Hanoi to Hoi An (2026): Fly, Take the Train, or Go via Huế?

The first thing to know about getting from Hanoi to Hoi An is that you can't, not directly. Hoi An has no airport and no train station. Every route ends in Đà Nẵng, about 30 kilometres north, and finishes with a car, a bus or a motorbike. Once you accept that, the choice becomes simple, and for most people we think the answer is a flight.

Option 1: fly to Đà Nẵng (our pick for most people)

The flight from Nội Bài to Đà Nẵng takes about an hour and twenty minutes, and there are many flights a day. Fares move a lot with the date. Booked a few weeks ahead, they are often under a million dong one way. Around Tết and summer holidays they climb.

From Đà Nẵng airport to Hoi An is roughly 45 minutes by car. A Grab car or a pre-booked transfer is the easy way; shuttle buses run too and cost less. If you land in the evening, it's worth having the ride booked before you fly.

Door to door, from a Hanoi hotel to a Hoi An hotel, plan on five hours or so, most of it airports and traffic.

Related reading: West Lake (Hồ Tây) Hanoi: Trấn Quốc Pagoda, Sunsets, Cycling and Where to Eat · Vietnam Weather in Winter: North vs Central vs South (December to February)

Option 2: the overnight train

The SE trains from Hanoi to Đà Nẵng take somewhere between 15 and 17 hours depending on the service. A soft sleeper in a four-berth cabin is the comfortable choice. Pick an evening departure and you sleep through the north and wake up somewhere around the centre of the country.

Is it worth it? If you like trains, yes. The last stretch into Đà Nẵng, along the coast and around the mountains near the Hải Vân pass, is one of the prettiest rail journeys in the region. If you just want to be in Hoi An, the train costs you a day and saves little or nothing compared with an early-booked flight once you add the sleeper fare.

Book on the official railway site (dsvn.vn) or through an agent, and check the timetable for your date, because services change.

Option 3: via Huế, the scenic way

If you have time, break the trip in Huế. The train from Hanoi to Huế is a long overnight, and from Huế to Hoi An it's about four hours by road, crossing or tunnelling under the Hải Vân pass. Many travellers do this leg as a private car trip with stops at the pass and the beaches, which turns a transfer into a day out. Our Hanoi to Huế guide covers the first half.

This route makes sense if you were going to visit Huế anyway. As a way to "save" a flight, it doesn't.

The ancient town ticket

Foreign visitors pay 120,000 VND for the Hoi An ancient town ticket, which covers entry to five of the heritage sites: old houses, assembly halls, temples and small museums. Vietnamese visitors pay less. Whether you need a ticket just to walk the streets has changed more than once over the years, and the town has argued publicly about it, so ask at the ticket booth when you arrive. Either way, the ticket is good value if you go inside a few buildings.

The Japanese Covered Bridge, the town's best-known landmark, is the one most people want to see. Go early in the morning, before the tour groups, and the old town looks completely different.

When to go, and when not to

Central Vietnam has a different calendar from Hanoi. From about October to December, it's the rainy season, and Hoi An's riverside streets flood most years, sometimes badly. Shops move their stock upstairs and boats replace motorbikes in the lower streets. It's an interesting sight but a poor holiday, and flights and plans can be disrupted.

February to April is usually the most comfortable: warm, drier, and not yet the heavy heat of June to August. If you're travelling in autumn, keep the dates flexible and watch the weather forecast in the week before.

How long to stay

Two nights is the minimum to enjoy the old town without rushing; three lets you add the beach at An Bàng, a cycle through the rice fields, or a morning at the Mỹ Sơn temple ruins. Many people base themselves in Hoi An and visit Đà Nẵng as a day trip rather than the other way round. Hoi An is the nicer place to wake up.

Our simple recommendation

Fly Hanoi to Đà Nẵng on a morning flight, take a car straight to Hoi An, and spend the first evening in the old town when the lanterns come on. Save the train for the way back if you're curious about it. You'll have seen both, and spent your best hours in the place you came for.

Written in October 2026. Flight prices, train times and the ancient town ticket rules change; check them for your dates before booking.