Hanoi travel essentials: your first hours sorted
The practical things that make a Hanoi arrival smooth — getting in from the airport without the classic taxi scam, getting online, handling the dong, getting around, and the genuinely useful art of crossing the road. Hanoi is chaotic, charming and a brilliant-value solo trip once you’ve got the basics down.
Hanoi, Vietnam 🇻🇳 · Written & reviewed by Wavvia · Last reviewed June 2026
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Plan my Hanoi tripGetting from Noi Bai (HAN) into the Old Quarter
Hanoi’s airport (HAN) is about 45 minutes to an hour from the Old Quarter. The reliable options are a Grab (price shown up front), a reputable fixed-price airport taxi or minibus, or a pre-booked transfer with a driver waiting. Agree the fare or use the app — some airport taxis run rigged meters or quote inflated flat fares.
Watch for the “your hotel has closed / moved / changed name” scam, where a driver (or a fake same-name hotel) tries to take you somewhere else on commission. Have your hotel’s exact address and phone number, and call them if a driver insists otherwise.
Pro tip: Travellers repeatedly flag the airport-taxi meter and “hotel closed” tricks — booking a transfer or using Grab with the price locked in advance sidesteps both, and your driver waits with your name.
Getting online in Hanoi
A Vietnam eSIM set up before you fly gets you online on arrival — useful for Grab, maps and calling your hotel. Vietnam has fast, cheap mobile data and good city coverage. An eSIM saves haggling at an airport SIM stand while jet-lagged.
The dong, cash and all those zeros
Vietnam is largely cash-based, and the dong has a lot of zeros — notes run into the hundreds of thousands, so it’s easy to confuse the 20,000 and 500,000 notes (they’re different colours; check carefully). Carry cash for street food, markets and small shops; hotels and bigger restaurants take cards. Use ATMs attached to banks, and choose dong, not your home currency.
Pro tip: Keep your big-value notes separate from the small ones and glance at the colour before you hand one over — mixing up a 500,000 and a 20,000 note is the most common money slip here.
Grab, walking & crossing the road
Grab (both cars and motorbike taxis, price up front) is the easy, cheap way around Hanoi. The Old Quarter is best on foot — and that means learning to cross the road, where the motorbike traffic never really stops. The technique every visitor learns: step off the kerb steadily, walk slowly and predictably without stopping or darting, and let the bikes flow around you. Sudden stops are what cause problems.
LGBTQ+ travellers in Hanoi
Vietnam has no laws against same-sex relationships and attitudes have grown noticeably more open, especially among younger people. Hanoi is quieter and more traditional than Ho Chi Minh City, but LGBTQ+ travellers visit comfortably with ordinary discretion.
Halong Bay — choose your cruise carefully
The big trip from Hanoi is Halong Bay (or quieter Lan Ha Bay), usually as an overnight cruise — and quality ranges enormously, from cramped budget boats to excellent small ships. This is one to book through a reputable operator with recent reviews rather than the cheapest street deal; for an overnight on the water, the boat’s safety and standards genuinely matter. Ninh Binh (“Halong Bay on land”) is a great day-trip alternative.
Can you drink the tap water?
Do not drink tap water in Vietnam. Use sealed bottled water.
Source: US CDC / WHO drinking-water guidelines · last verified 2026-04-01
Emergency numbers to save now
Save these in your phone before you go, and write the main one somewhere offline in case your battery dies.
Police
Ambulance
Fire
Verified against official government / emergency-service sources · last checked 2026-04-01.
Before you go to Hanoi: cover the what-ifs
A lost passport, a clinic visit or a delayed bag are the practical emergencies that actually happen. Standard trip insurance covers all three — and it’s the one thing every solo trip should have.
Single-trip cover, high medical limits
Flexible family & group cover
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This is general practical guidance, not legal, medical or financial advice. Local laws, prices, apps and transport change — always check official sources and your government’s current travel advice before you travel. Emergency numbers and tap-water guidance above come from verified datasets, but confirm them on arrival.
Hanoi essentials: FAQs
How do I avoid the taxi scam from Hanoi airport?
Use Grab (price shown up front), a reputable fixed-price airport taxi/minibus, or a pre-booked transfer. Agree the fare or use the app, and watch for the “your hotel has closed/moved” trick — have your hotel’s exact address and phone number and call them if a driver insists otherwise.
Can you drink the tap water in Hanoi?
No — drink bottled or filtered water in Hanoi and avoid ice from unknown street sources. Bottled water is cheap and everywhere.
How do you cross the road in Hanoi?
Step off the kerb steadily and walk slowly and predictably without stopping or darting — the motorbikes flow around you. Sudden stops or sprints are what cause problems. It feels alarming at first, then becomes second nature.
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