Co To (Cô Tô) is an island district in the Gulf of Tonkin, beyond the karsts of Bai Tu Long. Instead of limestone towers, it has rolling green hills, rocky headlands and some of the clearest water and best beaches in northern Vietnam.
Getting here takes a speedboat crossing from Van Don, and that effort keeps it relatively undeveloped. On weekdays outside the summer holidays you can walk a beach like Hong Van with only a handful of other people.
Top things to do at Co To Island
Hong Van and Van Chay beaches
Long, pale beaches backed by casuarina trees, with shallow turquoise water in calm weather.
Cau My rock coast
A stretch of layered, wave-cut rock formations that turns gold at sunset — the island’s best photo spot.
Ride around the island
Rent a motorbike or bicycle to reach the lighthouse, the viewpoints and the smaller coves along the coastal road.
How to get to Co To Island
- From Van Don: speedboats run from Cai Rong / Van Don piers to Co To, taking roughly 1.5–2 hours depending on the boat and sea. Services are more frequent in summer.
- From Hanoi: allow a full day: expressway to Van Don (around 3–3.5 hours), then the boat.
Insider tips
- Crossings are cancelled in rough seas; winter and typhoon season can disrupt timetables for days.
- Book accommodation ahead for June–August weekends, when Vietnamese families fill the island.
- Carry enough cash for your stay.
Best tours & cruises for Co To Island
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Co To Island and the bays around it:
Boutique overnight cruise from €200 Oris Cruises: Ha Long to Van Don Pioneering Bai Tu Long Route
A newer boutique cruise that boards at Ao Tien port on Van Don island and explores the northern reaches of Bai Tu Long that Ha Long-based boats rarely reach. New to the platform, so there are few reviews yet.
- Departs from Van Don, not Ha Long
- The far, rarely visited side of Bai Tu Long
- Small boutique boat
Transfer from €13 Hanoi: Transfer to/from Ha Long by Daily Luxury Limousine
If your cruise does not include transport, or you are staying in Ha Long on your own, this is the easy way there: a daily limousine van on the expressway with pickup from your Hanoi hotel.
- Hotel pickup in Hanoi
- Expressway route, about 2.5 hours
- Comfortable limousine van seats
Private transfer from €56 per group Private Transfer: Ha Long / Tuan Chau to Hanoi or Noi Bai Airport
A fixed-price private car from the Ha Long piers or Tuan Chau to Hanoi or Noi Bai airport. Split between three or four people it costs little more than the shuttle, and you leave when you are ready.
- Fixed price for the whole car
- Straight from the pier to your hotel or flight
- Your group, your schedule
