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Taxis in Hanoi and Vietnam in general are an inexpensive way to travel. It is considered the optimal tourist transport for short and long trips around the city. But in order not to overpay for the trip to the "smart" Vietnamese taxi drivers, you still need to know something about the different types of taxis in Hanoi and about the tricks of taxi drivers. Now we will tell you everything from personal experience with real prices:
Regular taxi in Hanoi
There are several official taxi companies operating in Hanoi, and the prices for their trips by and large do not differ. They all work by meters, or at least they should work by meters, but sometimes drivers offer tourists a trip at a fixed rate instead. Usually such a trip is more expensive, so insist on the meter.
The most famous and proven are the all-Vietnamese company Mailinh (Mailin), Hanoi Group Taxi, G7 taxi. The price of trips from the first is cheaper, the second and third are considered more expensive. Prices for all official taxis must be indicated on the sticker on board or on the side window of the car. If there are no price tags, then you have an illegal in front of you.
The minimum rates are as follows:
- For landing and the first 600 meters of the way from 12,000 VND / 1.14 USD
- For each subsequent kilometer – from 8,000 VND / 1.14 USD
In general, a trip to the counter within the old city of Hanoi should cost no more than 30,000 VND (approximately rate temporary unavailable USD), and the airport is no more than 300,000 VND (approximately rate temporary unavailable USD).
Recently, even cheaper small Kia cars have appeared, in which the cost of a trip for the first kilometer costs 8,000 VND (0.3 USD). True, these cars have a small trunk (you can't fit with a suitcase), and there is not always air conditioning.
Usually cars caught on the street refuse to use meters and immediately offer a fixed price at several times inflated rates. It is better to give it up right away and look for another car, it is useless to bargain with such drivers.
However, for long-distance trips, as, for example, in Hanoi Airport, it is better to order a taxi at a fixed price at the hotel reception or at street travel agents, or negotiate with drivers on the street. The fact is that there are trickster taxi drivers who use twisted counters, and the trip can cost you much more. For reference, the real cost of a trip from the tourist area of Hanoi to the airport is 250,000 VND (rate temporary unavailable USD).
Ordering a car via Grab, Maxim and other applications
It is safer and more profitable to order a car or a motorcycle taxi in Hanoi through applications. Uber doesn't work here, but at least these applications work:
- Grab is the most popular and reliable, and optimal in terms of price and quality.
- Maxim is the cheapest taxi, but requests may not be accepted for hours. We do not recommend using it for critical trips, such as to the railway station or to the airport.
- Xanh Sm (pronounced Han Sm) is a modern eco–friendly taxi on electric vehicles of Vietnamese production VinFast, but most often it costs more than Grab.
- InDrive is an application for traveling with fellow travelers, where you can negotiate the price of a trip. You can get there cheaper than Grab, but for this you have to do a lot of extra gestures and there is no guarantee of acceptance of the application.
Our choice is Grab. In addition to cars, it is possible to order a motorcycle taxi, food, goods, sending parcels and much more. But it's still better to install a couple of these applications before the trip.
All applications can be registered on Russian SIM cards, this has been checked by us many times. If it doesn't work out the first time, try it later or specify the country code +7 Kazakhstan, and then the Russian number. That is why we recommend installing the application in advance at home, so as not to waste time on arrival.
Of course, mobile Internet or WiFi is needed for applications to work. About how and where to buy a local SIM card with the Internet, read the instructions about the Internet in Vietnam here. For one-time orders, you can connect to free WiFi networks at Hanoi Airport, hotels, cafes, and place an order from there, you just need to remember the amount to be paid.
The Grab application interface is in English, very similar to Uber, and it's very easy to figure out the whole thing: specify the destination and departure and immediately get the price; get the driver's car number and can communicate with him, if necessary, via the application chat while he's on his way to you. Payment is made to the driver at the end of the trip in cash strictly at the price that is displayed in the application, and no more. You can also link a bank card in the app and pay for trips online, but Russian cards do not work due to sanctions.
Using a tourist transfer instead of a taxi
A tourist transfer is almost the same as a taxi, but with a higher level of service. Using it to move around the city is inconvenient and expensive, but for a trip to / from the airport this is a good option, only it will cost more.
After ordering, a car will be waiting for you upon arrival, and the driver will meet you with a sign and take you to the right place without any questions. There will be no problems with the language barrier, payment is made online when booking, so you don't have to change money at the airport. You can check the prices for the transfer and book it through the websites:
Or use this built-in search form from kiwitaxi:
Tricks of taxi drivers in Hanoi
Before using a taxi, it is worth knowing the tricks that you may encounter. They are especially common when boarding a car on the street (without pre-ordering by phone or via the Internet), and at Hanoi Airport. In general, they have a lot of tricks, so it's best to use a proven branded taxi with a phone order, which can be done through the hotel reception, or order cars through the Grab app.
You should always be prepared for the driver to come up with something to get more money out of you. Usually it all starts with the refusal to go to the meter and the offer of an inflated fixed price. Before the trip, immediately check with the driver whether the meter will be used, which is easy to do with the question: "Taximeter?".
There may also be counters that are "twisted" or broken down on the road, circular routes, toll road fees, or simply a requirement to pay more than you previously agreed on a fixed tariff (for example, instead of 15 - "fifteen", they may require 50 - "fifty", and it's good if it's about dong in this case, and not dollars). Therefore, when traveling at a fixed price, it is best to make sure that you understand each other correctly. Ideally, you should write down the price of the trip on paper and show it to the driver so that he confirms it.
There have been cases when taxi drivers crossed borders and blocked customers with a central lock in the car until they pay the required amount. If something like this has happened to you, and you are sure that you are right, then feel free to pay as agreed or as you think is right and leave, despite the screams of the taxi driver. If he crosses the border, demand a trial in the presence of the police. At the mention of the police, taxi drivers immediately come to their senses. Be vigilant when loading and unloading your suitcases in a taxi: there have been cases when taxi drivers intentionally or accidentally leave with customers' luggage.
Another well–known trick of taxi drivers at the airport is to work in pairs with fake hotels. If you book a trip to a certain hotel, you may well hear that there is no such hotel anymore, or that it is overcrowded, but there is another very good hotel where he will take you. Also in Hanoi you can find a very unique thing – fake hotels. In old buildings, a hotel is opened under the guise of a more famous and popular, for example, a global network, and taxi drivers in collusion with its staff bring tourists there. Usually such hotels are either very far from the center, or very low quality at a high price. Therefore, categorically refuse the recommendations of taxi drivers. Even better book hotels in Hanoi in advance.