How long does it take to get from Hanoi to Hoi An?

About four to five hours door to door by air: 1 hour 20 minutes flying to Da Nang, plus the airport runs at each end. The night train to Da Nang takes 15 to 16 hours, then 40 to 50 minutes by road to Hoi An. A through sleeper bus takes 16 to 19 hours.

How much is the train from Hanoi to Hoi An?

The train stops at Da Nang, 30 km short. A soft seat costs 651,000 dong and a lower berth in a four-berth soft sleeper 1,294,000 dong, about US$25 to $49 on the regular 2026 fares. Add 250,000 to 350,000 dong for a Grab from Da Nang station to the old town.

Is there an airport in Hoi An?

No. The nearest is Da Nang International, about 30 km north, with flights from Hanoi roughly every hour. A Grab to Hoi An takes 40 to 50 minutes and costs 250,000 to 350,000 dong. A shared shuttle is 130,000 to 150,000 dong a seat and takes about an hour.

Is the bus or the train better from Hanoi to Hoi An?

The train, for most people. It costs more, 651,000 dong against about 450,000 for a bus bunk, but you can walk about, the berths are longer and the coast north of Da Nang comes in daylight. The bus does go all the way into Hoi An, which saves the last transfer.

Can you stop in Phong Nha between Hanoi and Hoi An?

Yes, it is on the way. Take the evening train to Dong Hoi, about 10 hours, then an hour by taxi to Phong Nha. Continue by train to Hue in about 3 hours, then by bus to Hoi An in 3 to 3.5 more. Allow at least one full day in Phong Nha.

Hanoi to Hoi An 2027: Flight, Train, Bus or Via Phong Nha

The quickest way from Hanoi to Hoi An is by air: fly 1 hour 20 minutes to Da Nang, then drive 30 km south, about 45 minutes, from around 700,000 dong. Hoi An has no airport and no station. The night train to Da Nang takes 15 to 16 hours from 651,000 dong; a sleeper bus runs straight through in 16 to 19 hours from about 450,000.

With two weeks, we would take a fourth way: stop in Phong Nha and Hue, which the night train passes in the dark.

Hanoi to Hoi An at a glance

On a map of Vietnam, Hanoi to Hoi An is about 830 km by road down the coast. Flight and train both end in Da Nang, so the last 30 km is by road. Fares checked October and November 2026.

Option	Time, door to door	One-way price	Best for
Flight to Da Nang, then car	About 4 to 5 hours	700,000 to 1,100,000 dong booked ahead, plus 250,000 to 350,000 for a Grab	Short trips
Night train to Da Nang, then car	16 to 18 hours	651,000 (soft seat) to 1,294,000 (soft sleeper, lower berth)	Saving a hotel night
Private sleeper car on the same train	16 to 18 hours	About US$85	Better bedding
Through sleeper bus	16 to 19 hours	450,000 (bunk) to 550,000 (single cabin)	The lowest fare
Overland via Phong Nha and Hue	3 to 5 days	About 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 in train and bus fares	Seeing the centre on the way

Hanoi to Hoi An flight: you land in Da Nang

Flights leave Noi Bai for Da Nang roughly every hour on Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet and Sun PhuQuoc Airways, which added the route in February 2026. The flight itself is 1 hour 20 minutes. Booked a few weeks ahead, economy runs about 700,000 to 1,100,000 dong one way (US$27 to $42), and the cheapest fares carry hand luggage only. Vietjet sold seats for about US$22 in September 2026.

A passenger jet at an air bridge at Da Nang airport with a fuel truck alongside and mountains behind Da Nang airport, the nearest one to Hoi An.

The flight is the short part. Central Hanoi to Noi Bai takes 45 minutes to an hour. Da Nang airport is about 30 km from Hoi An's old town: a Grab or Xanh SM car costs 250,000 to 350,000 dong and takes 40 to 50 minutes; a shared shuttle is 130,000 to 150,000 dong but slower. Our Da Nang to Hoi An guide covers the 35,000-dong LK02 bus too.

Door to door, four to five hours.

Hanoi to Hoi An by train

The train goes to Da Nang, not Hoi An. Three evening departures matter, on the Vietnam Railways timetable for November 2026, which shifts a little each season:

SE3: leaves Hanoi 19:20, reaches Da Nang 10:28. The fastest, at 15 hours 8 minutes.
SE19: leaves 19:45, arrives 11:35.
SE1: leaves 21:45, arrives 13:14.

