How to go → HOI AN to HALONG BAY? ☀️

1. Train+Bus to Ha Long
2. Flight + Bus to Cat Ba
3. Bus / Van to Ha Long
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From Hoi An to Halong Bay you can travel by plane, train, bus + van.

• • From Hoi An to Halong Bay spans approximately 920 km overland, with options including bus or train travel. The quickest and most convenient route is by air from Da Nang to Hai Phong. With a direct flight to Hai Phong from Da Nang, travelers can efficiently reach their destination. Hai Phong, located about 75 km from Halong town, is well-connected to Halong Bay by various local buses. Alternatively, travelers can opt for a train journey from Da Nang to Hanoi (or Ninh Binh), followed by a bus or minivan ride to Halong or Cat Ba Island.
  • Traveling by bus and train from Hoi An to Halong Bay via Da Nang and Hanoi takes approximately 22-25 hours, with costs ranging from $35 to $70 per person. It’s worth noting that trains from Da Nang to Ninh Binh take about 13 hours, with onward travel options to Halong or Cat Ba Island via bus or minivan taking an additional 3-4 hours. While sleeper buses from Hoi An/Da Nang to Hanoi and buses from Hanoi to Halong are available, they may not offer the same level of comfort for long journeys. Travelers can conveniently search for and book tickets or flights from Hoi An / Da Nang to Halong Bay in Quang Ninh province online. From Halong, travelers can travel to Hanoi or Sapa town.

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Halong Bay – A Must-Visit Destination in Northern Vietnam.

• • Halong Bay stands as a pinnacle of tourism in northern Vietnam, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe annually. A quintessential experience here involves cruising along the bay’s mesmerizing waters. As a bustling modern city, Ha Long continues to evolve, with nearby Tuan Chau Island emerging as a hotspot boasting a variety of hotels and resorts. From Tuan Chau, travelers can embark on boat trips to explore the enchanting landscapes of Halong Bay, including its myriad of small islands and hidden caves. Notable among these is Cat Ba Island, accessible by boat or ferry from Halong (Tuan Chau Island) or Hai Phong.
  • Other attractions in Quang Ninh province include Bai Tu Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay, Quan Lan Island, and Co To Island, the latter two reachable from Van Don, which also hosts an airport. While Halong Bay is easily accessible from Hanoi by bus/minivan or train, travel from Hoi An and Da Nang requires a bit more time, although flights from Da Nang are available. Travelers from Hoi An have three popular options to reach Halong Bay: by flight, train, or tourist bus. Before arriving at Halong Bay, consider a visit to Ninh Binh.

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How do I get from Hoi An to Halong Bay?

1. BUS + TRAIN from Hoi An to Ha Long (via Hanoi)

If you are thinking about land transport from Hoi An to Ha Long, the most used low-cost option is the bus and train route via Da Nang and Hanoi. However, it is good to know that this option takes a lot of time and has a total of 3 steps. The first step is to take a bus from Hoi An to Da Nang, from there take a train to Hanoi, and then take a bus from Hanoi to Ha Long. In theory, you can also take a train from Da Nang to Ninh Binh and from there a bus to Ha Long. However, this description will refer to the trip through Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam.

The first step is to travel by bus from Hoi An to Da Nang. This is a very popular shorter route, approx. 30 km, which is served by many buses, smaller minivans and even private cars. You can use from a number of different companies such as Barri Ann Travel, Hoi An Food Tour, Viet Nam Travel Bus, April Adventure, Vietnam Explore Travel, Duc Duong, iHome Transfer, Techbus VN, Queen Cafe, Hoi An Express and others.

These companies offer connections throughout the day, some even go directly to Da Nang train station. The journey time by bus or minivan to Da Nang from Hoi An is approx. 1-1.5 hours, depending on the travel route operated by the company. And tickets are relatively cheap, bus / minivan transfer from Hoi An to Da Nang costs $2-17/pp. You can easily find and buy bus tickets to Da Nang online, or you can also book a private car/taxi.

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The second step will be a train transfer from Da Nang to Hanoi. It is also a very frequent travel route, used mainly by solo travelers. The train is also the cheapest transfer option to Hanoi, you can use the seats here, which are the cheapest, or sleeping beds. Regular trains of Vietnam Railways have seats or sleeping beds, and tourist sleeping trains such as Violette Train, Livitrans Express, Lotus Train, Laman Express only have sleeping beds.

For this long route, which takes about 15-18 hours, it is advisable to choose sleeping beds. Tourist sleeper trains are popular, especially among foreign travelers, they offer you even better comfort and convenience than regular trains. Train tickets from Da Nang to Hanoi costs $20-50/pp and tourist trains cost about $65-135/pp. Sleeper buses are also an alternative on this route, but it is rather better to choose sleeper trains.

