Vietnam Northern is a captivating destination for travelers from all around the world to visit, explore and experience. Hanoi capital at the very heart of the North is a unique cultural destination and also a focal point to move to other parts of Vietnam. If you are looking for a prompt Hanoi travel guide which can show you a useful overview of Hanoi travel information, you can check this blog and our Hanoi tours.
NOI BAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (NIA) – HANOI CAPITAL
Perhaps, the first and final place when you arrive and leave a country is at the airport. Capturing important locations and services in this place is helpful and useful to you. You can check for all airport references below.
Noi Bai International Airport is the biggest airport in the Northern region and the second largest in the whole country of Vietnam.
The airport is divided into 2 terminals:
- T1 – Domestic terminal
- T2 – International terminal. When you fly from your country to Noi Bai airport, you will arrive at T2 terminal.
To move between T1 and T2 you can choose:
- Free shuttle bus. It is easy to find shuttle bus stop outside at the right of the entrance (T1 – 1st floor, T2 – 1st and 3rd floor)
View Location Free shuttle bus from T2 1st floor
View Location Free shuttle bus from T1 1st floor - Electric car: 7,000 VND/person (0,3 USD) moving within a radius of 3 km near Noi Bai airport. However, electric cars need to gather enough passengers to depart or use in emergency situations. You can find an electric car next to the free shuttle bus waiting point.
The airport is about 27 km (16,7 miles) from Hanoi center (We estimated the distance from the airport to the Hanoi Old Quarter area – where hotels, attractions, services for tourists are concentrated). Normally, visitors will book hotels in the center of Hanoi or in the Old Quarter area for convenient service, travel, sightseeing, and shopping.
Here is the location of Sword Lake.
TERMINAL 2 – INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL
Your arrival terminal – T2 has 4 floors:
- 1st floor: Arrival hall (Meeting points, Information counters, Immigration information, sim card, free wifi, currency exchange, ATM, food & drink, duty free, souvenir stalls, toilets).
Outside: Car parking, Taxi, Bus stops to city center, shuttle bus to T1 terminal - 2nd floor: Services (Shop, Restaurant, Left Baggage, Sim card, Currency Exchange, sleeping pods)
- 3rd floor: Departure hall (Check-in Lobby, Immigration Information, ATM, ticket offices, Currency Exchange, Oversize baggage check, Toilets, Souvenirs, Food & Drink, free battery charging).
Outside: Baggage wrapping service, free trolley service, Shuttle bus stop, bus stop, Car park) - 4th floor: Services (shop, restaurants, waiting lounge)
To move between floors in building T2, you can use the elevator or escalator.
WIFI AND SIM CARD
Wifi: There is free wifi at Arrival Hall, the 1st floor has the strongest wifi connection and it will be weakened as you go up to the 4th floor.
Sim Card & Currency exchange: There are many service counters on both east-west sides of the hall near the exit door for you to find where to buy sim cards (for internet connection and phone call in Vietnam) and exchange for Vietnam Dong (VND) cash.
Sim card:
- Sim card functions: receive calls, make phone calls, use internet data. When you buy a sim card, staff will help you to register a network package with the mobile network operator (in Vietnam, they are Viettel, Mobifone, Vinaphone, Vietnammobi…).
- Price range: 180,000 – 350,000 VND (8-15 USD) depends on the package you choose:
+ Your sim can be used to only use internet data or both to call and use internet data;
+ Normally the package will last for 30 days;
Currency exchange:
There are 3 ways you can exchange for Vietnam cash (VND):
- Exchange money at airport Sim card and Currency exchange counters. You can buy cash or buy by bank transfer to your account. Exchange rates are updated from time to time.
- Draw cash at an ATM at the airport or in the streets of Hanoi (you can easily find ATM machines in Hanoi or search for ATMs near you in google maps of BIDV, Techcombank, Vietinbank, MSB, Agribank…)
- At the hotel you stay at. You can ask at the reception desk.
TRANSPORTATION TO CITY CENTER
Private transport
In case you use a private airport transfer service, you just need to go straight to the entrance. The tour guide or driver who comes to pick you up will usually be waiting for you outside with your name board.
There are 2 car parking locations for cars in Terminal 2, one is at the left side of the building, the other is on the opposite, you need to cross the car lanes.
