Hanoi is in the far north of Vietnam, travellers’ favourite, Hoi An is some 800 Km to the south, in Central Vietnam. You can travel between the two by plane, train, sleeper bus or mini bus, we cover all of those options and our experiences of them in our post. Hanoi is a fantastic destination, with plenty to see and do. Enough to keep you busy for several days. How much time to spend in Hanoi before travelling south to Hoi An? At least 4 days. We’ll touch on things to do in both Hanoi and Hoi An, where to stay, best times to visit, and more.
There are loads of international flights to Hanoi, not so many to Da Nang (the nearest airport to Hoi An). We want to encourage you to spend some time in Hanoi, it’s a great city.
Hanoi to Hoi An Transport Options
The fastest way to get to Hoi An from Hanoi, is arguably, to fly. The flight itself is short, but factor in the time it takes to get to/from both Hanoi and Da Nang airports. Consider the wait time before you board and the time it takes to pick up luggage. You will also then need to catch a Grab car or taxi to Hoi An.
A big advantage of an overnight bus or train is that you don’t lose a day to travel, and you save on one night of hotel spends. We took both the sleeper bus and sleeper train on this Vietnam trip.
All of these transport options should be fine with kids. We shared a train compartment with a baby and a toddler this time, and we’ve done these journeys with our own kids as tweens and teens. There is video of this on our Ho Chi Minh to Hoi An page.
If you are close to 6 foot tall, you should choose to fly. The sleeper buses and trains probably won’t work if you’re tall. The best way (and the way we use) to book any of these transport options, is to search on this website, you will see all buses, trains, and flights side by side with journey times and prices.
The cheapest way to travel between Hanoi and Hoi An by regular bus or semi-sleeper coach. We’ve seen this journey for about $20 US, the journey is around 18 hours. Some of these buses take you into Hoi An, rather than Da Nang. This may be more convenient for you.
Sleeper buses are a little more expensive, around $30 to $50 US per person, as in the photo below. The journey varies between 15 and 18 hours. We took this option heading south from Hanoi, and we slept well. There is some element of danger of course. These buses have a nickname, coffins.
The buses stop often for toilet/refreshment breaks, but you’re not forced to get off, you can sleep through. Our longest stretch without a stop was 5 hours. There were no toilets on the bus.
The luxury or VIP minibuses cost around $80 US one way, each. Look for VIP, limousine, or luxury class buses for a bus similar to the one in our photo below. The journey time is about 15 to 16 hours. We took this bus on a shorter journey later in the trip.
A sleeper train will cost upwards of $35 US for one berth in a four-berth compartment. Some rail routes in Vietnam do have luxury 2-berth cabins, we couldn’t find one on the Hanoi – Hoi An route to book online, although we were offered an upgrade on the train.
We had to share a compartment with two other people, it was no big deal, you should be able to sleep the whole way. We took the train on the return trip from Hoi An to Ninh Bin.
Drinks were available on the train, including beer, food was advertised, but there was nothing available on our train. We took drinks and snacks on board with us, there is a shop at the train station in Hanoi. The train journey takes about 15 hours, the same as the bus, and is overnight.
The bunks on the train are a little longer than on the sleeper buses, and you have the advantage of toilets and sinks on the train.
A flight between Hanoi and DaNang (the closest airport to Hoi An, less than half an hour away by road) can be as cheap as $50 US, but obviously, this varies by airline, we used VietJet to fly in and out of Hanoi, and they were fine. The flight time is only around 1 hour 25 minutes.
Check the details for each type of transport. The buses and trains do vary and the photos aren’t always 100% accurate, but we had good experiences on every type of transport we booked in Vietnam. Again, we book using this platform.
The final option is to book a private transfer, driver with car, or taxi between Hanoi and Hoi An. This will cost you a few hundred dollars and doesn’t sound like a great plan to me!
Hanoi Vs Hoi An
Hanoi and Hoi An are quite similar destinations in some ways. Both are interesting places with plenty of historical interest and ancient buildings. Both are great places to explore on foot, particularly in the evenings, and both have some good food options. Both are worth visiting and really exploring.
The costs in Hanoi and Hoi An are pretty similar. We think Hoi An maybe has cheaper food options. Both have good restaurants and great street food, but you have to know where to go.
Today in Vietnam coffee shops and bakeries are easy to find. We particularly recommend the patisserie below in Hanoi, and The Espresso Station in Hoi An.
We took a Michelin Guide street food tour in Hanoi and it was really useful in getting our bearings and figuring out where and what to eat. It was inexpensive as food tours go, and we enjoyed it.
