Hanoi (Hà Nội) to Hai Phong (Hải Phòng): Train, Bus or Limo Van?

The 6am train to Hai Phong leaves from the same Hanoi station as the overnight expresses heading south, but it feels like a different railway. It is short, slow and a little rattly, full of students heading home and office workers with laptop bags. Two and a half hours later it rolls into a yellow French-era station on Luong Khanh Thien (Lương Khánh Thiện) street, a short walk from the cafés and crab noodle stalls of the old centre.

There are four sensible ways to cover the distance. Which suits you depends less on speed than on where you are staying in Hanoi, how much luggage you have and where you want to get off.

Which way should you go?

If you are staying in or near the Old Quarter, we would take the train. You skip the traffic at the edge of Hanoi and step off in the heart of old Hai Phong. From the western side of Hanoi, a limo van that picks you up at the hotel door usually beats crossing the whole city to a station.

The train: slower, but it takes you straight into town

This is a branch line, separate from the main north-south railway, and no express. You get room to stretch and big windows over rice fields and canals instead. The timetable below has run since 10 February 2026.

Hanoi Station is on Le Duan (Lê Duẩn) street, south-west of Hoan Kiem (Hoàn Kiếm) Lake. Long Bien is a small stop at the edge of the Old Quarter, by the old bridge, and some weekday services start or finish there. In early February 2026 repairs to Long Bien Bridge briefly moved all Hai Phong trains to Gia Lam (Gia Lâm) station across the river. Departure stations can change again for bridge work, floods or changes to trains through central Hanoi, so read the one printed on your ticket.

Photo: David McKelvey

Fares and the red carriages

Since 10 May 2025 all four pairs of trains have run newer red-liveried carriages, branded Hoa Phuong Do (Hoa Phượng Đỏ, the red flamboyant flower that is the city's emblem): 64-seat standard cars, 56-seat cars with reversible seats and a 34-seat VIP car with a free drink. Guide fares on ticketing sites are about VND120,000-165,000 for standard seats, VND150,000-198,000 for reversible seats and VND300,000-385,000 for VIP, with the higher price Friday to Sunday. The price on dsvn.vn when you book is the one that counts. A standard seat is perfectly fine for two and a half hours.

Booking online

You can book on the Vietnam Railways site, dsvn.vn, which has an English version. Pick Hà Nội and Hải Phòng as the stations, choose a train and seat, then enter each passenger's name and passport number. The checkout lists international Visa, Mastercard, JCB, UnionPay and Amex cards, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Tickets carry your name and passport number, so bring the passport to the station. On weekdays there is usually room on the day; for Friday evening, Sunday afternoon and public holidays, book a few days ahead.

Taking a motorbike on the train

On this line your motorbike can travel on the same train as you, in a freight car at the back. That is the best reason to take the train on a road trip, because the alternative is National Road 5 or 10, both busy with trucks and lined with industrial parks. This is how it has worked, though the details can change:

• Passenger and motorbike tickets were bought in person at the departure station, not online.
• A standard bike cost around VND120,000 including handling; bigger bikes cost more.
• Bikes were loaded at Hanoi Station and Hai Phong Station, not at Long Bien.
• Riders were told to arrive about an hour before departure, earlier at weekends.

Fees and procedures may have changed, so ask at the ticket counter about the current fee, the documents you need for the bike and whether the fuel tank has to be emptied.

Photo: Akira

Buses and limo vans

Services run roughly from 3:30am to 9:30pm. In Hanoi they leave from Gia Lam, My Dinh (Mỹ Đình), Nuoc Ngam (Nước Ngầm), Giap Bat (Giáp Bát) and Yen Nghia (Yên Nghĩa) bus stations or from operators' own offices; Gia Lam is the closest to the Old Quarter.

In Hai Phong most scheduled buses end at Thuong Ly (Thượng Lý) bus station, about 3.5 km north-west of the Opera House, or Vinh Niem (Vĩnh Niệm) on Bui Vien (Bùi Viện) street, about 6 km south. Some operators drop off at their offices on Pham Van Dong (Phạm Văn Đồng) avenue. Guide fares on ticketing sites start at around VND130,000 for a standard seated bus and VND160,000 for a limo van; prices above VND500,000 are usually premium coaches or combined tickets from Hanoi through to Cat Ba. Each operator sets its own price, so ask for the total when you book.

Picking a door-to-door limo van

The 9-11 seat limo vans are how many regulars travel between the two cities. Before you book, ask:

• How far the free pickup zone reaches, and the surcharge outside it (airport pickups often cost extra).
• How many other pickups there are. A van doing the rounds can add half an hour before it reaches the highway.
• Where in Hai Phong it drops off, and whether large suitcases or a folding bike cost more.
• Book through the operator's official hotline, website or app and keep the confirmation with the pickup time and plate number. Pay on board or through an official channel rather than wiring money to a personal account.

Driving the expressway

The Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway runs just over 100 km from Ring Road 3 in Hanoi to Tan Vu (Tân Vũ) and Dinh Vu (Đình Vũ) on the far side of Hai Phong, with six lanes and a design speed of 120 km/h. Tolls are collected electronically only, so the car needs an e-toll tag with credit. Most visitors who go by road hire a car with a driver; if you plan to drive yourself, check that your licence is valid in Vietnam first.

Tolls vary by vehicle class and exit, so check your own trip on the expressway operator's toll lookup (in Vietnamese).

Two service areas are open, each on both sides of the road: V52 at km 53.4, with a restaurant open 6am-9pm and 24-hour fuel, and PK77 at km 76.9, also with 24-hour fuel. Use them for breaks; the hard shoulder is for breakdowns only. Motorbikes and mopeds are not allowed on expressways (Article 25, clause 3 of Vietnam's 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety).

Photo: alllenwang

Straight from Hanoi's airport

Noi Bai airport is north of Hanoi, about 135-145 km and roughly two hours by road from central Hai Phong. The realistic choices are a limo van that does airport pickups (give them your flight number and ask how long they will wait if you are delayed), a taxi or ride-hail car straight through, or city bus 86 from the airport to Hanoi Station and then the train.

The bus-and-train combo is the cheapest and works best if you land before midday and aim for the 15:15 departure. Allow for immigration, baggage collection, the bus wait and the ride into Hanoi before choosing a train; add a buffer rather than planning a tight connection. If your flight lands late, go by car: the last train leaves Hanoi in the early evening.

Flying into Hai Phong

Hai Phong has its own airport, Cat Bi, about 8 km south-east of the centre, so if you are flying in from southern or central Vietnam you can skip Hanoi altogether. Ho Chi Minh City to Hai Phong takes about two hours, with several direct flights a day; a handful of other cities, including Da Lat (Đà Lạt) since 19 August 2026, and Seoul Incheon and Macau internationally, also have direct services. Frequencies change by season, so check the airline sites when you book.

A taxi into town costs about VND100,000-150,000, and city buses 09 and 18 stop by the airport's side gate (guide fares and routes). Confirm the bus route at the information desk when you land.

Photo: Hoangkid

Heading on to the islands? Allow another half day for the boat, ferry or cable car to Cat Ba; if you arrive on an afternoon train, plan to spend the night in Hai Phong first.