One Day in Hai Phong (Hải Phòng): Food, City Walks and Do Son
One day in Hai Phong is enough for a morning walk around the Opera House, a breezy afternoon at Do Son (Đồ Sơn) and a snail dinner. On a train day trip from Hanoi you can still fit in the old centre and Do Son; only the snails have to wait for next time.
10 min read
The city post office on Nguyen Tri Phuong (Nguyễn Tri Phương) street, one stop on the morning walk.
Staying overnight, or a train day trip from Hanoi
The hour-by-hour plan below assumes you slept in Hai Phong and start at 6.30am. Coming by train from Hanoi, the earliest service leaves Hanoi station at 6am and reaches Hai Phong at 8.25am, and the last train back leaves at 6.40pm (timetable in force since 10 Feb 2026), so your day shrinks to the right-hand column.
| Time of day | Staying in Hai Phong | Train day trip from Hanoi |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | 6.30am crab noodle soup, chrysanthemum tea, then the Opera House, museum, post office and station | Off the train at 8.25am and straight to crab noodle soup around Cau Dat (Cầu Đất), right by the station. Get into the museum by 10.15am to beat its lunch break; skip the tea if you are running late |
| Midday | Crab rolls and noodles on Cat Cut (Cát Cụt) street, rest at the hotel | Same lunch, then a short break in an air-conditioned café |
| Afternoon | 2.30pm to Do Son: Dragon Hill, Bao Dai's villa, the breeze in Zone 2 | Leave for Do Son at 2pm, keep Dragon Hill and Zone 2, skip the villa. Leave Do Son before 5pm because of rush hour and be back at the station by 6.10pm |
| Evening | 7.30pm pavement snails, then spicy banh mi or ginger rice balls | Buy a few spicy banh mi for the train; save the snails for a trip with an overnight stay |
If you are staying far from Hanoi station or want to head back later than 6.40pm, look at buses and limo vans between Hanoi and Hai Phong, which run far more often than the train.
The itinerary, hour by hour
Hai Phong wakes up earlier than you expect. By half past six the crab noodle stalls at the alley mouths are full, delivery motorbikes are heading into the markets and the old street trees are still damp. By nine the sun is on the square in front of the Opera House, and the yellow French-era facades around it light up.
- 06:30
Crab noodle soup in the old centre
Eat breakfast around Cau Dat, Le Loi (Lê Lợi) and Pham Ngu Lao (Phạm Ngũ Lão) streets, where crab noodle and spicy fish noodle stalls sit side by side. A bowl of crab noodle soup (bánh đa cua) is about VND50,000. If crab is not for you, try fish noodles or one of the other Hai Phong breakfasts sold nearby. If you have a shellfish allergy, check the broth, toppings and preparation with the stall before ordering; fish noodles are not automatically a safe alternative. - 08:00
Chrysanthemum tea on Phan Boi Chau street
Take a low stool and a cup of chrysanthemum tea (trà cúc) while the traffic builds. The Opera House is about 800 m away, a little over ten minutes on foot. - 09:00
The Opera House and its square
See the facade while the light is still soft, then stroll along the central gardens to the statue of the woman general Le Chan (Lê Chân). The interior usually opens only for performances; there are no regular visiting hours. - 09:30
Hai Phong Museum
The brick-red building at 66 Dien Bien Phu (Điện Biên Phủ) street is about 600 m on foot from the Opera House. Allow 45 minutes. Sources list entry from free to VND20,000; some sources say the morning session ends at 11am, others 11.30am, so go in before 10am and call ahead around public holidays. - 10:30
Post office, French quarter, railway station
The city post office is only 300 m from the museum. From there it is about 1.4 km, some 20 minutes on foot, to Hai Phong station on Luong Khanh Thien (Lương Khánh Thiện) street, a yellow building with a clock tower. Pavements are often blocked by parked bikes and you will walk at the road's edge: look carefully and cross at marked crossings or lights. - 11:30
Noodles and square crab rolls
Cat Cut street is about 1.5 km on foot from the station, or a five-minute ride if your legs are done. A shared plate of square crab rolls (nem cua bể) with grilled pork and noodles is the classic Hai Phong lunch. Groups should book at weekends. - 13:00
Midday break
This is the hottest part of the day. Head back to the hotel or sit in an air-conditioned café; the afternoon at Do Son involves walking. - 14:30
Leave for Do Son
About 25 km down Pham Van Dong (Phạm Văn Đồng) road to Dragon Hill, roughly 30 minutes in light traffic. Weekends can jam at the entrance to Zones 2 and 3, so leave half an hour earlier. - 15:00
Dragon Hill, Bao Dai's villa, the beach at dusk
Entry through the gate of Doi Rong (Đồi Rồng, Dragon Hill) is free; charges for the water park and the man-made beach change with the season, so ask at the gate. Bao Dai's villa (Dinh Bảo Đại) is 3-5 km away by road depending on which exit you take (map distance, rounded), under ten minutes. Sources list entry at VND20,000 or VND30,000, so ask the price and closing time at the gate. Finish in Zone 2 for the evening breeze. The water at Do Son is brown with river silt, better for a stroll than a swim, and October to April is not the swimming season. From May to August, only swim at a stretch with lifeguards on duty, inside the buoys and following the flags. - 18:00
Back to town
It is rush hour, so allow an extra 15-20 minutes. If you would rather eat seafood at Do Son, stay on; restaurants there start from about VND200,000 a person. - 19:30
Snails on the pavement
Snails (ốc) are priced by the plate. Ask the price of each before ordering a lot, and only eat snails that are thoroughly cooked. - 21:00
Spicy banh mi or ginger rice balls
A few spicy stick baguettes (bánh mì cay) for the walk back, or a hot bowl of ginger rice balls (sủi dìn) if the winter wind has arrived.
