Viet Hai Village (Làng Việt Hải)

Viet Hai, an ancient village located in Cat Ba, is a memorable tourist destination for visitors to Hai Phong. Since ancient times, the ancient village of Viet Hai was accidentally discovered by fishermen. This sea-surrounded piece of land, rich in freshwater resources, attracted some fishermen to settle and live there.

Located deep in the core area of ​​Cat Ba National Park, with a total area of ​​only about 150 hectares, the unique and charming scenery here preserves outstanding historical and cultural values, making it a destination for those who love nature and seek the wild and pure.

This unique and attractive tourist destination, located deep in the heart of the “pearl island,” Cat Ba, remains relatively unknown to most tourists. Favored by nature with majestic limestone mountains, clear streams, old forests, and blue beaches, along with the simple life of the local people, this ancient village is especially peaceful.

About 10km from the center of Cat Ba town, there is currently no direct road to the village. To get there by road, visitors must go through Cat Ba National Park on a road deep in the forest about 12km long. Most foreign tourists or young people who love exploring and trekking will choose this route. The journey will include visiting Cat Ba National Park, then continuing to walk through the forest to Viet Hai village, going to the boat dock to visit Lan Ha Bay, snorkeling to see corals, etc. In addition, the most popular way is to take a canoe to approach the village from the sea.

Coming to Viet Hai, what makes visitors most excited besides the majestic, pristine natural scenery is the quiet, peaceful space rarely found in any tourist area. Not as bustling, hurried, jostling, or fast-paced as in the city, the people of the ancient village are very hospitable and sincere in the ancient way left by their ancestors.

Another very unique thing is that after visiting the mountains and forests and staying at homestays and budget motels, tourists will feel secure in having the locals take care of cooking services from the vegetables and products they grow and catch themselves.

Recently, the people of Viet Hai village have also begun to approach and develop tourism. Tourists purchase mountain bikes from the center of Hai Phong city and bring them back to explore the village and climb mountains. Many households have also switched to offering homestays, working as tour guides, operating electric car businesses to pick up and drop off guests, and renting out motorbikes for visitors to move from the pier to the village. Such activity has changed people’s lives, giving them a more stable income.

The village elders even selected nearly a dozen local boys and girls to send to Cat Ba town to update their common English. The people of Viet Hai are very eager to develop tourism in their own way with the dream of turning their village into a unique “tourist island” in the near future.

Another experience that many tourists, especially foreign tourists, love when coming to the fishing village is to transform into a fisherman, go fishing by boat to harvest shrimp and fish, or experience being a farmer with green fields. Visitors will participate in plowing the fields, drawing water from wells, and visiting farms raising buffalo, cows, pigs, chickens… to feed them.

When coming to the ancient village of Viet Hai, visitors should enjoy the specialties. The people are not only friendly and hospitable but also have the skills to create especially delicious dishes from lobster, grouper, sea cucumber, geoduck, mantis shrimp, red snapper, cobia… With its pristine beauty and hospitality, the small fishing village of Viet Hai is contributing to the development of Cat Ba tourism in particular and Vietnam tourism in general. /.