1. Where Is Van Chay Beach?
Van Chay Beach is located in Dong Tien Commune, Co To Island, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. This beach is about 6 km northwest of the center of Co To Island District, about 50 km southeast of Ao Tien International Port in Van Don District and about 260 km east of Hanoi.
2. How Is Van Chay Beach Unique?
Van Chay Beach is considered a beautiful beach, with wild and poetic beauty. Known as the place where the sea and sky meet, Van Chay is like a beautiful natural painting that captivates anyone who comes here.
The beach runs along a curved line, with fine white sand, clear, blue water mixed with the high sky. Van Chay beach has a fresh and extremely quiet atmosphere. If you are looking for a place to escape, Van Chay is the ideal choice.
3. When Is The Best Time To Visit Van Chay Beach?
Van Chay beach has its own beauty in each season. However, in the summer, from February to May is the ideal time for you to visit Van Chay to swim and participate in outdoor activities. At this time, the weather in Co To is warm, sunny and less rainy.
From June to August is the stormy season here. When coming to Van Chay at this time, you may encounter bad weather, the boat cannot go to the island or return to the mainland. From September to October, the weather turns to cool autumn, but sometimes there are still sudden rains.
Therefore, according to the experience of previous tourists traveling to Quang Ninh. The ideal time to travel to Van Chay beach is from September to April next year.
4. How To Get To Van Chay Beach?
4.1 Traveling to Ao Tien International Port in Van Don from Hanoi
From Hanoi, you can take a bus from My Dinh, Giap Bat, Gia Lam, Nuoc Ngam bus stations. Or travel by private car or motorbike to Ao Tien International Port in Van Don district, with a travel time of about 2-3 hours.
4.1.1 Traveling on the first route:
Starting from the center of Hanoi, you go in the direction of Ton Duc Thang – Xa Dan – Tran Khat Chan – Nguyen Khoi, then turn onto QL1A connecting QL5B and QL10. Then continue to turn onto Ly Thuong Kiet Street, in Cam Thinh area, Cam Pha city – Van Don bridge. You continue onto DT 334 road and head straight to Ao Tien international port.
4.1.2 Traveling on the second route:
Starting from the center of Hanoi, you go in the direction of Ton Duc Thang – Xa Dan – Tran Khat Chan – Nguyen Khoi – Vinh Tuy bridge. From here, you go in the direction of Nguyen Van Linh (QL5). Go all the way down Nguyen Van Linh street and turn onto QL1A – connecting with DCT Noi Bai – Ha Long. Then, you go through Tran Nhan Tong – Hoang Quoc Viet /QL18. Continue moving to Ly Thuong Kiet Street, cross Van Don Bridge to Ao Tien International Port.
4.2 Moving from Ao Tien International Port to Co To Island District
To reach the beautiful Co To Island, you have 2 means of transport to choose from: traveling by wooden boat or speedboat. Each means of transport will bring different experiences:
From Ao Tien International Port, you buy a speedboat ticket to Co To Island with ticket prices ranging from 230,000 VND – 250,000 VND. Travel time from the port to the island is about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
4.2.1 Choosing a speedboat:
If you travel by speedboat, it will depart around 13:00 – 13:30, departing on all days of the week. Travel time is about 90 minutes, ticket price for each trip is from 180,000 VND – 200,000 VND/person/trip.
4.2.2 Choosing a wooden boat:
Traveling by wooden boat to the island will take more time, about 4 hours, and the price is also lower, about 110k/person/trip. But especially for those who get seasick, you should not choose the wooden boat because the time is quite long.
- Morning wooden boat: Departs at 7am on Mondays and Fridays.
- Afternoon wooden boat: Departs at 1pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
- Boat to Ao Tien port: Departs at 1pm on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Navy reinforcement ship: departs at 6:00 am on Monday, returns to Van Don at 1 pm on Friday
4.3 Traveling from Co To port to Van Chay beach
The distance from Co To town center to Van Chay beach is about 6 km. Therefore, you can choose to rent an electric car, motorbike or taxi to travel. If you go in a large group, you should rent an electric car to save costs and enjoy the beautiful scenery on both sides of the road in the most authentic way.
5. Activities And Experiences At Van Chay Beach
Known as the most pristine and poetic beach in Co To. Van Chay beach offers you many extremely attractive experiences.
5.1. Enjoying swimming and relaxing in the clear water
Traveling to Van Chay, you can enjoy swimming and relaxing with many interesting activities. This place is blessed by nature with a long stretch of fine white sand and clear blue water. When you come here, you will be able to soak in the cool water.
In addition, Van Chay beach also has many extremely attractive outdoor activities. Such as: diving to see coral, organizing team building, kayaking,… After enjoying the fun, you can sit on the soft white sand to breathe in the fresh air.
5.2. Checking-in the sea view, poetic sunset
Many people often wonder, Hong Van or Van Chay beach is more beautiful. In fact, these are two famous beaches of Co To Island and have their own beauty. If Hong Van is the most beautiful sunrise spot in Co To, Van Chay is the most poetic place to admire the sunset.
When the sun gradually sets, it reflects a bright red color on the sea. This moment, heaven and earth seem to blend together, making anyone who sees it with their own eyes feel moved. When welcoming the sunset at Van Chay beach, don’t forget to capture the most beautiful pictures for yourself as souvenirs.
