To/ From the Airport in Hanoi
Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport is about 35km north of the city
and the journey takes from 45 minutes to an hour. The airport freeway
is one of the most modern roads in Vietnam, although you'll see oxen
herded by farmers dressed in rags crossing it. The freeway suddenly
terminates in the suburbs north of Hanoi.
Vietnam Airlines minibuses between Hanoi and Noi Bai airport charge
US$2 a seat. There are few information signs inside the new terminal
building; you need to go outside and look for the signs for taxis and
minibuses. Coming from the airport, the driver is supposed to drop you
at the office of Vietnam Airlines at Pho Trang Thi, but the drivers
usually tour the Old Quarter on the chase for commissions. If you end
up dropped somewhere you don't want to be, just arrange a metered taxi
to your destination: they are the easiest option if you have heavy
bags, and there is no need to haggle.
The airport minibus
service works reasonably well, but there are i few scams, especially at
the airport. Normally, local touts (well dressed and posing as
employees of Vietnam Airlines) board the official minibuses. They are
skilled at befriending newly arrived passengers and by the time you
reach the city will offer to recommend a 'good, cheap hotel'. If you
want to avoid the sales pitch, just tell them that you've already got a
hotel reservation, even if you don't.
To get to the airport from
town, you can take one of the minibuses that depart roughly every
half-hour from opposite the same Vietnam Airlines office on Pho Trang
Thi. It's best - though not essential - to book the day before.
The
cheapest way to get between Noi Bai airport and central Hanoi is to use
public bus No 7, which runs all the way to the northern end of Hoan
Kiem Lake, right on the edge of the Old Quarter. Services depart every
15 minutes from around 5am to 9pm and tickets are just 3000d - perhaps
the cheapest airport run in the world. It can take more than an hour,
however.
Airport Taxi (Tel: 873 3333) charges US$10 for a taxi
ride door-to-door to or from Noi Bai airport. They do not require that
you pay the toll tor the bridge you cross en route. Some other taxi
drivers require that you pay the toll, so ask first.
Inside the
terminal, touts will offer taxi services. Don't use the meter with a
tout, as it may well be rigged. The 'official' taxi rank is outside the
concourse and you buy tickets from the seller at the head of the taxi
line.
In central Hanoi, there is always a collection of taxi
drivers just outside the Vietnam Airlines office or at the northern end
of Hoan Kiem Lake - it doesn't take much effort to find one. Don't pay
more than US$10, including the toll.
There are also share cabs/private minibuses from travellers' cafes for about US$2 per person.
