Haiphong
Fed up with old-timers telling you Hanoi was so much more authentic in the early 1990s? Fear not, for Haiphong is a graceful city that has the flavour of Hanoi a decade ago. Bicycles are as common as motorbikes and the verdant tree-lined boulevards conceal some classic colonial-era structures. Stroll around the centre and soak up the atmosphere.

Despite being one of the country’s most important seaports and industrial centres, and officially Vietnam’s third-largest city, Haiphong today seems a somnolent place with clean streets and an understated air of prosperity. In general, the city is far less hassle than major tourist magnets, with barely a tout in sight.

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Getting there & away
Contents

Land
Bus
Haiphong has three long-distance bus stations. Buses to Hanoi (35, 000d, two hours) leave from Tam Bac bus station (Pho Tam Bac) about every 10 minutes throughout the day. Buses to points south such as Ninh Binh leave from Niem Nghia bus station (Ð Tran Nguyen Han).

Lac Long bus station (Pho Cu Chinh Lan) has buses to Bai Chay (Halong City; 25, 000d, 1½ hours), and from there connections to Mong Cai on the Chinese border by boat or road. Lac Long also has buses to/from Hanoi, convenient for those connecting with the Cat Ba hydrofoil.

Car & motorbike
Haiphong is 103km from Hanoi on Hwy 5. This expressway (Vietnam’s first) between the two cities was completed in 1999 and is one of the biggest and busiest roads in the country.

Train
Haiphong is not on the main line between Hanoi and HCMC, but there is a spur line connecting it to Hanoi. There’s one express train daily to Long Bien station (24, 000d, two hours) at 6.10pm and several slower trains (18, 000d, 2½ hours).

There are two train stations within the Haiphong city limits. Thuong Li train station is in the western suburbs of the city, while Haiphong train station is right in the city centre.

Boat
All boats leave from the ferry pier (Ð Ben Binh), 10 minutes’ walk from the centre of town.

Hydrofoils leave for Cat Ba (45 minutes) three times a day in the high summer season and just once a day the rest of the year. Summer season services depart between 7am and 11am. The rest of the year, the services leave at about 9am. Transtour (384 1009) runs the Mekong Express (100, 000d), which is the safest and most comfortable option. Tahaco (374 7055) has smaller hydrofoils, which are cheaper at 70, 000d. There are no longer hydrofoils operating to Halong City, as the road journey is faster.

Transtour also has a fast boat to Mong Cai (200, 000d, four hours) leaving at 7.30am daily. There is also a slow ferry (70, 000d, eight hours) departing daily at 6pm. Do the maths, it arrives at an ungodly hour.

Air
Vietnam Airlines (9381 0890; www.vietnamair.com.vn; 30 Pho Hoang Van Thu) serves the Haiphong–Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and the Haiphong–Danang routes.

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