Cat Ba Pod Hostel

The rooftop terrace is cozy, with wonderful sunset views. The location is central, just a two minute walk from the beach, and the ferry bus stops right opposite. On Friday and Saturday there’s live music in the restaurant downstairs, where the food is very good but a bit pricey. We stayed four nights in a double bed pod in a shared dorm. The pod was clean, the linens smelled fresh, and the bedding was comfortable. The dorm was well ventilated and had air conditioning, and the bathrooms in each dorm were very clean. Fantastic hostel!

Mei at the front desk was incredibly helpful and suggested places to see on the island. With her help I visited the hospital cave and Cat Ba National Park, which was an unforgettable experience. The hostel is on the main street, so the restaurants are all close by. I’d only planned to stay one night because I wasn’t sure what else to do around Ha Long, but I was pleasantly surprised. The room was standard for a hostel, and the toilet was clean. There’s a great view from the rooftop common area, plus a games space with a play station. At night it becomes a bar, which is a good place to socialize.

Mei was amazing and helped me arrange a taxi and ferry to Halong. Great service! The pod was fairly spacious, with a shelf for my things and a lockable cabinet for valuables. The six bunk room also had a bathroom and was generally quite clean. It’s a cozy pod hostel on Cat Ba island, and the price is very affordable. There’s a restaurant downstairs and a rooftop bar upstairs.

I kept coming back for the cinnamon yogurt bowl at the restaurant downstairs, I loved it. I wasn’t as keen on the cocktails there, though the rooftop bar was so good. Happy hour has good deals, including 10k beer 🍻. Upstairs the cocktails are amazing, and the happy hour price is 100k a cocktail. Try the Cat Ong Island cocktail! The hostel is in a great location and well connected, though it’s a shame there’s no longer a sea view. The staff know their stuff and go out of their way to help, and they’re super nice. Our private room was spacious with a great view and balcony, but could use a bedside lamp and some minor renovations.