How to travel to Halong Bay from Hanoi

Halong Bay offers some 3,000 green limestone islands jutting out of the emerald sea waters of the East Vietnam Sea. Halong has long been among the must-sees on a trip to Vietnam. The bay has been inscribed to the UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Visiting Halong Bay, you can either go onto a day-cruise boat and stay at the many luxurious hotels in Halong City or Tuan Chau Island or you can go on luxury boat cruises for 2 days/1 night or 3 days/2 nights with overnight on board the junk. Halong Bay is 150km east of Hanoi and traveling from Hanoi to Halong Bay is convenient.

Travel Tips for Transport between Halong Bay and Hanoi

Below you can find the available options regarding the means of transport from Hanoi to Halong Bay.

1/ By airplane

It is possible to travel to Halong Bay by helicopter or seaplane from Hanoi Gia Lam Airport or Noi Bai Airport. The flight duration is 45 minutes. Ticket classes are with or without the option to hover over the bay for 15 minutes. This is of course the most expensive, the most luxurious and wonderful way of getting to Halong Bay. Paradissa is a Vietnam travel agency with Vietnam luxury travel packages including seaplane transfer and luxury cruises on Halong Bay.

2/ By private car

The road trip by private car is the most convenient way to travel from Hanoi to Halong Bay. There are 4 routes for you to choose from:
- As of 1-September-2018 the Expressway from Hai Phong to Ha Long is completed. The road from Hanoi to Halong Bay via Route 5B and the new expressway is shortened to 130km and the trip by car on this route takes only 2 hours.
- From Hanoi to Bac Ninh then turn into Route18 to Halong City: 150km, good road, busy traffic between Hanoi and Bac Ninh though. This is the cheapest way. The car trip should take 3 hours 30 minutes.
- From Hanoi to Sao Do (Chi Linh, Hai Duong) via Route 5, then turn into Route18 at Sao Do. This route is extremely busy from Hanoi to Sao Do.
- From Hanoi to Hai Phong via Highway 5B, turn into Route10 at Hai Phong, then join Route 18 for Halong Bay: fasted way, excellent highway, not busy traffic, most expensive road tolls. The car trip should take 3 hours.

3/ By local bus

There are several local buses from Hanoi to Halong Bay from the bus stations: My Dinh, Luong Yen, Old Quarter of Hanoi. The ticket cost is 100.000VND-150.000VND/one-way ticket. All buses have air-conditioning nowadays. A bus trip should take about 4 hours to get to Halong Bay from Hanoi.

4/ By train

The daily trains between Hanoi and Halong Bay seem to have been stopped indefinitely due to lack of demands.

5/ By motorbike

Travel to Halong Bay from Hanoi could be a fun adventure experience. It is recommended to take the old Route 1 A to Bac Ninh then turn into Route 18. The trip should take 4 hours.