How To Travel To Hanoi

Taxis to Hanoi’s city center can be hired in Noi Bai. There are taxi stands just outside the domestic terminal’s exits and the international terminal’s left exit. Now, all cabs, which are provided by numerous taxi firms, must be metered. Have the desired destination’s address prepared and written down; expressing it to the driver is unlikely to be understood. Considering that every street in Hanoi has clearly visible street signs at both ends, you should be able to determine which street you are on without a map. The fare to the Old Quarter should be between 300,000 and 350,000 dong (Mai Linh cab, July 2015) and the meter should read between 27 and 28 kilometers. The French Quarter or the south side of Hoan Kiem Lake may cost slightly more, but still less than 400,000 Vietnamese Dong. Taxigroup and ABC are among the cab companies that take credit cards (ask first – show them the credit card). You may also be offered a fixed price of $20 by the driver, which represents a 25% premium. This is not an awful deal if you don’t want to haggle and don’t have dong. Some drivers may ask for 800,000 dong, especially if they notice three or four foreigners; ignore them. Make sure the meter starts shortly after the taxi departs, and if you want to make sure it’s not running too quickly, it should have reached approximately 0.7km by the time you reach the airport toll booths (taxis do not pay the toll) and approximately 2km by the time you pass the domestic terminal (the distance will be displayed in km, often along with the speed). On the new route, the trip into the city should take between 30 and 40 minutes, depending on traffic.

Uber is now available in Hanoi; they will pick you up at the domestic airport and maybe the international airport, but appear to prefer that you meet them in the parking lot rather than the arrivals area. Uber Black drivers typically understand English and are priced similarly to airport taxis. Uber X is fifty percent less expensive, yet the drivers rarely speak English.

Noi Bai airport is approximately 1.5 hours away from the city center via public transportation. Bus 07 traverses Thang Long Bridge and arrives at the Daewoo Hotel in west Hanoi (almost an hour on foot to the historical centre of Hanoi). Bus 17 over the Chuong Duong Bridge and approaches the old area on its way to Long Bien (just a few blocks from Hoan Kiem Lake – the destination of most tourists). The cost is 9,000 dong (May 2014). To get Buses 7 or 17, proceed to the terminal’s first level, exit, and walk past the taxis to what appears to be a bus parking lot. This is the final destination of the routes. Observe the regularly arriving buses if you cannot locate it. Baggage is not permitted on buses; therefore, you may have to wait a few minutes and try your luck multiple times, or offer the conductor a small bribe, i.e., pay for the baggage as well. Do not believe taxi drivers or shuttle bus operators who claim the public bus stop is a few kilometers away or that service has ended. The hours of operation for public buses are from 05:00 to 22:00. Since April 30, 2016, a new bus route 86 connects the Noi Ban Airport and the Hanoi train station. The bus stops directly to the right of the airport’s exit and takes around one hour to reach the city. As of June 2016, each ticket costs 30,000 dong. These buses have enough space for bags.

Airport shuttles to Hanoi stop at the Vietnam Airlines Office on 1 Quang Trung (a bit south of the old quarter but conveniently stocked with taxis and motorbike drivers). The facility in front of where the minibuses park sells tickets, or you can pay the fare straight to the driver. The price is USD2 or 40,000 dong for foreigners (for insurance purposes) and 35,000 dong for Vietnamese (which includes ethnic Vietnamese from overseas), as mentioned on the bus’s body sticker. If you have additional luggage, the driver may give you difficulties, but if you push, you will receive the same USD2 rate. They also attempt the ‘typhoon in Ha Long Bay’ scam, in which they take you to a street where the hotel name cannot be seen and tell you that the Ha Long Bay guests are still in the hotel and that they will transport you to their second hotel for the same fee. This establishment is a complete dump that faces the highway. It is considerably cheaper to go to the Vietnam Airlines office and switch to a cab (or walk, it’s a maximum of 2 kilometers to anywhere in the Old Quarter) than to accept a ride to your hotel for $5 from a driver who claims the Old Quarter is 5 kilometers away from the office. If the cab costs more than the USD3 pricing difference, you should refuse to pay because the driver has tricked you. Shuttle buses to the airport are also available hourly.