Hanoi public transport: tickets, passes and apps

Hanoi has no single transport card that covers buses, the open metro lines and the airport bus, so the honest answer is that you buy rides, not a ticket. Bus fares are low enough that a pass only wins if you are riding several times a day, every day, for a week or more.

If you are in the city for two or three days and staying in the Old Quarter or Hoàn Kiếm, most trips on foot, by Grab bike or by metered taxi cost less in total than any pass you would buy. Use the bus when a route happens to run your way, and pay the conductor in cash.

For a longer stay, or if you plan to commute between districts, ask at a bus ticket office about a stored-value card and any multi-day pass. Treat the numbers you are given there as the current ones.

On city buses, cash to the conductor or into the box is still the normal method, and small notes help. Contactless bank cards and phone wallets are not a dependable way to board a Hanoi bus, so do not plan around them.

For everything else, apps do the work. Grab covers cars and motorbike taxis and takes a foreign card; Be and Xanh SM are local alternatives. Metered taxis from Mai Linh or Vinasun are fine if the meter is running and you have the address in Vietnamese script.

Keep some cash. Smaller buses, the airport bus and market-area rides are easier with đồng in hand, and drivers may not have change for a large note.

Hanoi's bus network is priced as one city network rather than by distance bands, which is why a single fare covers a short hop and a long cross-town ride alike. That flat structure is what makes a pass hard to justify: you only save if you ride often.

The metro lines that are open are priced separately from buses, so a bus card does not automatically cover them. Check the fare at the station before you travel, and keep the two systems in your head as separate purchases.

Distances in the city are short. The Old Quarter to West Lake is a few kilometres; the Old Quarter to the airport is roughly 30 km and belongs to the airport section below.

Nội Bài (HAN) sits about 30 km north of the centre, and the parent country facts put the car trip at 35–60 minutes to the Old Quarter depending on traffic. The airport bus is the cheap option: route 86 runs to the city centre, and route 17 is a slower local service. Fares are low, luggage space is limited, and the last departures are early enough that a late landing means a taxi.

A Grab car or a metered taxi is the default for arrivals with bags, for families and for anyone landing after the buses stop. Agree the fare or insist on the meter, and have your hotel address written in Vietnamese.

If you would rather sleep near the terminal and travel in the morning, there are hotels around the airport; the Hanoi guide covers the city side of the decision.

Ride-hailing removes the language problem and the haggling, so it is the easiest default for a first visit. Buses are cheapest and fine for a confident traveller with a route number and small notes.

Traffic in Hanoi is heavy at peak hours, so allow more time than the distance suggests, especially for the airport. Motorbike taxis are quick but exposed; only ride if you are comfortable in dense traffic.

Keep the ticket decision separate from the airport decision. The airport bus is a single purchase, not part of a city pass, and the parent country facts note that the car trip to the Old Quarter is 35–60 minutes.