A passenger at the open window of a Vietnamese train as its green carriages curve through forested hills The Reunification Express on a curve; the night trains take 15 to 16 hours to Da Nang.

Regular Vietnam Railways fares, Hanoi to Da Nang, one way, mid-2026:

Class	Fare, dong	About, USD
Soft seat	651,000	25
Hard sleeper, 6 berths, top	883,000	34
Hard sleeper, 6 berths, lower	1,137,000	43
Soft sleeper, 4 berths, upper	1,211,000	46
Soft sleeper, 4 berths, lower	1,294,000	49

Book the soft sleeper: four berths, air conditioning and a door that shuts. Lotus, Violette and Livitrans add carriages selling the same layout with better bedding for about US$85, nearly double. We would not pay it. Our Da Nang to Hanoi sleeper train guide shows the compartments and the food.

Tickets are sold on the Vietnam Railways site, dsvn.vn, about 60 days ahead for long journeys. Our Vietnam train guide explains the classes and booking.

The best reason to take the train is the end. Every evening train reaches the coast between Hue and Da Nang in daylight, and the line clings to the cliff above the sea for about 45 minutes. Sit on the left.

Blue and red Vietnam Railways carriages of a Hanoi-bound train standing alongside at a passing point on the Hai Van Pass line A southbound train meets a Hanoi-bound one on the Hai Van Pass.

Hanoi to Hoi An by sleeper bus

Through buses run to Hoi An itself. They leave Hanoi in the late afternoon or evening and arrive the next morning or around midday, 16 to 19 hours later. A bunk costs about 450,000 dong and a single cabin about 550,000; HK Buslines and the open-tour companies run the route.

It is the cheapest option and the least comfortable. Bunks are short for anyone over about 1.75 m and the potholes wake you. If you take one, pay the extra 100,000 for a cabin. The Vietnam sleeper bus guide explains the bus types.

The better way: stop in Phong Nha and Hue

The night train passes Phong Nha and Hue while you sleep. Break the trip and you see caves, the old imperial capital and the Hai Van coast by daylight, for about the same total fare.

A blue Phong Nha Cave boat with passengers in life jackets on the Son River below limestone hills The Son River at Phong Nha, about an hour by road from Dong Hoi station.

Hanoi to Dong Hoi. 522 km, 9.5 to 11.5 hours by train. The fastest evening trains arrive between 04:45 and 07:21: early, but it saves a night. Fares start around 580,000 dong for a soft seat and 1,070,000 for a soft sleeper berth. A sleeper bus to Dong Hoi starts at 410,000.
Dong Hoi to Phong Nha. About 40 km: an hour by taxi for 400,000 to 450,000 dong, or 90 minutes on the 35,000-dong local bus. Some Hanoi sleeper buses go straight to Phong Nha town.
One or two days in Phong Nha. A guided jungle day, or Paradise Cave and the cave boat on your own.
Dong Hoi to Hue. About 3 hours by train for around 200,000 dong.
Hue to Hoi An. About 130 km, 3 to 3.5 hours by bus through the Hai Van tunnel, with cabin buses from 199,000 dong. A private car from about 1,070,000 dong can take the pass road instead, which adds about an hour.

Ninh Binh, 115 km and two hours south, makes a first night out of Hanoi. Our Hanoi to Phong Nha guide compares the train, the sleeper bus and the flight to Dong Hoi.

Short of time? Skip Hue: Phong Nha to Hoi An is about 300 km and 6 to 11 hours by bus. The loop is in our 5-day central Vietnam itinerary.

With one day in Phong Nha, the Elephant Cave and Ma Da Valley trek fits a train best. It costs VND 1,950,000, about US$74 (price checked November 2026), runs daily with hotel pickup around 8:00 AM in Phong Nha or Dong Hoi, and takes children from 9. Guides, gear and lunch are included, and there is a 600 m swim into Tra Ang water cave. Rain cancellations get a new date or a full refund.

Which way should you go?

A week or ten days: fly, and spend the saved day in Hoi An. Two weeks or more: go overland. The legs are short. On the tightest budget, the sleeper bus at about 450,000 dong beats the 651,000-dong soft seat, though the seat is the better night.

A yellow corner shophouse hung with pink lanterns on a sunny street in Hoi An Hoi An old town on a dry, sunny morning.

The awkward part is the weather. From September to December central Vietnam gets storms, and floods can cut the railway and swamp Hoi An's riverside, as in late October 2025. In those months, fly, and keep a spare day before flying home. The Hoi An weather guide has the month-by-month rain.