For most people arriving in northern Vietnam, Hanoi is the first city and the base for everything after it. This guide covers the practical layer: the airport transfer, visas, money, how long to stay and how to use the city as a launchpad.
For most people flying into northern Vietnam, Hanoi is the first city they see and the base for everything after it. It is also one of the easiest places in the country to travel independently: the center is small, the sights cluster together, and you can eat extremely well for the price of a coffee at home. This guide is the practical layer rather than the sightseeing one, written for someone who has never been.
Landing at Noi Bai and getting into town
Noi Bai International Airport sits roughly 27 to 30km (17 to 19 miles) north of the center, which is 40 to 60 minutes by road. Terminal 2 handles international arrivals. Do three things before you leave the building: withdraw cash, pick up a local SIM or activate an eSIM, and decide how you are getting in.
- Airport bus 86: an estimated 40,000-50,000d (roughly US$2), running about every 30 minutes to Hanoi railway station with stops near the Old Quarter
- Grab or Xanh SM: an estimated 250,000 to 350,000d (roughly US$10 to 14). Grab is the regional ride-hailing app, functionally the local Uber; Xanh SM is its electric-car rival. Both quote a fixed fare in-app, so there is no haggling
- Shared minibus: an estimated 100,000 to 150,000d (US$4 to 6) per person, dropping at your Old Quarter hotel
- Public buses 7 or 17: under a dollar, but slow and requiring a change
Visas and what to sort before you fly
Vietnam operates an e-visa system covering most nationalities, applied for online in advance through the official government immigration portal and carried with you as an approval document. Some passports have separate short-stay visa-free arrangements. Fees, processing times and eligibility all change periodically, so check the official site rather than a travel article. Make sure your passport has plenty of remaining validity and a blank page or two, and get travel insurance for a trip involving boats, motorbikes and mountain roads.
Money: dong, cards and what things cost
The Vietnamese dong carries a lot of zeros. As a working shortcut, drop three zeros and divide by roughly 25 to get US dollars, so 100,000d is about US$4 and 250,000d about US$10. Rates move, so treat every conversion here as an approximation. Watch the notes: the 20,000d and 500,000d bills are both blue-green and easy to confuse in a hurry. Keep small notes for street food, and expect a fee on ATM withdrawals with a foreign card.
When to go, and how long to stay
Autumn, September to November, is the most comfortable stretch of the year: dry, cool and made for walking. Spring, February to April, is the second choice, though it brings a persistent fine drizzle. Summer is hot and humid with heavy downpours, and winter is cold and gray in a way that surprises people expecting tropical Vietnam. Two to three days covers the city itself; four to five makes sense if you are also doing Ninh Binh or an overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay.
Where to base yourself
The Old Quarter in Hoan Kiem district is the default for a first visit, because it puts you inside walking distance of the lake, the cathedral and most of the food. West Lake, about 20 minutes north, is quieter and greener and suits longer stays. The French Quarter, around the Opera House, has the grander hotels. Rates are estimates and swing with season: dorms roughly 120,000 to 250,000d, mid-range hotels 400,000 to 900,000d, boutique or four-star from around 1,000,000d upward.
Getting around the city
Walk in the center. The Old Quarter is a maze of narrow one-way lanes and it is faster on foot than in a car. For anything further, use Grab, which will also summon a motorbike taxi at a fraction of the car fare. Renting a motorbike to ride yourself is a bad first move in Hanoi traffic, whatever your experience elsewhere. From Friday evening to Sunday night the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake close to vehicles entirely.
Eating, and how to order
Hanoi's food culture is built around specialists. The best places serve one dish, from morning until they sell out, with no menu in any language. Point, sit, pay at the end. Most street dishes cost an estimated 25,000 to 70,000d, roughly US$1 to 3. Start with phở bò (beef noodle soup in a clear broth, a breakfast dish here), bún chả (grilled pork with cold rice noodles and a dipping broth), chả cá (turmeric fish fried at your table) and egg coffee, which sounds wrong and tastes like liquid tiramisu.
The plastic-stool places with no English sign are not a challenge to be overcome, they are the point. Look for the stall with the longest queue of people in work clothes at 7am, sit at the only free seat, and hold up one finger. Nobody expects you to speak Vietnamese and nobody will mind that you do not.
Using Hanoi as a base for the north
- Ninh Binh, roughly 95km (60 miles) south, 1.5 to 2 hours away: karst scenery, cave boat trips and the Hang Mua steps. A long day trip or a comfortable overnight
- Ha Long Bay, roughly 165km (100 miles) east and about 2.5 hours: nearly always booked as a one or two night cruise, with transfers included from Hanoi
- Sapa, roughly 320km (200 miles) northwest, five to six hours by road: rice terraces and hill-tribe villages, needing at least two nights to be worth it
- Bat Trang and Duong Lam villages, both inside greater Hanoi: half-day trips that fill an awkward gap before a flight
A short pre-departure checklist
- E-visa approval printed and saved offline, with passport validity checked
- A card without foreign transaction fees, plus a backup kept separately
- Shoes you can walk all day in, and a light rain jacket regardless of season
- Your hotel address written down in Vietnamese for drivers
- Nothing booked too rigidly for the first 24 hours, because jet lag and the traffic both take a turn
