Hai-Phong City (Halong Bay, Vietnam) – Where to Stay, What to Visit, Transport – Page 1

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Note : You are on Page 1 – Hai Phong City – Useful Info.
Start with Page  – Halong Bay Info.

Hai Phong – Maps – Orientation

Map 1 : Distance Hanoi to Halong Bay area

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Map 2 : Halong Bay Transport

Map 3 : Hai Phong – Town Center

Map 4 : Hai Phong – The Zone

Map 5 : Interactive Map – Tourist attractions + Transport

  1. Points in Red : Transport
  2. Points in Blue : Tourist Attractions

How is Hai-Phong City ?

A big city, the fourth in Vietnam. It is an industrial city with a port (the port is along the river).
Hai-Phong has no tourist attractions and no tourists (I found 1 nice Pagoda). Hai-Phong is usually a transit point for tourists on their way to a sail in Halong Bay (because there is an airport and there is a train station with trains from Hanoi).

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The fact that there are no tourists in town is fun in a certain way. It is an interesting experience.
The city center is quite pleasant, especially in the evening.
There is a large boulevard with no cars in the middle (in Barcelona, it is called a Rambla). The Opera house and the train station are nicely illuminated at night. Also the new bridge on the river is nicely illuminated.

Since it is not a touristic city, the hotel prices are lower here. You can get a good room and relax here for 1 or 2 days. See the page : The potential zones to stay in Hai-Phong – Hotels.

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In terms of culinary experience, Hai Phong city is not great for tourists. Especially bad is if you are vegetarian and if you like authentic western cuisine (see the section : What to Eat in Hai-Phong).

To sum up Hai-Phong is a normal Vietnamese city with:
Its schools :

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With chickens on the intersections :

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Customers having a haircut  on the street :

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And people cooking a fish, on the road :

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Is it worth to visit Hai-Phong City ?

Strangely, I enjoyed my stay in Hai Phong. The city center is nice in the evening.
It is interesting to walk in a Vietnamese city with no tourists but there is nothing spectacular here. After 2 days you will feel very lonely in a city without tourists. I could not have stayed here longer than a few days because of the limited options of western food, especially the lack of good bread.

If you speak Korean, you may feel good in Hai-Phong. There are some Korean workers developing some industries in Hai-Phong and there are Koreans restaurants.

Don’t put this city on the top of your list. You should skip this city if you don’t have a lot of time for your vacation in Vietnam. On the other hand, you can rest here for 1 or 2 nights during your visit in Halong Bay, especially if you want to take a flight from the airport of Hai-Phong.

How to Arrive to Hai-Phong City ?

From Hai-Phong, out :

The Airport of Hai Phong

The airport of Hai Phong (Cat Bi International Airport) is located relatively close to the city center, only 6 Km away. See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.

The airport of Hai Phong is mainly a domestic airport and many of the flights are to Saigon. For Hanoi, you don’t need a flight, it is a short distance away.

You can easily arrive to the airport with the App-Taxi Grab.

  • You can book Flights, Trains and Buses inside Vietnam with the site 12Go Asia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

The Train Station of Hai Phong

See location on Google Maps or on the Maps above.

The only train line is to Hanoi. The frequency is not great, there are only a few trains during the day. The travel time to Hanoi is about 2.5 hours. It is faster and easier to make the travel with a bus but you may choose the train option if you like trains.

  • You can book Flights, Trains and Buses inside Vietnam with the site 12Go Asia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

From Hai Phong to Cat-Ba island

Look at Map 2 above. The common way to arrive to Cat-Ba island is with a Bus+Ferry. There may be also direct boats from the city. It is also possible to do a part of the trajectory with a cable car, so keep reading. The distance to Cat-Ba island is relatively short, you can arrive to the little town in the south of Cat-Ba in less than 2 hours.

Option 1 :  Bus + Ferry

The easiest option is to book a travel “door to door” that includes a Bus + Ferry.
A minibus will pick you from your hotel in Hai-Phong. There is a short sea cross with a Ferry boat (10 minutes) to Cat-Ba island and then another minibus till your hotel in the south of the island (most tourists are staying in the town at the south of Cat-Ba (see Where to stay on Cat-Ba, the potential zones).
How to buy such a bus ticket :

  1. Ask the reception of your Hotel. In non touristic places (like Hai Phong), the hotel is a privileged source of information. They have contacts and they can book you a seat in a minivan.
  2. Reserve online with 12Go Asia

Option 2 : Direct Boat (or Bus) from the Center of Hai Phong

There used to be a direct boat from the center of Hai Phong and till the town in the south of Cat-Ba.

