Hai Phong
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Hai Phong is the city between Hanoi and Cat Ba that almost everyone crosses and almost nobody stops in. It is the third-largest city in Vietnam and it eats better than its reputation suggests.
Is Hai Phong worth going to?
For one night, yes. Hai Phong has a compact French colonial quarter, a small opera house and wide streets lined with flame trees. It also has a food culture that people here will argue is the best in the north.
Hai Phong is not a sight-heavy city and does not pretend to be. What it offers is an ordinary working Vietnamese city that nobody arranged for visitors. After Hanoi and before Cat Ba, that is a useful thing to spend an evening in.
What should you eat?
Banh da cua, and it is worth planning a meal around. The noodles are flat and red-brown, cut from a rice sheet particular to this region, and they go into a broth built on freshwater crab with chả, fried fish cake and greens.
The dish exists elsewhere in Vietnam and is rarely the same. The noodle soup guide places it beside its relatives. Here it is the local staple rather than a regional curiosity.
The second thing to eat is seafood, landed at the port rather than trucked in. Prices follow the by-weight rules in the seafood guide, and they run lower here than on the tourist coast.
The colonial quarter, and what else?
The colonial quarter around the opera house, walked in an afternoon. The building itself is small and rarely open; the streets around it are the point — shuttered French facades, flame trees, and a river frontage that is still working port rather than promenade.
Do Son, about 20 km southeast, is the city beach. It is a domestic holiday strip rather than an international one. Anyone who has seen Da Nang or the southern islands can skip it without regret.
| What | Where | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colonial quarter | City centre | An afternoon | Opera house, flame trees, facades |
| Banh da cua | Everywhere | An hour | The reason to stop at all |
| Port frontage | Along the river | An hour | Working docks, not a promenade |
| Do Son beach | 20 km southeast | Half a day | Domestic resort strip, skippable |
| Ben Binh terminal | City centre | — | Boats and buses for Cat Ba |
When do the flame trees flower?
May, and the city is named for them — Hai Phong calls itself the city of flame trees. They flower across the whole place for a few weeks and are the one thing here that photographs better than it reads.
Summer is hot and wet, and it is when storms close the Cat Ba boats. That is the practical weather risk in this corner of Vietnam, and the month-by-month guide covers the wider northern year.
Where does the evening happen?
Near the opera house and the colonial streets, where the mid-range hotels are and where the evening is. Prices sit below Hanoi for the same standard, because the demand here is business rather than tourism. The tiers in the accommodation guide apply at their lower end.
Staying out by Ben Binh saves ten minutes on a morning boat and costs you the evening. Not a trade worth making.
How much cheaper is it than Hanoi?
Cheaply, and noticeably below Hanoi. A hotel room runs roughly 400,000 to 800,000 dong, a bowl of banh da cua 35,000 to 50,000, and a seafood dinner whatever you let it. At about 26,000 dong to the dollar this is a low-cost night by any measure.
How do you get here, and on to Cat Ba?
By road from Hanoi in about two hours over roughly 120 km, on frequent limousine vans, passing Hai Duong at the halfway point. By rail it is two and a half hours from Long Bien or Hanoi station. That is slower and far more pleasant, and one of the few short train journeys in Vietnam worth taking for its own sake — the rail guide covers which legs repay the time.
Onward, Ben Binh is the terminal for Cat Ba: a ferry and bus combination, or a fast boat, roughly 45 minutes to an hour on the water. Schedules shift with weather and season, so confirm on the day.
FAQ
Is Hai Phong worth visiting?
For a night, yes, and almost nobody gives it one. Hai Phong is Vietnam's third-largest city and its main northern port, with a French colonial quarter, an opera house, flame trees along the streets and the best banh da cua in the country. Most visitors cross it to reach Cat Ba.
What is Hai Phong famous for?
Banh da cua, a crab noodle soup made with flat red-brown rice noodles that is the city's own dish and hard to find done properly elsewhere. Beyond that: the port, the flame trees that gave it the nickname the red flamboyant city, and the boats to Cat Ba.
How do you get from Hanoi to Hai Phong?
About 120 km and roughly two hours by road, or two and a half by train from Long Bien and Hanoi stations. The train is slow, cheap and pleasant, and it is one of the few short rail journeys in Vietnam worth taking for its own sake.
How do you get from Hai Phong to Cat Ba?
By ferry and bus combination from Ben Binh, or by high-speed boat depending on the season and operator. The crossing takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour on the fast boats. Schedules change with the weather and with the year, so check on the day rather than in advance.
How many days do you need in Hai Phong?
One night. An afternoon covers the French quarter and the opera house, an evening covers the food, and a morning boat takes you to Cat Ba. Two nights only pays off if you want Do Son beach, which is not why anyone comes north.
When is the best time to visit Hai Phong?
October to April, the dry half of the northern year, with May bringing the flame trees into flower. Summer is hot, wet, and the season when storms close the Cat Ba boats, which is the one weather event that actually disrupts plans here.