Cat Bi International Airport (HPH), also known as Haiphong Airport, is located about 8 km away from Haiphong city center. If you are looking for the best way to get from the airport into the city, choose the mode of transportation according to your preferences.
Even if there is no public bus available at the airport, traveling from Cat Bi Airport to Haiphong city center can be done in several ways.
Motorbike Taxi
At Cat Bi International Airport (HPH), there are plenty of motorbike taxis available. Motorbike taxis in Vietnam are called „xe om”. When leaving the airport and walking down to the road, you will see a number of motorbikes parked around.
Motorbike taxi in Haiphong costs around 7,000 VND per kilometer. The total price for the ride from Cat Bi Airport to Haiphong city center should be about 60,000 VND. However, the price should be agreed with the driver before getting on motorbike as otherwise you can get scammed and overpay a lot.
Airport Taxi
Taking a taxi is one of the most convenient ways for getting from Cat Bi International Airport (HPH) to Haiphong city center.
Taxi Companies
There are many taxi companies in Vietnam and several of them are operating in Haiphong and at the airport:
- Mai Linh (Tel.: 0225.3.833.833)
- Dat Cang (Tel.: 0225.3.82.82.82)
- Cat Bi (Tel.: 0225.3.666.222)
- Thong Nhat (Tel.: 0225.3.591.591)
- Hai Phong (Tel.: 0225.3.73.73.73)
In Vietnam, Mai Linh Company (www.mailinh.vn) is considered to be the most reliable among all taxi companies. If you are using a taxi from another company, there is a higher chance that you might be cheated resulting in paying up to 3 times more than the regular meter price.
However, in Haiphong, there is also a local reputable company Hai Phong Taxi operating that can be used normally.
Airport Taxi Fare
At Haiphong Airport you can find the board of taxi fares displayed. Taxi fare depends not only on the chosen taxi company and the length of journey but also on the selected car. Normally larger and better taxi cars charge higher fare, so if you are traveling on a budget, choose the smallest car available.
For the start of the journey (from 0 km to 0.6 km) all Haiphong Airport taxi companies charge a flat fare which is from 8,000 VND to 15,000 VND, depending on the company and car. From 0.6 km to 21 km (or 25 km in case of Cat Bi Taxi) there is a standard fare charged which is lowered for longer distance travels.
At the time of our visit (November 2019), taxi fares at Cat Bi Airport were the following:
Mai Linh Taxi Fare:
- Toyota Vios (4 Seats) – 11,200 VND/km for the trip up to 21 km and 9,500 VND/km after that
- Nissan Sunny (4 Seats) – 11,200 VND/km for the trip up to 21 km and 9,500 VND/km after that
- Hyunday i10 (4 Seats) – 10,200 VND/km for the trip up to 21 km and 8,500 VND/km after that
- Toyota Innova (7 Seats) – 14,000 VND/km for the trip up to 21 km and 11,000 VND/km after that
Cat Bi Taxi Fare:
- Toyota Vios (4 Seats) – 12,200 VND/km for the trip up to 25 km and 10,000 VND/km after that
- Kia Morning (4 Seats) – 11,000 VND/km for the trip up to 25 km and 8,500 VND/km after that
- Hyunday i10 (4 Seats) – 11,000 VND/km for the trip up to 25 km and 8,500 VND/km after that
- Toyota Innova (7 Seats) – 15,000 VND/km for the trip up to 25 km and 11,000 VND/km after that
Dat Cang Taxi Fare:
- Toyota Vios (4 Seats) – 12,200 VND/km for the trip up to 21 km and 12,000 VND/km after that
- Hyunday i10 (4 Seats) – 11,200 VND/km for the trip up to 21 km and 8,500 VND/km after that
- Toyota Innova (7 Seats) – 16,000 VND/km for the trip up to 21 km and 15,000 VND/km after that
If you are looking for the cheapest taxi at Haiphong Airport, in any case choose Mai Linh Taxi as this company is offering the same cars cheaper than their competitors. Get on Mai Linh’s Hyunday i10 and you will get the best deal available at Cat Bi Airport.
Our Experience
Let us share our experience of taking a taxi from Cat Bi International Airport (HPH) to Haiphong city center as this is the place where we started our Vietnam trip.
When walking out from the airport, we noticed the board with taxi fares at the exit so we already had an idea about the price that can be expected. The guy looking like airport staff approached us and asked if we need taxi. He was speaking English quite well so we talked about the price that can be expected to pay for the trip to our hotel in central Haiphong. The guy informed us that it should cost us about 100,000-120,000 VND by taxi meter, called a taxi for us and named the driver our destination.
When getting on a taxi, the driver turned on the meter as usual. From the airport to the hotel where we were staying, it took about 15 minutes and the price on the meter was around 80,000 VND. However, as soon as we arrived, the driver quickly turned off the engine (and taxi meter) and asked for 100,000 VND. As it was late and we were expecting to pay about this amount, we didn’t argue much.
Haiphong Airport taxi experience left bad taste in mouth for our entire Vietnam trip as scamming tourists seems to be a habit of Haiphong taxi drivers. We are normally ok to tip honest drivers but this case wasn’t of that kind. On the next day, another Haiphong taxi driver was trying to do the same “turn off the engine” trick with us but this time we took a photo of the meter and had plenty of small money to pay the exact fare so we didn’t give him a chance to demand more. That’s the thing we would recommend to anyone taking taxi in Haiphong – take a photo of the meter before the driver turns it off and have plenty of small bills to pay the exact fare as you might not get back fair change.
For the defense of Vietnamese taxi drivers, Haiphong was the only place in Vietnam where taxi drivers were trying this trick on us.
Private Transfer
The most convenient way for getting from Cat Bi Airport to Haiphong city center is by using private transfer that can be booked in advance with a tour company or hotel. The driver will wait for you at the airport and drop you off at the hotel. Normally, private transfer from the airport to the city center should cost around 200,000 VND.