5.3. Camping, picnicking at night on the beach
Camping, sleeping overnight on the beach is also an interesting activity that you cannot miss when coming to Van Chay beach. Before visiting this beach, you should prepare all the camping equipment and choose a wide, flat sandy beach to set up a tent. In the evening, sit and light a campfire on the beach, watch the twinkling stars and listen to the sound of the waves. It will definitely be a beautiful memory that you will never forget.
6. Specialties When Traveling To Van Chay Beach
When coming to Van Chay beach, in addition to enjoying swimming and playing. Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy the following fresh Quang Ninh seafood:
6.1 Fingernail snails:
Fingernail snails have a sweet taste, firm meat, and are processed into many attractive dishes. Such as: stir-fried with butter and garlic, stir-fried with lemongrass and chili, stir-fried with tamarind, … This is a delicious Quang Ninh specialty that you cannot miss.
6.2 Mantis shrimp:
Co To mantis shrimp is a fresh seafood that captivates diners every time they enjoy it. The mantis shrimps are caught from the sea, then processed into many attractive dishes. Such as: steamed mantis shrimp with beer, grilled mantis shrimp, salt-fried mantis shrimp, tamarind-fried mantis shrimp, …
6.3 Sea urchins:
This is an extremely valuable and nutritious marine product that you cannot miss when visiting Van Chay beach. After being caught, sea urchins will be processed into many nutritious dishes such as porridge, grilled on a red fire or raw with lemon.
6.4 Sea worms:
Sand worms are a rare seafood that nature has bestowed upon the people of Co To. Moreover, they have high nutritional value, and are often processed and dried to cook porridge, pho, soak in wine, etc.
6.5 Abalone:
This type of seafood is loved by many diners thanks to its delicious flavor and rich nutritional value. When coming to Van Chay beach, you can enjoy many attractive dishes made from abalone. Such as: abalone soup, abalone porridge, stir-fried abalone, braised abalone, etc.
7. Accommodation When Traveling To Van Chay Beach
When traveling to Van Chay beach, you can refer to some of the following accommodations:
- Thanh Trung Hotel. Address: Zone 4, Co To town, Co To district, Quang Ninh.
- Green Co To Hotel. Address: Co To town, Co To district, Quang Ninh.
- Thai Ha Hotel. Address: Zone 3, Co To town, Co To district, Quang Ninh.
- Nam Cuong Hotel. Address: Zone IV, Co To town, Co To district, Quang Ninh.
- Golden Coto Hotel. Address: 124 Nguyen Du Street, Co To town, Quang Ninh.
- Hoang Trung Hotel. Address: Center of Co To island, Quang Ninh.
- Khanh Linh Hotel. Address: Zone 4, Co To town, Co To district, Quang Ninh province.
- Thanh Mang Hotel. Address: Zone 4, Co To town, Co To district, Quang Ninh.
8. Some Other Famous Tourist Attractions Near Van Chay Beach
Near Van Chay beach, there are also many ideal places to have fun and check in. Therefore, after enjoying swimming in Van Chay, you can combine visiting the following destinations to make your journey of discovery more complete.
8.1. Love Beach
Love Beach is located in the center of Co To town. This beach has a long, smooth white sandbank. Every early morning, when the tide recedes, large sand dunes will be revealed. When you come here, you can walk along the beach, breathe in the fresh air and freely check in, capturing many beautiful scenes.
8.2. Hong Van Beach
Along with Van Chay beach, Hong Van is also one of the beautiful, poetic and attractive beaches in Co To. Hong Van is blessed by nature with a cool, fresh atmosphere and emerald green sea water.
When you come here, you will be able to enjoy swimming and participating in many fun outdoor activities. In particular, Hong Van is the place to enjoy the most beautiful sunrise on Co To Island, so you definitely should not miss this moment when coming to Hong Van beach.
8.3. Co To Lighthouse
As one of the lighthouses with the most beautiful view. Co To Lighthouse is a place you cannot miss on your journey to Hong Van beach. Standing from the lighthouse, you will look far away to admire the vast Co To sea and majestic high and low mountains. This is also an ideal “holy land” to check in, where high-quality virtual photos are born.
8.4. Small Co To Island
Compared to other islands, small Co To Island is still quite wild. The sea water here is clear blue, the sand is soft and smooth. When you come here, you can see the coral under the sea and clearly see schools of fish swimming. In particular, on this island there is also a small forest that provides shade for visitors to stop and rest. Small Co To Island is an ideal paradise for those who are looking for a quiet place to “reset” their souls.
8.5 Cau My Rock Beach
Cau My Rock Beach is located in the south of the large Co To island, about 8km from Van Chay beach. This place has a majestic landscape with steep cliffs, about 100m high.
When visiting Cau My Rock Beach, you will enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the steep cliffs. Watch each gentle wave crash into the rocks, creating white foam. There are many extremely beautiful check-in locations here, you can completely take very impressive “virtual life” photos.
Van Chay beach is an interesting destination that visitors cannot miss on their journey to explore Co To. With its wild and peaceful beauty, when you come to Van Chay, you will be able to enjoy swimming, playing and relaxing your soul.
With the complete Van Chay beach travel guide that Origin Vietnam – a reputable tour operator, has shared in the article above. Hopefully, it will help you have a Halong Bay tour to explore this beautiful beach with memorable experiences.