Taxi
You can find Taxis either when moving to the left or right entrance outside the 1st floor of Terminal 2. Taxi brands at Noi Bai: Airport Taxi, Taxi Viet Thanh, Taxi Mai Linh, HP Noi Bai Taxi, Taxi Group, and Taxi G7. There are electric public price boards for your choice. Taxis in Vietnam charge in kilometers.
The estimated cost from Noi Bai to the center of Hanoi is 260,000 – 400,000 VND (11 – 17 USD) for a 4-seat taxi ride.
If you book a car/motorbike with a technology driver via phone applications (Grab, Bee, Gojek), to be sure, check the car license plate and the driver’s name and image displayed on the app.
Bus
- 68 Noi Bai – Ha Dong
+ Bus color: Orange
+ One-way fares: 50,000 VND (about 2 USD)
+ Working hours: 6 am – 10:30 pm
+ Frequency: 30 mins/turn
+ Tel: 0334158668
+ Bus No.68 is one of the Noi Bai airport bus routes chosen by many people because the bus goes along the main routes, leaving and moving on time. This bus only runs on Monday, Friday, and Sunday. You can follow the map link below to find Bus 68 and 86 stop outside the left of T2 1st floor entrance.
+ View Bus stop position - 86 Noi Bai – Ha Noi railway station
+ Bus color: Orange
+ One-way fares: 45,000 VND (1,5 USD)
+ Working hours: 5 am – 9 pm
+ Frequency: 45 mins/turn
+ Tel: 0334158668
+ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BusExpress86/
+ Because the bus stops at Hanoi station (2km from Hoan Kiem Lake), convenient to move around the central area, bus route 86 is chosen by many people. You can follow the map link below to find Bus 68 and 86 stop outside the left of T2 1st floor entrance.
+ View Bus stop position - Regular bus
+ 07 Noi Bai – Cau Giay
+ 17 Noi Bai – Long Bien
+ 90 Noi Bai – Kim Ma
+ 109 Noi Bai – My Dinh
+ View Bus waiting point map
+ These city buses have reasonably priced tickets, only costing 7,000 – 8,000 VND (0.3 – 0.4 USD). However, because they also pick up locals, these buses are easy to get crowded during peak hours, it will not be convenient when you have a lot of luggages. And if you have a few items and are flexible to move, this is a good choice.
TERMINAL 1 – DOMESTIC TERMINAL
In case you also need to move from Hanoi capital to another city of Vietnam, you can check for the information at Terminal 1 – T1.
T1 also has 4 floors:
- 1st floor: Arrival hall (Meeting points, Information counters, sim card, free wifi, currency exchange, ATM, food & drink, souvenir stalls, toilets)
Outside: Car parking, Taxi, Bus stops to city center, shuttle bus to T2 terminal, electric car
- 2nd floor: Departure hall (Check-in Lobby, ATM, ticket offices, Toilets, Souvenirs, Food & Drink)
- 3rd floor: Sleeping pods
- 4th floor: Services (shop, restaurants, waiting lounge)
To move between floors in building T1, you can use the elevator or escalator.
At T1 terminal, you can also catch taxis, private transfer, airport bus, regular bus, electric car service.
Buses of domestic airlines at T1: Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Jetstar
Domestic airlines also have cars moving in the downtown city to pick up their passengers. The price of these buses is 40,000 VND/ticket (1,7 USD). The parking point is in front of the entrance at the 1st floor of Terminal 1. Because the car runs according to the demands of passengers, it will pick up / drop off at the requested location.
You should catch the bus about 2 hours before the flight time to make sure you get on board on time. If you want to use the airline’s bus, you can call the airline directly or book through the airline’s website. Each airline will have different selling points.
WHAT TO BRING
Hanoi is one of the most humid cities in the world. Walking for 5 minutes can make you feel like walking for 15 minutes, making it easy to feel exhausted and sweaty during the summer.
However the weather is part of the country. Before your trip, be sure to check the Hanoi weather to make sure what you need for your health and body.
EMERGENCY
Emergency phone numbers
- 112 – Search and Rescue
- 113 – Police
- 114 – Fire protection and prevention
- 115 – Ambulance
Viet – France Hospital (HFH)
HFH was the first international hospital in Hanoi, also Hanoi’s leading international hospital.
- Map: https://goo.gl/maps/rbdpz4Msh6Dxxb4g9
- Website: https://www.hfh.com.vn/en/home
- Tel: 024 3577 1100
List of big pharmacies in Hanoi
- FPT Long Chau
- Pharmacity
- Pharmart.vn
- Nhà thuốc Long TamHệ thống nhà thuốc 365
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