Compared to other fishing villages, Viet Hai has a relatively small area of only about 141 hectares, with more than 70 households living. However, the unique feature of Viet Hai is that it is surrounded by four sides of sea and rolling limestone mountains, creating a peaceful and poetic scene here.
Viet Hai ancient village is a small fishing village, located deep in Cat Ba National Park, in Cat Hai island district, Hai Phong. Covering an area of about 141ha, with about 70 households living, Viet Hai has a wild landscape, almost without the impact of human beings.
To get to Viet Hai, there are 2 ways: take a boat through Lan Ha Bay to Viet Hai wharf or you can cross the primeval forest through Cat Ba National Park to enter the village.
Compared to other fishing villages in Cat Ba, so far Viet Hai still retains the typical culture of villages in the Northern Delta. The unique feature is that Viet Hai is located separately from the outside, surrounded by four surfaces of sea forests and overlapping limestone mountains.
In recent years, Viet Hai has become a community ecotourism destination that attracts tourists, especially foreign tourists. Coming here, visitors seem to be separated from the noisy life outside, immersing themselves in the peaceful and unspoiled space of nature, forests and sea.
In the past, people in Viet Hai mainly worked in fishing and agriculture, when tourism developed, many households switched to homestays, or as guides, selling electric cars to transport tourists. As a result, people’s lives have also changed, and their incomes are more stable than before.
Visitors here can leisurely walk or rent bicycles to experience sightseeing, explore and learn about the lives of local people. In particular, you can schedule a trekking trip through Cat Ba national forest. For foreign tourists, you can try the experience of cooking rice with a wood stove, growing vegetables, harvesting rice…
The tourism model in Viet Hai is eco-tourism, mainly foreign tourists come to enjoy and relax, so the space here is very quiet, giving priority to sports activities, cultural experiences with local people.
The thatched house of Mrs. Pham Thi Hoat’s family in Viet Hai is now preserved to serve tourists to visit and experience. The house was made 40 years ago, typical for the architecture of the old Northern houses with thatched roofs, cottages, and earth walls. It includes a main room and a kitchen. On average, on a peak day, the house welcomes several hundred visitors. Coming here, visitors can see firsthand the process of wine making and livestock raising of Vietnamese people.
In Viet Hai, there is no market, and there are very few restaurants serving food. People are mainly self-sufficient in food. Visitors come here, often order food right at the homestay