This is a full day for older travellers or small children. In that case we would drop the station and Bao Dai's villa and keep the Opera House, the museum, a loop of Dragon Hill and dinner. Save the Tam Bac (Tam Bạc) river, Thien Van (Thiên Văn) hill and the rest of the city for another trip.
Getting around town and out to Do Son
Walking works best in the morning: the Opera House, museum and post office sit within a kilometre of each other. Beyond that, use Grab or Xanh SM, or a metered taxi such as Mai Linh, and check the fare estimate in the app before you book, especially for the run to Do Son.
City bus 03 runs from VSIP via the city administrative centre in Thuy Nguyen (Thủy Nguyên) to Zone 2 at Do Son, for VND30,000 for the whole route. It is cheap but slow and tied to the timetable; check the nearest stop and the last bus back in the city bus app before you go. On a train day trip, a ride-hailing car keeps you in control of the time back to the station.
A rented motorbike costs about VND120,000-150,000 a day and is the most flexible way to do town and beach in one day. Ride yourself only if you hold a licence valid in Vietnam for the vehicle (for many visitors, an International Driving Permit under the 1968 Convention together with their home licence), wear a fastened helmet and skip the beer until you are done riding; if you are unsure whether your licence counts, use ride-hailing instead. Coming back from Do Son after dark, the main road is fast: lights on, keep right.
What the day costs
| Item | Typical price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Crab noodle soup | VND50,000 | Less with fewer toppings |
| Half a crab roll (shared) | VND50,000 | An estimate; large crab rolls vary by shop, so ask before you order |
| 3 spicy banh mi | VND9,000-21,000 | About VND3,000-7,000 each, depending on the bakery |
| One plate of snails | About VND40,000-150,000 | Depends on the snails and the shop; ask before you order |
| Bao Dai's villa | VND20,000-30,000 | Sources differ |
| Hai Phong Museum | VND0-20,000 | Sources differ; check at the desk |
| Items in this table | VND169,000-321,000 | Roughly VND170,000-320,000 |
If you swap the snail dinner for seafood at Do Son, take the snails out of the table and add the price of the seafood meal you choose. On a train day trip from Hanoi, drop the snails and the villa and add your return train fare. Transport in town is per group: a rented motorbike at VND120,000-150,000 a day carries two, plus fuel and parking; with ride-hailing, add the app estimate for the return trip to Do Son. Most street stalls want cash; more and more take bank transfers by QR code.
With a second day: Cat Ba or Thuy Nguyen
For islands, go to Cat Ba (Cát Bà) and drop Do Son: keep the morning walk and the crab-roll lunch, head out to the island in the early afternoon, sleep there, spend the next day on a boat trip around Lan Ha (Lan Hạ) Bay and come back in the late afternoon. Counting the ride to the pier, waiting for the boat or ferry and the trip into town, getting there can take half a day. Pick the ferry, speedboat or cable car to Cat Ba to fit the time you leave town. Bay boats only sail when they have clearance to leave port; if there is a wind, thunderstorm or sea-closure warning, postpone.
Thuy Nguyen, across the Cam (Cấm) river, suits people who would rather not travel far: it is about 15 km from the centre, with the Bach Dang (Bạch Đằng) river battle site and a local rolled rice-sheet dish. The often-photographed Tuyet Tinh Coc (Tuyệt Tình Cốc) lake sits inside a quarry that has been fenced off before; the water is deep and parts of the cliff can give way, so only look from where access is allowed and never climb the walls or swim.
With children, there is VinWonders Vu Yen (Vũ Yên). Visitors 1.4 m and taller pay VND150,000 for the water park, VND300,000 for the zoo and rides, and VND450,000 for the three-zone combo; children from 1 m to 1.4 m pay less and under 1 m go free, and prices can change at weekends and on public holidays. Each zone keeps its own hours, which also differ between weekdays and weekends, so check VinWonders' ticket prices and opening hours (in Vietnamese) before you go.
Flying out of Cat Bi (Cát Bi) airport on day two? Make Cat Bi market your last stop. It is about 8 km from the Opera House, close to the airport, and the afternoon is when most of its food stalls are open, though each keeps its own hours. Eat your way around, then head to the airport with plenty of time for check-in.
Rainy and humid days
For ordinary rain or showers, rearrange: spend the wet hours in the museum if it is open, or in a café, and save the Opera House square and Do Son for when it is dry. If the rain sets in for the afternoon, swap Do Son for a mall such as AEON Mall Le Chan on Vo Nguyen Giap (Võ Nguyên Giáp) road. On the clammy "nồm" days around February to April, tiled floors, steps and pavements stay wet and slippery: wear shoes with grip and take care on the stairs of old buildings.
Frequently asked questions
What changes if I drive down from Hanoi for the day?
The expressway takes about 1.5 hours in light traffic, so leaving Hanoi at 6.30am gets you to breakfast in town. With your own car you are not tied to the train: you can stay at Do Son for a seafood dinner before heading back. The driver should not drink, and allow extra time for rush hour at both ends.
Where should I stay for one night?
To walk to breakfast and the old streets, stay around the old centre, but check the hotel's exact location against the places you want to eat rather than choosing by street name. For an early flight, ask about the journey to Cat Bi Airport and whether you can get a car at that hour.
What if I arrive on a Monday?
Hai Phong Museum is usually closed on Mondays. Keep the old-town morning and swap the museum slot for a loop around Tam Bac lake and the station, or swap morning and afternoon if you want to get to Do Son early.
