Getting Around Hanoi in 2026: Motorbike, Ride-Hailing, Bus or Metro?

At 7:45 on a weekday, the junction at Kim Mã and Liễu Giai is a solid block of helmets. Nobody honks in anger. People nudge forward a few centimetres at a time, one foot on the ground, phone in the other hand. That is the commute for most of this city, and once you have done it a few times it stops looking like chaos and starts looking like a slow, crowded dance.

Most people ride their own motorbike

A second-hand Honda Vision or Wave is the default. Petrol for a 6–8 km commute runs about 80,000–120,000 VND a week; it depends a lot on how far you ride and how often you sit in traffic with the engine on. Office buildings charge 100,000–200,000 VND a month for parking in the basement, and the guard gives you a paper ticket you will lose at least once.

Two things nobody tells you: keep a 30,000 VND poncho under the seat from May to September, because the rain comes sideways and fast, and expect your phone mount to be the most useful thing you own.

If you don't have the right licence or you've never ridden in dense traffic, don't learn here.

Grab or Be for short hops

For visitors and for days when the bike is in the shop, motorbike taxis from Grab or Be are the easiest answer. A ride from the Old Quarter to Ba Đình (about 3 km) usually lands between 20,000 and 35,000 VND. Car rides cost two to three times as much. When it pours at 5:30 pm, prices jump and drivers vanish; that's the hour to wait it out with a coffee.

Buses: cheap, slow, underrated

Hanoi's buses are air-conditioned and cover almost the whole city. A single ticket costs 8,000–20,000 VND depending on how long the route is, and a monthly pass is available for regular riders. They sit in the same traffic as everyone else, so they make sense for longer trips across town when you would rather read than ride.

The metro: two lines that skip the traffic

The Cát Linh – Hà Đông line (2A) runs on an elevated track southwest of the centre, and the elevated section of line 3 from Nhổn to Cầu Giấy carries commuters from the west. Trains are clean, quiet and on time, and tickets are inexpensive. The catch is coverage: unless you live and work near a station, you will still need a bike or a short Grab ride for the first or last kilometre.

A few local habits worth copying

• Leave before 7:15 or after 9:00 if you can. The difference can be 25 minutes.
• In the Old Quarter, walking is often faster than any vehicle for anything under 1 km.
• Crossing the street: wait for a gap, then walk at a steady, predictable pace and keep watching the traffic. Drivers expect you to keep moving, but don't assume everyone will slow down.

Checked in October 2026. Fares and routes change, so confirm the current price in the app or at the station before you go.