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The third and last step is a bus trip from Hanoi to Ha Long city, or even to Cat Ba Island. Again, this is a very popular land route with lots of buses and minivans from different companies such as Techbus VN, Phuc Xuyen, Luxury Transport, Sapa Dragon Express, Grouptour, Kumho Viet Thanh, Hung Duc, GreenLion, Cat Ba Express, Daiichi Travel and more.

The bus ride to Ha Long from Hanoi takes about 2-4.5 hours and tickets cost between $4.00-20/pp, depending on the type of bus or minivan. Smaller and more comfortable minivans and minibuses are usually cheaper transfer options. You can take the bus to various popular places such as Tuan Chau, Bai Chay, Hon Gai or Cat Ba Island.

Buses depart from various locations in Hanoi, you will always see this information when ordering tickets. You can search and buy bus tickets to Ha Long from Hanoi easily online.

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2. FLIGHT + BUS from Da Nang to Cat Ba Island

If you would like to use the fastest and most convenient transfer option from Da Nang to Ha Long, you can use a direct flight to the city of Hai Phong. This city is about 50 km from Ha Long city and can be convenient for those who would like to continue to Cat Ba Island from there. From Hai Phong, you can use a combination of bus and ferry to this island. Alternatively, you can use some local buses to transfer from Hai Phong to Ha Long city. But Cat Ba Island should not be missed if you are already traveling to Ha Long Bay.

So the first step is a direct flight to Hai Phong city from Da Nang. Flights are operated to Cat Bi International Airport in Hai Phong from Da Nang International Airport (check the Vietnam Airport Map). These flights are operated by the low-cost company VietJet Air, which, however, is also rated very well by other travelers. However, it is good to know that the flight schedule between Hai Phong and Da Nang is limited and there may be, for example, only 2 flights in 1 day.

The direct flight time to Hai Phong from Da Nang is approximately 1.5 hours and the flight price ranges from $60-150/pp (you can choose Economy, Deluxe or SkyBoss class). These flight prices may change during the year, they may even be lower, depending on the promotional offers of VietJet Air.

If you want to get to Ha Long as quickly as possible, this flight is the best transfer option from Da Nang. This way you will save a lot of your travel time. Due to the higher price, it will probably not be suitable for low-cost travelers.

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The second step is a bus transfer + ferry from Hai Phong to Cat Ba Island. For this step, you can use the Cat Ba Island company, which will offer you a combined transfer by bus and boat to the city of Cat Ba in the south of the island.

The bus from Hai Phong departs from Pha Binh port in Hai Phong (41 Bến Bính), which is north of the city center and continues to Bến Phà Got port.  After that there is a short ferry transfer to the island and then we continue again by bus to the city of Cat Ba.

Transportation by bus and ferry to Cat Ba Island from Hai Phong takes about 1.5 hours and is the cheapest transportation option suitable even for solo low-cost travelers. The bus and boat trip to Cat Ba Island from Hai Phong city costs about $6-7/person and is the cheapest transfer option. The island cannot be reached by air, the island is only accessible by boat transfer from Hai Phong or from Tuan Chau.

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3. BUS (+MINIVAN) from Da Nang to Ha Long

The last way you can travel from Hoi An to Ha Long is by sleeper bus and possibly another connection by minivan. However, it is good to know that the journey by sleeper bus is very long, the travel time from Hoi An to Ha Long is approx. 20-22 hours and may include a transfer to another route.

Modern sleeper buses are mostly on this route, but there may also be a connection with a transfer to, for example, a minivan or a smaller bus, depending on the specific company. Companies that offer bus transfers from Hoi An to Ha Long are e.g. Sapa Discovery Travel, Vietnam Explore Travel, Duy Khah Transport, but several other companies run between Da Nang – Hanoi – Ha Long.

You can also take a bus through Ninh Binh, for example, from Hoi An to Ninh Binh and then from Ninh Binh to Ha Long, there are also bus connections on this route. The bus trip from Hoi An to Ha Long costs about $40-50/pp, if you search for other routes, e.g. through Ninh Binh, the price can be even lower.

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Buses to Ha Long may depart from various locations in Hoi An or Da Nang, you will always see this information when ordering your tickets, please review this information carefully. Also, take into account that buses in Vietnam may be delayed on departure and thus also on arrival, unfortunately this happens in this country.

You can search and buy bus tickets from Hoi An to Ha Long easily online and in advance. Traveling by bus or in combination with a minivan is mainly suitable for solo low-cost travelers.

❓ FAQ + Tips – Travel route from Hoi An to Halong Bay:

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🎫 Book tickets or flights from Hoi An (Da Nang) to Ha Long:

(You can change your travel route, eg Hoi An > Hanoi, Hanoi > Cat Ba, Hanoi > Sapa…)

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