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A few years ago, big constructions were performed in the jetty area and the boat service was stopped. It is not clear if the service will return.

There is an alternative to the boat service : Next to the jetty, there are buses going to Cat-Ba. You can get information in nearby offices.

See the location of the pier (and the buses) on Google Maps or on the Maps above.

  • You can book Flights, Trains and Buses inside Vietnam with the site 12Go Asia. Choose the Origin city and Destination city and it will show you All the available Transports to destination.

Option 3 : Do it Yourself with a Taxi + Ferry or Cable Car

Look at Map 2 above.

  • Step 1 : Take a Taxi till the island of Cat Hai. The distance is about 25 Km. Cat Hai is a tiny island serving as a transit point.
  • Step 2: From Cat Hai island take a ferry boat or the cable car in order to cross the sea. It is a short journey. I wrote about the Cable Car on the Cat-Ba page (it doesn’t function continuously). It is faster to take a boat than the cable car but the view from the cable car is amazing.
  • Step 3: From the west port on Cat Ba island, take a Taxi till the town in the south of the island. It is a distance of about 23 Km

From Hai Phong to Hanoi

The distance by road is about 120 Km. You can take a Bus, a Train or even a Taxi.
I wrote about the train option before (it is faster to take a bus).
You can buy a bus ticket from your Hotel or online with 12Go Asia.

From Hai Phong to Halong City, Ninh Binh and other destinations

If your destination is relatively close (like Halong City or Ninh Binh), you can use a Bus or a Minibus.
You can buy a bus ticket from your Hotel or online with 12Go Asia.

If your destination is long distance, consider taking a flight. There is an airport in Hai Phong and an airport in Hanoi.

Where to Stay in Hai Phong City ? – Hotels

See this on the page : The Potential zones to stay In Hai Phong City.

How to Move inside Hai Phong City ?

By foot

If your hotel is in the center, you can walk.

By Taxi or App Taxi

Grab is functioning well in Hai-Phong, including the motorbikes.

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By Bus

There are some buses in town. I am not sure that a tourist who comes for 1 or 2 days, need them.

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How is the Climate in Hai Phong City ?

See the Halong Bay page : What is the climate in Halong Bay.

What to Eat in Hai Phong City ?

The culinary situation here for tourists, is bad. If you are a tourist who adore Asiatic food, you will have no problems but if you are vegetarian or you prefer western cuisine than you will be quite frustrated in Hai Phong. There are almost no tourists so there are almost no restaurants adapted to tourists. There are no western owners of restaurants here.

The worst is the situation with bread and pastries. You need to make some efforts in order to find a decent croissant for the morning.

Here are some places were I have eaten :

There is a an Indian restaurant called Indian Kitchen, located in the center.

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There is a Tex-Mex restaurant with decent Pizza called Texgrill.

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If you are ready to travel 5 Km to the suburbs (I was ready), there is an excellent Italian restaurant called Toscana.

I took a risotto 4 cheese and it was excellent. The owner is not Italian, he is Korean. He is passionate about Italian cuisine and he is preparing better Pizzas and Pastas than the Italians themselves.

The restaurant is modern and pleasant and it is located in a modern residential neighborhood.

As for pastries for the morning, there is 1986 Cafe. A modern, big and beautiful café.

There is also Muse Coffee with good pastries. They are not always opening early enough in the morning and you have to wait till they bake new croissants.

Another option is to buy food in a huge supermarket. You can buy almonds and nuts and you can buy some western cheese. There is a huge supermarket in Aeon mall and Vincom mall. They are located out of the center.

As always, if you are not vegetarian, you can eat other stuff :

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Where to go out at Night in Hai-Phong City ?

There are no tourists in Hai-Phong so don’t expect a nightlife scene like in Hanoi or Hoi-An or Saigon.

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Just walk in the animated streets, in the center, like everybody else.

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The main attraction at night is the walking boulevard (see it on Map 3 above ).

The opera house and the train station are nicely illuminated at night. Don’t forget to take a look at the river, the new bridge is nicely illuminated. Buy yourself an ice-cream.

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If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.

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