Best Times To Visit Hanoi and Hoi An
If you can, visit Hanoi on the weekend. On Saturday and Sundays the area around the lake (Hoàn Kiếm Lake the “Lake of the Returned Sword”) is closed to traffic and it becomes a lovely walking area with stalls, kids’ ride-on toys for hire, live music and locals in traditional dress taking photos. It’s by far the nicest time to see Hanoi.
We loved visiting Hanoi in the dry and cool of January, it wasn’t “cold” but it was cool enough to make walking pleasant in jeans and covered shoes. Unfortunately, January is the wet season in Hoi An. Winter is also cold and misty in Sapa, a common mountain tour from Hanoi.
On the plus side, Tet, Lunar New Year, was at the end of January this year. Being in Vietnam at this time of year is really beautiful, with flowers, blossoms and kumquat trees appearing everywhere. Over the Tet holiday itself you’ll struggle as a tourist, most things close down.
The “official” best time to visit Hanoi is September to April. Summer is too hot and humid. The best time to visit Hoi An is usually February to April, the drier, cooler months. So you have several months when it’s the “best” time to visit most. Just check when Tet is in any given year.
Hoi An can experience flooding from about October to December. We were in those floods that year, you can see photos and read about that in this post about living in Hoi An through the flooding season.
We didn’t visit Sapa on our January trip because other travellers, just returned, told us it wasn’t worth going at this time of year. Halong Bay was another tour we skipped in January. We’d done both before and didn’t particularly want to do them again. But Hoi An is always worth visiting, so we went.
Where To Stay in Hanoi and Hoi An
In either Hanoi or Hoi An, stay in or near the Old Town, or Old Quarter.
For Hanoi, be withing walking distance of Hoàn Kiếm Lake the Lake of the Returned Sword. In Hoi An, stay within walking distance of the Ancient Town, unless you are interested in beaches. There are resort hotels along the beaches near Hoi An and it’s easy to get a Grab car into the lovely historic area.
Places to See Between Hanoi and Hoi An
Ninh Bin is a popular stop between Hanoi and Hoi An, mostly for the waterways, temples, and caves around Tam Coc. Tam Coc is a short taxi ride from Ninh Bin train station.
We didn’t like Tam Coc as a place to say, it wasn’t the peaceful countryside spot it’s portrayed as. I wouldn’t choose to go there again. Tam Coc today is very developed. Again, this was my second visit.
Useful Links and Resources For Hanoi Trip
Here’s some stuff you may find useful for your trip to Hanoi and to Vietnam.
Travel Insurance
For extended travel, or travel of indeterminant length or destination, we normally use World Nomads. You can click through and get a free quote here.
Flights
We flew from Cairns to Bali on Air Asia Indonesia. In Bali we had a self transfer. That meant we had to enter Bali and pay the $55 Au immigration tax. It was all fine, we then checked in on VietJet and off we went. I’ll add info on this soon.
Tours and Activities
As usual, we booked most tours and activities on Viator and GetYourGuide.
Hotels and Where To Stay
We will add hotel info soon. The internet is so bad here(Bali) that I just can’t do it.
Food and Drink
Café Phố Cổ was the coffee shop we visited on our Hanoi food tour for egg coffee. Our guide said it was one of the best in Hanoi. The fooftop overlooks the northern end of the lake and you have to climb a lot of steps.
Trieu Patisserie was mt favourite stop in Hanoi for coffee and almond chocolate croissant. As in the photo above.
Met Vietnamese Restaurant is a solid choice for Westerners just finding their feet with Vietnamese food. It’s not as flavour-filled as the real thing, but it’s a decent quality intro for first-time visitors not quite ready for the local pho joint.
Lake View Side Restaurant Hanoi, is on the side of the lake. If you can get a seat on the pavement, this is a great spot and we really liked the dishes we tried here.
I’ll create posts around Hanoi food and drinks soon, incuding that Michelin Guide Food tour.
Travel Gear
We’ve had posts on Travel Essentials and Family Travel Gear for years, these are aimed more at long-term travellers with kids. For a short trip to Hanoi and Vietnam I’d strongly suggest a small to medium cross-body bag with some security or anti-theft features.
My boys use travel sling bags like this, on the plane and for every-day sight-seeing. I use a purse like this for passports, phone, and money.
Reading
Do you remember when we used to read books as we travelled, before phones? I do, here are some books about Vietnam that I really enjoyed or that may help your family learn more about the country.
What Was The Vietnam War? For kids age 8 to 12. It’s useful to read together before you go, or load it to the kid’s Kindles.
The Girl in The Picture. The story of Kim Phuc, the subject of possibly the most famous Vietnam War photograph.
Peace in Every Step. Mindfulness in Everyday Living, by Thich Nhat Hanh, my favourite Vietnamese spiritual master.
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Looks great. Shame I missed out on Vietnam this time around. Definitely one of my favourite countries to visit.