Noi Bai Airport to Hanoi Old Quarter: Bus, Grab, Taxi or Private Car

You can get from Noi Bai airport to Hanoi Old Quarter by bus 86, a cheaper city bus, Grab, a taxi or a pre-booked private car. This guide from our Vietnam travel blog compares fares and hours for each, then explains which one suits your landing time and what to sort out before you leave the airport.

Bus 86 is the cheapest direct ride from Hanoi airport to the city center by day. After about 22:00, or with heavy bags, a car is easier: Grab, a taxi from the rank, or a private airport transfer waiting at arrivals. If you still need a visa, apply for a Vietnam e-visa online before you fly.

Noi Bai to the Old Quarter at a glance:

Option	Price	Hours	Drops you
Bus 86	50,000 VND per person	7:00 to 22:15	Hoan Kiem Lake area, Hanoi Railway Station
City bus 17	15,000 VND per person	5:10 to 22:00	Long Bien, edge of the Old Quarter
Grab car	Upfront fare in the app	Whenever drivers are online	Your hotel door
Taxi	Posted fixed fares at the rank	First to last flight	Your hotel door
Private transfer	From $25 per car	Booked to your flight	Your hotel door

Bus fares and hours are as listed by Noi Bai International Airport as of October 2026.

Bus 86 to the Old Quarter

Bus 86 from Hanoi airport is an express bus running from Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 to Hanoi Railway Station, passing close to Hoan Kiem Lake. It costs 50,000 VND per person and runs from 7:00 to 22:15.

The buses leave from outside the international arrivals hall at Terminal 2. Pay the conductor on board and tell them your street; they will tell you the nearest stop. The ride usually takes about an hour, longer at rush hour.

Get off at the stops near Hoan Kiem Lake for most Old Quarter hotels. From there, the walk is short, though the narrow lanes are hard with a big suitcase. Our Hanoi travel guide explains how the Old Quarter is laid out.

Cheaper city buses

Four ordinary city buses run from Noi Bai for 12,000 to 15,000 VND, but none goes straight into the Old Quarter. They stop often and suit travelers with light bags and time to spare.

Route	To	Fare (VND)	Hours
17	Long Bien bus station	15,000	5:10 to 22:00
90	Kim Ma	15,000	5:00 to 22:30
109	My Dinh bus station	12,000	5:00 to 22:00
07	Cau Giay	12,000	From 5:00

Bus 17 is the most useful of the four: Long Bien bus station is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the northern edge of the Old Quarter.

Grab and other ride-hailing apps

Grab from Hanoi airport is the simplest door-to-door option if you have mobile data. You see the fare before you book, pay by card or cash, and meet the driver at the pickup area marked in the app.

Set up the app and add a card before you fly, because you need data the moment you leave immigration. At busy times, pickups take longer and the fare rises with demand. Check the plate number before you load your bags.

Taxis from Noi Bai

A taxi from Noi Bai airport is the fallback when you have no data or arrive late. Use the marked taxi rank outside arrivals, not drivers who approach you inside the hall.

The airport says taxis are available from the first flight to the last flight each day, and fixed fares to the city are posted at the rank. Agree on the fare or check that the meter is running before you set off, and keep small notes, because drivers often lack change for 500,000 VND.

Private car transfer

A Hanoi airport transfer is a private car booked before you land, with the driver waiting at arrivals and a fixed price per car. Ours costs from $25 per car for a 4-seat car; pickups from 21:00 to 5:59 Vietnam time cost a little more, and the total appears before you pay.

Prices last checked: 2026-10-11. The price is per car, not per person, so a family or group pays the same as a solo traveler. Larger 7-seat and 16-seat cars are available for more luggage. Book on our private airport transfer page and enter your flight number and expected landing time.

Noi Bai airport to Hanoi Old Quarter by arrival time

The right choice depends mostly on when you land and how much luggage you carry. Bus 86 suits daytime arrivals with light bags; after 22:15 there is no bus 86, so use Grab, a taxi or a pre-booked car.

Landing time	Best option	Why
7:00 to 20:30	Bus 86	Cheapest direct ride to the lake
20:30 to 22:15	Bus 86 if immigration is quick, otherwise a car	The last bus may leave before you clear the queue
After 22:15	Grab, taxi or private transfer	No airport express until morning
Any time with children or big bags	Private transfer	Driver waits and helps with luggage

Leave room for immigration: on busy evenings the queue can take longer than the drive. That leads to the two things to handle before you walk out: clearing immigration faster, and getting cash and a SIM card.

Before you leave the airport

Two small tasks at Terminal 2 make the trip into town smoother. Both happen after you land and before you meet your bus or driver.

Clearing immigration faster

Arrival queues at Noi Bai are longest when several long-haul flights land together in the evening. Filling in the free pre-arrival form online before you fly helps, and Noi Bai airport fast track adds an escort through the formalities for $35 per passenger.

Cash and SIM at Terminal 2

Withdraw some dong from a bank ATM in the arrivals hall for the bus or taxi, and buy a local SIM from the counters there; they register it with your passport. With data on, Grab works straight away.

VietnamVisa-Easy.com is a private visa service operated by H2 Global Travel JSC since 2012, not a government website, and you can apply for an e-visa directly at evisa.gov.vn for US$25. If you would like your visa, fast track and car arranged in one place, start your application with us.