Hanoi Airport to Old Quarter: Best Ways to Transfer

Hanoi, located on the banks of the Red River, is one of the most ancient capitals in the world, where travelers can find well-preserved colonial buildings, ancient pagodas, and unique museums within the city center as known as the Old Quarter. And if you are planning to come to Hanoi, and wondering which are the best ways to go from Hanoi Airport to the Old Quarter, this topic is definitely for you.

Hanoi Airport to the Old Quarter distance

Hanoi Airport is the second largest airport in Vietnam with 40 airlines operating from this airport. The biggest airlines are Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, which fly to 42 different destinations. For an overview of all flights leaving from Hanoi Airport see this Hanoi flight map.

Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) is located about 30 km north of the city center. Traveling from Hanoi Airport to the Old Quarter is easy because there are plenty of transportation options to choose from. Let’s see what those transportations are.

 

 

Best ways to getting from Hanoi airport to the Old Quarter

Taxi from Noi Bai Airport to the Old Quarter

Taking a taxi from Noi Bai airport to the Old Quarter is a very quick and convenient way to transport. For a 30km transfer, it will cost around 13-15 USD for a 4 seats taxi. It will take around 35-60 minutes to get to the city center from Hanoi airport depending on the traffic situation as Hanoi traffic is crazy and in the rush hours, it’s so stuck. 

The Hanoi airport taxi is really easy to find in the airport as a lot of drivers parked their cabs in both domestic and international arrival halls of the Noi Bai airport and waited for the customers. There are many companies providing taxi service in Noi Bai airport so make sure to choose a taxi from a reliable company to get the best service.

However, it will be good if you ask the price first because some drivers charge foreigners higher, at around 20-25 USD. Learn some bargaining skills to deal with that or you probably should use a technological cab such as Grab or Be to avoid being scammed.

Hanoi Airport taxi to Old Quarter

 

Bus from Noi Bai Airport to the Old Quarter: Local bus vs Shuttle bus

From Hanoi airport to the city center, there are several choices of buses for you to choose from. Specifically, if you want to catch a bus from Noi Bai airport to the Old Quarter, there are some options that you can consider for your journey.

Local bus 17 is a public bus route connecting Noi Bai Airport with Long Bien Transit Station, which is located not far from Hanoi Old Quarter.

The bus departs only from Hanoi Airport’s domestic terminal (Terminal T1). If you are flying to Terminal T2 and want to take this bus, you need to take a shuttle bus or electric car running between two terminals (it takes about 5 minutes to travel) and then change to the public bus for getting into the city.

Express bus 86 is the best bus for tourists traveling from Hanoi Airport to the city. The bus is able to accommodate 60 passengers so it’s normally not very crowded. Buses of this route depart from Noi Bai Airport, run directly to Hanoi Old Quarter and end the journey at Hanoi Railway Station. Traveling on this bus saves time when compared to other public bus routes because there are fewer stops on the route of Bus 86.

Bus 86 Airport to City Center

Vietnam Airlines Shuttle bus is the transfer service from Hanoi Airport to Hanoi Old Quarter provided by Vietnamese national carrier Vietnam Airlines. You don't have to fly with Vietnam Airlines to board the Airport Shuttle Bus. Vietnam Airlines Shuttle Bus is a 16-seat minibus, which departs according to Vietnam Airlines' flight schedule. However, there is a problem with this shuttle bus as it normally departs from Hanoi Airport to the city only when full of passengers and sometimes you have to wait long for it to depart.

The Shuttle Bus of Vietjet Air is another easy and inexpensive way to get from Hanoi Airport to City Center. You don't have to fly with Vietjet Air to board this bus. The bus schedule corresponds to the schedule of Vietjet Air flights arriving to and departing from Noi Bai International Airport (HAN). If the bus will be passing your destination along the route, you can notify the bus driver to stop anywhere.

To summarize more information about the shuttle bus schedule & price for you:

Bus No	Route	Bus Stops	Travel time	Fare/ person	Operating hours	Frequency
Local bus 17	Noi Bai Airport → Long Bien Transit Station	Noi Bai Airport - Highway No. 2 - Chuong Duong Bridge - Long Bien Transit Station	~1 hour 15 minutes	9,000 VND ~ 0.4 USD	5:00 - 22:30	10-15 minutes
Express bus 86	Noi Bai Airport → Hanoi Railway Station	Noi Bai Airport Terminal T1 -T2 - Au Co - Yen Phu - Hanoi Central Post Office - Hanoi Railway Station	~ 50 minutes	35,000 VND  ~1.5 USD	5:10 - 21:45	20-30 minutes
Vietnam Airlines Shuttle	Noi Bai Airport → Hanoi Old Quarter	Noi Bai Airport - Vo Nguyen Giap - Nhat Tan Bridge - Hanoi Old Quarter	~ 30-40 minutes	60,000 VND ~ 2.6 USD	6:40 - 22:30	30-45 minutes
Shuttle Bus of Vietjet Air	Noi Bai Airport → Hanoi Old Quarter	Noi Bai Airport - Thang Long Bridge - Hoang Quoc Viet - Tran Nhan Tong	~ 40-60 minutes	40,000 VND  ~ 1.8 USD	4:00 - 21:00	30-45 minutes

 

 

Private car from Noi Bai Airport to the Old Quarter 

For travelers who prefer a more private way to get to Hanoi Old Quarter from Noi Bai airport, you can choose to take a private car. This kind of transportation requires booking in advance for the best price and arrangement. Upon your arrival at Hanoi Airport, there will be a guy holding the welcome board with your name on it waits for you to pick up and transfer you to the destination.

Private transfers can be booked online through local agencies or BestPrice Travel to reserve the seat for you. The price range is depending on the type of car you choose, the number of people in your group and English speaking tour guide included or excluded as your demand.

You can have referred price detail below:

Car types	Car only (price/ car)	Car with English speaking guide
4 seats (1 - 2 pax)	US $20	US $35
7 seats (3 pax)	US $25	US $40
16 seats (4 - 8 pax)	US $30	US $45

 

Local tips to get from Noi Bai Airport to the Old Quarter

- If you want to travel from Noi Bai airport to the Old Quarter by bus, there’s an application on smartphones named “Tìm Buýt” that you certainly should download into your phone. The app is like a bus map that shows you all information about the bus number, bus route, and the arrival time estimation so that you can travel anywhere in Hanoi city you want.

- Don’t forget to prepare some small VND to travel by bus as the ticket is only around 7-9k VND or around under a half dollar.

- Travelling in a big group, you better book private transportation as the price will be much better and you can require an English-speaking guide with only a small budget.

- Packing your luggage too big is not recommended as the car storage is limited and it is easier to arrange smaller luggage in the same space rather than the big ones.

Hue Pham

Image source: Internet