What is the closest airport to Halong Bay?

There’re 3 airports close to Halong Bay: Noi Bai Airport, Cat Bi Airport and Van Don Airport. It’s depend on where you come from that each have its own advantages and disadvantages. 

Cat Bi International Airport (HPH)

• Location: Cat Bi Ward, Hai An District, Hai Phong City (Google Maps)
• Best if: You’re flying from big cities in Vietnam.
• Don’t if you’re traveling from outside of the country.
• Distance to Halong Bay: Only 45 kilometers (~28 miles)

Cat Bi International Airport (HPH) is the closest airport to Halong Bay. The airport is in Cat Bi Ward, Hai An District, Hai Phong City, and only takes 50 minutes by car to the bay. It’s has served more than 2 million customers so far and has become the second busiest airport in north Vietnam, beside Noi Bai.

If you’re looking for flights from other parts of Vietnam, Cat Bi will definitely be an ideal choice. It has many daily routes connecting to big cities in the country, like Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, or Danang.

However, Cat Bi only have few international routes.  As of writing, there’s only 1 flight from Seoul, Korea to this airport, operating by Vietjet Air. 

From Cat Bi Airport to Halong Bay

You can easily go to Halong Bay from Cat Bi International Airport. There are numerous taxi and bus routes available.

Buses are the most efficient way, and there’s plenty of them. Hoang Phu Limousine provides a route from Cat Bi Airport to Halong Bay every hour for only $15 USD per person per way.

If you’d love to put your comfort first, then opt for a private taxi. There are numerous taxis willing to transport you to Halong for about 40–50 USD per way. However, make sure to negotiate a fixed price before getting into one. Don’t trust meters; scam taxis will know how to cheat over that small machine.

Read more at: Hai Phong to Halong Bay: How to travel in 2023

Van Don International Airport (VDO)

• Location: Doan Ket Ward, Van Don, Quang Ninh Province (Google maps)
• Best if: You’re traveling from domestic Vietnam or some big Asian cities.
• Don’t if you’re flying from Western countries.
• Distance to Halong Bay: About 60km (~ 38 miles)

Van Don International Airport (VDO) is the second closest airport to Halong Bay with a bit more than 1 hour drive. The airport is built specifically to cater to tourists wanting to see Halong. Van Don is newest and also the sixth largest airport in Vietnam, with an area of 2,900,000 square meters with capacity of serving 2,500,000 travelers per year. 

It’s offer flight routes from/to Danang, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho and internationally Seoul.

From Van Don Airport to Halong Bay

Phuc Xuyen offer a daily free way of bus (Bus No.14) from the airport to Halong City’s center. It’s leave every 1 hour from Van Don at 07:00 till 17:00.

If you don’t want to line up and waiting for the bus, taxi could also be a good option for only 40USD ~ 50USD per way. Consider Van Don Xanh, a reliable brand in the area. 

Noi Bai International Airport (HAN)

• Location: Phu Minh, Soc Son, Hanoi (Google Maps)
• Best if: Choose this as your entry point to Vietnam
• Don’t if: You want to travel right away to Halong
• Distance to Halong Bay: About 197km (~122.4 miles)

Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) is the major airport in North Vietnam. Despite being the furthest, many travelers choose this airport when it’s time to visit Halong Bay, thanks to its widely used international flight route. It’s connect to all the airports in Vietnam, together with several global airport hub like Changi (Singapore), Dubai (UAE),etc. 

From Noi Bai Airport to Halong Bay

From Noi Bai Airport, it would take approximately 3 hours to ride to Halong Bay. Normally, travelers won’t’ go straight to Halong right after landing at Noi Bai but ill spend one night exploring Hanoi. Then the next morning, you could take a tourist bus to Halong Bay, which is pretty cheap, only about 10–12 USD per way. These buses will leave hourly from Hanoi and offer pick-up at your hotel in the Old Quarter.

Last updated: 16th Dec 2023