Experience Cô Tô Island: What to Eat, Where to Stay, and What to Do

Cô Tô Island – where the azure sea beckons amidst pristine natural beauty and tranquility, accompanied by delectable fresh seafood. Below are some travel experiences curated by Mytour for you to comfortably explore this captivating island.

Experience Cô Tô Island: What to Eat, Where to Stay, and What to Do

Getting to Cô Tô Island

From Hanoi, travel to Van Don, covering approximately 200km along National Highway 1A – 18 to Quang Ninh province. At the Van Don intersection, turn right towards the Van Don post office. Proceed for another 1.5km to reach Cai Rong Port. You can either bring your motorbike to the island for 120k VND/vehicle/one-way trip or park it at Cai Rong Port for 20k VND/day.

From Cai Rong Port, purchase a high-speed ferry ticket to Cô Tô Island for around 250,000 VND/one-way/person. Currently, there are three high-speed ferry companies: Manh Quang, Havaco, and Ka Long, with a travel time of approximately 1h30 minutes. Travelers can choose the most convenient and expedient option for their journey.

Where to Stay on Cô Tô Island?

1. CôTô Gardens

Address: 2 Love Street, TT. Cô Tô, Cô Tô, Quảng Ninh

Contact: 083 226 1996

2. CôTô Jade Island

Address:  Center 4, Cô Tô Town, Cô Tô Island

Contact:  096 262 05 83

3. Cô Tô Eco Host

Address: Hong Van Beach, Hong Hai Village, Cô Tô, Quảng Ninh

What to Do on Cô Tô Island?

Hồng Vàn Beach

Located 7 km from Cô Tô town center, Hong Vàn features a long stretch of sandy beach, gentle waves, making it an ideal destination for travelers visiting Cô Tô Island. As dusk falls, Hong Vàn Beach is dyed in a shimmering golden hue, creating a mystical ambiance as if you were stepping into a fairyland. Additionally, you can kayak, snorkel, or take photos with the cacti on the smooth sand.

Enchanted Vàn Chảy Beach

From the town center, you can easily reach this beach by motorcycle or car. Enchanted Vàn Chảy is a captivating destination, especially for young travelers seeking to immerse themselves in the allure of pristine blue beaches and the tranquility of untouched, natural surroundings.

The Love Path

When visiting Cô Tô Island, make sure not to miss the romantic and enticing Love Path. Stretching over 2km, the Love Path is adorned with red brick paving along the coastline, bordered by lush greenery. You can lose yourself walking along the shore during sunset or relish the cool sea breeze.

Mỵ Bridge Rock Beach

Mỵ Bridge Rock Beach is hailed as the paradise of love and youth amidst the waves of Cô Tô. The Mỵ Bridge, composed of sedimentary rocks sculpted over thousands of years by the sea, forms a unique marvel among Vietnam's islands.

Seafarer's Beacon

You'll climb 72 steps of this Seafarer's Beacon to capture the breathtaking panorama of the entire island. Looking down from above, you'll witness nature's profound blessings, with lush green forests blending harmoniously with the deep blue sea.

What to Eat on Cô Tô Island?

Abalone

Abalone, also known as the sea ear, is a specialty dish of Cô Tô Island. Cô Tô's abalone is commonly prepared into various enticing dishes such as abalone soup, abalone porridge, braised abalone, stir-fried abalone, abalone rice, grilled abalone, abalone stew, and more. All abalone dishes are delicious and highly nutritious.

Cù Kỳ – a peculiar name that belies its familiarity among the locals on Cô Tô Island. Resembling a crab but with larger claws and a slimmer body, Cù Kỳ is a type of fresh seafood that is relatively affordable yet of decent quality. It can be steamed, grilled, stir-fried with tamarind, or cooked with noodles, all resulting in exquisite flavors.

Bamboo Lobster

Bamboo Lobster (known as prawns in the South) is a seafood delicacy you shouldn't miss when visiting Cô Tô. This type of shrimp is firm, meaty, and very sweet, whether grilled, steamed, salt-roasted, or stir-fried with tamarind, all are enticing.

Sea Cucumber

Sea Cucumber is the next dish you should try in Cô Tô. It's a marine creature with high nutritional value and brings significant economic benefits to the fishermen here. After being cleaned and blanched, the sea cucumber is stir-fried with carrots, celery, and fresh beef, resulting in a delicious aroma. Sea cucumber not only provides a delightful taste but also has many health benefits, such as preventing kidney stones and restoring weakened bodies.

Finger Snail

Cô Tô Island is famous for its various exotic shellfish dishes such as finger snails, fat snails, spiky snails, etc. Particularly delightful is the finger snail dish. Finger snails are sweet and firm due to their rich mineral content such as iron and calcium, providing a sweet, savory, and chewy texture, making them a versatile ingredient for many delicious dishes.

Spiny Bridge

Spiny Bridge is also a dish you should try once when visiting Cô Tô Island. The local specialty of Cô Tô's spiny bridge is prepared into various enticing dishes, with the most popular being raw, grilled, and porridge. The nutritional value of dishes made from spiny bridge is high, so many tourists choose and seek to enjoy them whenever they have the opportunity to travel to Cô Tô.

According to Mytour

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Reference: Mytour Travel Handbook