2023 | Monkey Island Halong Bay - Traveling Instructions for Tourists

Reu Island (also known as Monkey Island Halong Bay) has an area of 22 square kilometers located about 1 kilometer from Vung Duc port (Cam Dong ward, Cam Pha city). Unlike the busy day-to-day changing atmosphere of Cam Pha urban, the rustic Reu island is inhabited by a semi-wildlife of more than a thousand monkeys.

A view from Monkey Island

A view from Monkey Island Resort

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The Outstanding Beauty of Monkey Island Halong Bay

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Monkey Island Halong bay is a large island including nearly 400 islands belonging to Cat Ba island. With beautiful natural scenery, Cat Dua Island or Monkey Island Halong Bay has become a highlight of Cat Ba tourism.

This is also the first destination of the tour on Lan Ha Bay. Monkey Island Halong Bay is about 1 kilometer away from the Cat Ba town. To get to Monkey Island, tourists usually take a boat from Beo wharf about 10 minutes passing Cai Beo fishing village, some small islands and then proceeding to Monkey Island.

Monkey Island has a circumference of about 3 km. This is a mountainous, sandy island formed by millions of waves and winds bringing sand, rocks, coral, shellfish, shells, shrimps and crabs to the foot of the mountain. You can see the sandy beach stretch for miles.

See more: Halong Bay Cruises & Halong Bay Travel Agency

Monkey Island in Cat Ba

Most of the boats and cruises choose this place as their destination so that their passengers can be able to contemplate the beautiful nature of Cat Ba.

Millions of visitors go to Monkey Island Halong Bay each year as they are attracted by its stunning limestone mountains, which are created by the hands of Mother Nature in thousands of years.

Monkey Island Halong Bay is becoming one of the most tourist-attracted places in Cat Ba in general and in Hai Phong in particular, which is bringing a large number of tourists and huge profits to the province.

The island was formerly known as Cat Dua Island as there are a great number of luxurious high pandanus shading around. The fruits of pandanus here look fairly tasty and fresh, yet they are not eatable. The fishermen here usually pick them up and dig them into water or dehydrate them for the purpose of producing medicines.

sandy beaches

The front side is 2 sandy beaches and the backside is like a rocky mountain.

Cat Dua Island is also an ideal place for swimming with blue water and white sandy shores. The local residents call Cat Dua Island the Monkey Island Halong bay due to the presence of monkeys.

The wanderers have brought almost all of the monkeys in Cat Dua. They are thus quite bold with the locals and tourists. They even seize food right from tourists’ hands and might bite if provoked. However, it is the untouched uniqueness that makes the island become famous, alluring a large number of tourists going to Cat Ba.

Discovering Monkey Island is definitely one of the most unforgettable experiences in Ha Long Bay.

sunset monkey island

Sunset on Monkey Island in Cat Ba

Cat Dua 1 and Cat Dua 2 (situated on Monkey Island) are two typical beaches which have an appearance resembling the arc. With the clear, blue and freshwater, Cat Ba 1 is a perfect destination for those who would love to swim and dip into the sea.

More interestingly, visitors can have a chance to contemplate the beauty of the sea in one-floor wooden houses here. Further, tourists are also provided with many kinds of services such as suit rental, buoys and so on.

During the summer, the number of visitors going to Cat Ba is usually huge. This island is undoubtedly an ideal destination for a family or a group of friends to visit.

The beach is clean and not crowded

Cat Dua 2 Beach is situated behind the tiger-shaped ledge on the right. The beach has a hundred square meter garden with a large number of unique fauna and different types of birds.

Going to Monkey Island, most of the tourists who are fond of experiencing new things can climb halfway up the mountain, even up to the top of the mountain to admire the stunning panorama of Lan Ha Bay with hundreds of multi-sized islands emerging from the blue water along with white sandy shores from afar.

At present, visitors can go to Monkey Island and stay at Monkey Island Resort on Cat Bai Beach 2.
The resort has 30 rooms built in the style of a roofed bungalow. Each house is equipped with air conditioners, hot shower, television, electric fan and internet, wifi – free internet. This is an ideal place for you to rest, bathe and enjoy the delicious food of the restaurant right next to the beach.

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Activities While on Monkey Island Halong Bay Tour

You can immerse yourself in a wide range of activities on your cruise and off it. From stunning deck views, cooking classes to chatting with fellow travelers.

Exploring Sung Sot Cave

After seeing the huge lines at the cave entrance. This beautifully lit up cave looks so charming and psychedelic that visitors may be drawn to it at first sight.

>>> See more: Sung Sot Cave Halong Bay – Travel Guide to the Surprise Cave

Kayaking Around Halong Bay

Even though it might be overcast and the water may be cold, kayaking along the bay is so much fun. It is incredible to be able to go right up to the karst formations or even inside caves

>>> Get a FREE ITINERARY PLANNING to visit Monkey Island Halong Bay <<<

Love and motherhood of monkeys on Monkey Island Halong Bay

At present, there are more than 1,000 monkeys on the island, which are short-finned macaques, whose scientific name is Macaca Mulallata, giving birth to about 150 monkeys each year. Monkeys usually live in a herd of about 30 – 50 children per flock.

Every Monkey King on the island usually owns 3 to 4 female monkeys, and most female monkeys like to have sexual intercourse with the Monkey King rather than other male monkeys.

Sometimes. there are fierce competitions among male monkeys. They fight with each other. The dominant winner takes charge of protecting the herd and it also has the right to have sexual intercourse with any female monkey that he likes.

mother monkey

A mother monkey is breastfeeding her child

Vice-captain Nguyen Huy Phuong said: “Monkey mother’s love is like maternity love of human beings. They are ready to die to protect their children”. Then he told us about a heart-wrenching story happening just last year on the island.

When the dog was sleeping, some little monkeys jumped down from the tree and teased him, making the dog angry. The monkeys quickly ran away. Inadvertently, there were two other little monkeys passing by, the dog thought they were the brats so he lunged towards them to bite. The Mother monkey immediately covered her children with her whole body, regardless of how violent the bites were.

When the officers of the island ran to the place where the dog was removed, the mother was bitten to death, but she had managed to protect her children. This brave mother monkey was buried by island officials. “If the unlucky monkey is sick and dead, the mother will still hug her body in her lap. Only when the monkey has become a white skeleton does the mother monkey bury her kid at some trees, “Phuong said.

The lives of those who are devoted to Monkey Island Halong Bay

At present, there are 14 employees in Monkey Island Halong Bay. There are also 4 married couples and children born on the island. Each couple is provided with a house. The staff on the island often take good care of the monkeys. Although the island is not far away from the mainland, they are rarely on land because it’s their duty to protect the monkeys.

local life

The monkeys live in harmony with the local people

Children at the age of five will leave the island to move in with their grandparents on the shore to go to school. Mr. Long laughs: “Fortunately all the children on the island are hard-working and perform well academically.”

So for almost a day wandering on the island, I returned to the mainland on the ship of the fisherman who transported fruit to Monkey island Halong bay. Only a glimpse of the ship docked Vung Duc, with the bustle of Cam Pha City. I looked back to the sea island Rều is only a dim blue but not mixed with the blue sea. There are people who are forgetting the noisy life on land, so that day and night protect the peace of the monkeys for the work of medical rescue.