Bus Routes

Around the City

Hanoi has a number of local buses that ply regular routes through the city, but Hanoi's smoke-belching Lorries are extremely crowded, and using them is difficult if you don't speak Vietnamese. With the ready availability of fast, affordable local motorbike taxis and good metered taxis, few tourists bother with local buses

To Other Provinces

Budget traveler cafes in the Old Quarter, mostly along Hang Bac or Hang Be streets, offer low-luxe seat-in-coach tours. Services and prices are similar: About $27 earns you an open-tour ticket from Hanoi to Saigon with all stops in between.

Local buses arrive at and depart from the following stations:

Gia Lam Station (Nguyen Van Cu St., Long Bien District - across the Long Bien Bridge and a few clicks to the east of town) runs minibuses and coaches to Haipong, Halong Bay, Lang Son, and some destinations in the far northwest;

Ben Xe Nam Hanoi (Southern Bus Station) (5km/3 miles south of the city) runs regularly to all stops along the southern coast, starting with Ninh Binh and going as far as Ho Chi Minh City, as well as to Dien Bien Phu and the far northwest;

Ha Dong Station is north of town and runs buses regularly to Lao Cai (near Sapa).