Grab is the default
Install Grab before you land. GrabBike (motorbike, green helmet) is $1-2 for anything inside Hoan Kiem, $3-4 to West Lake, $6-8 to the airport. GrabCar is roughly double. Payment by card or cash. No haggling, no wrong turns, driver ratings visible. The one weakness: Grab pickups inside the Old Quarter's tighter streets can take 5-8 minutes because drivers can’t reach you — walk to a bigger street corner and cancel-rebook if needed.
When taxi still wins
Only use Mai Linh (green) or Vinasun (white) meter taxis — anything else at the airport or by the lake is a scam. Meter starts at $0.50, roughly $0.70 per km. Taxis beat Grab for: 4+ people, luggage runs, midnight-4am when Grab drivers thin out, and the airport if there's a queue at the official rank. Never accept a fixed price from a hovering driver — insist on "dong ho" (meter) or walk away.
Motorbike rental and cyclos
Self-drive scooter rental is $6-10/day but genuinely dangerous if you haven’t ridden in traffic like this before — Vietnam has 20+ road deaths a day. Skip unless you’re experienced and have an IDP with motorcycle endorsement. Cyclos (bicycle rickshaws) are tourist-only now, $6-10 for a slow 45-minute Old Quarter loop — worth doing once at dusk. Public buses cost $0.30 but signage is Vietnamese-only; useful only for the airport route 86, $1.60.
Questions, answered
Hotels in Hanoi
See all stays →Curated picks are coming — meanwhile, the live search covers every bookable property at the same price or better.
