vacation.
Cat Dua Beach 2 is located to the right of the tiger-shaped mountain ridge. The beach has a spacious garden area of several hundred square meters with various types of trees such as wild pineapple, banyan trees, bauhinia trees, white apple trees… and many different bird species. When visiting Monkey Island, some adventurous tourists can climb up the mountain ridge, even up to the mountain peak to have a panoramic view of Lan Ha Bay with hundreds of large and small islands emerging above the clear blue water, dotted with distant smooth white sandy beaches.
With its pristine beauty bestowed by nature, Monkey Island is increasingly becoming a must-visit destination every time you come to Cat Ba. What could be better than immersing yourself in the clear blue water or lying on the beach watching the romantic sunset? Come to Cat Ba to have those wonderful moments of relaxation.